The Power of Remembering

I was driving down the road, my phone rang. Hello, what, I am so sorry, I am on my way. The couple was standing at the altar, and I was driving home and had forgotten their wedding!

Gail and I were having dinner with some friends, over the course of conversation that evening, they realized, it was their wedding anniversary. They had forgotten.

Have you ever forgotten an important date, an event, a memory? Something in the past, an important moment in time that you needed to remember in the present.

In the whole bible 234 times it says remember. 186 times In the OT and 48 times In the NT. Remembering is an important part of life.

Jill Price is not your average adult. She can remember everything about her life from her 14th birthday. On any given day, what she ate, what she wore. She can tell you the exact dates that she had been to the dentist or the doctor over the years. She can tell you everything about anything she has experienced. She is incapable of forgetting her life. In early 2000 she became the first ever person to be diagnosed with Hyperthymesia, or highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM), which is a condition that leads people to be able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail. It is extraordinarily rare, with only about 60 people in the world having been diagnosed with the condition.

People who are diagnosed with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) can’t forget anything. Even if they want to, they can’t.

That’s not the case with most us in this room or watching online. We want to remember the good and forget the bad. Unfortunately, the bad memories get imbedded in our minds haunting us and many of the good memories escape our grasp no matter how hard we try to remember.

The Bible is filled with the language of remembrance. Again and again, God calls us to remember His works, His ways, and His words. Timothy Keller writes …

SlideThe call to remember is one of Scripture's most repeated commands. This isn't because God thinks we're forgetful, but because He knows that our spiritual health depends on keeping His works before our eyes.       Timothy Keller

Slide Our spiritual health depends upon remembering the works, ways and words of God.

Our theme this year is … Building a Life that Matters:A life that matters is built on Christ and filled with purpose, meaning, and impact.

In this series, Building Stronger Homes, we are discovering how homes can become places of spiritual strength, relational depth, and gospel-centered living. Whether you are raising kids, investing in your marriage, mentoring others, or living alone, you can build a stronger home and stronger faith - brick by brick, prayer by prayer, day by day.

We kicked off this series on Mother’s Day where Pastor Brian reminded us that a home is stronger when faith is nurtured with love, prayer, and encouragement. He challenged us to take 5 minutes each day and voice our longings to God and to speak more words of encouragement in our homes.

Last week Pastor Joe, on graduation Sunday, talked about building on a foundation of love using the blueprints of God’s Word to guide the building of our families and homes.

Today, we explore how remembering God's works, ways and words will help us build stronger homes. When we forget God, our families suffer. When we remember Him, we create legacies that last for generations.

At the bedrock of our spiritual lives and our family relationships is this thing called remembering. It all begins today, because …

Slide Today’s moments are tomorrow’s memories!

God is present in every moment of every day. From each moment we create memories and here is what you need to know about memory …

Slide God gave us a memory to remind us of who He is and all that He’s done for us.

That is the value, the purpose, the joy of memory. We see God present in laughter, tears, pain, celebration, accomplishment, struggle. The writer Ann Voskamp says …

SlideMemory is a sacred gift from God. Through it, we can revisit His faithfulness, recount His mercies, and remind our souls why He is worthy of our trust today.        Ann Voskamp

Memory is an amazing thing. It allows you to recall events that occurred moments or even years ago. It allows you to remember people who have passed on into eternity. It allows you to remember love, blessing, joy, excitement and wonder. Memory is an amazing gift given to us by the Lord. So that …

Slide The past illuminates the present with a picture of the eternal.

We can see and experience God in the present because of who is and what he has done because those memories give us hope for tomorrow.

In our fast-paced world, forgetting has become commonplace. We forget appointments, birthdays, anniversaries—even with all our digital reminders. But there's a more profound type of forgetting that can erode the very foundation of our homes and families … spiritual forgetfulness. This is where …

Slide We are prone to forget the things of God.

In Deuteronomy 4:9 we are reminded …

SlideOnly take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children.                                                                               Deuteronomy 4:9

Throughout the Old Testament, we see a recurring pattern with the people of Israel. God would deliver them, they would rejoice, and then, tragically, they would forget. This wasn't just occasional absent-mindedness. This was a profound spiritual amnesia that led them away from God and into idolatry. In our recent study of the book of Judges we saw this cycle repeated over and over again: forgetting, sinning, bondage, crying out to God, deliverance, peace, forgetting, sinning, bondage, crying out to God, and deliverance again. Rinse and repeat. Just like ancient Israel …

Slide We can find ourselves with spiritual amnesia!

We tend to forget God's goodness when life is comfortable. We tend to forget His faithfulness when we achieve success. We tend to forget His commandments when temptation arises. We tend to forget His presence when schedules get too busy.

This forgetfulness shows up when … We neglect or limit our spiritual disciplines like prayer, scripture reading, and worship so that they become occasional rather than foundational. When we absorb the culture's definition of success, happiness, and purpose. Or when we forget God's design for love, forgiveness, and sacrificial care in our relationships. Maybe we even forget who we are in Christ and why we are here in the first place.

Judges 2:10contains perhaps the most heartbreaking verse about generational forgetfulness:

SlideAnd all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.                       Judges 2:10

What will our children and grandchildren know about the Lord? Will they know His works, His ways, His words in our lives? Or will they be a generation that does not know the Lord?

Deuteronomy 8:2 says,

SlideAnd you shall remember the whole way that the LORD your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.                                                                 Deuteronomy 8:2

God wanted Israel to remember not just the dramatic moments of deliverance but the everyday provision of manna, the protection from enemies, and the guidance through the wilderness. These memories were to shape their identity and future actions. And the same is true for us.  So, what can we do?In Deuteronomy 6:4-9 we find a blueprint for remembering.

Slide A Blueprint for Remembering

Here in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, we find the Shema, the great commandment that Jesus would later cite:

SlideHear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.                              Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Here is a way we can apply Deuteronomy 6;4-9 to our own lives. First,

1. Make it personal: The words are first on your heart before you can pass it on to others. It is a part of your story. Is God, your God, is Jesus your Savior. Are you living for Him? 2. Make it Intentional: Parents are to teach diligently, not casually. Make a plan. Maybe at the dinner table, taking the kids to school, on a call with the grandkids. 3. Make it a part of daily life: God's truth permeates everyday interactions. Bring God into the conversation. Ask Questions. What are we thankful for? What do we think this verse means? What do we as a family need to pray about and trust God for? 4. Make it visual: Physical symbols remind us of spiritual truths. We have crosses, nativity scenes, rainbows, an empty tomb, Passover and communion. 5. Make it part of your Home: Our homes reflect our belief, faith and commitment to God. Like many of you Gail and I have several scriptures in our home that communicate faith and trust in the Lord. Joshua 24:15, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Or when you walk in our home, painted on the entry wall is Proverbs 24:3-4 By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. 6. SlideMake it your story Every family has a story of God's work. Share yours regularly. Both struggles and joys provide unique opportunities for remembrance.

In Crisis: When your family faces challenges, intentionally recall God's faithfulness in past difficulties. Create a family "Ebenezer" like Samuel did in 1 Samuel 7:12: "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, 'Till now the LORD has helped us.'" In Celebration: When experiencing blessing, explicitly connect it to God's goodness. Psalm 103:2 reminds us, "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

When we commit to remembering God and teaching our families to do the same, we create a legacy that extends far beyond ourselves. Psalm 145:4-7 captures this vision beautifully:

Slide One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.                                                  Psalm 145:4-7

What’s coming our mouth as you speak? God’s mighty acts, glorious splendor, wondrous works. What’s consuming our mind, worry, fear, dread or do you find yourself thinking, meditating on God’s awesome deeds, remembering his goodness and his blessings?

Have you ever thought about God’s memory? Are there things that God forgets or can’t forget?  

Slide God won’t forget you!

In Isaiah it says …

Slide Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.                                                     Isaiah 49:15–16

God has your name written in the palm of his hand. The very scares that Jesus bore in his hands as he was nailed to the cross were for you and me. What’s amazing is that God can choose to forget. Yet He chooses to remember you but … he also chooses to forget your sin!

Slide God chooses to forget your sin!

Jeremiah writes …

Slide… For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”                  Jeremiah 31:34

Today is Memorial Day, a day where we stop to remember those who have paid the ultimate price, for the freedoms that we hold so dear. Jesus told us that there is no greater love than this, that someone would give their life for others.

There is one moment in life that changes everything in eternity. That moment when you and I realize that Jesus gave his life as a ransom, a payment for our sin. When we put our faith in him for forgiveness and eternal life. Jesus told the disciples and all us to remember and never forget the price that has been paid for you! It cost Jesus everything and because he rose from the dead you and I will live! God so loved the world that he gave His son to be our sacrifice. He redeemed us, rescued us, restored us - Let us remember as we partake together in communion, the Lord’s Supper.

Slide Communion

I challenge each family here today or listening to this message: What will you do this week to strengthen your remembrance of God? What practices will you establish? What stories will you tell? What memorials will you create?

Remember, the foundation of a strong family isn't found in perfect circumstances, financial security, or exceptional talents. It's built on the knowledge and remembering of who God is, what He has done for you, and what He calls us to be.

Closing Prayer

Lord, forgive us for our forgetfulness. Thank you for your patience with us. Help us to remember—to remember your character, your works, your Word, and your promises. Give us wisdom to build families founded on these unchanging truths. May our homes be places where your name is honored and your story is told from generation to generation. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Song – Firm Foundation

Dismissal