The Heights Fellowship

Sunday, April 30, 2006

Building A Faith To Last A Lifetime: Breach in the Wall


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  • Nehemiah 5 (New American Standard Bible)

    1Now there was a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers.

    2For there were those who said, "We, our sons and our daughters are many; therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live."

    3There were others who said, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine."

    4Also there were those who said, "We have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards.

    5"Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children like their children Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves, and some of our daughters are forced into bondage already, and we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others."

    6Then I was very angry when I had heard their outcry and these words.

    7I consulted with myself and contended with the nobles and the rulers and said to them, "You are exacting usury, each from his brother!" Therefore, I held a great assembly against them.

    8I said to them, "We according to our ability have redeemed our Jewish brothers who were sold to the nations; now would you even sell your brothers that they may be sold to us?" Then they were silent and could not find a word to say.

    9Again I said, "The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

    10"And likewise I, my brothers and my servants are lending them money and grain. Please, let us leave off this usury.

    11"Please, give back to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive groves and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money and of the grain, the new wine and the oil that you are exacting from them."

    12Then they said, "We will give it back and will require nothing from them; we will do exactly as you say " So I called the priests and took an oath from them that they would do according to this promise.

    13I also shook out the front of my garment and said, "Thus may God shake out every man from his house and from his possessions who does not fulfill this promise; even thus may he be shaken out and emptied " And all the assembly said, "Amen!" And they praised the LORD. Then the people did according to this promise.


    14Moreover, from the day that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of King Artaxerxes, for twelve years, neither I nor my kinsmen have eaten the governor's food allowance.

    15But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

    16I also applied myself to the work on this wall; we did not buy any land, and all my servants were gathered there for the work.

    17Moreover, there were at my table one hundred and fifty Jews and officials, besides those who came to us from the nations that were around us.

    18Now that which was prepared for each day was one ox and six choice sheep, also birds were prepared for me; and once in ten days all sorts of wine were furnished in abundance Yet for all this I did not demand the governor's food allowance, because the servitude was heavy on this people.

    19Remember me, O my God, for good, according to all that I have done for this people.

Sunday, April 23, 2006

Building A Faith To Last A Lifetime: Next to Him

Sunday, April 16, 2006

Easter 2006: Ghost Story


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  • John 11:1-44 (The Message)

    1A man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2This was the same Mary who massaged the Lord's feet with aromatic oils and then wiped them with her hair. It was her brother Lazarus who was sick. 3So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Master, the one you love so very much is sick."

    4When Jesus got the message, he said, "This sickness is not fatal. It will become an occasion to show God's glory by glorifying God's Son."

    5Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6but oddly, when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed on where he was for two more days. 7After the two days, he said to his disciples, "Let's go back to Judea."

    8They said, "Rabbi, you can't do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and you're going back?"

    9Jesus replied, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in daylight doesn't stumble because there's plenty of light from the sun. 10Walking at night, he might very well stumble because he can't see where he's going."

    11He said these things, and then announced, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. I'm going to wake him up."

    12The disciples said, "Master, if he's gone to sleep, he'll get a good rest and wake up feeling fine." 13Jesus was talking about death, while his disciples thought he was talking about taking a nap.

    14Then Jesus became explicit: "Lazarus died. 15And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn't there. You're about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let's go to him."

    16That's when Thomas, the one called the Twin, said to his companions, "Come along. We might as well die with him."

    17When Jesus finally got there, he found Lazarus already four days dead. 18Bethany was near Jerusalem, only a couple of miles away, 19and many of the Jews were visiting Martha and Mary, sympathizing with them over their brother. 20Martha heard Jesus was coming and went out to meet him. Mary remained in the house.

    21Martha said, "Master, if you'd been here, my brother wouldn't have died. 22Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you."

    23Jesus said, "Your brother will be raised up."

    24Martha replied, "I know that he will be raised up in the resurrection at the end of time."

    25"You don't have to wait for the End. I am, right now, Resurrection and Life. The one who believes in me, even though he or she dies, will live. 26And everyone who lives believing in me does not ultimately die at all. Do you believe this?"

    27"Yes, Master. All along I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God who comes into the world."

    28After saying this, she went to her sister Mary and whispered in her ear, "The Teacher is here and is asking for you."

    29The moment she heard that, she jumped up and ran out to him. 30Jesus had not yet entered the town but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31When her sympathizing Jewish friends saw Mary run off, they followed her, thinking she was on her way to the tomb to weep there. 32Mary came to where Jesus was waiting and fell at his feet, saying, "Master, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died."

    33When Jesus saw her sobbing and the Jews with her sobbing, a deep anger welled up within him. 34He said, "Where did you put him?"

    "Master, come and see," they said. 35Now Jesus wept.

    36The Jews said, "Look how deeply he loved him."

    37Others among them said, "Well, if he loved him so much, why didn't he do something to keep him from dying? After all, he opened the eyes of a blind man."

    38Then Jesus, the anger again welling up within him, arrived at the tomb. It was a simple cave in the hillside with a slab of stone laid against it. 39Jesus said, "Remove the stone."

    The sister of the dead man, Martha, said, "Master, by this time there's a stench. He's been dead four days!"

    40Jesus looked her in the eye. "Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

    41Then, to the others, "Go ahead, take away the stone."

    They removed the stone. Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, "Father, I'm grateful that you have listened to me. 42I know you always do listen, but on account of this crowd standing here I've spoken so that they might believe that you sent me."

    43Then he shouted, "Lazarus, come out!" 44And he came out, a cadaver, wrapped from head to toe, and with a kerchief over his face.

    Jesus told them, "Unwrap him and let him loose."

    The Message (MSG)
    Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Building A Faith To Last A Lifetime: How To Be a Rubble Rouser


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  • Nehemiah 4 (New American Standard Bible)

    1Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews.

    2He spoke in the presence of his brothers and the wealthy men of Samaria and said, "What are these feeble Jews doing? Are they going to restore it for themselves? Can they offer sacrifices? Can they finish in a day? Can they revive the stones from the dusty rubble even the burned ones?"

    3Now Tobiah the Ammonite was near him and he said, "Even what they are building--if a fox should jump on it, he would break their stone wall down!"

    4Hear, O our God, how we are despised! Return their reproach on their own heads and give them up for plunder in a land of captivity.

    5Do not forgive their iniquity and let not their sin be blotted out before You, for they have demoralized the builders.

    6So we built the wall and the whole wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.

    7Now when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem went on, and that the breaches began to be closed, they were very angry.

    8All of them conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause a disturbance in it.
    Discouragement Overcome
    9But we prayed to our God, and because of them we set up a guard against them day and night.

    10Thus in Judah it was said,
    "The strength of the burden bearers is failing,
    Yet there is much rubbish;
    And we ourselves are unable
    To rebuild the wall."

    11Our enemies said, "They will not know or see until we come among them, kill them and put a stop to the work."

    12When the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times, "They will come up against us from every place where you may turn,"

    13then I stationed men in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, the exposed places, and I stationed the people in families with their swords, spears and bows.

    14When I saw their fear, I rose and spoke to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people: "Do not be afraid of them; remember the Lord who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your houses."

    15When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had frustrated their plan, then all of us returned to the wall, each one to his work.

    16From that day on, half of my servants carried on the work while half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows and the breastplates; and the captains were behind the whole house of Judah.

    17Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon.

    18As for the builders, each wore his sword girded at his side as he built, while the trumpeter stood near me.

    19I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall far from one another.

    20"At whatever place you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us."

    21So we carried on the work with half of them holding spears from dawn until the stars appeared.

    22At that time I also said to the people, "Let each man with his servant spend the night within Jerusalem so that they may be a guard for us by night and a laborer by day."

    23So neither I, my brothers, my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us removed our clothes, each took his weapon even to the water.

    New American Standard Bible (NASB)

    Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Building A Faith To Last A Lifetime: People Throwing Rocks