Community Baptist Church - Bracknell
Sunday 10 May 2026

      • Psalm 40:1–3NKJV

  • How great Thou art
  • God forgave my sin

      • Psalm 139:13–16ANIV

      • Luke 15:11–32NKJV

  • In the Garden
  • Love Lifted Me

      • Nehemiah 9:1–17NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–2NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:5–6NKJV

      • Colossians 1:16–17NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:12NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:15NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:21NKJV

      • James 1:17NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:26NKJV

      • Romans 1:20NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:17NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:28NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:18NKJV

      • Psalm 51:4NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:19NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:17NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:27NKJV

      • Romans 6:23NKJV

      • Revelation 20:12NKJV

      • Revelation 20:15NKJV

      • 2 Corinthians 5:21NKJV

      • John 3:16NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:36NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:32aNKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:33NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:32NKJV

      • John 5:24NKJV

      • 1 John 1:9NKJV

      • Nehemiah 9:1–37NKJV

  • At the name of jesus

  • Introduction

    Things can quickly add up if we don’t act. Take dishes for example. Dirty dishes accumulate with a rapid vengeance if we don’t deal with them in a timely manner.
    It is the same in the spiritual realm. If we don’t deal with our spiritual dirty dishes, they will soon get out of hand and overwhelm. In particular we are thinking in Nehemiah 9 about our wrongdoings, what the Bible calls sins. How do we deal with them? We see that the people came first of all to confess their sin to God.
    The New Testament word for confession homologeo means literally to say the same thing. Its more than just owning up. It’s agreeing with God about what our wrongdoing is. It is acknowledging what God says is true.
    In chapter 9 of Nehemiah, we find a prayer of confession that shows the kind of things we must acknowledge when we confess our sins to God. As they look back over their history, they acknowledge three main things.
    God’s greatness and goodness
    Their rebellion
    God’s mercy and judgment
    And then, based on these, they make their plea for God to help them.

    God’s greatness and goodness

    We've been watching Nehemiah rebuild the physical walls of Jerusalem. But in chapters 8–10, the focus shifts to rebuilding the spiritual lives of the people. Chapter 8 was the Word of God read aloud. Chapter 9 is the people's response - a prayer of confession.
    The prayer begins with the people gathered together just one day after a time of feasts had ended.
    Nehemiah 9:1–2 NKJV
    1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel were assembled with fasting, in sackcloth, and with dust on their heads. 2 Then those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.
    Then some of the priests stood up and led them in the prayer of confession, beginning with how glorious and good God is.

    Creation - God’s greatness

    The prayer starts at the beginning of the world - Creation.
    Nehemiah 9:5–6 NKJV
    5 And the Levites, Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabniah, Sherebiah, Hodijah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah, said: “Stand up and bless the Lord your God Forever and ever! “Blessed be Your glorious name, Which is exalted above all blessing and praise! 6 You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, The earth and everything on it, The seas and all that is in them, And You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You.
    The people acknowledge that God is glorious, greater than we could ever imagine or describe. There is noone else like God. He made everything we see. Outer space and the stars, sun moun, planets. The sky with its birds, the earth with its creatures, the seas and all that is in them.
    What is more, God in His power preserves the universe. He holds it all together. The New Testament tells us that Jesus as the Son of God did this:
    Colossians 1:16–17 NKJV
    16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
    And that means God made you and I and gave us our life. The angels in heaven worship God because He is the Only Lord.
    And so we as people made in God’s image are accountable to God for our lives.

    Blessings on mankind - God’s Goodness

    The prayer then traces 1500 years of history - the call of Abraham to be the father of a great nation, the miraculous rescue of the nation from slavery in Egypt, guidance and provision in the wilderness, the gift of the law, and victories in the promised land.
    God in His goodness repeatedly gives, rescues, provides, keeps His promises. Here are just a few examples from the time in the desert:
    Nehemiah 9:12 NKJV
    12 Moreover You led them by day with a cloudy pillar, And by night with a pillar of fire, To give them light on the road Which they should travel.
    Nehemiah 9:15 NKJV
    15 You gave them bread from heaven for their hunger, And brought them water out of the rock for their thirst, And told them to go in to possess the land Which You had sworn to give them.
    Nehemiah 9:21 NKJV
    21 Forty years You sustained them in the wilderness; They lacked nothing; Their clothes did not wear out And their feet did not swell.
    How awesome that the glorious God showed His people such faithful goodness.
    And it is God who gives us all the good things we enjoy in the life He gives us. Food, clothing, drink, shelter, friends, family, work, posessions, sunshine.
    James 1:17 NKJV
    17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
    True confession involves acknowledging God is glorious and good towards us.
    How should people respond to the Lord who is glorious and has done such goodness towards us? The prayer says the host of heaven, the angels, worship Him.
    But the prayer has another thread that talks of mankind’s response.

    Mankind’s rebellion

    The prayer talks of how the people responded to God’s goodness and sums it up with the word rebellion. Rather than love God and be thankful, people ignore God and do what they want to do. The prayer acknowledges that this rebellion is:

    Inexcusable.

    Nehemiah 9:26 NKJV
    26 “Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations.
    Although the people enjoyed God’s great goodness, nevertheless they rebelled. There is no excuse to our wrongdoing. We cannot blame the wrong we do on our parents upbringing. We are accountable for our actions. We try to wriggle out of our accountability. Some believe in Evolution to try to explain the world without God because that would mean we are not accountable to a creator. But God says:
    Romans 1:20 NKJV
    20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

    Willful

    Our rebellion is also willful. It is a choice. We refuse to obey.
    Nehemiah 9:17 NKJV
    17 They refused to obey, And they were not mindful of Your wonders That You did among them. But they hardened their necks, And in their rebellion They appointed a leader To return to their bondage.
    It is not just a single act, but a stubborn persistant refusal
    Nehemiah 9:28 NKJV
    28 “But after they had rest, They again did evil before You.

    Profane

    When we choose to do wrong, it is an offence against God who is glorious and holy and who made us and this world. Our wrongdoing provokes God.
    Nehemiah 9:18 NKJV
    18 “Even when they made a molded calf for themselves, And said, ‘This is your god That brought you up out of Egypt,’ And worked great provocations,
    When we choose to do what we know is wrong, we are not simply making a mistake, or hurting others, or being foolish, although those are often involved. We are actually offending God.
    When David entered into an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and murdered her husband, it was a great offence against those people, their families, and the whole nation. But most of all David acknowledged:
    Psalm 51:4 NKJV
    4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
    True confession acknowledges that the wrong we do is an offence against the glorious and good God who made us, and that we have no excuses for our willful rebellion.
    How does God respond to this wrong doing?
    The prayer talks of the responses of mercy and judgment.

    God’s Mercy and Judgement

    Mercy

    In the prayer the people remember God’s past mercy when they rebelled. Because of His mercy, God did not leave them to die in the desert
    Nehemiah 9:19 NKJV
    19 Yet in Your manifold mercies You did not forsake them in the wilderness. The pillar of the cloud did not depart from them by day, To lead them on the road; Nor the pillar of fire by night, To show them light, And the way they should go.
    When they went their own way and tried to forget God, God sent prophets to warn them of the consequences and call them back, even though they didn’t listen
    Nehemiah 9:26 NKJV
    26 “Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn them to Yourself;
    The Father in Jesus’s parable of the lost son runs to meet his returning son. That is who God is - ready to pardon:
    Nehemiah 9:17 NKJV
    17 But You are God, Ready to pardon, Gracious and merciful, Slow to anger, Abundant in kindness, And did not forsake them.

    Judgment

    But as they pray, the people remember how God also judged people when they refused to come back to Him.
    Sometimes God delivered the rebellious people into the hands of their enemies. They would then cry out for help, and God in His kindness would send someone to rescue them. But they then went right back and rebelled again.
    Nehemiah 9:27 NKJV
    27 Therefore You delivered them into the hand of their enemies, Who oppressed them; And in the time of their trouble, When they cried to You, You heard from heaven; And according to Your abundant mercies You gave them deliverers who saved them From the hand of their enemies.
    Finally the people experienced the judgment of being kidnapped and taken as prisoners out of the land by the Assyrians and babylonians
    Nehemiah 9:30 NKJV
    30 Yet for many years You had patience with them, And testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets. Yet they would not listen; Therefore You gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands.
    Our sin has a final reckoning. God is holy and cannot simply look away from our wrong doing. He says
    Romans 6:23 NKJV
    23 For the wages of sin is death,
    When a person dies physically, they are separated from the physical realm of the living. But the death in this verse is a different separation. A second death. A spiritual separation from God for ever for those whose names are not in the book of life on the day of judgment.
    Revelation 20:11–12 NKJV
    11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
    Revelation 20:15 NKJV
    15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
    True confession acknowledges we deserve God’s judgment and penalty for our wrong doing. But it also acknowledges there is hope because God is merciful.
    God sent Jesus to take the judgment and penalty we deserve for our wrong doing so that we might be forgiven and have our names in the book of life.
    2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV
    21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
    God promises:
    John 3:16 NKJV
    16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
    True confession acknowledges that Jesus died for my sins taking my penalty that I might be accepted in the beloved Jesus by God.

    The Plea

    Finally, having acknowledged all these things in past history, the people say we are just the same. With broken hearts they say
    Nehemiah 9:36 NKJV
    36 “Here we are, servants today! And the land that You gave to our fathers, To eat its fruit and its bounty, Here we are, servants in it!
    God is still great and good.
    Nehemiah 9:32 NKJV
    32 “Now therefore, our God, The great, the mighty, and awesome God, Who keeps covenant and mercy:
    They are still doing wrong
    Nehemiah 9:33–34 NKJV
    33 However You are just in all that has befallen us; For You have dealt faithfully, But we have done wickedly. 34 Neither our kings nor our princes, Our priests nor our fathers, Have kept Your law, Nor heeded Your commandments and Your testimonies, With which You testified against them.
    God is still judging sin - that is why they are slaves in their own land to foreign kings
    Nehemiah 9:37 NKJV
    37 And it yields much increase to the kings You have set over us, Because of our sins; Also they have dominion over our bodies and our cattle At their pleasure; And we are in great distress.
    God is still merciful and so they plead for forgiveness and help
    Nehemiah 9:32 NKJV
    32 Do not let all the trouble seem small before You That has come upon us, Our kings and our princes, Our priests and our prophets, Our fathers and on all Your people, From the days of the kings of Assyria until this day.

    Application

    Non-christian: To receive God’s forgiveness involves seeing our wrong doing the way God sees it. To acknowledge God is holy and our wrong doing offends Him and brings us His judgment. But most importantly to acknowledge that God’s Son Jesus took the eternal penalty we deserve on the cross, and turn in faith to follow Him. Jesus promises
    John 5:24 NKJV
    24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
    If you have done that and so are a Christian, God forgives you forever. But we still do wrong and our sins are like the dirty dishes that clutter up the sink. They spoil our friendship with God. The prayer of the Jews of Jerusalem in Neh 9 reminds us that the way of cleaning the dishes and coming back to God begins with confession, acknowledging what God says about our wrong doing.
    1 John 1:9 NKJV
    9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
    Don’t let the dirty dishes pile up but deal with them.
  • Enemies had fled in panic
  • Restore O Lord
  • Fight the good fight

      • Galatians 2:20NKJV

  • Yet not I but Christ through me
Community Baptist Church - Bracknell
information@cbcb.co.uk
01344 641334
http://www.cbcb.co.uk
8 members