Stones That Speak

What Our Memorials Say About God and About Us

Introduction

Last year on Memorial Sunday, we talked about living stones—how God uses stones in Scripture as memorials of His faithfulness. We wrote blessings from 2024 on a rock, marking places where God met us.

Today, we’re going to do that again—but with a deeper question.

Memorials don’t just sit there. They speak.

Every gravestone speaks. Every monument tells a story. Every memorial asks us to stop and consider what really mattered.

That’s why Memorial Sunday feels heavy and hopeful at the same time. We remember loss—but we also remember meaning.

Linda Ellis captured this so well in her poem “The Dash.” She writes about how on every gravestone there’s a birth date, a death date, and in between them—just a dash.

I read of a man who stood to speak At the funeral of a friend

He referred to the dates on the tombstone

From the beginning…to the end He noted that first came the date of birth

And spoke the following date with tears,

But he said what mattered most of all

Was the dash between those years For that dash represents all the time

That they spent alive on earth.

And now only those who loved them

Know what that little line is worth For it matters not, how much we own,

The cars…the house…the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

And how we spend our dash. So, think about this long and hard.

Are there things you’d like to change?

For you never know how much time is left

That can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough

To consider what’s true and real

And always try to understand

The way other people feel. And be less quick to anger

And show appreciation more

And love the people in our lives

Like we’ve never loved before. If we treat each other with respect

And more often wear a smile,

Remembering this special dash

Might only last a little while So, when your eulogy is being read

With your life’s actions to rehash…

Would you be proud of the things they say

About how you spent YOUR dash?

And she says:

“What mattered most of all was the dash.”

Today is about the dash. And about the stones that speak for it.

Point 1: Stones Speak of What God Has Done

Scripture: Joshua 4:21–24 (ESV)

21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

“When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean?’ … tell them that the hand of the Lord is mighty.”

Explanation

God commanded Israel to stack stones on purpose.

Not so they’d admire architecture—but so future generations would ask questions.

God knew something about people:

We forget miracles faster than we forget pain

We normalize blessings

We move on without reflecting

So He said, “Set something up that won’t forget.”

Those stones said:

“God did this.”

Illustration

Last year, you wrote blessings on a rock. Some of you wrote:

Healing

Provision

Survival

Strength to keep going

Those stones don’t just remind you—they tell a story.

Like Ellis’ poem reminds us:

“What mattered was the dash.”

Those stones say:

“God was faithful in my dash.”

Application

As you write on your stone today, don’t write something vague. Write something specific.

Let it say:

“God carried me.”

“God provided.”

“God sustained me.”

Because one day, someone else may read it and need that reminder.

Point 2: Stones Speak in Places of Sacrifice and Loss

Scripture: 1 Samuel 7:12 (ESV)

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.”

Explanation

Samuel set up the Ebenezer stone after fear, repentance, and battle.

This was not a victory without cost. This was not a pain-free story.

Ebenezer means:

“God helped us here.”

Even here. Especially here.

Illustration: Normandy Cemeteries

In 2004, I visited the American and German cemeteries in Normandy.

Row after row of white crosses. Stars of David. Names. Dates.

Most of them heartbreakingly young.

And what struck me wasn’t just the number of graves—it was the silence.

Those stones don’t shout. They don’t explain. They simply stand there and say:

“A life was given here.”

When you walk through the American cemetery, you feel honor. When you walk through the German cemetery, you feel sorrow.

Different sides. Same loss. Same dash—ended too soon.

And every stone testifies:

“Freedom came at a cost.”

Application

Memorial Sunday reminds us:

Some stones represent lives we miss deeply

Some stones represent sacrifices we never personally knew

All of them deserve remembrance

Some of you are writing blessings today that came through grief. That doesn’t weaken your testimony—it strengthens it.

Like Samuel said:

“Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

Point 3: Stones Speak Forward Through the Dash We’re Still Living

Scripture: Luke 19:40 (ESV)

40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Explanation

Jesus says stones will testify when people won’t.

Memorial stones don’t just look backward—they preach forward.

They ask:

How will you live your dash?

What story will your life tell?

What will people remember about your faith?

Illustration

In The Dash, Ellis writes:

“So think of this long and hard; are there things you’d like to change?”

That’s what memorials do. They confront us with perspective.

The people buried in Normandy don’t get another dash. The names we honor today don’t either.

But we are still writing our dash.

Application

Your stone today isn’t just about last year. It’s about how you will live this next one.

Let it say:

“I trusted God.”

“I lived with gratitude.”

“I loved people well.”

“I pointed others to Christ.”

Because ultimately, our greatest memorial isn’t a stone—it’s a life lived for Jesus.

Conclusion

On this Memorial Sunday:

We remember stones of faithfulness

We honor stones of sacrifice

We recommit our dash to God

Jesus Himself was laid behind a stone.

But praise God—the stone didn’t get the final word.

So as you write today, let your stone speak:

“God was faithful.” “Life mattered.” “Hope remains.”