What
should the modern church look like? After
150 years of ministry, so now what should we look like? Do we need a pulpit in
today’s modern church?
Do
we need a pulpit today? Is it
important to have a pulpit? Is it
important to have a preacher? Do
we need to have a sermon? Do we
need to read the Bible? Do we
want to know what the Lord says? Do
we want to have a message from the Lord?
Why is it that the right people are never there to hear the latest
sermon?
In the Baptist Church we believe
the Holy Scriptures to be our only standard of faith and practice.
From our statement of Faith in our constitution we read in Article I: “The scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by
inspiration of God, and are the only sufficient, certain and authoritative
rule of all saving knowledge, faith, and obedience.“
From Article IV or our
constitution: “The purpose of
this church shall be the advancement of the kingdom of God according to the
teachings of Jesus Christ. It shall seek to attain this end through public
worship of God; proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ; consistent
Christian living by its members; Christian education; personal and public
evangelism; and, individual, community, national, and international
missions.”
Do
we need a pulpit today in the modern church? (Everyone stand)
Scripture
Text:
Nehemiah 8:1 all the
people assembled as one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told
Ezra the scribe to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had
commanded for Israel. 2 So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the
priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women
and all who were able to understand. 3 He read it aloud from daybreak till
noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men,
women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively
to the Book of the Law. 4 Ezra the scribe stood on a high wooden platform
(pulpit) built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah,
Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah,
Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. 5 Ezra
opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above
them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. 6 Ezra praised the LORD,
the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded,
"Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their
faces to the ground. 7 The Levites--Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub,
Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah--instructed
the people in the Law while the people were standing there. 8 They read from
the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the
people could understand what was being read. 9
Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites
who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is sacred to
the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been
weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.
10 Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and
send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord.
Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength." 11 The Levites
calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do
not grieve." 12 Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send
portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood
the words that had been made known to them.
In today’s scripture
Nehemiah and the Hebrews had just finished building the wall around the city
of Jerusalem. The people were
counted along with their possessions and the process of settling down in their
now secure city was being finalized. One
of the first orders of business was worship.
Now the walls were built and the people could again feel secure within
the newly completed fortress.
I.
The People Assembled
together. The church is the
called out ones. They assembled
together as one man. They were
together. The people who believe
in a one true, living God got together to worship the One and only.
This was their priority. There is only one who is worthy.
He is our Heavenly Father.
II.
The People called for a
preacher: Ezra, the scribe,
was called to bring the word of the Lord.
They told Ezra to bring the Law of Moses that was given from the Lord
to the people. The people wanted
to hear the law of God. They
wanted to hear from the Lord. They
wanted to know the Lord’s Word for them.
Do we today want to hear the word of the Lord?
Will we accept the Word of God from a man?
Why a man? This is God’s
chosen way of bringing his message to the world.
Jesus was a man. The
disciples were men and there were some who were women.
Men, women, and all that could understand came to hear the Law.
III.
The People Made a Place for the Word.
They built a platform and a
pulpit made of wood for Ezra who would read.
They wanted to see and to hear the man of God with the Word of God.
From daybreak until noon they listened to the word of the Lord.
All the people listened attentively to the Word.
How important it is to hear what the Lord has to say? How important is it to you?
IV.
The People Bowed Down to Worship.
When the people heard the word of the Lord they worshiped by bowing
before the Lord. They said Amen,
Amen or so be it as the Lord has said. They
wanted to honor the Lord by coming to hear what He had to say.
They stayed long, listened attentively, and they bowed to give
themselves to the Lord. Amen,
Amen.
V.
The People heard the Word Clearly.
The Levites then explained the law to the people.
The people understood what the Lord meant.
The hermeneutic or interpretation was given to the people.
What does it mean? If you
knew what the Lord meant in the Bible would you follow?
VI.
The People Wept When They Heard the Word.
They were sad because of the sorrow of their sin.
But they were told to keep this day sacred to the Lord.
VII.
The People Went To Rejoice Because They Understood the Word.
They gave to the poor and they
served the Lord in accordance to what the preacher said.
VIII.
Conclusion:
Do we need a pulpit in today’s modern church? Yes, if we want to hear a message from the Lord.
God chose to send his message through the word preached and lived by
God’s messengers. Will we hear
Him?