“Poet and author, Mary Karr, once wrote, “A dysfunctional family is any family with more than one person in it.”
Most of us will smile at her wry humour & acknowledge the truth of that statement from our own experience. “Well I’m not perfect” is how we say it about ourselves… but about others we are often less than understanding….or kind.
Families, like any other group of people, function best when they live toward a common goal or purpose…making the family farm or business thrive…living up to a standard set by a previous generation. It might just be wanting to give your kids a less difficult life than you experienced. But every family has some kind of legacy or imprint it seeks to establish and pass on. Every. Family.
Today, Joshua calls the people of Israel, who are now one enormous extended family, to declare in their hearts, homes & lives that legacy…imprint…purpose. Who will they trust to establish them as a nation for generations to come? Who will they trust to build & secure their legacy into the future? Who will you serve?
#1 in the series: 'Dys'functional
In Charles Dickens famous story, ‘A Christmas Carol’, Ebenezer Scrooge is haunted by three ghostly visitors, one of them being the ghost of Christmas Past who takes Scrooge back to revisit his own past, some of it bitter, but much of it fondly remembered …
Arriving at the border if the promised land, Joshua and the younger generation of Israelites also had potential to be haunted by the Ghosts of the past. Would they continue in the ways of the generation who had gone before them, second guessing God and complaining about His ways, always looking back to Egypt, or would they stand with strength and confident trust in the Lord God who had brought them out of that place and was now about to lead them into the fulfilment of the next part of His promise?
We also can be haunted by the ghosts of “Christians past”. Sometimes we can be guilty of wanting to return to the ‘way things were’, when life was ‘simpler’ or ‘easier’. Sometimes we get too caught up trying to live the faith and life of our ancestors or forefathers in the faith, and we fail to see the new ways that God is still fulfilling his promises to his people, how he is still with us, even though here in Australia we are a long way from Israel, and here in the 21st Century, we are a long way from ancient Egypt. Our God is still the same, his promises are still the same, and He is calling us to live with strength and courage in light of those promises, even if we can’t always see what’s on the road ahead. That’s what we’ll explore today as we conclude this sermon series by living in the promise.
#13 in the series: The Journey of Promise
Owner’s manuals. When is the last time you bought a new car, ‘smart’ device or electrical appliance and meticulously read through the accompanying owner’s manual? If you’ve made one of those purchases recently, you might have noticed many manufacturers no longer bother printing these user guides because hardly anybody reads them and those who really want to, are usually happy to go online and find the user guide on a website.
Most of us seem to be happy figuring it out on our own and only looking for the instructions when things don’t seem to be working properly. It’s not unlike the way we relate to God. The God who created us – in His own image, and breathed his own life into us – the God who is the source of our life and the one who knows how it was meant to be lived. Yet most of us are happy to try and figure it out on our own, doing it our way – living our truth, living our best life and we only tend to think about God or ask him for help when things don’t go according to our plan.
But fulness of life is only found according to His plan. To strike out on my own way ends in death…but to live out of God’s gracious presence admitting my own self-inflicted brokenness is to experience life in its fullest & God’s delight & joy at every step. We’ll explore and experience that grace and life today as we discuss – Claiming the Promise
#12 in the series: The Journey of Promise
Return for a full refund – “No fault” divorce – contractual “escape” clauses and loopholes – We regularly look for all sorts of ways to change our minds at no cost & move on to something we think is “better.” Whether it’s a better pair of shoes or a “better” spouse or a better deal we’ll trade what we have for what we think is better at the blink of an eye.
That’s the human story from the moment Adam and Eve traded the fullness of life in the garden for the knowledge that they were naked. We too are regularly presented with promises that seem more attractive, more immediate & more tangibly rewarding than the promises of God. But only God & His promises lead us on the journey to fullness of life with Him both now & for all eternity.
And in the midst of fickle human hearts God never relents on his promise to bless his people…The Lord said to Moses, “Get going, you & the people you brought up from the land of Egypt. Go up to the land I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. I told them, ‘I will give this land to your descendants.’
It’s there, in God’s relentless move toward us in grace that we discover; to receive the promise of God, we must live with the God of the promise.
#10 in the series: The Journey of Promise
It's the disclaimer at the end of every advert promise. T&C's may apply. It's the fine print that sets out the conditions under which you agree to provide goods or services; it details the contractual relationship, sets the rules and defines the conditions under which an agreement can be terminated. Many see the Ten Commandments that way too - as a list of terms and conditions for being a Christian. Still others, see them as an outdated set of rules that no longer apply in contemporary society. Separated from relationship, it's easy to see the Ten Commandments that way. But connected to God and the mutual relationship God desires with his people, the Ten Commandments are a gift of love that reveals our identity, protects the freedom we have been given, guides our relationship with God and others, creates community, and enables us to move forward and flourish in life. It's a promise that is unshakeable and unchangeable, a promise that is set in stone.
#10 in the series: The Journey of Promise
We're all in this together. It's the lyrics of a well known ad campaign. It was the catch cry over Covid. But the sad reality is that many navigate and transition through life with a lone ranger complex; a self-imposed state of loneliness that arises from bearing the brunt of the struggles, needs and burdens of life or an organisation single-handedly. Some even wear it as a badge of honour - "who needs other people's help when you have two capable hands and a strong head on your shoulders?!' But neither leadership nor life was meant to be a solo expedition for the burdens can be heavy, and the journey dangerous and those who try to forge ahead single-handedly will often find themselves overwhelmed or overcome by fatigue and despair. Today God wants us to see the need we have to lean on others and to build a support system so that we are able to traverse the challenging landscape of life, last the distance and experience the joy of being together in the promise.
#9 in series - The Journey of Promise
Rhythm guides our lives! From sunset to sunrise, from breathing in and out, to the left, right, left, right steps we take, our lives are full of repeated patterns of movement that guide and shape our behaviour and direct our lives.
Some rhythms are life-giving, some are life defeating. Just days after their miraculous rescue out of slavery, the people of God develop an unhealthy rhythm and response to their circumstances; it's a response that will characterise their behaviour over and over again in the pages of Scripture. But God shows them a new rhythm that is to shape and define their lives as his people. It's a rhythm that is filled with promise, immersed in grace, moves in faith and overflows with generosity. It's a rhythm that establishes and builds community in difficult times. We'll discover that today as we continue our journey in the book of Exodus and explore "in the wilderness with promise."
#8 in series: The Journey of Promise
Baby steps” “One day at a time” “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time”
We know the clichés. We’re familiar with the understanding that much of life can only be experienced in moment-by-moment segments. We get it that we’re not privileged to know the outcomes of tomorrow until we get there.
It’s precisely that uncertainty that breeds our anxieties. It is precisely in the unknown or unknowable where our fears multiply. But what is assured in all the uncertainty and unknown of life is that we live and move and have our very existence enveloped in the presence, protection and provision of the Father. God is always with us and forever for us and he will not leave us to wander alone. So today we look at walking in the promise.
#7 in series: The Journey of Promise
World leaders have them. So do some celebritiesI Even the pope has his own. PPD or PSD - Personal protection or security detail. Bodyguards. Trained people that can be relied on to protect you and keep you safe from all danger at all costs. Their presence is meant to help a person relax and feel safe as they go about their everyday life. In our life's journey, sometimes it is easy to forget that we have our own PPD - a faithful God who never leaves us, whose might no-one or nothing can surpass, who is willing to do whatever it takes to save us. Whatever we encounter, he is a God who is mighty to save. His promise of salvation also comes with the promise of protection...from all that enslaves, from all that troubles, from all that diminishes and destroys life. It's a promise that we, as the people of God, need to remember, to remind each other of, and to claim so that we can live life to the full, whatever circumstances we encounter on our journey. So today we claim again the protection of the promise as we gather in worship together.
#6 in series: The Journey of Promise