The rebuilding of the Kingdom is not a one-time project. It is a continual process of growing, repentance, and healing. And what we will see in our final sermon on Nehemiah is that to rebuild the Kingdom we must continually look to the Lord for covenant faithfulness.

We will learn from Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:12-18 why we should boast in the Lord’s work as we build disciples.

With the completion of the wall surrounding Jerusalem in Nehemiah 6, we come to the dedication of that wall in Nehemiah 12.

As we have studied the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, we have seen how the Lord reestablished his people in Jerusalem following exile in Babylon.

It is not uncommon to hear Christians express their desire for revival. They hope for a reawakening of Christian values and practice in our churches and the culture at large. A time when many come to faith and are deepened in their faith. This hope is not farfetched or unprecedented. Throughout history, the Lord has been gracious to pour out a spirit of revival upon His church. We have seen revival occur during the time of the Reformation in the 16th century. In the early 18th century, the Church experienced the First Great Awakening under the ministry of men such as John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards. In the 19th century, the Second Great Awakening swept across the United States. In the early 20th century the Lord blessed the Welsh church with a great revival that spread throughout Europe and eventually across the globe. And similar movements of God’s grace have occurred over the past several decades. Currently, we wait, we hope, and we pray that the Lord will again stir a great revival in our generation. Nevertheless, we see in Scripture the foundation of such movements. As we come to Nehemiah 9, we see that the Lord brings revival to his people when his people are moved to true heartfelt repentance (2 Chronicles 7:14). This has been the pattern throughout history. God prepares the foundation for revival through repentant prayer. And what we will see this Sunday is that if we would experience an awakening in our own hearts, homes, church, and community we must lay the foundation of such an awakening with repentant prayer rooted in God’s Word. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon Nehemiah 9, Psalms 78, 105, 106, Matthew 6:7-13, Acts 7, and this article on the Welsh Revivals.

Trumpets are meant to be loud. And for good reason. They are an instrument that is designed to announce and communicate. When you hear a trumpet, you pay attention. Growing up on military bases I remember the fast-paced morning reveille as the flag was raised and the low sonorous evening taps as the flag was lowered. The trumpet would announce when the day began and when it was over. In Biblical times the trumpet was used in a similar fashion. It was used to announce, communicate, and call for people’s attention. Trumpets were used during battles for issuing signals and for making or breaking camp. The prophet Ezekiel tells us that a watchman would blow the trumpet to warn the people of a coming invasion. In Joshua, we read that on the seventh day of marching around the city of Jericho the priests blew the trumpets the people shouted and the walls came tumbling down. And we read in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 that when the Lord Jesus returns he will, descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. (1 Thessalonians 4:16) When the trumpet sounds, the people are called to listen and respond to what is being announced. In our text for this Sunday God’s Word acts as the trumpet. Like a trumpet call, the Word of God is an announcement to which we must pay attention. It is a proclamation that we must understand. The Word of God is a declaration that we must respond to in faith and obedience. To come prepared for the sermon, take time this week to read and to meditate upon Nehemiah 8, Luke 24:44-45, Romans 6:23, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Peter 2:5, and Westminster Shorter Catechism #90.