Scripture
– NIV
Joshua
7:1-21 –
But
the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of
Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of
them. So the Lord’s anger burned against Israel.
Now
Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of
Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and
spied out Ai.
When
they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up
against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the
whole army, for only a few people live there.” So about three thousand went up;
but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them.
They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and
struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear
and became like water.
Then
Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the
Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and
sprinkled dust on their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did
you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of
the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other
side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel
has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the
country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name
from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”
The
Lord said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel
has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep.
They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied,
they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites
cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they
have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you
destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.
“Go,
consecrate the people. Tell them, ‘Consecrate yourselves in preparation for
tomorrow; for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There are devoted
things among you, Israel. You cannot stand against your enemies until you
remove them.
“ ‘In
the morning, present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe the Lord chooses
shall come forward clan by clan; the clan the Lord chooses shall come forward
family by family; and the family the Lord chooses shall come forward man by
man. Whoever is caught with the devoted things shall be destroyed by fire,
along with all that belongs to him. He has violated the covenant of the Lord
and has done an outrageous thing in Israel!’ ”
Early
the next morning Joshua had Israel come forward by tribes, and Judah was
chosen. The clans of Judah came forward, and the Zerahites were chosen. He had
the clan of the Zerahites come forward by families, and Zimri was chosen.
Joshua had his family come forward man by man, and Achan son of Karmi, the son
of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was chosen.
Then
Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the Lord, the God of Israel, and
honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
Achan
replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the Lord, the God of Israel. This
is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia,
two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I
coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with
the silver underneath.”
Romans
5:8 –
But
God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
2
Corinthians 5:17-18 –
Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is
here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and
gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
James
5:16 –
Therefore
confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
Bob’s
thoughts:
I am
quick to admit it is a joy to be in worship with any of our grandchildren. They
often bring memories of our times in church with their parents when they were
young.
I
made a few notes from today’s message before my youngest granddaughter crawled
onto my lap to tell me stuff and color. I’m not sure if it would be better if I
could understand everything she told me, perhaps not. One I did understand was
a caution that we shouldn’t talk while Pastor Mike was talking…I believe that
was for everyone but her.
When
they were looking for people to sign up for areas in the church where members
could serve, my grandson was quick to respond that he could sing. A few days
ago, when I was explaining to a pastor about asking the shut-in members to pray
for others who are ill and shut in and talking about the purpose and ownership
that comes with participation, I was reminded of an experience.
There
was a woman who attended regularly but was seldom involved with any other
aspect of the church. I asked her to help by keeping the pencils in the holder
next to the pew pads. Not only did she check and replenish the pencils, she started
to participate in other areas of the church…she had ownership. Our children
were the same, restacking Bibles, picking up Communion cups and leftover
bulletins from the pews. There are so many things we never give a though to,
but we notice when these jobs are not done.
Jan’s
thoughts:
We
had the pleasure of joining some of our family again for worship this morning
at the early service, so we got to sit with some grandkids before joining the
rest of the grandkids, including the out-of-town visitors, for an early lunch.
As
always, the members of this congregation were friendly, greeting us and others
outside and holding the door as we approached.
As
we entered the sanctuary I noticed the small tables were all off to the side,
each with a display exhibiting some aspect of ministry within the church. During
the announcements I learned this was an opportunity for anyone who was not already
serving in some way to look into how they could best use their gifts and
talents.
The
current message series is entitled Unstuck,
and this was part three, called Failing
Forward. It began with a series of brief stunt videos that were paused for
a few seconds so the congregation could guess by show of hands whether the
person would “make it or break it.” The topic was failure, one everyone present
could identify with through personal experience.
The
pastor touched first on The Truth About Sin: it is a failure to obey God, it
separates us from God, and it may be personal but it’s never private because it
affects those around us.
He
went on to list three lies failure tell us, each countered by the hope given to
us by the Truth: the lie that we should give up, and the hopeful truth that God
does not give up on us; the lie that we are rejected by God, and the truth that
God forgives us; the lie that when we fail, we are just carrying on the family
tradition, and the truth that God adopts us as His children regardless.
He
advised that in order to overcome the inevitable failures in our lives, we must
confess them and resolutely turn away from them (i.e., repent).
I
hate thinking about the ways I have failed, but today I was grateful to be
there for this encouraging, hope-filled message.
We
had the deep delight of joining our children and grandchildren in the Lord’s
Supper. It was an exceptionally blessed time.
Our
prayer for this church:
Awesome
Lord, guide us all in service to Your Church as we pray to humbly serve You.
Amen.
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