100 Days to a Healthier ChurchSample

Day 44 (Sunday)

Today’s Big Idea: Nehemiah’s call to rebuild the temple. There may be no better example of how to pull a team of people together to restore a place of ministry and worship than the story of Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. So we will spend this entire week looking at the details of this important task.

Key Verse: “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:5).

Thoughts to Consider: Nehemiah was a Jew, but he was born a captive in the foreign land of Persia (modern-day Iraq). When he heard the news that Jerusalem, the home city of his ancestors, was in ruins, he was saddened. Like Nehemiah, many people in the church will be inspired into action in a similar way. They may not even remember the days when the church was thriving, but it’s their home, so when they feel sad that it’s not all it could be, that godly sorrow should spur them to action.

Just like the king gave Nehemiah the authority he needed to do the task, so God has done that for us. As you take some time to share your burden for your church, remember to honor its past, sorrow over its current needs, and express hope for its future. Nehemiah felt and expressed all of those, and it set him on the path for a successful enterprise.

There are Nehemiahs in your church. Ask God for the eyes to see who they are and call them into action. If a pagan king can be used by God to recognize the godly sorrow in Nehemiah, he can use you to see the same sorrow and the same call in others.

(Note for the pastor: Depending on the nature of your project and other factors in your church, today is likely the day you’ll announce the project to the church body and start recruiting Project Team members. This will happen either through voluntary signups, specific requests, or a combination of the two.)