# Sunday Setup – Nehemiah 1:1-4

Sermon transcript from Cross Church Surprise.
Series: Sunday Setup
Date: October 30, 2025
Watch: https://crosschurchcares.com/surprise/episodes/sunday-setup-nehemiah-11-4

## Summary

What breaks your heart in today’s world? Are we truly aware of the brokenness around us? Join us as we explore Nehemiah’s profound response to distress and discover how God can ignite a passion for restoration in our lives. Let's dive in together!

## Transcript

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 Hey, Grass Church [music] family and 
 welcome to the Sunday setup. This is our 
 weekly time where we gather together 
 digitally Thursdays at 2:00 where we get 
 to pray through the piece of scripture 
 that we'll be studying this Sunday and 
 prepare our hearts for what God is 
 doing. We want to pray through this 
 piece of scripture so that this Sunday 
 we can continue in prayer [music] and 
 that preparation. We can praise through 
 it. We can preach it and go out and 
 practice it. But we're excited because 
 this Sunday uh we are starting a brand 
 new series and we're going to be going 
 through the book of Nehemiah. And in the 
 book of Nehemiah, as we start this new 
 series, it's uh we're going to see all 
 these themes about vision and building 
 and God working through his people to do 
 great and amazing things. We're starting 
 in Nehemiah chapter [music] 1, and there 
 will be weeks where there's a lot of 
 passage here and and some of it that 
 gets very much into the weeds and the 
 narrative of the story. But as we start 
 it this week, we're just going to read 
 five verses or four verses as we start 
 into this and see just that sets the 
 stage for really Nehemiah's heart and 
 how God starts to move. And in Nehemiah 
 chapter 1, starting in verse one, it 
 says this, "The words of Nehemiah, son 
 of Hakali, during the month of Chisv, in 
 the 20th year, when I was in the 
 fortress city of Souza, Henai, one of 
 the brothers, one of my brothers, 
 arrived with men from Judah, [music] and 
 I questioned them about Jerusalem and 
 the Jewish remnant that had survived the 
 exile. They said to me, "The remnant in 
 the province who survived the exile are 
 in great trouble and disgrace. 
 Jerusalem's wall has been broken down 
 and its gates have been burned." And 
 listen in verse four to Nehemiah's 
 response. He says, "When I heard these 
 words, I sat down and wept. I mourn for 
 a number of days fasting and praying 
 before the God of the heavens. 
 Today, as we prepare our hearts for 
 Sunday, I want us to do two quick 
 prompts that are going to just focus us 
 on on how great our God is and how in 
 need of him we are to move forward in 
 our world. But in verse four, uh, when 
 Nehemiah refers to God, he says he is 
 praying and fasting before the God of 
 the heavens. And as we start this time 
 where we just see the superiority, the 
 magnificent of our God is I want us to 
 pray this is 
 you are the God of heaven. The heavens 
 because you are the God of heavens 
 because maybe it's because he is holy. 
 Because he is creator. Because he is 
 eternal. Why do we serve the God of 
 heavens? Not the God of the earth. Not 
 the God of that's here today and God 
 tomorrow. Not the God of ourself. But 
 you are the God of the heavens. Because 
 pray those prayers to our God. [music] 
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 Heat. 
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 Heat. 
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 Heat. Heat. [music] 
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 >> You are the God of the heavens because 
 you are sovereign. 
 Cuz you always have been and you always 
 will. Because you are the creator of the 
 entire universe. You are the God of the 
 heavens cuz you are perfectly holy. You 
 are the God of the heavens because you 
 are all [music] magnificent. Because you 
 are sovereign. Because you, Lord, are 
 above all things. That nothing would 
 exist without you. That God, we do not 
 serve a God who is temporary, [music] 
 who is here today, who is gone tomorrow. 
 We do not serve a God who we cannot 
 depend on all the time. You are the God 
 of the heavens, bigger than everything 
 else we know in our world. and we pray 
 to you because you are worthy and 
 because you are big enough to handle it, 
 but we not only see how worthy our God 
 is, but in verse four, after Nehemiah 
 receives this news, it says he sat down 
 and wept when he heard that his people 
 who had gone home, his extended family 
 and his people of God, his fellow 
 brothers and sisters and following the 
 God of the Old Testament of following 
 Yahweh is when he heard that their walls 
 were broken down, that their world was 
 in shambles, it caused his heart to 
 break. And when we look at our world 
 today, there should be things that cause 
 us to weep, that cause our hearts to 
 break. And here a as we think about our 
 families, as we think about our culture, 
 as we think about those who are far from 
 God, as we think about fellow brothers 
 and sisters who are going through hard 
 times, who are facing brokenness in 
 their world, is we pray to God, God, let 
 me weep for 
 in this prayer, we're praying for 
 burden. We're praying for God is to show 
 us where things are not as he wills and 
 let us weep over it. God, 
 let us weep for pray those prayers to 
 [music] our God. 
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 >> God, we live in a broken world and 
 always will on this side of heaven. But 
 Lord, our heart should break and weep 
 for those that those things that are not 
 of your design. God, let us weep for the 
 broken marriages [music] that uh impact 
 us, that impact our community and the 
 people around us. Lord, let us weep 
 [music] for the sicknesses that run 
 rampant through people's bodies that we 
 don't understand, that seem [music] so 
 unfair, yet they are still there. God, 
 let us weep for um family dynamics and 
 and parents and kids that things [music] 
 are just not as they should be. God, let 
 us weep for um God, our culture that 
 continues to run away from you, that 
 continues to practice [music] detestable 
 things that Lord, sometimes we are 
 tempted to fall into as well. God, let 
 our hearts break that there are so many 
 in our community, so many in our 
 workplaces, so many in our 
 neighborhoods, so many in our schools, 
 so many in our circles of influence 
 that do not know you, that do not have a 
 relationship with you. and Lord that 
 right now [music] are far from you and 
 would die and be in a hell apart from 
 you if they don't turn [music] to you 
 with the truth of the gospel. God, let 
 our hearts weep 
 for the things that are not as you would 
 have designed. And God, let it spur in 
 us a burden and action for what you 
 would have us do next. God, we thank you 
 that you are the God of the heavens. 
 Lord, we thank you that you burden our 
 hearts to weep for the things that are 
 not to your plan. And God, we ask that 
 you be with us and you guide us as we go 
 down the path to restore things to see 
 how you make things greater. And Lord, 
 we just lift all this up and you're 
 powerful and you're restoring in the 
 amazing name of Jesus Christ. [music] 
 Amen. 
 Hey, thank you guys for joining us 
 today. We'll see you Sunday as we kick 
 off the series through Nehemiah. See 
 you. [music] 
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