5/26/13 DESIGN FOR LIFE

Lest We Forget

    Stories of remembrance.  We all have stories of times past.  “Remember when . . .?”  This holiday weekend will bring many families together and that will lead to countless stories.  Maybe you have someone in your family whose storied “expand” every time they are told.  Memories are important.
    Because memories are important, it is common to set up memorials.  The purpose of a memorial is so that something is not forgotten.  You have pictures in your home to remind you of how people used to look.  Memorials are especially important for the difficult experiences and lessons of life.
Pictures, memorials
    People need to be reminded of the corrupt mind that comes from sinful hearts.  In Europe that have preserved concentration camps so future generations will know what happened.
Buchenwald
    Our government preserves that graves of soldiers killed in battle to honor their sacrifice and let people see the cost of freedom.
Military Cemetery in Tunisia, North Africa
    The church remembers the sacrifice of Jesus that gives us hope for life and eternity.
Empty tomb and Golgotha
    Today is my mother’s 92nd birthday.
Let’s Look at a Story
**The nation of Israel, they were slaves in Egypt
**After 430 years they were miraculously delivered, Moses was their leader
**Their rebellion in the desert caused them to wander 40 years
**Finally they were ready to enter the promised land
**They crossed the Jordan River at flood state, this takes a miracle and a major leap of faith
**Joshua was God’s chosen leader to take them out of the wilderness, across the Jordan to the Promised Land.
Joshua 3:5 NIV
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”
    Get ready, you are going to see the awesome power of God.  Imagine going to Hudson and stepping in the St. Croix River.  And, as you do, the river stops flowing and all the water builds up so you can cross on dry ground.
Joshua 3:9-13 NIV
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD--the Lord of all the earth--set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”
Talk about a step of faith.!!!  Wow!!!!!
Joshua 3:14-17 NIV
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.
15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Joshua 4:1-3 NIV
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua,
2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
Joshua 4:5-7 NIV
5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
    God is concerned that truth and faith are passed from parents to children.  This is one of the major responsibilities of parents.  Note that the Bible talks about when children ask the purpose of the rocks the parents are to tell the children of the mighty works of God.  Parents are not to wait till they are asked, but the memorials help keep the stories in front of future generations.
    All the truth of God, all the things that God has done are potentially one generation away from extinction if they are not passed on.  This is another reason for bringing children to church and Sunday School.  Children MUST learn not only WHAT to believe about Jesus, but also WHY.  We must encourage good questions and give good answers.
Another History Lesson for Israel – The Passover
    How did Israel finally get out of slavery in Egypt?  The last plague was when death went through the land killing all the firstborn of the families that had not sacrificed the Passover Lamb.  Review story.
Exodus 12:13-14 NIV
13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. 14 This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance.
Exodus 12:26-27 NIV
26 And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ 27 then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ Then the people bowed down and worshiped.
    Do we have a memorial today?  We looked at memorials from the Old Testament, that were for Israel.  How about the church?  How about the New Testament?
We have the memorial of the sacrifice of Jesus.
Luke 22:17-20 NIV
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, Take this and divide it among you. 18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me. 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
    We celebrate this memorial when we share in Communion.  We do this regularly because we must not forget what Jesus did for us.  What are the events of His arrest, trial, crucifixion, burial and resurrection?

Jennie Evelyn Hussey (1874-1958) wrote:
King of my life, I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.
    Lest I forget Gethsemane;
Lest I forget Thine agony;
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.
Lyrics: Jennie Evelyn Hussey (1874-1958)
Music: William James Kirkpatrick (1838-1921)
    So that I don’t forget what You did for me, Lord, keep Calvary in my heart, mind, thoughts.  Keep the truth, the cost, the reality of Your sacrifice fresh in me.
WHAT SHOULD THIS REMEMBERING CAUSE US TO DO?
Be Thankful
Be Faithful
Be Hard Working
Be Generous
Be Eternity-focused
    Prayer: Lord, help me to be
Thankful
Faithful
Hard Working
Generous
eternity-focused