If you ever attempt something big, you are guaranteed to experience pressure and pushback from people who either don’t believe in what you are doing or are actually against what you are doing. This is exactly what Nehemiah faced. Instead of panicking, he went to prayer. In fact, on multiple occasions when under pressure, he prayed (2:4, 4:4, 4:9, 6:9). He is the perfect example of a leader who sta...  Read More

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12Fifteen years ago, I found myself in uncharted waters. This unexpected storm of life stirred emotions of fear, grief, confusion, sadness, anger, and somehow numbness all at the same time. My two youngest children were feeling the effects of having their lives turned upside down.  I cried out to God, wondering how I was going to live; how I was going to make ends meet, how I was ...  Read More

Ephesians 2:10Growing up, I participated in sports. Baseball, basketball, football. I wasn’t terrible, but I certainly wasn’t a stand-out. Playing sports was just something boys in the mid-seventies did. My most active years were third through fifth grade, 1974-1977. My dad was in the Air Force, and we were stationed in Naples, Italy. The sports bus ran from my elementary school to the sports comp...  Read More

1 Corinthians 12:12-27As we continue through the book of Nehemiah and the sermon series Let’s rebuild something. I want us to imagine you are about to build your dream home. Whatever you can imagine your dream house to look like, you have the resources to make it happen. As you prepare to start the project, you realize you do not have the tools or the knowledge to make the right choices when it co...  Read More

Nehemiah 3Can you imagine what would happen to a church if the lead pastor ran all the ministries? The lead pastor would not only preach to adults, but he would also have to teach the children and the youth, too. Not to mention welcome people at the door, rock babies in the nursery, run sound and mic tests, lead worship, make coffee, and more! If this sounds a bit chaotic and out of order, it’s be...  Read More

Nehemiah 3:15-27Looking at today’s section may just feel like a list of names and what they were doing towards the construction of the wall. However, we see a powerful story happening. Over and over in this section, we see this phrase, “next to him” or “next to them”. We see many different people coming together to repair the wall side by side. Priests, rulers, families, craftsmen, and everyday pe...  Read More