When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, all the people came together as one in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had commanded for Israel.
- from Nehemiah 7:71-8:1

This week, we’re going to be looking at how a bunch of people went to a church service and a party broke out.

The story of Nehemiah tells us how the Israelites rallied together in the massive project to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls after a devastating war and exile. They throw themselves into the backbreaking work and in record time complete this next-to-impossible project. But the story doesn’t end there.

The people gathered some time later and asked Ezra the priest to read to them from the Book of the Law of Moses. This “book” had, for generations, preserved the identity of the Hebrew people, reminding them who they were, where they came from, and how God wanted them to live. As a result of the devastating war and exile, they had stopped hearing from the “book” for generations. They barely remembered God and what he was up to in the world.

This happens to us, too, doesn’t it? We drift and shift throughout the year, but we re-engage spirituality in a familiar ways around the holidays. We find ourselves singing worship songs in the car in the form of Christmas carols. We think about Jesus more often than we usually do. We engage with the church a little more deeply.

The passage from Nehemiah that we’re going to be studying this week contains this wonderful turn. People show up for a reading of the Book of the Law of Moses, but get more than they expected. This event that might have initially looked perfunctory turned out to be surprisingly fun and meaningful.

We want you to know that this is possible. As you enter into the holiday season, we want you to know that God may surprise you with moments that are profoundly meaningful and hilariously fun. Our God knows how to party and have fun and he invites us into that in this season.

Would you ask God to bless you with fun this Christmas?