Nehemiah
Nehemiah called God’s people together to a sacred assembly. Neh. 8:18 (KJV) “And they kept the feast seven days; and on the eighth day was a solemn assembly, according unto the manner.”
As an additional reference, the prophet Joel likewise called for a similar assembly. Joel 1:13-14 (NIV)
“Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God. [14] Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord.”
Joel 2:13-16 (NIV) “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. [14] Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing--grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God. [15] Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly. [16] Gather the people, consecrate the assembly; bring together the elders, gather the children…”
The purpose of Nehemiah’s assembly was to:
- Celebrate the completion of the wall.
- Unite the people against external opposition.
- Unite the people to resist further internal corruption and dissention.
- Bring a revival among God’s people
The pattern in Nehemiah chapters 9 & 10 is as followers:
9:1 They gathered together
9:1 They fasted
9:2 They confessed their sins
9:3 They read from God’s Law (1/4 of the day)
Note the order: They stood, read, confessed and worshiped. Honest confession
precedes true worship because we cannot have a right relationship with God if we
hold on to certain sins.
9:4 They confessed their sins (1/4 of the day) and worshiped
9:38 They made an agreement of commitment to follow God
9:38- The leaders ratified the agreement
10:27
10:28 The people – all members of each family – agreed to live by the agreement of
commitment to God
10:29- The Commitment included: 1. A commitment to fully obey God’s Word (10:29)
10:39 2. A commitment of purity (marital, physical, spiritual) (10:30)
3. A commitment to faithfully observe the Lord’s Day (10:31)
4. A commitment to faithfully give the tithes and offerings
5. A commitment to make sure the house of God was taken
10:39 A Summary commitment: Neh. 10:39b (NIV) "We will not neglect the house of our God."
FCC’s Sacred Assembly
Our assembly will include:
- A devotional prelude to spiritually prepare the people. I will prepare daily devotionals taken from the Stand in the Gap devotional guide from Promise Keepers used in conjunction with their 1997 rally in Washington D.C. These will be handed out beginning Sunday, September 16th.
- A message taken from Nehemiah chapters 9 & 10 explaining the purpose of our sacred assembly. The message will be delivered Sunday, September 30th.
- Fasting plans the week leading up to the assembly (September 23rd-30th).
- The assembly itself needs to include:
- Scripture Reading
- Corporate confession of sins
- Personal confession of sins
- Worship
- A declaration of commitment by the church’s leaders with a challenge for all FCCers to participate
- All FCC’s leaders need to be included in the assembly.
Plans:
- Planning meeting – Sunday, September 23rd at 4:00 p.m.
- Devotional Guides will carry on for a couple of weeks past the event.
- Fasting Plans (week of September 23-30):
Explain fasting on September 23rd and let people choose how and when they will fast between the 23rd & 30th. Ask people to make a fasting commitment.
- Send out a card reminder September 26th (Alan)
- On September 30th, in addition to the morning message by Rob, have the elders state their support for the assembly and challenge all FCCers to come.
- Possible idea: design a commitment card with the commitments from Nehemiah and use it a.m. and p.m. Have the church leaders (Staff, elders, deacons) – lead by signing their cards and presenting them first (how?) They need to publicly, verbally state to each point of the commitments, “We will”.
- Print a program that explains the 6 prayer stations with prayer prompts listed for each station with instructions.
- Order of Service:
Call to Worship – “Amazing Grace” (Tomlin version)
Scripture Reading (Including adults, youth & children)
Challenge – Rob
Personal Confession of sins (at prayer stations) – Music playing
Corporate Confession of Sins (read by elders)
Declaration of commitment by the church’s leaders with a challenge for all FCCers
to participate (Commitment Cards)
Worship Set by band
- Have prayer stations where people can spend time with God in confession/pray with someone. The stations center around the 5 commitments from Nehemiah chapter 10 and the cross (total of 6).
- Elder and prayer Counselor at each station available to pray with anyone who wants it.
- The stations will be in the four corners of the room, in the center of the back, and the center of the front (cross)
- The stations each need it’s own identity (décor). Note: The focus is on the positive symbol, not negative symbols which could be used.
Station #1. God’s Word – Large, old Bible, old lamp, candles, children’s Bible
on a low table.
Station #2. Purity – Wedding dress, basin with water and towel, while pillars, white
candles, tooling with white lights/backdrop
Station #3. The Lord’s Day – Communion elements, hymn book, candles, small
cross, old mantle clock, on an 8 ft. table
Station #4. Tithes & Offerings – Offering plate (bag), poster of missions pictures,
piggy bank, globe, tithe envelopes, on a sofa table,
Station #5. The House of God (this can refer both to the physical building at FCC
as well as our bodies as the temple of the H.S.) –
Janitor cart, hand weights, House of Prayer picture,
picture of church
Station #6. The Cross – Large wooden cross (center stage)
- We need a sign for each station so people know where to go.
- Room Set-up:
Curtain pulled across to block stage
Cross on stage (or on the floor) in center, in front of curtain
6 Stations: NW, NE, SW, SE, center rear, center front (cross)
Chairs arranged in a more of a semi-circle, more open in the front
- Light dim throughout service. Other lighting?
No comments:
Post a Comment