Reconnecting God’s Family

“You and I are better together.” -Pastor Billy R. Johnson

In the scripture of Ezra 3, the people were given ways to connect as they engaged in the process of rebuilding. A nation had been exiled because of the previous generations’ disobedience. The people were now returning, and this is how they would reconnect with God:

 

Connect with God through a Common Pain

Psalm 137: 1-4

The people had been moved from their location for 70 years. As displaced people they experienced a common pain.  As life presents us with hills and valleys, we must be willing to share the pain for the opportunity to connect to others. God uses that opportunity of connection to the heal the common pain.

 

Connect in a Common Place

Psalm 137:5-8 

Jerusalem is essential to God and is the place where many related to God. When they returned from exile, Jerusalem was the common place.

 

 

 

Have a Common Purpose

Deuteronomy 28: 58-64

The people recognized they were experiencing the consequences of the previous generations’ disobedience. Therefore, the returning exiled had a common purpose to make things right. It was their common purpose to share their pain and identify with others in a common place, with the purpose of reconnecting with God.

 

“The common purpose they are rallying around is reconnecting with God.” – Pastor Billy R. Johnson.