God is the Creator of everyone and everything. God is independent, everyone and everything else is dependent upon God. Everyone and everything exist to glorify God. When we fail to worship the Creator, our only option is to worship the created. When it comes to worship, there are only two options. One, we worship the … Read more
Nehemiah 8:18 – And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule. In previous years, not all Jews had made booths (not … Read more
Nehemiah 8:9 – 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. In … Read more
Nehemiah 8:4a – And Ezra stood on a wooden platform that they had made for the purpose. Ezra’s lengthy sermon summarized the Pentateuch (meaning book in five parts), the first five books of the Bible written by Moses. Listening to the sermon were every man and woman who was old enough to understand what was … Read more
Nehemiah 6:16 – And when all our enemies heard of it, all the nations around us were afraid and fell greatly in their own esteem, for they perceived that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. Curiously, the completion of the wall is mentioned in passing with little reflection on Nehemiah’s … Read more
Nehemiah 6:15 – So the wall was finished on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty-two days. Nehemiah’s final response to the attempts to divert, disgrace, and deceive are exemplary. First, he did not lose courage or stop pressing forward. Second, he was discerning and not dissuaded by threats, lies, or manipulation. Third, … Read more
In this sermon from Act Like a Man: Real Men 101, Pastor Mark shows that everyone everywhere is always worshipping something and that, as children of God, men (and women) are called to worship their Heavenly Father by the Spirit through the Son.
In this sermon from Nehemiah 1, Pastor Mark introduces the story of Nehemiah, who was instrumental in the rebuilding of the Temple before one of the biggest revivals in Church history took place.
Genesis 35:10 – And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel. Jacob had fled from his home as an unmarried man roughly 40 years of age. Now, over 20 years later with two wives, … Read more
Worship is war. When we worship God, we are engaged in spiritual warfare against the demonic realm. We read of Jesus Christ, “the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if … Read more
The worship of God is a mega-theme of the entire Bible. In the remainder of this chapter we will provide an overview of worship and how this includes the priorities we hold, money we spend, and activities we choose. To begin with, we will look at two key New Testament Scriptures about worship that help … Read more
Hebrews 13:15–16 – “Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” The typical human life is said to be about … Read more