Sermon on Memorials – What Mean These Stones — Sermon outline by Tom Moore applying the lessons of an Old Testament memorial to today.<\/p>\n
INTRODUCTION:<\/p>\n
A. Joshua 4:19-24<\/p>\n
1. God’s people, under the leadership of Joshua, have just entered the land promised to their forefathers<\/p>\n
2. Notice the events of the past:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
a. 400 plus years of bondage in Egypt<\/p>\n
b. Moses had led Israel for some 40 years prior to his death in the land of Moab<\/p>\n
c. The law of God had been given:<\/p>\n
1) To the people of the exile from Egypt to Mt. Sinai — Exodus<\/p>\n
2) To the people of the inheritance of Moab — Deuteronomy<\/p>\n
d. The Jordan River was crossed via dry land<\/p>\n
e. The children of Israel are now in the Promise Land — but what do they do first?<\/p>\n
3. Under the Lord’s instruction, Joshua establishes a “memorial” by having each of the twelve men he had chosen to remove a stone from Jordan. These 12 stones were then placed as a memorial of their passing through the Jordan River.<\/p>\n
B. Memorials are for the purpose of reminding us of certain events. They serve as valuable lessons to succeeding generations.<\/p>\n
1. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier<\/p>\n
2. The Lincoln Memorial<\/p>\n
3. The Washington Monument<\/p>\n
4. Memorial Day<\/p>\n
5. A spiritual memorial — The Lord’s Supper<\/p>\n
C. Later when those who saw the stones would ask, “What mean these stones?”<\/p>\n
1. In asking, an important question will have been raised<\/p>\n
2. In answering, some valuable lessons will be taught<\/p>\n
D. What might have been some of the possible answers that were given?<\/p>\n
DISCUSSION:<\/p>\n
A. What mean these stones? — These stones meant that God is a God of Providence.<\/p>\n
1. He cares for His people<\/p>\n
2. He provides for His people<\/p>\n
3. God made provisions for His people in the past:<\/p>\n
a. Examples:<\/p>\n
1) Joseph to prepare the grain to preserve the Hebrew nation<\/p>\n
2) Moses rose up to be God’s deliverer<\/p>\n
3) Manna & quail provided in the wilderness<\/p>\n
4) A law to live by<\/p>\n
5) Protection from their enemies<\/p>\n
6) His presence to guide them — Cloud and Pillar of Fire<\/p>\n
7) A new leader to succeed Moses<\/p>\n
8) Miraculous parting of the Jordan River<\/p>\n
b. Even though time and time again the Lord provided for them, it was important that they be reminded of God’s graciousness and God’s provision for them<\/p>\n
4. God continues to provide for His people under the Christian dispensation<\/p>\n
a. Romans 8:28<\/p>\n
b. 1 Peter 2:9<\/p>\n
c. Romans 8:35-38<\/p>\n
5. God’s providence is abundant today!<\/p>\n
B. What mean these stones? — These stones meant that each succeeding generation must be taught about God.<\/p>\n
1. Joshua 4:21-22<\/p>\n
a. Why? Note Joshua 4:24<\/p>\n
b. Some things should not be forgotten<\/p>\n
c. Some things should always be remembered<\/p>\n
2. Deuteronomy 6:1-9<\/p>\n
a. Moses charged the people to teach their children and grandchildren<\/p>\n
b. They must be taught God’s law<\/p>\n
c. And that which is taught is to be taught they way God would want it taught — no addition or subtraction<\/p>\n
3. The obligation to teach our children is enjoined on us today<\/p>\n
a. Ephesians 6:4<\/p>\n
b. If we do not teach our children the world will — but:<\/p>\n
1) The world will teach them wrong things<\/p>\n
2) The world will not teach them about eternal things<\/p>\n
3) The world will not teach them about spiritual matters<\/p>\n
4) The world will not teach them about the sacredness of life<\/p>\n
5) The world will not teach them about God<\/p>\n
4. Friends, one untaught generation could very well take the church into apostasy. Consider some things about Ephesus<\/p>\n
a. Acts 20:29-31<\/p>\n
b. 1 Timothy 1:3<\/p>\n
c. Revelation 2:4<\/p>\n
5. These stones mean that each generation must be taught<\/p>\n
C. What mean these stones? — These stones meant that conviction is more important than convenience.<\/p>\n
1. The Lord desire these people to remember Him<\/p>\n
a. To keep themselves away from the gods of the land<\/p>\n
b. God wanted their allegiance and service out of the conviction of their hearts<\/p>\n
c. They were entering a land that had many false gods<\/p>\n
1) It would be easy for them to mix and mingle with these false religions<\/p>\n
2) They could be easily led astray<\/p>\n
3) They could easily embrace these false religions<\/p>\n
4) In fact, the biblical records shows they continually had a problem with false gods<\/p>\n
2. The child of God today is faced with a similar dilemma<\/p>\n
a. False doctrine is a problem in our day<\/p>\n
b. It is easy to worship a god of convenience instead of worshipping in truth out of conviction<\/p>\n
3. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18<\/p>\n
a. Paul is saying do not mix with unbelievers in any compromising relationships<\/p>\n
b. Does this mean that we cannot be around unbelievers? No! How else would we be able to teach them?<\/p>\n
c. It does mean that we cannot enter into any relationship with an unbeliever that would cause us to be guilty of sin<\/p>\n
4. These stones mean that we must serve God out of conviction rather than out of convenience<\/p>\n
D. What mean these stones? — These stones meant that God’s people not only had a past — they also had a future<\/p>\n
1. There was no need for a memorial if this was the end<\/p>\n
a. Israel had a glorious past<\/p>\n
1) They have been delivered from bondage<\/p>\n
2) They had been cared for time and time again (manna, quail, water, guidance, etc.)<\/p>\n
b. Not only did they have a glorious past, they also had a future<\/p>\n
1) Joshua 4:21<\/p>\n
2) “In the time to come” is future<\/p>\n
c. They needed to prepare each generation to tell the world about their God. If they didn’t who would?<\/p>\n
2. Let us consider the Lord’s church<\/p>\n
a. The church has a glorious past<\/p>\n
1) Its place in Old Testament<\/p>\n
2) Its establishment<\/p>\n
3) It growth throughout Acts<\/p>\n
4) It survived persecution and the Dark Ages<\/p>\n
5) The fact that it still exists at all is a credit to the mighty providence of God<\/p>\n
b. Colossians 1:23<\/p>\n
1) There was a time when the Gospel was preached to the whole world<\/p>\n
2) Those people are dead and gone, and we must be concerned about reaching the lost in our lifetime<\/p>\n
3) Who will tell the world if we don’t?<\/p>\n
4) Ephesians 3:10<\/p>\n
c. We must continue the work the Lord has assigned to the church<\/p>\n
1) We cannot rest on our laurels<\/p>\n
a) Certainly it is fine to remember them<\/p>\n
b) Sure we should give thanks for past efforts<\/p>\n
c) There is nothing wrong with feeling proud<\/p>\n
2) But, we must constantly carry and defend the banner of truth<\/p>\n
d. Truly we have a past, but we also have a future<\/p>\n
1) There is a new generation yet unborn that shall depend upon what we are now — today!<\/p>\n
2) What a glorious past What a glorious future<\/p>\n
3. These stones meant that while we have a past, we also have a future<\/p>\n
CONCLUSION:<\/p>\n
A. Our part in what is now past history may have varied<\/p>\n
1. Some are too young to remember<\/p>\n
2. Some may have been young converts and thus were not deeply involved at that time<\/p>\n
3. But now we must put our shoulders to the harness and work for the future<\/p>\n
B. What mean these stones? They are a memorial for God’s people.<\/p>\n
1. They meant that God is a God of Providence<\/p>\n
2. They meant that each succeeding generation must be taught about God<\/p>\n
3. They meant that conviction is more important than convenience<\/p>\n
4. They meant that God’s people not only had a past, but they also had a future<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sermon on Memorials – What Mean These Stones — Sermon outline by Tom Moore applying the lessons of an Old Testament memorial to today. INTRODUCTION: A. Joshua 4:19-24 1. God’s people, under the leadership of Joshua, have just entered the land promised to their forefathers 2. Notice the events of the past: a. 400 plus … Continue reading “Sermon on Memorials – What Mean These Stones? – Bible Outlines”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43467","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43467"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43467\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43467"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43467"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43467"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}