Joshua 4 Crossing the Jordan River

Do you have something in your life that brings up a significant moment or event in your life? Maybe its a shell from a beach vacation. Or you have a snow globe from a fun trip you and your family have taken.

What is something you have, that you can look at and instantly remember an event or person in your life.

I remember as a kid, traveling with my family one year to DC. If you have never been to our nations capital, they have built monuments and memorials for significant events and people that has impacted our nation in a positive way. They built them not because they are good looking but to remember where we have come from as a nation.

Washington Monument for George Washington our first president.

Abraham Lincoln, president who ended slavery.

Rosa Parks, civil rights activist.

Vietnam Memorial, to remember all who have lost there lives during the Vietnam War.

Some are sobering areas, you just feel sad, other monuments you are proud and think that we as Americans can do anything to make this world a better place!

I don’t want to preach that long tonight, but I want to focus in on this idea of remembrance. Remembering all that God has done and who He was, is, and will continue to be.

Joshua leading the Israelites across the Jordan.

We look at this story in Joshua, where he is leading the Israelites across the Jordan River. This takes place right after Moses the leader who brought them out of slavery in Egypt, and they are now getting ready to take the promise land.

If you follow me in Joshua 3:13 it says “13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.””

God tells this to Joshua and then in verse 15 it happens. He is a God who keeps the promise, and lets the people of Israel walk across on dry ground.

My next favorite part follows in chapter 4. This is where we are going to sit in tonight. God told Joshua after they were crossing over, to take 12 men and command them to pick up 12 rocks from the river and stack them ontop of each other as a memorial for what God has done this day.

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.”

We are having a time of worship tonight and the word “remembering” keeps coming into my mind. Worship is about remembering who God is, what He has done, and what He has promised.

Looking through Psalms we see the writers praising God for who He is! We see Mary, praising God and remembering how faithful He has been while she was pregnant with Jesus. Then we also see the disciples and Jesus telling them at the last supper while taking communion, do this in remembrance of me.

Remembrance is a HUGE part of worship. And tonight some of you can look back to camp, and remember how good and the experience of God you had encounter. Or maybe you didnt go to camp, but you can still remember a time where something good happened, that was God. James 1 tells us that every good and perfect gift comes from God.

Maybe your in here and life isn’t going good. Its not been your week. Its not been your summer. Or something bad is going on in your family. I lift you up in prayer right, to remind you of how good He still is.

Now these stones that we see in Joshua were not worshipped as an idol, but it was a physical monument that pointed to a time where God was faithful, did mighty works, and brought them out of the wilderness and into the promise land. They were placed to remember why God is worthy of our worship.

Now, we are going to physically move in an act of worship. On either sides of the room there are rocks and sharpies, when I get done praying we are going to grab a rock and right on there a time when God has been faithful to you.

I want you to then come back to your seats and we are going to worship some more. But take that home and place it somewhere visible, so everyday you are reminded of God’s faithfulness and that He doesn’t change and that He is trustworthy and He never changes.