by admin | Oct 11, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
In Joshua 5, the topic of H&L week 6, God gives the nation of Israel an important directive for their fresh start… and we spend the whole sermon talking about everyone’s favorite awkward topic: circumcision. As the entire generation of Israelites who God brought out of Egypt had passed away, it was time for God to re-assert his connection with his people. He commands the men of Israel to undergo circumcision before entering the promised land. Why? The ritual was a mark of his everlasting covenant with them.
Through Pastor Yami’s sermon, God uses this Joshua account to teach us about the role of rituals in our lives, about the necessity for waiting, and about how he is able to roll back disgrace and reproach and heal us from our pasts. We can all use a fresh start sometimes, whether in our relationship with God in or work we have been called to do. God’s grace was enough for Israel and it is more than enough for us today.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5
by admin | Oct 2, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
In Week 5, Ian Farrimond proposes this pattern for our lives: Looking back, moving forward. Where does he get it? In Joshua 3 and 4, God leads the Israelites across the Jordan river. As the priests enter the river, God pulls back the water and leads his people across it on dry land. Then, Joshua collects the 12 stones each of the tribes of Israel has carried from the Jordan. He builds a monument with them, what we call the Ebenezer stone. Why? Joshua says: “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ ” The monument was built to help them remember.
But we don’t remember just for the sake of it. We remember our past that we might learn from it and more forward into the future. The ebenezer stone was a marker of what God had done, so the Israelites could look back and be encouraged as they moved forward. The ebenezer stone was a way to tell the story to those who were not there to experience it themselves. Listen to the sermon, contemplate your “crossing the Jordan moments,” and see the faithfulness of God.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4
by admin | Sep 18, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
We may all love to go places and do things, but do we pay attention to the preparation needed for the going and the doing to go well?
Last week, Joshua received his commission from God. This week, he commands his people to make preparation to fulfill that commission. Sometimes, when we hear God telling us to do something, we think it means we must act right away. And we can think we are supposed to go forward blindly–“just trust”–and he will work it out. But in our hurry, we can neglect steps that God intended us to take. To make a plan is not to demonstrate lack of trust; to carefully prepare is not to give into fear of the future. Let’s learn from Joshua how to say a resounding “YES!” to God’s call and then enact it with wisdom and a trusting and faithful heart.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1, Week 2
by admin | Sep 11, 2019 | Highs and Lows, Sermon Audio and Notes
In week 2 of Highs and Lows, we return to Joshua and the Israelites in their transition. We meet them again as God repeatedly speaks a strong command over Joshua: Be Strong and Courageous. If you’ve been in the church long enough, you have heard this verse quoted again and again. Often, it is a platitude or a comfort in a tough time. But in this sermon, Pastor Yami points out that this is actually a command the Lord gives to Joshua. Why does he say that? How is Joshua supposed to follow through? How are we supposed to be strong and courageous in the scary transitions of our lives? Check it out.
In the Highs and Lows series, we are going through the book of Joshua. Together, we examine the ever varying seasons of our lives by using the Bible’s story of the Israelites entering the land of God’s promise as a mirror. Reflected in this story we will find moments of celebration, of crisis, of faith, of doubt, of winning, and of losing. Sometimes we will find highs and lows both in the very same moment. A new generation of Israel wrestles with themselves and their leader, Joshua, to trust God and go where he leads them. We, too, wrestle with our own faith (or lack thereof.) No life is devoid of highs; no life is devoid of lows. And no life is devoid of God if we choose to open up our eyes and seek him, no matter where we are on our journey. Welcome to Highs and Lows.
Catch up: Week 1
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