Serving the Lord Together

Weekly Update – July 3rd, 2025 

As we continued in our series through the Old Testament book of Nehemiah on Sunday, we came to chapter 5 and the call from Nehemiah to the people of God to serve the Lord together.  The reason for this call from Nehemiah was due to the fragmented groups that were crying out for help in verses 1-5.  The first group were the poor.  They were hungry and looking for grain so that they could eat and keep alive (5:2).  The second group were the middle class.  They were mortgaging their fields, vineyards and houses in order to get food (6:3).  The third group were the extremely poor.  They were just trying to pay the king’s tax.  Yet to do this, they were having to sell their sons and daughters into slavery to their own kinsmen to borrow the money they needed (6:5).  Then there were those in the last group.  They were the nobles, the merchants and officials.  Compared to the other groups, they would be classified as the rich. 

The problem in Jerusalem at this time wasn’t that there were different classes of people though.  The reality is that within a city, or even within a church, there will be some who have more than others and others who will be gifted in greater ways, while at the same time, there will be some who are just trying to make it from week to week.  The issue here in Nehemiah 5 is that these rich officials were taking advantage of the poorer workers on the wall, many who had sacrificed their ability to make money and provide for their families because they saw the rebuilding of the wall as such a priority. 

Therefore, Nehemiah calls these rich nobles and officials to repentance (5:11).  Why?  For starters it wasn’t right that the rich were exploiting the poor for their own gain.  But even more than that, I believe that Nehemiah calls the rich out because he knew that the wall would not progress if the people were not working together.  Having some dedicated to the mission of God and others dedicated to the mission of themselves would only destroy the kingdom work being done.  This is true, not only with rebuilding a wall, but also within the church.  If God’s people can’t serve the Lord together, then ultimately, they too will crumble.

What does serving the Lord together look like?  Well, currently for our church, I believe serving the Lord together can be displayed in three different ways.

First, we must be together in our mission.  Our mission at First Baptist Church is to proclaim and display the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This mission is taken right out of Matthew 5:13-16.  What this means is that our desire as a church is to make Christ known through our words, as well as make him known through our actions.  This means that as a church, we must, together, speak what is right and true, as well as live lives that testify to this truth.  This requires a commitment from every single one of us to gospel sharing as well as gospel living. 

Second, we must be together in our ministries.  I love that our church both pursues each other and our community.  We have many different avenues to connect, whether it be through Home Groups, Vacation Bible School, our clothes closet or Awana.  Yet these ministries can’t be the passion of just a few people.  Not that every single person should be apart of every single ministry, but as a church, we should all be longing to see each ministry used in such a way that furthers the name of Christ.  With that said, we should all make the most of the opportunities before us and commit to the common effort of our ministries as we seek to serve the Lord together. 

Third, our finances.  I hate making appeals for money.  By God’s grace he has sustained our church, and I trust he will continue to sustain us as long as we are faithful to him. All of that to say, we don’t often make appeals for funds.  But there is an opportunity coming up where funds will be needed and we will all be required to be of like mind here.  This opportunity is our building remodel.  We recently completed all of the necessary work on the outside of the building.  But now comes to part many of us have been waiting for: the inside remodel.  That means that for us as a church to see this project forward, we will all have to give and potentially sacrifice a bit together, so that we may continue to serve the Lord in this location. 

For kingdom work to be accomplished, we, as God’s people, must serve the Lord together.  Whether it be building a wall, or reaching a community, if God’s people are seeking after selfish gain, then the mission set before us will not succeed.  We must be willing to selflessly forsake our own pursuits, and with generous compassion, consider, not only others interests above our own (Phil. 2:4), but our collective pursuit of kingdom of God as his church.  Then, with one mind, one hope, and one goal, we can accomplish what is set before us, as we serve the Lord together. 

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson