Memorial

That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones? (Joshua 4:6 KJV)

The stones shown above were scattered about our sanctuary last Sunday morning.  During the sermon, twelve men brought them down and stacked them, and left them after the service.  Sure enough, some who spent the morning in children’s church or missed the morning service came to the evening service and asked, “What mean ye by these stones.” Our stones did not have the same meaning as Joshua’s:

Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. (Joshua 4:7 KJV)

They may be forgotten much more quickly than Joshua’s, too:

And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel. (Judges 2:10 KJV)

One generation.  That’s all it took for them to forget the works the Lord had done for Israel. It would appear that either parents did not tell the children – or the children did not hear nor remember.

Is that what happened to England? To go from a nation responding to Charles Spurgeon’s sermons to shutting down and selling off churches of England? Is that what is happening to America? If not, why not?

There is a photo on Facebook of me, my daughters, a granddaughter and great-granddaughter.  We older three discuss why we’re Christians, how we serve Him, learn more about Him, and even the youngest says grace over her meals (I will admit that hers are a bit short and to the point) and sings songs about Him. We can look generations back, too.

My husband’s grandfather wrote to his nine children, read with his will:

To my dear family survivors; the greatest asset I can hand down to you is to commend you to the Lord Jesus Christ whom I have tried to serve from childhood. He is the only rock or foundation you can safely build or rely upon and you should love Him with all your Might.

His children brought forth fruit of the spirit:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV)

His words commending Jesus Christ as our safe rock or foundation continue, as seen in his grandchildren. One small example is in my Beloved Husband’s favorite verse:

The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. (Psalms 18:2 KJV)

You now have heard. Will you teach the next generation?