Sermon Title: What We Should Be Thankful For
"When you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, the citizens of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; and I handed them over to you. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove out before you the two kings of the Amorites; it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not labored, and towns that you had not built, and you live in them; you eat the fruit of vineyards and oliveyards that you did not plant. Now therefore revere the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in faithfulness; put away the gods that your ancestors served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. Now if you are unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served in the region beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord."
Many of the Israelites believed that they were at the Promise Land because of their superior abilities or knowledge. Joshua reminds them that it was because of God and only God alone that they were able to overthrow their enemies and possess the Promise Land. Who were the enemies of the Israelites? They were the principal tribes of the region who ruled various areas of the Promise Land (Mesopotamia), usually with brute force. The tribes represent those areas of our lives which remain unconquered for God and under the influence of sin. We, like the Israelites, must decide whether we are going to allow sin to dominate our lives, trust in our own abilities to conquer sin or "serve the Lord" (v. 15). Read Deuteronomy 8:1-20 and I Corinthians 10:1-13 for further study.
This coming Sunday I will remind us that we should be thankful for what God has done for us, for what God has given us and our ability to believe. Sunday is also our Re-Commitment Sunday and Annual Business Meeting. And we will have a pot-luck dinner after the worship service with more of Dan Walk's beans! Hope to see you at this special time in the life of our church.
Many of the Israelites believed that they were at the Promise Land because of their superior abilities or knowledge. Joshua reminds them that it was because of God and only God alone that they were able to overthrow their enemies and possess the Promise Land. Who were the enemies of the Israelites? They were the principal tribes of the region who ruled various areas of the Promise Land (Mesopotamia), usually with brute force. The tribes represent those areas of our lives which remain unconquered for God and under the influence of sin. We, like the Israelites, must decide whether we are going to allow sin to dominate our lives, trust in our own abilities to conquer sin or "serve the Lord" (v. 15). Read Deuteronomy 8:1-20 and I Corinthians 10:1-13 for further study.
This coming Sunday I will remind us that we should be thankful for what God has done for us, for what God has given us and our ability to believe. Sunday is also our Re-Commitment Sunday and Annual Business Meeting. And we will have a pot-luck dinner after the worship service with more of Dan Walk's beans! Hope to see you at this special time in the life of our church.
