Rebuilding the Ruins: Ezra & Nehemiah Overview

Well, good morning, church. Today we're beginning a new series in the book of Ezra and Nehemiah.

That's page 362 in the Pew Bible. Go ahead and turn there with me. If you're new to the Bible,

the big numbers are the chapters, the small numbers are the verses. And in our English

Bibles, Ezra and Nehemiah are two separate books, but originally they were one single story

about how God stayed faithful to His promises and brought His people back from exile and advanced

His kingdom. So this spring and through the summer, we're going to be walking through both of these

books together in a series that we're calling Rebuilding the Ruins. Now, as you know, as Jeff

and Birch mentioned, we're in the middle of a building program and a capital campaign as a church.

And if you've been around churches for a while, you know that oftentimes pastors will gravitate

towards these books when their church is doing a building project. I mean, hey, they're building

stuff in Ezra and Nehemiah. We're building stuff. It seems like the perfect fit, right?

Well, that is not why we're doing Ezra and Nehemiah in this season as a church. We're looking at Ezra

Nehemiah because these books at the end of the day are actually about mission.

They're about being the people of God, relying on the greatness of God to fulfill the mission of God.

It's easy as a church to forget that we are a people with a mission. Last Sunday, we celebrated

Easter, and the risen Jesus across the Gospels and into Acts has commissioned us to go forth into all

the nations, declaring the victory that he has won, declaring that Christ is king, that he's ended

our exile from God, and now in the midst of the nations, we're meant to be salt and light in his

name, advancing God's kingdom of grace and renewal until Christ returns and makes all things new.

But we forget sometimes that we're meant to be this people with this mission.

How does that happen for us? Well, for starters, life gets busy, doesn't it? There's work, there's

family, there's school, there's bills, there's Netflix, there's Reddit, there's the incessant flow

of notifications on our phones, and with all that going on, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger

picture that God has a mission for us. But on top of that, it can be easy in a city like ours,

where people are so transient to lose sight of the mission. After all, every August and September,

there's a whole new crop of people who will arrive for work or for school, and many of them will come

already looking for a church. And they'll land here at Trinity, and they'll be a new part of our family,

and that's really exciting. It's one of the joys of the work that God has given us.

But with all those new faces, almost every year, it's easy to forget that our mission as a church

isn't merely to be a home for Christians who are new to the area. Our mission is also to introduce

new people to Christ, people who've never heard of Christ, or people who've never really heard what

the gospel is all about. We're meant to be a place where people are coming to know Jesus for the first

time. God has a mission for us. Third, it can be especially easy to lose sight of God's mission during a

building project, believe it or not. We can get more animated by stone and steel and dollars and cents

than about why we're doing any of it in the first place. That is the mission God has given us,

to see His grace transform our city. And fourth, it can be easy to lose sight of the mission God has given us

when we feel like we've messed it up and fallen short and failed the first time around.

Is there hope for Christians, for churches who've gotten off track, who've gotten distracted by the

busyness, by the transients, maybe by the buildings? Can God still use us? Does He still have a plan for us

in the advance of His kingdom of grace? And that's where Ezra and Nehemiah come in.

God is a God who rebuilds the ruins and who invites us, even us, to join Him in the work.

So today, I want to give an overview as best I can of Ezra and Nehemiah. We're going to walk through

the details chapter by chapter in the coming weeks. But before that, I want to hopefully help us see

the whole mountain range before we get up close and start the ascent. And that will help us, I hope,

not to lose our way along the way in our sermon series. And if we take a step back and take in this

book as a whole, I think the mountain range looks something like this. That after all seems lost,

God advances His kingdom in sovereign faithfulness and He restores us, His people, to participate in

the work. After all seems totally lost, God advances His kingdom in sovereign faithfulness and restores

us, His people, to participate in the work. So the sermon this morning is going to have two parts.

First, God, then us. So let's jump into chapter 1, verses 1 through 4, and we'll get started.

Ezra chapter 1, verse 1.

Ezra 1:1

In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,

that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of

Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in

writing. Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of

the earth, and He has charged me to build Him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is

among you of all His people, may His God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah,

and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem.

And let each survivor in whatever place he sojourns be assisted by the men of his place with silver and

gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Now there are two things we see about God, even in these opening verses, that will come up again and

again as this book unfolds. First, God's sovereignty, and second, God's faithfulness.

But in order to really get the fullness of that, we have to pick up the threads of this story.

The first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, is about 539-538 BC. For 50 years, the people of Israel have

been in exile. In other words, they've been a totally conquered people. Their temple, their capital city,

all of it has been burnt to the ground. Their families have been displaced. They're living in a

foreign land under foreign kings far from home. And the worst part about it is that this exile they

were in was ultimately because of their own rebellion against the Lord. Because they had rejected God as

their king in the land that God had given them and worshipped other gods that were no gods at all,

the Lord, after centuries of warning them and warning them through the prophets, finally gave them what

they were asking for. He gave them over to the other gods. And in 587, the Babylonian empire conquered

Jerusalem and burnt it to the ground. And then they could go worship those other gods in exile.

And now Israel lived in exile, in shame, their homeland and their lives in ruins.

But was that going to be the end of the story? Would shame and ruin be the last word? You know,

throughout those dark years of exile, it must have seemed that way on many days. And worse was the

growing realization that this was what we deserved for our sin, for abandoning our allegiance to the Lord.

But through those dark years of exile, there was a light. There was a light that began to shine.

You see, the great prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, they had all foretold the coming destruction

as a result of Israel's sin. But all had foretold something in addition to that.

Isaiah also spoke about a new exodus that would come. And Jeremiah spoke of a new covenant.

And Ezekiel even spoke of a new temple. Glimmers of hope that God had not abandoned his mission

to fill the earth with his glory and to redeem a people for himself. Adam had been cast from the

garden because of his sin. Israel had been cast from the promised land because of their sin.

But neither would be the end of God's story.

In 539 BC, Cyrus, the Persian, conquers Babylon. And a new chapter begins in world history.

But God begins a new chapter in redemptive history. The ruins will be rebuilt. The promises will be kept.

And the kingdom of God will advance.

And all of this is as a result, on the one hand, of God's sovereignty.

Look again at verse 1 where it says,

The Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom.

In and through the human events of history, God's hand is at work bringing his good purposes to pass.

We're going to find this throughout Ezra and Nehemiah.

You know, if you read through this sort of twofold book of Ezra and Nehemiah,

you'll notice that there aren't any so-called miracles in this book.

If you're looking for red seas to be parted in two,

if you're looking for fire to come down from heaven,

you're not going to find it in Ezra and Nehemiah.

And yet, God is no less active.

The hand of God is at work stirring the hearts of kings,

protecting the journeys of his people,

empowering his people in the face of opposition,

humbling his people in the face of their sin,

bringing about genuine repentance and change.

The events of 539 were no accident.

God was not caught off guard when Cyrus, king of Persia,

ousted the Babylonians and began to rule.

No, the God, the Lord of heaven and earth,

who holds every human heart in his hand,

was bringing his plans to pass.

But the exercise of God's sovereignty

isn't some arbitrary display of force.

The second thing we see about God in Ezra and Nehemiah

is that God is above all faithful to his promises.

The whole book begins this way.

Look again at verse 1.

That the word of the Lord

by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled.

In Jeremiah chapter 29,

Jeremiah 29 · chapter mention

God promised the Israelite exiles

that one day he would end Babylon's tyranny

and bring his people home.

And this book starts by saying

that God made good on his promise.

God's glory is displayed

not just in that he is sovereign,

but that he is sovereignly faithful,

keeping his word forever without fail,

even in the face of our faithlessness.

This is the stunning fact of Ezra and Nehemiah.

None of God's faithfulness to the people

was deserved.

The people hadn't loved God with their whole hearts.

The people hadn't loved their neighbors as themselves.

In fact, as Ezra and Nehemiah unfolds,

we'll find that they still need a rescuer.

God was under no obligation to rescue them,

to restore them,

or to rebuild the ruins they had made.

But God's faithfulness to the unfaithful,

this is the banner that flies over this book

and flies over the whole biblical narrative.

God is faithful to the faithless.

And friends, that's the message that's being sung

in every sunrise,

in every cool rain that falls,

in every crop that grows.

God is faithful to the unfaithful.

Friends, nothing that the Bible says

will stir you,

or electrify you,

or wake you from your sleep,

until you get this utterly profound reality

that you and I have been

completely unfaithful to God,

and yet God has remained faithful to us.

So faithful

that He was willing to take on flesh,

die on a cross,

be raised to new life

so that He could keep His promise

to redeem a people for Himself.

That's how faithful God is

to the faithless.

And the mission of God

will make no sense to us as a church.

We will remain distracted

by our worldly cares,

we'll remain comfortable

with the people who are already like us,

we'll be more excited about

sticks and bricks

than hearts and lives,

until the Holy Spirit

gives us ears to hear

that in the face of our unfaithfulness,

God's been faithful.

after all seems lost,

praise God in His faithfulness,

in His sovereign faithfulness,

He advances His kingdom.

That's the first major thread

running through this whole book.

And the second is this,

that God restores us,

His people,

to participate in the work.

When we take Ezra and Nehemiah

as one story,

we see that it kind of roughly

falls into three parts,

and each part involves

a sort of major element

of the rebuilding

that takes place

in the return from exile.

First, there's the temple,

and second,

there's the law of Moses,

the Torah,

and third,

there are the city walls.

That's sort of the structure

of the book

as it sort of plays out.

Temple, Torah, walls.

Worship, word, city.

In other words,

when God advances His kingdom

and His sovereign faithfulness,

the people make

the worship of God central again.

And they order their lives

around the word of God again.

And they devote themselves

to the rebuilding

of the city of God again.

So first, worship.

We see this in Ezra chapters

one through six.

If you want to just sort of

glance down,

and skim over those six chapters,

the events in this part of the book

take place over a 20-year time period,

roughly from 538 to 516 BC.

And this section of the book

tells the story

of the first generation,

the first remnant

to return from exile

under the leadership

of a man called Zerubbabel

and another called Jeshua,

who's the priest.

We see a list

of that first generation

in chapter two.

And then in chapter three,

they rebuild the altar

and lay the foundation

of the temple.

In chapter four,

they face external opposition

and the building

grinds to a halt.

And then in chapter five,

the rebuilding starts up again

after a 17-year hiatus.

And then in chapter six,

at last,

the temple's finished.

Now, the temple

was the center of worship

under the old covenant.

It was the symbol

that God dwelled

in the midst of his people.

And it was a sign,

it was a signal,

it was a foretaste

that one day,

God's glory would cover the earth

like the waters cover the sea.

It was sort of the beachhead

in the midst

of fallen creation

saying that God

was going to reclaim

his creation again.

And so before anything else,

the first thing

after returning from exile

was the temple.

And we'll see that this work

didn't come without a struggle.

In chapter five,

the people have to be reminded

and exhorted

by two prophets,

Haggai and Zechariah,

to make this work central

and to finish it.

But nonetheless,

the first thing,

the priority,

was the temple.

Now, as New Testament believers,

we don't have a physical temple anymore.

When God became incarnate

in Jesus Christ,

the true and better temple arrived.

Now God really was dwelling

in the midst of his people.

Now the sacrifice for sin

could really happen.

All of that,

all that the temple stood for

was fulfilled in Christ.

And so we don't need

a physical temple anymore.

In fact,

because Jesus poured out

the Holy Spirit on the church,

because we're united to Jesus

through the Spirit by faith,

Paul can even say

that the church

is the temple of God now.

But even though we don't have

or need a physical temple anymore,

the priority of worship remains.

Rather than gathering at the temple

to praise God

and commune with him,

we gather in the name of Jesus

to praise God

and commune with him.

And Jesus says,

where you are gathered,

there I am in the midst.

As we think about our mission then,

as we're encouraged

by the example

of these Old Testament saints

in Ezra 1 through 6,

we see a critical truth

that praising

and thanking God

for his grace,

in other words,

the worship of God,

is the first part

of the church's mission.

Before the doing,

there has to be doxology.

Before going,

there has to be gratitude.

After all,

when we think about mission

in the traditional sense

of the term,

as in taking the gospel

to people who don't know it yet,

why does mission exist?

It's been said

that missions exist

because worship doesn't.

Why do we take the gospel

to people who don't know it yet?

So that they too

might know God

and praise him

and love him

and give him thanks

and worship

as their creator

and redeemer.

In other words,

so that they might worship God

as their God.

That's why missions exists.

And so,

because God through Christ

has forgiven our sin

and brought us out

of our spiritual exile,

our first business

must be worship.

Letting God be God

and thanking him

and praising him

and walking with him

and trusting him.

Of course,

worship isn't something

we just do on Sundays.

We're meant to worship God

Monday through Saturday as well.

I wonder, friend,

what forms does that take for you?

At work,

at home,

during your commute,

with your kids,

at bedtime,

over breakfast,

how are you giving thanks

and praise to God

in word and in deed?

You know,

the beautiful thing

about Christianity

is that that worship of God

will take on

as many forms

and as many sort of

colorful manners

as there are believers

in the church.

How are you giving thanks

and praise to God

throughout your life,

throughout your week

in word and deed?

That might be a good question

to talk about today

over lunch

with your family,

with your friends.

What does that look like for you?

But if worship is meant

to be happening

Monday through Saturday,

it is the particular business

of Sunday.

To gather as the church,

to join our voices together,

to be present physically

with one another

and give our corporate

thanks and praise to God.

I wonder,

how do you prepare

for this great privilege

on Sundays?

I mean,

you're here.

I'm kind of preaching

to the choir.

I get that.

But how are you preparing

for this gathering?

Our Sunday gatherings

are meant to be

a public demonstration

of the supreme worth

of our triune God.

God,

why not spend some time

on Saturday nights

praying and preparing

your heart

for gathered worship?

Why not pray

for the Holy Spirit

to move in power?

Pray for open ears

and soft hearts.

Pray that the praise

of God

in and through the church

will draw men

and women to Christ

who don't know Him yet.

That's what we actually see

in Ezra chapter 6.

Ezra 6 · chapter mention

Flip ahead to the end

of this section

to Ezra chapter 6.

Ezra 6 · chapter mention

After completing the temple

and dedicating it,

the people celebrate

the Passover festival.

And in verse 21

of chapter 6,

we see that it's not just

the people of Israel

who eat the Passover,

but also,

as it says there,

everyone who had joined them

and separated himself

from the uncleanness

of the people of the land

to worship the Lord.

the God of Israel.

In other words,

their neighbors

were turning to God

from idols

to serve the living

and true God.

They joined the feast.

Pray that it would be so

for us as a church as well.

So the people make central

the worship of God again.

And then second,

they order their lives

around the Word of God again.

We see this in Ezra chapter 7-10.

Ezra 7 · chapter mention

Now, if you glance down

at the beginning of chapter 7,

the reign of Artaxerxes

is mentioned.

And that means that the events

of chapter 7-10

happen almost 60 years

years after the first part

of the book

in chapters 1-6.

This is about the year

458 BC.

And it's in these chapters

that the man Ezra

steps onto the stage.

Ezra actually isn't involved

in the rebuilding

of the temple

during that first generation

that returns.

Rather,

he comes

60 years later

on a mission

of the Word.

Look at chapter 7-10.

It says,

Therefore,

Ezra had set his heart

to study the law

of the Lord

and to do it

and to teach

his statutes

and rules

in Israel.

What a wonderful verse.

I am sure

we're going to circle back

around to that one

once we get to those chapters

in our series.

But you see there

that Ezra comes

teaching the Word.

In chapters 7-8,

we read about Ezra's journey

from Babylon to Jerusalem.

And then in chapters 9-10,

we read about Ezra's ministry

once he gets there.

And what we find

is that it is far

from comfortable.

The journey is risky

and dangerous

and the ministry

is difficult.

Ezra shows up

in Jerusalem

and finds

that the people

have actually broken

the law of Moses

by marrying people

outside the faith.

And in so doing,

they're opening themselves

to the danger

of falling into

the worship

of other gods.

the very thing

that put them

into exile

in the first place.

So Ezra has to

call them back

to faithfulness

through confession

and repentance,

back to a sincere

devotion

to the Lord alone.

Friends,

reordering our lives

around the Word of God

is rarely

comfortable for long.

many parts of God's Word

challenge us,

humble us,

even at times

offend us.

But then again,

if God's Word

is actually

God's Word,

isn't that what

we should expect

from time to time?

I take it as a fairly

safe working assumption

that I am not God

and I am not perfect.

I think we can all

agree on that.

And so when God

encounters me

in His Word,

there are going

to be times

when I hear things

I don't expect to hear

because I am not God.

and there are going

to be some things

that I don't want

to hear

because I am not perfect.

There are going

to be things

that challenge

my cultural assumptions

that go against

my feelings.

Sometimes the Word's

going to be like

a sword that pierces

down into soul

and marrow,

Hebrews says.

But here's the good news.

When

like Ezra,

we let the Word of God

take center stage,

something amazing happens.

God moves.

People change.

Communities are transformed.

The prophet Ezekiel

once had a vision

from God

of a valley

of dry bones.

And the bones

were actually symbolic

of the people

of Israel in exile.

Israel.

And then God

tells Ezekiel

to do something

very strange.

He says,

preach to the bones,

Ezekiel.

Now,

if God ever told me

to go down

to Grove Street

Cemetery,

not seminary,

that's a different thing,

cemetery,

and start preaching,

I would probably

ask the elders

for a little counsel.

And yet,

God says to Ezekiel

in this vision,

preach to the dead bones,

Ezekiel.

And so Ezekiel,

in faith,

starts doing just that,

preaching to a valley

of dead bones.

And as the Word

of God

goes forth,

so does the Spirit

of God.

And Ezekiel

sees the bones

resurrected,

and standing before him

is no longer

an open mass grave,

but a living

and breathing

host of men

and women

exceedingly great.

Sometimes we think

that the Word of God

needs to be watered down

or modified

or adjusted

in order for the mission

of God to go forth,

but just the opposite

is true.

The Word of God

brings the Spirit of God,

and the people

come to life.

After all,

people don't need

to hear something

they already know.

People need to hear

something

that we don't know,

that God created

us in His image,

and that even though

we've turned away

and sinned against Him

and that we deserve

His just judgment,

God sent His Son,

Jesus,

as a substitute

who was willingly

judged in our place

so that all who receive Him

can be made right

and accepted by God

and filled with His Spirit

and made truly alive forever.

We need to hear something

that we don't already know.

We need to hear good news.

No one listens to a TED Talk

because you think

you already know that.

No one wants to listen to that.

Listen to a watered-down TED Talk,

right?

Why would we think

anything else in the church?

Ezra shows us

that the mission

of reordering our lives

around the Word

is the only path

to real renewal.

This is when the bones

start taking flesh

and come alive again.

As uncomfortable

as sometimes it is.

the God

who rebuilds ruins

is doing it

through the instrument

of His Word.

And that brings us

to the third part.

They reorder their lives

around the Word of God again

and then third,

they devote themselves

to rebuilding

the city of God again.

This is the main theme

of the 13 chapters

that we call

the book of Nehemiah.

In 445,

a man named Nehemiah,

who was a Jew,

was a cupbearer

to the most powerful man

in the world,

the Persian king,

Artaxerxes.

And this Nehemiah

gets word

way out in Susa,

the capital

of the Persian Empire,

that Jerusalem's walls

remain broken down

and burned.

And this breaks

Nehemiah's heart

so much

that in chapter 2,

he risks

his position

with the king

and requests

to go back

to Jerusalem

to rebuild

the city.

And just like

there was a decree

in chapter 1

that sent that

first generation

of exiles back,

and just like

there was another decree

in chapter 7

that sent Ezra back,

again,

this next section

of the book

starts with another decree

of Artaxerxes

and a miracle of God

sending Nehemiah back

to rebuild the walls.

And the rest

of chapters 2 through 7,

in the midst

of external threats

and internal pressures,

Nehemiah,

along with the people

in Jerusalem,

accomplished something

almost utterly

inconceivable.

In just 52 days,

without a crane,

without a bulldozer,

they rebuild

the city walls

around Jerusalem.

And the rest

of the book

tells about

the covenant renewal

that takes place.

Ezra again

teaches the word

of God

to the people

and they respond

with obedience

and faith

in chapters 8 through 12.

And then the whole book

ends in chapter 13

with Nehemiah

recounting more

of the reforms

he made

during his leadership.

So what are we

to make

of this work

of rebuilding

the city walls?

Well,

from the perspective

of the New Testament,

I think we can

understand it like this.

The city of Jerusalem,

you see,

was always more

than just a city.

In the Old Testament,

it was a city,

but it was a very

symbolic city.

It was not just

the place

where the temple

was housed,

but it was the place

where the great

King David

and all the kings

who came after him

ruled God's kingdom

on earth.

In the book of Psalms,

we actually find

whole psalms

devoted to praising

and adoring Zion,

which is another name

for the city

of Jerusalem,

the city of the king.

This was the place

where the king ruled.

This was the place

where the kingdom of God

touched down to earth

and began its spread

to the nations.

But when Jesus came,

fulfilling all the hopes

of Israel

for their long-awaited

Messiah,

their long-awaited king,

something very surprising

happens.

He doesn't take up

residence in Jerusalem.

After being crucified

for our sins

and resurrected

in indestructible life,

just like God

had said the Messiah

and seed of David

would be,

Jesus didn't ascend

to the throne

in Jerusalem.

He goes one greater

and ascends

to the very throne

of heaven.

He burns a hole

through the sky

and sits

at the right hand

of the Father

in heaven.

And when Christ

ascended and sat

on that throne,

it meant that

his kingdom

on earth

would no longer

be confined

to a single city

in a single country.

Because Christ

sits on the throne

of heaven,

the whole earth

is his rightful

dominion now.

Do you remember

when the disciples

asked Jesus

after his resurrection

if this was the time

when he was going

to restore

the kingdom to Israel?

Do you remember

what he said?

He said,

oh, you don't get it yet.

After I ascend

to the Father

and pour out

my spirit on you,

you're going to be

my witnesses

not just in Jerusalem

and Judea

but to Samaria

and to the ends

of the earth.

So now,

wherever the church

of God

gathers in the name

of the ascended

King Jesus,

whether it's in

New Haven

or whether it's

in New Delhi, India

or whether it's

in New Castle, Australia,

there, friends,

is an outpost

of the kingdom of God.

There is the presence

of the new Jerusalem.

There is the city

of the king.

And like Nehemiah,

our hearts should long

for the renewal

of this great city,

the city of God,

the church.

We should pray regularly

for its revival,

for its health,

for its growth,

for its stability,

for its safety.

And the beautiful thing

about the book

of Nehemiah

is that as much

as it's about

a great leader

like Nehemiah,

it's as much

about the people

themselves

and how everyone

has a part to play.

So brother, sister,

where is your place

on the wall?

Where are you

building the city?

Where are you

advancing the kingdom?

Yes, there will

be opposition.

Ezra and Nehemiah

assure us of that.

But God is sovereign

and God is faithful

and the Lord Jesus

will be with us always

even to the end

of the age.

There's a song

we sing

that goes like this.

His kingdom

cannot fail.

He rules

or earth

and heaven.

The keys

of death

and hell

are to

our Jesus

given.

lift up your heart.

Lift up your voice.

Rejoice.

Again, I say rejoice.

God is rebuilding

the ruins, friends,

and he invites you

to join him

in worship,

in the word,

and in the building up

of this glorious city,

the church.

Through your gifts

of love

and service

and ministry

and prayer

and witness,

we've all got a part

to play.

this is the mission

before us.

May we follow

our risen Lord

wherever he leads.

Let's pray.

Our Father,

we thank you

how you moved

so powerfully

during

this

period of history

so many years ago.

God,

as we look back

and as we read

these stories,

we acknowledge

that

as many great

triumphs

and victories

that you allowed

your people

to have

during those years,

God,

there was many ways

in which the work

was still incomplete.

So,

Father,

as we think about

this mission

that you've called us to,

we acknowledge

that we need you

desperately.

Father,

we need your spirit

to be poured out

upon us.

We need the new hearts

that only the gospel

can bring.

We need the energy

and strength

that only your spirit

can give.

Oh,

God,

we need

our loves

to be realigned,

which is something

only you can do

in your

beautiful

and glorious

grace,

God.

Lord,

would you rebuild

the ruins

of our hearts

and our families

and our churches

and our neighborhoods

would you bring

hope,

God,

and life

and would you

use us?

God,

we humbly ask

that you would

use us as a church

in this great work.

Help us to find

our purpose

and joy

in following you.

We ask all this

in the name of Jesus,

our strong Savior

and in the power

of his Holy Spirit

at work within us.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.