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  • Restored by Grace: Depending on God Alone

    Restored by Grace: Depending on God Alone
    2026/09/06
    Ezra and a group of God’s people are preparing for a long and potentially dangerous journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. They have families. They have possessions. They are carrying valuable resources for the temple. They know there are dangers along the way. Ezra has a choice: Where will they place their confidence? What will they depend upon to get them safely to Jerusalem? We live in a culture where we are constantly challenged to ask the same questions, and are constantly choosing our own “survival gear.” We need to understand there is a difference between using something God provides and trusting it to provide the security only God can give. Ezra 8 asks us a penetrating question: When the journey becomes uncertain, what, or whom, do we really depend upon?
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    31 分
  • Restored by Grace: The Good Hand of God

    Restored by Grace: The Good Hand of God
    2026/08/30
    Have you ever been asked to do something that made you think, “I don’t know if I have what it takes to do this”? Most of us know that feeling. We look at what is in front of us, and then we think about what is within us, and there seems to be a gap. The assignment looks bigger than our ability. Because of that, it is easy to imagine Ezra looking at everything in front of him and asking, “Do I really have what it takes to do this?” The main point we will see today in this passage is that when God gives us an assignment that is bigger than our ability, He does not send us out alone. The God who calls us is the God who equips us, sustains us, and works through us. That is the good hand of God.
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    35 分
  • Restored by Grace: Shaped by the Word

    Restored by Grace: Shaped by the Word
    2026/08/23
    Ezra 7 introduces us to a man who understood something crucial: God’s Word isn’t given merely to be studied. It is given to shape us. Have you ever noticed how easy it is to become an expert these days? If your sink starts leaking, you can watch a YouTube video and become convinced you can rebuild the entire plumbing system in your house. However, there is a difference between knowing something and being shaped by it. We live in a culture where information can fill our head without ever changing our life. That is really where Ezra 7 takes us. Ezra isn’t simply a man who knows God’s Word. Ezra is a man who has been shaped by God’s Word. That distinction matters, not only for Ezra, but for every one of us.
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    35 分
  • Restored by Grace: Finished by Grace

    Restored by Grace: Finished by Grace
    2026/08/16
    For sixteen years, the temple stood unfinished. To the people, it probably looked as though God’s promises had stalled. However, while they saw delay, God was accomplishing His purposes. The temple was not unfinished because God had forgotten His people. It was unfinished because God was still writing the story. When His time was right, He completed exactly what He had promised. That is the story of the gospel. Ultimately, it is the story of every disciple. The God who begins His work is the God who finishes it. As we come to Ezra 6 this morning, we will discover that God doesn’t simply complete a building. He completes His gracious purposes so that His redeemed people might once again worship Him with joy.
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    25 分
  • Restored by Grace: God’s Providential Care

    Restored by Grace: God’s Providential Care
    2026/08/09
    Imagine if the rebuilding of God’s house depended on locating one government record that had been filed away nearly twenty years earlier in one of the largest empires the world had ever known. If that document isn’t found, the rebuilding almost certainly comes to an end. God’s promises appear to be hanging by a thread. As we read the story, we might be tempted to think, “Well, I hope they get lucky.” But there is no luck in Ezra 6. There is only providence. What is fascinating is that there are no dramatic miracles in this chapter. Instead, we watch what seems like an ordinary day inside a government office. On the surface, it looks like politics and paperwork. But behind every ordinary event stands the extraordinary hand of Almighty God. Ezra 6 reminds us that what appears to depend on earthly rulers is, in reality, governed by the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. In Reformed theology, we call this God’s providential care.
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    28 分
  • Restored by Grace: Consider Your Ways

    Restored by Grace: Consider Your Ways
    2026/08/02
    Very few Christians intentionally decide to neglect Christ or abandon their faith. More often, we simply drift. Life becomes busy; responsibilities pile up; careers, children, hobbies, home projects, vacations, and endless notifications begin competing for our attention. None of those things are sinful in themselves. They are simply capable of becoming ultimate things instead of secondary things. But every so often the Lord graciously asks us a searching question: “Are you giving your best attention to the things that matter most?” That is exactly where God’s people find themselves in Ezra 5. The rebuilding of the Temple does not begin with new resources or a favorable political climate. It begins when God speaks. This leads us to the central truth of this passage: God renews His people through the faithful proclamation of His Word.
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    31 分
  • Restored by Grace: Dealing with Opposition

    Restored by Grace: Dealing with Opposition
    2026/07/26
    When we're faithfully following God, opposition isn't a sign we've missed His will — it's often evidence we're right in the middle of it. Drawing from Ezra 4, this message explores how God's people respond to resistance with discernment, perseverance, and confidence in God's sovereignty. Because Christ has already won the decisive victory, every delay is purposeful and every opposition is temporary.
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    31 分
  • Restored by Grace: Tears and Triumph

    Restored by Grace: Tears and Triumph
    2026/07/19
    When the returning exiles laid the foundation of the temple, some shouted for joy while others wept aloud — and the sounds became indistinguishable. In this message from Ezra 3, we discover that God's restorative work makes room for both grief and celebration. Whether you come this morning with tears or triumph, Jesus Christ remains the sure foundation beneath it all, and his greatest work is never measured by earthly glory but by his abiding presence among his people.
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    26 分