Sunday Sermon Starter 9/5/11

This week our nation has launched right out of a peaceful and fun-loving holiday into remembering the worst tragedy that has ever occurred on our soil. Next Sunday marks the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks on New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania. As a college freshman I remember vividly the events of that day unfolding before my eyes. Now as a twenty-eight year old husband, father, and preacher I look back on how the last ten years have unfolded and am deeply concerned with the moral and spiritual direction of our land. With that in mind, a few months ago, I preached a sermon entitled “The Restoration of a Nation” which primarily served as a reminder that nations have come back from the brink of outright apostasy before and that hope can spring eternal in America if we will submit ourselves to the Biblical pattern of restoration. With that purpose, we went back to the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and studied how ancient Israel restored righteousness, albeit temporarily, after Cyrus allowed them passage back to their homeland.

Title: The Restoration of a Nation

Text: Ezra and Nehemiah (it requires a bit of jumping between the two)

Main Point: Just as Jerusalem bore marks of desolation physically our society, and societies around the world, bear the marks of spiritual desolation. But because Israel was able to rise as a phoenix from the ashes, national restoration to Divine expectation is possible – Israel’s success story can serve as a pattern to its accomplishing today.

Discussion Points:
1. They Restored True Worship – Israel’s original issues originated in a departure from Divine worship (Exodus 32, 1 Kings 12). Additionally, Israel would forsake God throughout their history (Malachi 1:6-8). A nation cannot expect a right relationship with God when it refuses to worship God correctly, but when they returned home the Jews restored true worship even before the temple was finished (Ezra 3:1-5). God still seeks true worship among His people (John 4:20-24).

2. They Repented of Their Sins – Sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:1-2; notice Isaiah’s further discussion of sin through Isaiah 59:3-14). With such a turbulent background the suffering of the people lead them to come to Ezra and tearfully repent, recognizing their separation from God (Ezra 10:1-4). Luke 13:1-5 records some who were satisfied in their sins because the punishment of others seemed greater than their own. Jesus had to remind them that all sin results in death – even their own.

3. They Read the Bible – At its core this was the root of all the other problems – they quit read and living the scriptures! Their attitude toward the Bible was as king Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:21-23). When the leadership of a people does not respect the scriptures how can they expect their people to? When the people returned home, though, they immediately initiated a public Bible reading (Nehemiah 8:1-6). It is that same humility and devotion that must define God’s people, rejecting political correctness and dedicating themselves to serving God.

Hopefully this sermon can instill hope in the lives of American Christians to know that as far down the devil’s road Israel was in their day, future generations saw the need to restore godly principles. Such is greatly needed on a day in which we remember attacks that some wished would have been the death nail to America. Our best days can be before us; but preachers, let’s spend some more time encouraging the people to do right!

-Andy Brewer