4.8.35 7.25.2021 Nehemiah 8.9-12 Rejoice!

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Entice: Our messages from Nehemiah this summer may have been hard sledding for you. All the returning, reviewing, repairing, resourcing, and reviving we have discussed can be as exhausting as it is exhilarating. Today I want to talk about the outcome-the gift we are able to unwrap because we have done all the hard work. The hard work which produces hope should cause us to rejoice.

Engage: Christmas comes chronologically at the end of the calendar year. During the Christmas season we begin the church year with a joyful celebration. That celebration sets the stage for everything we hope to do in the following year. Today we sit 5 months out from Christmas. The idea of Christmas in July reminds us that the Christian life should feel like a child unwrapping gifts on Christmas day.

Expand: To be sure 2021 will pass just like 2020. The people we have met this summer had experienced their own kind of "social-distancing." The exile transported them to a strange land where they were able to rediscover some of the essential characteristics of faithfulness, obedience, and listening. Last week we discussed

their hard work. Today we discuss the party.

Nehemiah 8:9–12 ESV

9 And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the Lord your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” 11 So the Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be quiet, for this day is holy; do not be grieved.” 12 And all the people went their way to eat and drink and to send portions and to make great rejoicing, because they had understood the words that were declared to them.

Excite: Holy Days like Christmas--and today--give us the chance to relish what God has done for us. The exiles, having worked so hard, were tempted to weep because of their sins. They needed laughter, engagement—a Holy-day!

Explore:

Oh the gifts we open when God's word dwells richly within us!

Explain: When we allow God's Word to define us and give us direction we will open several wonderful presents!

First off there is…

1 Joy!

1.1 Joy comes from hearing about God's faithfulness.

1.2 Joy comes from sharing in God's holiness.

1.3 Joy comes from understanding God's goodness.

Next we can open the gift of…

2 Worship!

2.1 Community reaction.

2.2 Obedient repentance.

2.3 Appropriate response.

The gifts of Joy and Worship create a…

3 Celebration!

3.1 Embracing what God has provided.

3.2 Enjoying what God has provided.

3.3 Sharing what God has provided.

Shut Down:

Today is not really Christmas. July is not December. It is the Dog days of summer. Despite the realities of calendar, clock, and thermometer we can embrace the reality of God's surpassing holiness, goodness, graciousness, kindness, and grace in Jesus Christ. Celebrate! Worship! Rejoice! Yes we will do so in seasonally specific ways come December; until then there will be victories, reunions, parties, picnics, and "normal" Sunday gatherings for the preaching of the Word and

sharing of the Supper.

We celebrate the central act of Christmas every Lord's Day when we pray to the Word who became incarnate and give thanks for His life, His death, burial, &resurrection.

Joy to the World!