What to Know Before You Build

3-15-20 Sermon Notes“What To Know Before You Build”
I used to work for the Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services as a case manager for families who had children ages birth to three with developmental delays. (Whew – that was a long sentence!) This was not long after Tammy and I had gotten married, and we were renovating our first house. Something needed to be done with the kitchen flooring – we just didn’t know quite what we wanted to do just yet. Then came the day when, as a part of my job as a case manager, I went to a family’s home in Section, Alabama. They had the prettiest hardwood floor that I had ever seen.
After setting up some services for their child, I commented on their hardwood floor. When I asked where they got the unique-looking wood, they said, “That came from the old Section High School gym.” “Wow!” I said. “My wife and I are looking at redoing our kitchen floor and I was thinking doing a floor like that would be cool.” And the couple said, “Well, we’ve got a lot more of that old wood in our barn. If you bring a truck, we’ll give you a load of it.” Awesome!
I excitedly told Tammy about the flooring that evening, and the offer for the free wood, and we began to have visions of how beautiful our new kitchen floor was going to be! (OK – I’m the “dreamer” and I was having the visions of the new floor…Tammy tends to be more practical). The next Saturday I drove a pickup to Section and backed it up to the barn. The couple helped me load the wood into the truck, I thanked them, and then headed back to Huntsville. We ended up renovating our kitchen floor with the hardwood, and it looked more beautiful than either of us ever thought it would. And we lived happily ever after. The End.
I may have skipped a few steps. You see, someone should have told us some things before we started this project. Things like:
•It’s not easy getting tar paper off the back of pieces of tongue-and-groove hardwood. Yep. Each…individual…piece… had to be stripped and scraped…
•This project was not going to happen as quickly as we originally planned. We had to adjust our expectations more than once.
•There was going to be pain involved.
•We would need some help and advice.
•The end product would be worth it.
There are some things we need to know about our inner, spiritual renovation. We need to carefully consider some things. We read about some things that Nehemiah considered before he started building.
11 So I came to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12 Then I got up during the night, I and a few men with me; I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I took was the animal I rode. 13 I went out by night by the Valley Gate past the Dragon’s Spring and to the Dung Gate, and I inspected the walls of Jerusalem that had been broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire. 14 Then I went on to the Fountain Gate and to the King’s Pool; but there was no place for the animal I was riding to continue. 15 So I went up by way of the valley by night and inspected the wall. Then I turned back and entered by the Valley Gate, and so returned. 16 The officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing; I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest that were to do the work. (Neh. 2: 11-16 NRSV)
If we really engage this process of spiritual renovation – because God is calling us to do it – then we need to know:
•It won’t necessarily be easy.
•It may take longer than we expect…we may have to adjust.
•There will likely be pain.
•We will need guidance and help…from God and from friends.
•But in the end…what God will do to restore us and renovate us will be worth it all!
Join us this Sunday as we continue to explore our Lenten Series… “Renovate: Building a Life With God.”
Pastor Sam