Which Will You Worship?

CIT: Joshua is challenging the people of Israel to make the the commitment today to get rid of false gods and worship God alone.

INTRODUCTION:

“I imagine many of you walked into chapel this morning with your mind in a thousand different places.

Some of you are stressed about exams. Some of you are actively avoiding thinking about exams and just hoping everything somehow works out.

Some of you are carrying pain from things happening at home or in relationships, and honestly it’s hard to focus on anything being said in here today because your mind is somewhere else.

Some of you are sad the school year is almost over. Some of you cannot wait to get out of here and finally have some freedom and time to yourself.

But regardless of where your mind is this morning, I want to ask you a question that is bigger than exams, summer plans, relationships, sports, college, or whatever else is consuming your thoughts right now:

What actually has your heart? Another way I could ask this is “What actually has your worship?”

Because the thing that has your heart (has your worship) will eventually shape your life.

And that’s exactly the question Joshua confronts Israel with in Joshua 24.”

The passage we’re reading this morning comes right after the Nation of Israel has experienced some amazing things: In fact, in this account we see a sort of cross roads for Israel. Joshua has assembled all of the tribes of Israel and tells them what God wants to say to them. This time was unique because Israel had to listen to a leader or a prophet to receive special direction from the Lord. At the beginning of Joshua 24 we see that God reminds Israel of what He has done in the past. He reminds them of the absolutely amazing miracles He accomplished that they and their parents/grandparents has witnessed.

Things they had seen God do

1. God called Abraham and built a nation from nothing

(Joshua 24:2–3)

God took Abraham out of idol worship and made a covenant with him.

Why it mattered: Their entire existence as a people was proof of God’s grace. They only existed because God chose them.

Application idea: “Your story started because God pursued your family.”

2. God rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt

(Joshua 24:5–7)

Many in Joshua’s audience would have heard firsthand accounts—or lived through—the deliverance.

They would know about:

The Ten Plagues

the death of the firstborn

The Exodus

Why it mattered: God proved He was stronger than the most powerful nation in the world.

3. God parted the Red Sea

(Joshua 24:6–7)

One of the clearest demonstrations of God’s power.

5

They walked through on dry ground while Egypt’s army was destroyed.

Why it mattered: God didn’t just save them spiritually—He physically made a way where there was no way.

4. God sustained them in the wilderness for 40 years

(Joshua 24:7)

They saw:

manna from heaven

water from rocks

their clothes not wearing out

God’s presence in the pillar of cloud and fire

Why it mattered: God wasn’t just powerful; He was faithful every single day.

5. God protected them from enemies they should not have defeated

(Joshua 24:8–10)

They defeated powerful kings east of the Jordan.

Joshua specifically mentions:

the Amorites

(when God turned intended curses into blessing) Balak and Balaam

Why it mattered: Their victories were clearly not because of their own strength.

6. God stopped the Jordan River so they could enter the land

(Joshua 3, implied before Joshua 24)

Joshua’s generation saw this with their own eyes.

7

Another impossible body of water parted.

Why it mattered: God was proving He was still with them, just as He had been with Moses.

7. The walls of Jericho fell

(Joshua 6)

4

No military strategy could explain this.

They marched, obeyed, and God brought the walls down.

Why it mattered: Victory came through obedience and trust, not human ability.

8. God gave them a land they did not earn

(Joshua 24:13)

Joshua reminds them:

“I gave you a land you did not labor for, and cities you did not build…”

They inherited:

homes

vineyards

olive groves

cities

Why it mattered: Everything they had was grace.

9. God kept every promise He made

A major theme in Joshua:

“None of the good promises the Lord had made… failed.” (Joshua 21:45)

Why it mattered: God had proven Himself trustworthy again and again.

Your sermon connection

This is what makes Joshua’s challenge in Joshua 24:14–15 so powerful:

Joshua 24:14–27 CSB

“Therefore, fear the Lord and worship him in sincerity and truth. Get rid of the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and worship the Lord. But if it doesn’t please you to worship the Lord, choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship—the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living? As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord.” The people replied, “We will certainly not abandon the Lord to worship other gods! For the Lord our God brought us and our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery, and performed these great signs before our eyes. He also protected us all along the way we went and among all the peoples whose lands we traveled through. The Lord drove out before us all the peoples, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will worship the Lord, because he is our God.” But Joshua told the people, “You will not be able to worship the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions and sins. If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you, harm you, and completely destroy you, after he has been good to you.” “No!” the people answered Joshua. “We will worship the Lord.” Joshua then told the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you yourselves have chosen to worship the Lord.” “We are witnesses,” they said. “Then get rid of the foreign gods that are among you and turn your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” So the people said to Joshua, “We will worship the Lord our God and obey him.” On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people at Shechem and established a statute and ordinance for them. Joshua recorded these things in the book of the law of God; he also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak at the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said to all the people, “You see this stone—it will be a witness against us, for it has heard all the words the Lord said to us, and it will be a witness against you, so that you will not deny your God.”

I know that was a bit longer of a passage, but I hope you didn’t miss what is in there. Joshua is addressing the primary issue for Israel and that is the issue of where their worship lies. He goes past only talking about Israel's behavior and digs deeper to the question of what the object of their worship is.

I imagine each one of you has our school theme down by now. REAL WORSHIP. It’s not a just a phase that the admin here thought would sound cool and make a good graphic. In fact I would say that it is primary reason that you exist. God created you for worship… And this design is not a selfish design… God is so loving that He has chosen to share Himself with us in a way that we can experience and enjoy His goodness.

When we look at our passage today we a see some import principles about worship. And it seems fitting that we finish up our last chapel talking about worship one more time.

Real Worship Includes Healthy Fear (Josh 24:14)

There are 2 main responses God has to rebellion

“The unbeliever faces judgment. The believer experiences loving discipline.”

The unbeliever going into eternal punishment

The believer receiving loving correction (Heb 12) for the sake of restoration.

Ocean Illustration

We have seen the patience of God and sadly our response is so often to take advantage of this patience and turn to apathy rather than giving God the healthy reverence and fear that he deserves.

A healthy fear of God begins with us seeing Him for who He truly is.

Sometimes our struggle with fearing God is not that we don’t know God’s power; it’s that the world seems too attractive.

Think about all the things that God has reminded Israel about… they had seen all of this… yet they still needed to decide who they would worship.

“Israel had seen miracles, deliverance, provision, protection, and fulfilled promises—and Joshua still had to say, ‘Choose today whom you will serve.’

Some of you have also seen God work. You’ve seen prayers answered. You’ve seen God protect you. You’ve heard the gospel. You’ve experienced His kindness.

The question isn’t whether God has proven Himself.

The question is: how will you respond?”

Real Worship Requires Abandoning False Gods (Josh 24:14)

The god’s that were taking Israel away from the true God were from their ancestors’ (Family/Heritage) and their current land they were in (cultural pressure/norms)

I imagine that you don’t have little statue gods that you secretly worship… in fact it probably feels a little foolish to you that Israel would struggle with this. What you have to remember is that Israel would have been struggling with these false gods because it was normal.

What are the things in your life that are taking your worship? Maybe you accept those things because it’s normal in your family… it’s normal with your friends.

We each have a constant pressures on what to worship. We open up our phones and are constantly bombarded with all kids of promises from the world of what will satisfy your heart.

“More money will make you secure.” “More followers will make you valuable.” “The perfect body will make you lovable.” “Success will make you important.” “Relationships will complete you.” “Entertainment will make you happy.” “Comfort will make life better.” “Achievement will give you identity.” “Being desired will give you confidence.” “Having control will give you peace.” “Buying more will satisfy you.” “Living for yourself will make you free.”

Every scroll is competing for your worship. Every advertisement promises fulfillment. Every trend says, “This is what you need.”

Each one us have a void in our soul that can only be truly filled and satisfied by God. The devil knows you have this void and so he’ll do his best for you to see promise after promise of little gods that will satisfy that longing that you have.

We serve what we worship.

In fact there are somewhat interchangeable (see different translations.)

We worship what we love.

What do you love?

Who do you love?

Which will you serve?

You can’t serve both - Matthew 6:24

Matthew 6:24 CSB

“No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

We see that phrase at the end that you can’t serve both God and money but I think we can apply that first part of the verse to a lot of things...

You can’t serve both God and sports. You can’t serve both God and social status. You can’t serve both God and popularity. You can’t serve both God and comfort. You can’t serve both God and lust. You can’t serve both God and pride. You can’t serve both God and approval from people. You can’t serve both God and your image. You can’t serve both God and selfish ambition. You can’t serve both God and pleasure. You can’t serve both God and your ego. You can’t serve both God and the world.

“Eventually, what you worship will shape what you obey. One master will always win.”

Don’t stay on the fence

TRANSITION: Maybe you are reflecting on your life right now and realizing that you have some gods in you life… some things that you worship that you are unsure if you are willing to give up. Maybe the pleasure you get from your sin is just too good right now. Maybe when you think of God, you have no joy or satisfaction… maybe when you come into a chapel service or meet with your church, you feel complete apathy.

I encourage you to identify your gods, the things that have your heart and turn away from them.

If they are sinful throw it out. Turning away from those things in your life can be painful because you love them....

If they are not wrong, but they are keeping you from running after God completely, may you should set them aside for a time.

Real Worship Should be Committed to Today (Josh 24:15)

Joshua encourages this group of leaders that he is talking to to make a decision on what they will worship… I want to encourage each one of you to make a decision.

Don’t stay on the fence - pick a side 1 Kings 18:21

1 Kings 18:21 CSB

Then Elijah approached all the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him. But if Baal, follow him.” But the people didn’t answer him a word.

I hope each one of you in this room decides to faithfully follow Jesus. I would never encourage you to do anything different, but I also think if the reality is that you only follow Jesus if it’s easy or comfortable, you might be better off to call it out how it is. If Jesus only matters to you when it’s convenient, you need to honestly ask whether He truly has your worship.”

You know sometimes admitting to yourself and others where you actually are can push you to a couple places...

I’m out and I don’t care… Please don’t claim Jesus as your God.

I want to be close to God, but I’m gripped by the world and I don’t know where to start. I feel embarrassed to admit how deeply I’m gripped by sin… Don’t let your pride keep you from getting help and healing. Everyone in this room who is following Christ is broken and desperately in need a Jesus strength. Ask your teachers… I imagine many of them asked God for strength just to get through this day. We’re weak… at times we’re absolutely broken, and coming to the place where we acknowledge that we have been worshiping something or someone else can brake us and push us to repentance (Turning to Christ as our Lord). - whether that is the first time or maybe you are just in a season of not submitting to His Lordship

- Right now… in your head say we’re you are at

Lead by example - be the first to make the decision | Joshua asks Israel what they were going to do? You might notice though that he doesn’t wait for them to answer before he declares his decision.

When everyone is going the wrong way, do you follow?

When we look at Israel's response, we notice that Joshua calls out their lack of faithfulness… he says that they are going to turn from God.

Joshua pushes past their quick words and pushes them to think about what they are saying and committing to. Joshua had seen time after time the people of Israel seeing the greatness of God but then turning on God when things God challenging, and it looks like he was sick of it.

When they push back with saying that really will worship God alone, Joshua demands a response - get rid of your idols and turn your hearts to the Lord

Set up monuments (safeguards) to remember that commitment (Josh 24:26-27)

Accountability with the body of Christ

Friend who was so faithful in a lot of areas, so he set himself up for accountability when he stepped away.

Outward proclamations - Baptism, personal reminders

If you were to go off the deep end, would there be anything in place to pull you back?

COMMIT Today

TRANSITION: For there to be a lasting commitment, there will need to to be a change of heart.

Real Worship Requires a Change of Heart (Josh 24:23)

Observations:

Even with a change of heart and action, we sill are susceptible to the temptation of falling back into our old patterns

When you let your heart long after things over God, you heading down a dangerous path.

Hear me out, this is not to discourage you from claiming Christ if you feel inadequate. If you feel the tension of your heart being divided at times between what God calls you to and the temptation of the world, you are not a lone. Please don’t give up! We are all desperately dependent on the Holy Spirit to work in us. That’s why we need a change of heart. And the work of the Holy Spirit in us is that work. Each one of us do not have the ability to to love God as we should… to worship God as we should. We are dependent on God to follow Him faithfully and we are dependent on Him to even love Him as we should.

When you come to the place of understanding your brokenness and utter dependance on God; you are in a place were you no longer have to manufacture fake worship… your heart is just overwhelmed with gratitude that God for some reason has chosen to love and carry you and it has nothing to do with anything you have to offer.

THAT is what sustains lifelong REAL Worship.

You could land with:

“At the end of the day, you will worship something. The only question is what will sit on the throne of your heart.

Joshua says: ‘Choose today.’

Elijah says: ‘Stop wavering.’

Jesus says: ‘You cannot serve two masters.’

So what has your worship right now?

And what would it actually look like to surrender that to Christ?”

That gives a clean final landing point.

Joshua 24:15 stands out as the most compelling choice for this age group. The passage presents a direct, personal challenge that demands decision-making—exactly what resonates with adolescents navigating identity formation. Joshua’s ultimatum—“choose for yourselves today: Which will you worship”—cuts through abstract theology and forces concrete choice. The follow-up, “As for me and my family, we will worship the LORD,” models leadership and conviction without coercion, which invites rather than demands agreement.

This text works particularly well because it acknowledges the reality that worship choices exist and matter. Jesus reinforces this tension in Matthew 6:24, where divided loyalty becomes impossible—a principle that resonates with teenagers who already experience competing demands on their attention and devotion. Elijah’s confrontation in 1 Kings 18:21 sharpens the question further by calling out wavering commitment, which speaks to the adolescent experience of uncertainty without letting them remain comfortable in it.

For application, anything honored more than God or as much as God constitutes an idol, and modern idols exist in Christian contexts just as much as ancient ones[1]. Rather than lecturing about what teenagers worship, you might invite them to identify their own pedestals—whether physical possessions like sports cars or clothing, or intangible pursuits like relationships or career aspirations[2]. Idolatry involves what we worship, fall down before, and pray to—and modern examples include obsessing about achievements or constantly thinking about status, which replaces what we ought to be doing for God[2].

[1] Amos Russel Wells, Three Years with the Children (Redding, CA: Pleasant Places Press, 2005), 37. [2] Bryan Murawski, The Preacher’s Hebrew Companion to Isaiah 40–66: A Selective Commentary for Meditation and Sermon Preparation, ed. Jonathan G. Kline, The Preacher’s Hebrew Companion Series (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Academic, 2025), 90.