THIS WEEK’S SCRIPTURE READING:  March 7, 2021
Sermon Title:  “Lessons from Nehemiah” 

Nehemiah 4:1-18

 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He   and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble – burned as they are?”

 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, “What they are building – if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!”

 Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity.

 Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.

 So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.

 But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem’s walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry.

 They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.

 But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.

 Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, “The strength of the laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild the wall.”

 Also our enemies said, “Before they know it or see us, we will be right there among them and will kill them and put an end to the work.”

 Then the Jews who lived near them came and told us ten times over, “Wherever you turn, they will attack us.”

 Therefore I stationed some of the people behind the lowest points of the wall at the exposed places, posting them by families, with their swords, spears and bows.

 After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes.”

When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work.

 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah  who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me.

 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry.

 He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.

Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.”

 But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city.

Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine.

But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered.

When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?” “I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.”

But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight.

But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”  

GROUP MEETINGS at Spider Lake Church or in homes, etc.:

All large and small group meetings may begin meeting again at the leader’s discretion, while social distancing according to the State of Wisconsin Badger Bounce Back guidelines. 

The Ladies Study on Monday mornings is meeting in-person. Many of the other small groups have elected to begin again in September.

Church Directory info:

Click HERE to download the church directory.
If you forgot the password or would like to submit a picture for the directory, please send email to:

SpiderLakeChurchSecretary@gmail.com

Building Rental Agreement:

For those of you who would like to use our facilities for weddings, funerals, or other group events, you can access the Building Rental Agreement by clicking HERE.  Please print it and mail it back to Spider Lake Church, PO Box 695, Hayward, WI 54843.  You can send questions to SpiderLakeChurchSecretary@gmail.com.  Please indicate which facility you would like to use:  “Spider Lake Campus”, “Main Street Campus” or “Youth Center”.  Thanks!