Putting the "Start" in Restart — Interactive Order of Worship
Pastor Andy Searles
Church Together
Part of Reboot—Restart, Rebuild, Restore, & Return
August 29, 2021

10000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up; it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing
10,000 reasons for my heart to find

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
10,000 years and then forevermore, forevermore…

Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Yes, I’ll worship Your holy name
Lord, I’ll worship Your holy name

Activity 1 - Reflection Questions

1) What is something you have seen completed where you could only acknowledge that it got done because God was involved?

2) Think of any experience when you were able to stay “WE did it”. What were some of the components necessary to create a “we” environment?

3) How can you become more “we” centered than “Me’ Centered?

King of My Heart

Let the King of my heart
Be the mountain where I run
The fountain I drink from
Oh, He is my song

Let the King of my heart
Be the shadow where I hide
The ransom for my life
Oh, He is my song

‘Cause You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh

Let the King of my heart
Be the wind inside my sails
The anchor in the waves
Oh, He is my song
Let the King of my heart
Be the fire inside my veins
The echo of my days
Oh, He is my song

‘Cause You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh
You are good
You are good, oh oh

You’re never gonna let
You’re never gonna let me down

‘Cause You are good
Good, oh oh
You are good
Good, oh oh
You are good
Good, oh oh
You are good
Good, oh oh

Scripture Focus & Sermon Notes

Nehemiah 6:15-19, Nehemiah 7:1-5, and Nehemiah 8 & 9 (HCSB)

The wall was completed in fifty-two days, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Elul. When all our enemies heard this, all the surrounding nations were intimidated and lost their confidence, for they realized that this task had been accomplished by our God.

During those days, the nobles of Judah sent many letters to Tobiah, and Tobiah’s letters came to them. For many in Judah were bound by oath to him, since he was a son-in-law of Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan had married the daughter of Meshullam son of Berechiah. These nobles kept mentioning Tobiah’s good deeds to me, and they reported my words to him. And Tobiah sent letters to intimidate me.

When the wall had been rebuilt and I had the doors installed, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. Then I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem, along with Hananiah, commander of the fortress, because he was a faithful man who feared God more than most. I said to them, “Do not open the gates of Jerusalem until the sun is hot, and let the doors be shut and securely fastened while the guards are on duty. Station the citizens of Jerusalem as guards, some at their posts and some at their homes.” The city was large and spacious, but there were few people in it, and no houses had been built yet. Then my God put it into my mind to assemble the nobles, the officials, and the people to be registered by genealogy. I found the genealogical record of those who came back first, and I found the following written in it.

All the people gathered together at the square in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses that the Lord had given Israel. On the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate, he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively to the book of the law. Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform made for this purpose. Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah, and Maaseiah stood beside him on his right; to his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hash-baddanah, Zechariah, and Meshullam. Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted all the people said, “Amen, Amen! ” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah, who were Levites, explained the law to the people as they stood in their places. They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read. Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared, since today is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your stronghold.” And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still, since today is holy. Do not grieve.” Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration, because they had understood the words that were explained to them.

On the second day, the family leaders of all the people, along with the priests and Levites, assembled before Ezra the scribe to study the words of the law. They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in booths during the festival of the seventh month. So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, just as it is written.” The people went out, brought back branches, and made booths for themselves on each of their rooftops, and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate, and the square by the Gate of Ephraim. The whole community that had returned from exile made booths and lived in them. They had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy. Ezra read out of the book of the law of God every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was an assembly, according to the ordinance.

On the twenty-fourth day of this month the Israelites assembled; they were fasting, wearing sackcloth, and had put dust on their heads. Those of Israelite descent separated themselves from all foreigners, and they stood and confessed their sins and the guilt of their fathers. While they stood in their places, they read from the book of the law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day and spent another fourth of the day in confession and worship of the Lord their God. Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani stood on the raised platform built for the Levites and cried out loudly to the Lord their God. Then the Levites — Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah — said, “Stand up. Praise Yahweh your God from everlasting to everlasting.”

Praise Your glorious name,
and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise.
You alone are Yahweh.
You created the heavens,
the highest heavens with all their host,
the earth and all that is on it,
the seas and all that is in them.
You give life to all of them,
and the heavenly host worships You.
You are Yahweh,
the God who chose Abram
and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans,
and changed his name to Abraham.
You found his heart faithful in Your sight,
and made a covenant with him
to give the land of the Canaanites,
Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites,
Jebusites, and Girgashites —
to give it to his descendants.
You have kept Your promise,
for You are righteous.
You saw the oppression of our ancestors in Egypt
and heard their cry at the Red Sea.
You performed signs and wonders against Pharaoh,
all his officials, and all the people of his land,
for You knew how arrogantly they treated our ancestors.
You made a name for Yourself
that endures to this day.
You divided the sea before them,
and they crossed through it on dry ground.
You hurled their pursuers into the depths
like a stone into churning waters.
You led them with a pillar of cloud by day,
and with a pillar of fire by night,
to illuminate the way they should go.
You came down on Mount Sinai,
and spoke to them from heaven.
You gave them impartial ordinances, reliable instructions,
and good statutes and commands.
You revealed Your holy Sabbath to them,
and gave them commands, statutes, and instruction
through Your servant Moses.
You provided bread from heaven for their hunger;
You brought them water from the rock for their thirst.
You told them to go in and possess the land
You had sworn to give them.
But our ancestors acted arrogantly;
they became stiff-necked and did not listen to Your commands.
They refused to listen
and did not remember Your wonders
You performed among them.
They became stiff-necked and appointed a leader
to return to their slavery in Egypt.
But You are a forgiving God,
gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in faithful love,
and You did not abandon them.
Even after they had cast an image of a calf
for themselves and said,
“This is your God who brought you out of Egypt,”
and they had committed terrible blasphemies,
You did not abandon them in the wilderness
because of Your great compassion.
During the day the pillar of cloud
never turned away from them,
guiding them on their journey.
And during the night the pillar of fire
illuminated the way they should go.
You sent Your good Spirit to instruct them.
You did not withhold Your manna from their mouths,
and You gave them water for their thirst.
You provided for them in the wilderness 40 years
and they lacked nothing.
Their clothes did not wear out,
and their feet did not swell.
You gave them kingdoms and peoples
and assigned them to be a boundary.
They took possession
of the land of Sihon king of Heshbon
and of the land of Og king of Bashan.
You multiplied their descendants
like the stars of heaven
and brought them to the land
You told their ancestors to go in and take possession of it.
So their descendants went in and possessed the land:
You subdued the Canaanites who inhabited the land before them
and handed their kings and the surrounding peoples over to them,
to do as they pleased with them.
They captured fortified cities and fertile land
and took possession of well-supplied houses,
cisterns cut out of rock, vineyards,
olive groves, and fruit trees in abundance.
They ate, were filled,
became prosperous, and delighted in Your great goodness.
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You.
They flung Your law behind their backs
and killed Your prophets
who warned them
in order to turn them back to You.
They committed terrible blasphemies.
So You handed them over to their enemies,
who oppressed them.
In their time of distress, they cried out to You,
and You heard from heaven.
In Your abundant compassion
You gave them deliverers, who rescued them
from the power of their enemies.
But as soon as they had relief,
they again did what was evil in Your sight.
So You abandoned them to the power of their enemies,
who dominated them.
When they cried out to You again,
You heard from heaven and rescued them
many times in Your compassion.
You warned them to turn back to Your law,
but they acted arrogantly
and would not obey Your commands.
They sinned against Your ordinances,
which a person will live by if he does them.
They stubbornly resisted,
stiffened their necks, and would not obey.
You were patient with them for many years,
and Your Spirit warned them through Your prophets,
but they would not listen.
Therefore, You handed them over to the surrounding peoples.
However, in Your abundant compassion,
You did not destroy them or abandon them,
for You are a gracious and compassionate God.
So now, our God — the great, mighty,
and awe-inspiring God who keeps His gracious covenant —
do not view lightly all the hardships that have afflicted us,
our kings and leaders,
our priests and prophets,
our ancestors and all Your people,
from the days of the Assyrian kings until today.
You are righteous concerning all that has come on us,
because You have acted faithfully,
while we have acted wickedly.
Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors
did not obey Your law
or listen to Your commands
and warnings You gave them.
When they were in their kingdom,
with Your abundant goodness that You gave them,
and in the spacious and fertile land You set before them,
they would not serve You or turn from their wicked ways.
Here we are today,
slaves in the land You gave our ancestors
so that they could enjoy its fruit and its goodness.
Here we are — slaves in it!
Its abundant harvest goes to the kings
You have set over us,
because of our sins.
They rule over our bodies
and our livestock as they please.
We are in great distress.

In view of all this, we are making a binding agreement in writing on a sealed document containing the names of our leaders, Levites, and priests.

Message Title: Putting the “Start” in Restart

Completing the Project
• “When God calls a person to a task, first it appears impossible, then difficult, and then it is done” – J Hudson Taylor.
• We boldly proclaim the truth, “If God is for us, who can be against us,” but spend little time realizing that if God were not for us, everything would be against us.

Managing the Process
• Nehemiah entrusted his work and projects to “faithful men who feared God.” Our question is not how do we find these people, but how do I become this person?
• Where are the “watchmen on the walls” today…warning, alerting, and preparing us for the enemies around? Let’s be diligent and keep our eyes open to what is happening.

Starting the Progress
• Nehemiah considered it essential that God’s people understood the word of God as the foundation to their life together as a society and culture. So must we.
• Those who don’t remember the past are condemned to relive it - George Santayana

For the Cause

“For the cause of Christ the King
We give our lives, an offering
‘Til all the earth resounds
With ceaseless praise
To the Son

For the cause of Christ we go
With joy to reap, with faith to sow
As many see
And many put their trust in the Son

Christ we proclaim,
The Name above every name:
For all creation,
Ev’ry nation,
God’s salvation
Through the Son!

For the King once lifted high
To cries of rage, of ‘crucify!’
Endured the cross
As every sin was laid
On the Son

To the King who conquered death
To free the poor and the oppressed
For lasting peace
For life and liberty
In the Son

Let it be my life’s refrain:
To live is Christ, to die is gain;
Deny myself, take up my cross
And follow the Son

Let it be my life’s refrain:
To live is Christ, to die is gain;
Deny myself, take up my cross
And follow the Son

Christ we proclaim,
The Name above every name:
For all creation,
Ev’ry nation,
God’s salvation
Through the Son!

Christ we proclaim,
The Name above every name:
For all creation,
Ev’ry nation,
God’s salvation
Through the Son!

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Better Man Event

Saturday, September 18 7-9PM