Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | Nehemiah: Building What Matters
I Give Myself Away
Nehemiah 10:39 + Romans 12:1-2 | Dr. Richard Price | November 1, 2026
The Central Truth
Saying we belong to God
Living like we belong to God through our decisions, priorities, and lives
"We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God." - Nehemiah 10:39
The Names Behind the Commitment (Nehemiah 10:1-27)
Leadership Goes First
Nehemiah the governor signed first. You can't ask people to follow a commitment you won't embrace yourself.
Responsibility Is Shared
The Levites who taught the people signed next. A church is strong when everybody owns their part.
Community Is United
Rebuilding walls was not enough. They had to rebuild their commitment to God.
Four Movements of Surrender
- 1
The Covenant Reminds Us Whose We Are
The first question of surrender is not "What will I give?" but "To whom do I belong?" 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
- 2
Mercy Moves Us to Surrender
Not guilt, but gratitude. We cannot earn God's love; we respond to it. Ephesians 2:4-5; Titus 3:5
- 3
We Become Living Sacrifices
Not an animal on the altar, but our whole selves, every day, renewed in mind. Romans 12:1-2
- 4
Redirection Under Christ's Lordship
Submit your plans, trust Him when doors close, and refuse to return to old, weakening patterns.
What I Give Him
Real Worship Shows Up on Monday
"This is your Monday when nobody's looking. This is your Tuesday when you go through your review." Worship is not only something we attend. It is something we practice.
Get Back on the Line
The Coach Pushes
He runs his players hard because he is coaching for a win.
He Sees More
"He sees something in you that you don't see."
God Forms Us
Hard seasons build strength. He wants the best for you.
Respond to the Gospel
Barry's Bureau - Inspiring Excellence in Christian Living
Inspired by Dr. Richard Price's sermon at Schrader Lane Church of Christ
www.BarrysBureau.orgBarry's Bureau | Inspired by Dr. Richard Price's sermon at Schrader Lane Church of Christ
Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | Nehemiah: Building What Matters | Preached November 1, 2026
Singing "I Give Myself Away" on Sunday is easy; living it on Monday is the real test of worship. Drawing from Nehemiah 10 and Romans 12:1-2, Dr. Richard Price shows how God's mercy moves us from declaring that we belong to Him to demonstrating it with our whole lives.
Have you ever sung a song of surrender with your whole heart on Sunday morning, only to quietly take your life back by Monday afternoon?
The words are sincere, and in the moment we mean them. Then the alarm rings, the inbox fills, the boss asks for the impossible, and our surrender slips back under our own control.
Dr. Richard Price confessed something similar. When he sang "I Give Myself Away," his mind usually went to handing God a burden. That is good, he said, but God wants something much bigger from all of us.
Saying You Belong to God vs. Living Like It
In this powerful message from our series Nehemiah: Building What Matters, Dr. Price builds a bridge between two passages:
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him." (Romans 12:1, NLT)
"We promise together not to neglect the Temple of our God." (Nehemiah 10:39, NLT)
Here is the central truth: "There is a difference between saying we belong to God and living like we belong to God." A declaration is not the same as a demonstration through our decisions, priorities, and lives.
Put Your Life Behind Your Name
By Nehemiah 10, Jerusalem's walls were standing again, and the people were ready to commit. The first 27 verses read like a long list of names, but Dr. Price drew three observations from them:
- Leadership takes responsibility first. Nehemiah the governor signed first (vv. 1-8). "You can't ask people to follow a commitment that you're unwilling to embrace yourself."
- Responsibility is shared. The Levites who taught the people signed next (vv. 9-13). A church is strong when everybody recognizes their responsibility.
- The community is united. Rebuilding walls was not enough; they had to rebuild their commitment to God (vv. 14-27).
Verses 1-27 show who signed. Verses 28-39 show what the commitment required. And before any talk of giving, the covenant settled a deeper question. "The first question of surrender is not what will I give," Dr. Price said. "It's to whom do I belong?"
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 answers it: we are not our own; we were bought with a price. Our decisions, words, relationships, and priorities all matter to God.
Let Mercy, Not Guilt, Move You to Surrender
In Nehemiah 10:32-39, the people backed their promise with tithes, firstfruits, and offerings. Dr. Price noted that those regulations belonged to Israel under the Law of Moses, yet the principle remains: a genuine relationship with God changes how we use what He has entrusted to us.
Paul takes us further. Notice his motive: "because of all He has done for you." He is not appealing to guilt. He is appealing to gratitude. Dr. Price admitted he once spent half his life believing he could earn God's love. "You cannot earn God's love," he said. We surrender because His love was already revealed at Calvary.
God, rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ when we were dead in our sins (Ephesians 2:4-5). He saved us not because of our righteousness, but because of His mercy (Titus 3:5). That means our failures do not define our future.
Mercy, Dr. Price said, "does not give us permission to remain unchanged." It gives us a reason to live differently, and it makes us people who extend mercy to others (Colossians 3:12-13). When you understand mercy, you stop asking how little you can give God and start asking how much your life can please Him.
Worship That Shows Up on Monday
Under the Old Covenant, an animal was placed on the altar. Paul paints a different picture: we place ourselves on the altar, alive. Worship follows us home, to work, into how we treat people who disagree with us, and into what we do when no one is looking.
"This is your Monday when nobody's looking. This is your Tuesday when you go through your review," Dr. Price said. Will you still worship?
He warned, "It is possible, church, to sing about surrender and still resist it." That is why Paul adds, "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2, NKJV). God wants inward transformation, not just outward participation.
Living Under the Lordship of Christ
Dr. Price tells engaged couples that a vow made before God means agreeing that God will be right, and everything else is second. Surrender works the same way. "We want God to bless our plans," he said, "but surrender requires that we submit our plans to Him. We want God to open doors, but surrender requires that we trust Him when He closes them."
Get Back on the Line
Dr. Price watched a coach run his players until they leaned against the wall, then shout, "Get back on the line." Afterward he told the team, "He sees something in you that you don't see." So does God. Hard seasons are formation, not punishment.
"It's one thing to put your name on the commitment. But it's a whole larger thing to put your life behind it."
Dr. Richard Price
5 Ways to Give Yourself Away This Week
- Settle ownership every morning. Pray: "Lord, my life, my decisions, my family, my gifts, and my future belong to You."
- Take a surrender inventory. Name one area you are used to controlling and deliberately submit it to God.
- Write your own Romans 12:1 commitment for your home, work, relationships, and resources.
- Extend the mercy you have received to someone who disagrees with you.
- Do not neglect the house of God. Give your time, service, and resources to your congregation. If you lead, go first.
Watch, Listen, and Learn More
Watch Dr. Price's full sermon, "I Give Myself Away," on YouTube. Then test your understanding with this week's interactive quiz and Category Sort study game, and catch up on earlier lessons in the Nehemiah: Building What Matters series at Barry's Bureau.
Place Your Whole Life on the Altar
Jesus did not withhold His life from us. He gave Himself in love, in obedience, and at Calvary. Because He gave Himself to us, we can confidently give ourselves to Him.
If you have not yet obeyed the gospel, start there: hear the Word (Romans 10:17), believe (Hebrews 11:6), repent, confess Jesus as Lord, and be baptized for the remission of your sins.
Reflection: What area of your life are you still reserving from God's authority, and what would it look like to place it on the altar this week?
Share your answer in the comments and pass this lesson to someone who needs it.
Join us for worship at Schrader Lane Church of Christ or visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources.
Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | Nehemiah: Building What Matters
I Give Myself Away
"There is a difference between saying we belong to God and living like we belong to God."Dr. Richard Price | Nehemiah 10:39 and Romans 12:1-2
Seven questions. Instant feedback. A certificate at the finish. See how well you understood what it means to give yourself away to God, then share the quiz with someone who needs this message.
Download Your Certificate
Share This Quiz
Priceless Lessons Study Game | Category Sort
I Give Myself Away
Nehemiah 10 + Romans 12:1-2 | Dr. Richard Price
"It's one thing to put your name on the commitment. But it's a whole larger thing to put your life behind it."Dr. Richard Price
- You will see 12 statements from this week's lesson, one at a time.
- Tap the category where each statement belongs.
- You get one try per card. Every card shows why it belongs where it does.
- Sort all 12 to see your score and a review of anything you missed.
Where does this belong?