This week we wrapped up our 10-week journey through the Old Testament—tracing God’s story from creation to Christ, from promise to fulfillment. Through every rise and fall, one theme has remained: God never gives up on His people.

We closed with the era known as Return, when God brought His people back from Babylon to rebuild their lives and their faith. The land was in ruins, the people were weary, but God was still writing redemption into the rubble. This final stretch of the story centers on four key figures who show us what obedience looks like when everything feels broken—Zerubbabel, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah.

Zerubbabel led more than 43,000 exiles home to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The work was difficult, the progress slow, and the finished product less impressive than Solomon’s grand temple—but Zerubbabel stayed faithful for twenty years. He chose Mission over Mediocrity, trusting God’s word: “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,” says the Lord Almighty (Zechariah 4:6). His obedience foreshadowed Jesus, the greater temple builder—the One who rebuilds what sin has destroyed and becomes our Cornerstone.

Esther, still living in Persia, reminds us that God is never absent even when His name seems silent. She rose from obscurity to royalty and risked her life to save her people. When her uncle Mordecai challenged her with the words, “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther chose Sacrifice over Silence. Her courage calls us to ask: What position has God placed you in, and how might He use your life for the good of others?

Ezra arrived decades later to bring spiritual renewal to Jerusalem. His life is remembered for Devotion over Distraction.Scripture says, “Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). He studied it, lived it, and taught it—showing that lasting transformation comes when we anchor our lives in God’s Word and help others do the same.

Nehemiah, the king’s cupbearer in Persia, heard about Jerusalem’s broken walls and wept. Though living comfortably, he chose Calling over Cushy, leaving privilege to rebuild what had been lost. Despite constant opposition, Nehemiah led the people to rebuild the wall in just 57 days—brick in one hand, sword in the other. Together, Ezra and Nehemiah led the people to confess, celebrate, and renew their covenant with God. For a moment, it looked like Israel might finally stay faithful. But the story doesn’t end there.

When Nehemiah returned to Persia and later came back, he found corruption again. The people compromised, the temple was misused, and the same sins re-emerged. The Old Testament closes not with resolution but with longing—a holy dissatisfaction for something greater. Every era before this ended the same way: sin, struggle, and disappointment. Yet all of it pointed forward to the One who would come and make all things new.

Jesus is the fulfillment of every longing.
He is the better Zerubbabel who rebuilds the true temple—His body.
He is the better Esther who doesn’t just risk His life but gives it.
He is the better Ezra, the living Word made flesh.
He is the better Nehemiah who leaves heaven’s comfort to restore His people.

After four hundred years of silence, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus came to be the perfect King, the unending Priest, and the sacrifice that never fails. Every broken wall, every weary exile, and every longing heart finds its home in Hi

The Old Testament ends in disappointment, but the Gospel begins with hope—because Jesus never disappoints.

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Message recap adapted from the November 9, 2025, message by Minister Mark Ashton & Minister Mary Claire Tarcza

Message Notes & Slides