Nehemiah 8: The long shadow of a good man
As we continue with this 12th lesson on Nehemiah, we see the effect of the long shadow of a good man on his family and spiritual community, both now, and in the distant future.
Click here for the recording of this 3/15/26 Service, and you can fast-forward to 23:33 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text is from Nehemiah 8. 13-14
13 Then on the second day the heads of fathers’ households of all the people, the priests, and the Levites were gathered to Ezra the scribe so that they might gain insight into the words of the Law.
14 And they found written in the Law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the sons of Israel were to live in booths during the feast of the seventh month.
Intro- the state of manhood today
Fifteen percent of men now report having no close friends
The number of men with six or more close friends has plummeted from 55 percent to 27 percent
One in four American men aged 15 to 34 reports feeling lonely on any given day—significantly higher than the national average of 18 percent
Men die by suicide at roughly four times the rate of women, and researchers consistently link that risk to social disconnection
18.3 million American children live without a father in the home—roughly one in four
the United States has the highest rate globally of children in single-parent households
63 percent of youth suicides and 85 percent of children exhibiting behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes
Seventy percent of juveniles in state-operated institutions come from single-parent homes
children with involved fathers are 40 percent less likely to repeat a grade and 70 percent less likely to drop out of school
Men are less likely than women to seek help from a close friend—38 percent versus 54 percent
Single men often have no emotional support system
The Good news- As of 2025, 43 percent of men report attending church regularly compared to 36 percent of women—the largest measured gap and a reversal of the long-standing trend in which women outnumbered men in the pews. Men are attending at higher rates than at any point in the last 25 years of Barna’s tracking (Pastor’s Press email, 3/3/26)
What does this have to do with us?
To a large extent, as the man goes, so goes the family
We want to work toward raising up a generation of strong, godly, kind, gentle, masculine men in this church, and on the 30 corridor
Men, it starts with you, with me, with us
If “modeling is the strongest form of teaching” (Dobbins) what are we modeling for our wife and children?
Where are our growth points?
An example- Wingfoot Church, 3/8/26
Raegan Katherine Noland, our oldest granddaughter, was baptized
Her father read her testimony of accepting Christ as Savior
Her mother, currently sitting for ordination, baptized her
There is a direct line, from Raegan, to her mother, to me, to my father, to his father Rev. EB Johnson, Raegan’s great, great grandfather
Seed that Gramps sowed many years ago, are still bearing fruit
V13
It was the fathers as head of household who gathered with the priests, Levites and Ezra- Why?
“so that they might gain insight (sakhal- wisely understand) into the words of the law?
Sitting under the ministry of the preached word, rightly divided, Wed nite Bible study, and SS/small groups are important
Man, how are you being discipled?
Vv14-17a, the feast of booths
Once a year they were to live in handmade huts on their property or the rooftop of their houses, for 7 days
It would be made of branches collected from the countryside
All of them would live in these huts for a week
This was to remind them of their 40 yrs in the wilderness, and the Lord’s provision during that time
It would be like living in a shack made of pallet wood or brush, in your back yard, for a week
They had not done this since the days of Joshua’s leadership, some 800 years earlier (people forget)
It was the recitation of the law that brought it back to their memories
Man, what stories, rituals, Scripture are you reciting for your children and grandchildren to remind them of the goodness of God?- Gramps and the y bridge breakdown
V17b- the result
”There was very great rejoicing” simchah- mirth, gladness, joy, gaiety, pleasure
Man, are you modeling the joy of the Lord?
“He read from the Book of the Law of God daily”- it was habitual
Man, what habits are you modeling?
They celebrated the feast for 7 days- man, what rituals are you modeling?
On the 8th day there was a festive assembly- man, are you committed to the assembling of God’s people to lift Him up?
And so…Man…
Are you modeling a commitment to ingesting God’s Word?
Are you modeling a commitment to discipleship, and if so, does your wife, children/grandchildren see that?
Are you telling/retelling the stories of God’s provision for your family?
Are you modeling biblical joy and gratitude for your family, or are you modeling something else?
In what way(s) do you want God to use you, among His people, to further the Kingdom in our mission field?
