🌧️ We Need More Umbrellas

A sermon in the “Return. Restore. Rebuild.” series

📖 Opening Scripture

Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.

Introduction

☂️ No one brought an umbrella

story idea from TRACY RILEY:

There was a small town that hadn’t seen rain in months. The land was cracked. Wells were low. Crops were failing. The community was desperate. So the local pastor called for a prayer meeting—a gathering to cry out to God for rain.

The church was packed. People came from every corner of the town. They sang. They prayed. They wept. But just minutes into the meeting, the pastor stood up and dismissed everyone.

Confused and frustrated, someone asked, “Why are you ending the meeting so soon?”

The pastor looked around and said, “Because no one brought an umbrella.”

☂️ The Message: Faith That Prepares

This story isn’t about weather. It’s about expectancy. It’s about the kind of faith that doesn’t just ask God to move— it prepares for the movement.

We’re in a season where God is calling us to Return. Restore. Rebuild. But if we’re asking for rain — revival, healing, provision, restoration — are we showing up with umbrellas?

Are we preparing for the very thing we’re praying for?

Main Teaching

🔁 As we Return: We Come Back with Expectancy

Malachi 3:7 NIV

"Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. “But you ask, ‘How are we to return?’

🌾 The Story: The Porch Light

There was a young man who had wandered far from home. Years of broken choices, silence, and shame had built a canyon between him and the family he once knew. He wasn’t sure they even wanted him back. But one night, something shifted. He packed a small bag and began the long journey home.

As he walked the final stretch of road, heart pounding, he rehearsed apologies. He imagined closed doors. He braced for rejection.

But when he turned the corner, he saw something unexpected.

The porch light was on.

Not just that — it had been left on every night since he left. His mother had lit it the day he walked away and never turned it off. “He’ll come back,” she’d say. “And I want him to know we’re ready.”

She didn’t just hope—she prepared. She didn’t just pray—she expected.

💡 The Message: Expectancy Is a Light Left On

This is the heart of return. It’s not just about coming back — it’s about believing there’s something to come back to. That God hasn’t turned off the light. That He’s still waiting. Still preparing. Still expecting.

“Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord Almighty. — Malachi 3:7

God doesn’t just tolerate our return—He anticipates it. Like the father of the prodigal son, watching the horizon. Like the mother with the porch light on.

When we return with expectancy, we don’t just walk back — we walk forward. We believe restoration is possible. We trust that rebuilding will begin. We carry hope like a lantern into the ruins.

🕊️ Legacy Tie-In

And when we return with expectancy, we model it for others. We become porch lights for those still wandering. We become signs of grace for those unsure if they’re welcome. Our return becomes an invitation.

Returning to God isn’t just about repentance — it’s about realignment. It’s about coming back with open hands and open hearts, believing He will meet us.

The Israelites returned from exile, but many came back with broken spirits. Nehemiah returned with a burden and a blueprint. He didn’t just mourn the ruins — he prepared to rebuild.

Umbrella faith says:

I’m not just hoping for change — I’m preparing for it.

🛠️ As we Restore: We Repair What’s Been Lost

Joel 2:25 KJV 1900

“I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten...”

🛠️ The Story: The Carpenter’s Bench

There was an old carpenter who once built beautiful things—tables that held generations, cribs that rocked newborns, altars that carried prayers. But after a fire swept through his workshop, he stopped building. The flames had taken not just his tools, but his confidence, his rhythm, his joy.

For years, the bench sat untouched. Dust settled like silence. Visitors would ask, “Will you ever build again?” He’d shrug. “Too much has been lost.”

But one morning, he found a small piece of scorched wood tucked behind the bench. It was part of a table he’d made for his daughter’s wedding. He held it in his hands, and something stirred — not just memory, but resolve.

He didn’t rebuild the whole workshop that day. He started with one piece. He sanded it. Repaired the cracks. And slowly, the bench came alive again.

💬 The Message: Restoration Begins with What Remains

Restoration isn’t about pretending the loss didn’t happen. It’s about honoring what was — and choosing to begin again. It’s the sacred work of repairing, not replacing. Of gathering the fragments and trusting that beauty can still emerge.

“They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated…” — Isaiah 61:4

God doesn’t discard what’s broken. He restores. He doesn’t rush the process. He meets us at the bench, in the dust, with tenderness and tools we thought were gone.

🕊️ Legacy Tie-In

When we restore, we don’t just fix — we redeem. We show others that healing is possible. That what was lost can become the foundation of something sacred. Our restoration becomes a testimony, a legacy of hope.

Restoration is God’s promise. But it often begins with small acts of obedience. Like Elijah rebuilding the altar before calling down fire (1 Kings 18). Like the widow preparing jars before the oil flowed (2 Kings 4).

If we’re asking God to restore relationships, dreams, ministries — are we setting the table for reconciliation? Are we clearing space for new growth?

Umbrella faith says:

I’m making room for the rain.

🧱 As we Rebuild: We Construct with Confidence

Psalm 127:1 NIV

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.

Rebuilding is messy. It requires vision, endurance, and trust.

🧱 The Story: The Bell Tower

In a quiet village stood a centuries-old church with a bell tower that had once called the people to prayer, celebration, and mourning. But after a storm shattered its foundation, the tower collapsed. The bell lay buried beneath rubble, silent.

The villagers mourned the loss. Some said it was too damaged to rebuild. Others feared that even if they tried, it would never be the same.

But one morning, a young stonemason — new to the village, unfamiliar with its history — stood at the ruins and said, “Let’s begin.”

He didn’t have all the answers. He didn’t know every tradition. But he believed in the bell. He believed in the sound it once carried. And he believed that if they rebuilt it — stone by stone, prayer by prayer — it could ring again.

So they gathered. Elders brought stories. Children carried bricks. The broken became builders. And slowly, the tower rose — not as a replica, but as a resurrection.

When the bell rang again, it didn’t sound like it used to. It sounded stronger. Wiser. Redeemed.

💬 The Message: Confidence Is Not the Absence of Fear—It’s the Presence of Purpose

To rebuild is to declare that the story isn’t over. It’s to trust that what was torn down can rise again — not in vain, but with vision. Confidence doesn’t come from having all the tools — it comes from knowing the foundation is worth laying.

“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.” — Psalm 127:1

God invites us to rebuild — not alone, but with Him. Not perfectly, but faithfully. Every brick laid in hope becomes a testimony. Every scar becomes part of the architecture.

🕊️ Legacy Tie-In

When we rebuild with confidence, we leave behind more than structures — we leave behind strength. We show others that ruins are not the end. That legacy is not what we preserve — it’s what we dare to reconstruct.

But it also requires faith that acts. James 2:17 reminds us:

James 2:17 NIV

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Paul tells us in Philippians 1:6:

Philippians 1:6 NLT

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.

IN OTHER WORDS:

We can’t rebuild on nostalgia.

We rebuild on promise. On the belief that what God starts, He finishes.

Umbrella faith says:

I’m laying bricks even before the clouds form.

Conclusion

🌱 A Modern Parable: The Farmer and the Forecast

Imagine a farmer who hears that there’s rain coming. He doesn’t wait to see the clouds — he starts plowing. He buys seed. He hires workers. Why? Because he trusts the forecast.

God’s Word is our forecast. His promises are our prediction. The question is: are we planting in faith or waiting for proof?

🙌 The Closing Challenge is to Bring Your Umbrella OPEN UMBRELLA

Today, God is asking: Do you believe I will do what I said?

If you’re praying for healing — are you walking in hope?

If you’re asking for provision — are you budgeting with faith?

If you’re seeking revival — are you preparing the altar?

Let’s not just pack the church. Let’s bring umbrellas. Let’s be a people who prepare for rain before it falls.

🕊️ Final Scripture & Prayer

Let’s conclude now with this Scripture and prayer:

Zechariah 10:1 NLT

Ask the Lord for rain in the spring, for he makes the storm clouds. And he will send showers of rain so every field becomes a lush pasture.

Prayer:

Lord,

We don’t just ask for rain — we prepare for it. We return to You with expectancy. We restore what’s broken with hope. We rebuild with faith. Teach us to live with umbrella faith — ready for the downpour of Your presence, Your promises, and Your power.

Amen.