Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | Nehemiah: Building What Matters
Someone Has To Live Here
Nehemiah 11 and 1 Peter 2:1-11 | Dr. Richard Price | November 8, 2026
"The people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem."Nehemiah 11:2 (NLT)
The Journey So Far
The question moves from "Can we rebuild?" to "Will we live there?"
Three Lessons from Nehemiah 11
Presence Is a Decision
Nehemiah 11:1-2Some were chosen by lot; others volunteered. You can't rebuild with spectators only. Faith must become visible.
Your Place Has Responsibility
Nehemiah 11:3-19Leaders, priests, gatekeepers, and families each had a part. No church is sustained by one minister, elder, or deacon.
The Work Must Continue
Nehemiah 11:20-36Serve so your children's children inherit a ministry as impactful as the one that welcomed you.
"The question is not whether there will be a place for you. The question is whether you are willing to occupy the place God has made for you."
DR. RICHARD PRICEWho You Are in Christ
A Living Stone
Built by God into His spiritual temple on Christ, the living cornerstone. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
A Holy Priest
Offering spiritual sacrifices that please God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:5)
Chosen by God
Called out of darkness to show others His goodness at church, work, and home. (1 Peter 2:9)
A Temporary Resident
Keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your soul. (1 Peter 2:11)
Caring Through the Holiday Season
- Check in with yourself and with God when grief or stress rises.
- Lay your burdens down. You do not have to carry them alone.
- Ask for mercy and give it to the people you love most.
- Lift one another in the margins through prayer and loving accountability.
Come to Christ
Nehemiah: Building What Matters | Nehemiah 11
Barry's Bureau | Inspired by Dr. Richard Price's sermon at Schrader Lane Church of Christ
In Nehemiah 11, the walls are finished, but Jerusalem still needs people willing to live inside them. Dr. Richard Price shows how that call becomes ours today: be present, accept your place, and remember that you are a living stone in God's spiritual house.
Picture a brand-new house. Fresh paint. Sturdy walls. A front door that locks. Now picture it standing empty: no lights in the windows, no voices in the kitchen, no one at the table. A building can be finished and still not be alive.
Have you ever been part of a ministry everyone loved but few served? Then you already understand Nehemiah 11.
The Wall Is Built. Now Who Will Move In?
The wall is complete, the Word has been read, and a covenant has been signed. Now Nehemiah 11:1-2 raises a new question:
"The leaders of the people were living in Jerusalem, the holy city. A tenth of the people from the other towns of Judah and Benjamin were chosen by sacred lots to live there, too, while the rest stayed where they were. And the people commended everyone who volunteered to resettle in Jerusalem."Nehemiah 11:1-2 (NLT)
In this powerful message, Dr. Price names the shift plainly: the question is no longer whether Jerusalem can be rebuilt, but whether anyone is willing to live there. Someone has to live here.
Presence Is a Decision, Not a Default
Jerusalem was not prime real estate. As Dr. Price reminds us, the city had suffered destruction, its population had dwindled, and its infrastructure was broken. Moving there meant moving toward the work.
Notice whom the text honors: it commends those who volunteered. There is a difference, Dr. Price explains, between being assigned a responsibility and accepting it, between showing up because someone requires it and showing up because you know your presence matters.
"You can't rebuild with spectators only," he said. Then he turned the mirror toward the church:
- You can believe in the ministry and never participate in it.
- You can appreciate leadership and never support its responsibilities.
- You can celebrate the church's history and never contribute to its future.
At some point, faith ought to become visible.
Your Place Comes with Responsibility
Nehemiah 11:3-19 reads like a roll call of leaders, priests, gatekeepers, and families. Don't skim it, Dr. Price urges. Those names prove that restoration required more than one person. Nehemiah was the visionary, but he was not the whole community.
"The church cannot be sustained by one minister, one elder, one deacon, or one ministry," Dr. Price said. As 1 Corinthians 12 teaches, every member of the body has a function. He pointed to a recent Saturday at Schrader Lane: wreaths being made upstairs, a veterans celebration downstairs, a facilities meeting down the hall. Everyone understood they had a part.
He added a word many of us need: your gift is welcome, and your gift must also learn to wait. When a young man asked to be trained for ministry, Dr. Price first asked whether he had been spending time with God. Then he described his own path: nine unpaid years serving under R. C. Wells and O. J. Shabazz in New York, then ten years in Tupelo. Everybody wants the seat, he observed, but few want the sacrifice. You cannot claim the blessing while avoiding responsibility for the building.
Build a Ministry That Outlives You
In Nehemiah 11:20-36, the people spread across Jerusalem and the surrounding villages, each with its own assignments. The work must continue.
Dr. Price reminded us of earlier generations who cleaned the building, drove the bus, taught classes, and visited the sick. Then he asked a question of excellence: will the next person who comes to Christ encounter a ministry as impactful as the one that welcomed you? Can you say, "You can count on me, because this is where I will be"?
"The question is not whether there will be a place for you. The question is whether you are willing to occupy the place God has made for you."
Dr. Richard PriceRemember Who You Are: Living Stones in God's House
Dr. Price then turned to 1 Peter 2:1-11. God is not only rebuilding cities; He is rebuilding people.
Peter answers the question every believer asks: Who am I?
- You are a living stone. Whatever is on your record, your identity is now in Christ, who is alive and still working.
- You are a holy priest, offering spiritual sacrifices that please God.
- You are chosen to show others the goodness of God (1 Peter 2:9) at church, at work, and at home.
- You are a temporary resident, called to resist desires that wage war against your soul (1 Peter 2:11).
Lean on Your Church Family This Season
Dr. Price closed with pastoral honesty: the holidays are often when we fall apart. Grief resurfaces, stress builds, and we can get a little "nice-nasty" with the people we love most.
He shared how an old song on the radio recently brought him to tears as he missed his best friend. He reminded himself that he is a living stone, and that he does not have to carry it alone.
Tell your family you love them, and that you may need some mercy this season. Lean on your church family. Nobody has arrived, not even the preacher. As Dr. Price prays, "Lift me in the margins."
5 Ways to Move from Spectator to Living Stone
- Volunteer before you are asked. Offer your time to one ministry need this month.
- Exercise your gift with patience. Spend time with God and serve where you are needed.
- Invest in the next generation. Mentor, teach, or support a ministry that will bless your children's children.
- Rehearse your identity. Read 1 Peter 2:1-11 and say aloud, "I am a living stone."
- Give and ask for mercy. Pray for someone who is grieving, and lift others in the margins.
Watch, Study, and Go Deeper
Watch Dr. Price's full message, then test yourself with this week's 7-question quiz and Nehemiah sequencing game. Missed last week? Read "I Give Myself Away" on Nehemiah 10. And watch for Dr. Price's forthcoming book, The Nehemiah Invitation, expected in December.
Will You Live Here?
Where has God made a place for you that you have admired only from a distance? This week, step into it.
If you have never given your life to Christ, Dr. Price's invitation is for you: hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe (Hebrews 11:6), repent (Acts 17:30), confess Jesus as the Son of God, and be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). The Lord will add you to His church.
Share this post with someone who needs the reminder, and tell us in the comments: what place is God calling you to occupy?
Join us for worship at Schrader Lane Church of Christ or visit BarrysBureau.org for more resources.
Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | Quiz
Someone Has To Live Here
In Nehemiah 11, the walls were finished, but Jerusalem still needed people willing to live there. Test what you learned from Dr. Price's message with 7 questions that move from recall to real-life application. You will see right away whether you are correct, and why.
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Priceless Lessons from Dr. Price | Study Game
Building in Order: Key Truth Sequencing
Dr. Price traced Nehemiah's whole journey to show how God's people arrived at the question of chapter 11: Someone has to live here. Can you put the key truths of this lesson back in order?
How to Play
- Tap the statements in the order you think they belong. Each one moves into Your Order.
- Changed your mind? Tap a placed statement to send it back.
- When every slot is filled, tap Check My Order. Each statement in the right position earns 1 point.
- See the correct order, then move to the next round. 3 rounds, 19 points possible.