Guest speaker Joy Gascoigne spoke tonight from 1 Peter 2:5 which tells us ‘you are being built together.’ The church is meant to live for the glory of God; individuals are described as ‘living stones’ who are being built together to make a house fit for God to live in.
Nehemiah in the Old Testament gives us an example of what this building together looks like – even when this involves problems, difficulties, opposition and setbacks.
Nehemiah was involved in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem after the exile. Tearing things down is a lot easier than building up, but ultimately is less rewarding! Building the church is not easy but is immensely rewarding.
To build successfully, words and action must go together (see Col 3:17). Today’s decisions make tomorrow’s stepping stones (see Neh 2:13). We have to start building; there is a need for both sowing and reaping.
Good connections are necessary to produce good results. Who do we connect with? How do we influence those around us? Nehemiah had great influence on all around him; how do we impact others and how are we impacted by others? Church building is a corporate effort; we need each other.