~ Six-Hour Sermon ~
April 21-28, 2008

“Ezra praised the Lord, the great God: and all the people lifted their hands and responded, ‘Amen! Amen!’ Then they bowed down and worshipped the Lord with their faces to the ground.” Nehemiah 8:6

How would you react if I asked you to come and hear a sermon that would last from daybreak until noon…and what if I told you that you would have to stand during the entire sermon? You’d probably say, “Preacher…you are not going to grow a church with that kind of service.”

Well, believe it or not…one of the most powerful spiritual moments in the entire Bible came after a six-hour sermon. Yes, you read that correctly…a six hour sermon! At Second, we’ve been studying the book of Nehemiah and the story of his passion to see God honored and the wall of Jerusalem rebuilt. And in chapter eight of Nehemiah, a remarkable story unfolds. After God’s people had rebuilt the wall of Jerusalem, a godly scribe and priest named Ezra stood up in front of the people (perhaps tens of thousands of them) and started reading God’s Word for six hours…from daybreak until noon. Ezra didn’t do it for show…he didn’t do it to break a record for how long-winded a preacher could be. No…he did it because he (and all the people) valued the Word of God. You see, they were so thrilled that the Lord allowed them to rebuild a wall that was sacred to them that they willingly stood for hours to hear about their Creator and His Mighty Word. And when the six-hour sermon was over, they shouted a hearty “Amen!” and they bowed down to worship God.

Now, chances are that you’ve never been on the receiving end of a six-hour sermon, but let me ask you this question. Is God’s Word really sacred to you? These days people “take stands” on a lot of issues…but we never “stand as tall” as when we embrace love, mercy, majesty and power of God’s Word.