Joshua
Last Words: The Sequel
September 12, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Joshua 24
Richard Baxter, a renowned Reformed pastor from the 1600’s, captured, in his own experience, Joshua’s urgency at the end of his life. He said, “I preached as never sure to preach again, and as a dying man to dying men.” In chapter 24, Joshua challenges Israel, after all Yahweh their Elohim had done for them, to repent of their half-hearted loyalty and choose to be fully devoted to him. What Joshua confronted in Israel that day is a common delinquency found in God’s people in both the Old and New Testaments, including our own times, maybe even in our own lives. Read Joshua 24 to prepare.
Last Words
September 5, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Joshua 23
A person’s last words are typically their most significant and the most important to remember. Maybe the last words of a loved one are a treasure you hold dear in your heart. Last words matter. In the final two chapters of Joshua, he shares his own, first to his fellow leaders (chapter 23) and then to the nation as a whole (chapter 24). Joshua’s last words are a treasure we can hold dear in our hearts. They reveal the secret to overcoming spiritual strongholds in and around us, which will lead us into a time of Communion, where we remember Jesus and all he has done for us. Please read Joshua 23 to prepare.
The Danger of Assumptions
August 29, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Joshua 22
The topic of this Sunday’s message is the danger of assumptions—how civil war nearly broke out in Israel because of wrong assumptions. Mexican author, Miguel Ruiz, wrote: We make all sorts of assumptions, because we don’t have the courage to ask questions. Without asking a question, I’m going to go out on a limb. I think it’s safe to assume that everyone reading this has experienced conflict with someone—a spouse, friend, relative, classmate, neighbor, or work colleague—over an issue you later discovered was completely unnecessary, because it was based on a wrong assumption. Israel’s story in Joshua 22 reveals important insights for the division and strife in our own times and how to deal with the danger of assumptions.
Receiving The Inheritance
August 22, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Romans 15:4, Joshua 13—14, Joshua 20—21
Romans 15:4 reminds us how important the Old Testament is to New Testament believers: For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Israel’s story in Joshua helps us better understand our own story in Christ. This Sunday, we will explore four important insights from Israel’s inheritance of the Promised Land that encourage us to endure with hope in taking possession of our own inheritance in Christ. Read Joshua chapters 13, 14, 20 and 21 to prepare. You get extra credit, if you read chapters 15-19 about tribal allotments.
Already, But Not Yet
August 15, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Joshua 10—13
We are living in the last days. The King has come! However, he only inaugurated his kingdom. Satan is defeated, but not yet dumb and destroyed. He still has his voice. He's still looking for victims. The consummation of God’s kingdom is yet to happen. Our promised inheritance in Christ is ALREADY ours in heaven, BUT NOT YET in its fullness on earth. We are living between two ages. That’s why, though redeemed in Christ, we still struggle with sin. That’s why people still rebel against the King, persecute his people, and commit all kinds of evil and appear to be getting away with it. Israel’s story, in Joshua 10:16-13:7, illustrates the times in which we live.
A Day Like No Other
August 8, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Joshua 10
Joshua 10 ranks as one of the most frequently invoked passages for discrediting the Bible in the world of rationalism and science. A literal interpretation raises issues concerning the veracity of Scripture and God’s ability to do whatever he chooses. What actually happened at Gibeon on this day that the Bible claims to be unique in all of history? Did God actually stop the rotation of the earth and the revolution of the moon, so the sun and moon stood still in the sky for an entire day? Come, let’s reason together.
God’s Long Game
August 1, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross • Joshua 9
The Bible says the devil’s schemes come in two basic forms: 1) like a roaring lion to frighten and intimidate us and 2) like a mesmerizing angel of light to deceive and swindle us. With both, he uses human instruments in an attempt to defeat and devour us. In Joshua 9, we see both schemes at work at the same time! It’s a graphic picture of the Christian life dressed in the ancient garb of Israel’s experience. The good news is, even when we foolishly succumb to the devil’s devices, as Israel did, God leverages our short-term losses into long-term wins. God plays the long game, turning stupid into splendid. Read Joshua 9 to prepare for this message.
Review to Renew
July 25, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
If you’ve ever attended a football game at Autzen Stadium, you may have witnessed the cheerleaders leading 50,000 enthusiastic Duck fans in an antiphonal call-and-response. The fans on one side of the stadium scream, “Go!” The fans on the other side answer by screaming back, “Ducks!” This volley goes on for several minutes. It’s pretty cool. Now, imagine 2,000,000 enthusiastic God fans in an antiphonal call-and-response, a million at a time screaming “Amen!” back and forth to each other, after each verse Joshua reads from the Scripture. That’s beyond cool! That’s the scene in Joshua 8, after Israel’s victory at Ai. More than an epic moment in Israel’s history, it teaches us a profound lesson about our relationship with God today. Read the entire chapter to prepare.
Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out
July 18, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
This Sermon we return to Joshua 7 to finish the tragic story of Achan’s family and the trouble they brought on an entire nation. The violation was so serious, God threatened to leave Israel, which begs the question: Why would an entire nation suffer the consequences of one family’s sin? The answer is a profound biblical truth, one that runs counter to the individualism that dominates our culture today. Read Joshua 7 to prepare.
The High Cost Of Overconfidence
July 11, 2021 • Pastor Dan Collins
You know that feeling you get after doing something really well and walk away feeling so confident, but suddenly trip on your own feet? Overconfidence can sometimes be painful. Do you know that feeling when you see an advertisement, and suddenly you want something you didn’t even know you’d wanted before? It’s sometimes hard to say no. This Sermon we’re back in the book of Joshua as Israel moves from crossing the Jordan river and conquering Jericho to the small little town called Ai. Israel’s confidence and covenant to God quickly changed into overconfidence and disobedience with disastrous results. But just as Israel learned from failure and God’s grace, we can learn too. You can read the story in Joshua 7:1-13.
Justice & Mercy
June 27, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
This Sermon, in Joshua 6, we face a deeply troubling issue. Under God’s command, every living creature in Jericho was “devoted to destruction"--men and women, young and old, all the animals. Is God condoning genocide, here? How does God declaring all-out war on a people square with Jesus’ command to love our enemies? I asked Pastor Frank to take this passage; he opted out. Come! Let’s work through this passage together. There are vital lessons for us to learn, and afterward we will celebrate the baptism of many.
First Things
June 20, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
A favorite quote from a favorite movie is by an ex-con named Brooks in The Shawshank Redemption. Brooks spent most of his life in prison, finally making parole as a gentled old man. Dropped into the outside world in the mid-1960’s, he felt lost and overwhelmed. He wrote to his buddies back in prison, “The world got itself in a big damn hurry.” I smile every time I hear that line. I have to wonder what old Brooks would say about the pace of life today. We live in a culture of speed and immediacy. Joshua 5 reminds us that God’s pace is radically different from ours. Just when it made complete sense for Israel to rush ahead, God hit the pause button. The purpose for that pause is life-changing.
Capturing The Moment
June 13, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
We all suffer from spiritual amnesia. In the busy flow of life, we forget the realities on which our relationship with God is grounded. We constantly need to be reminded of the God who saves his people through mighty acts of deliverance. All our hope is founded on what these acts are and why they happened. In Joshua 4, we learn that remembering is an essential part of making disciples of Jesus Christ—both in terms of evangelizing the nations and edifying the Church—especially our children, whether biological or spiritual.
Dip In The Brink
June 6, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
Would you like God to do something astounding in your life? Are there “strongholds,” whether physical, emotional, or spiritual, keeping you from experiencing the kind of abundant life and personal transformation Jesus offers you? By way of illustration, the account of Israel in Joshua 3 reveals several key insights for entering the blessings of our inheritance in Christ. This will be a special Communion service. You don’t want to miss it.
Scandalous Grace & Saving Faith
May 30, 2021 • Pastor Ben Cross
There are some accounts in God’s Word that reveal the depths of his grace in ways that leave you slack-jawed. The account in Joshua 2 is one of them. To the moralist, a grace like this seems scandalous, offering a free pass to those who deserve nothing more than judgment and death. To the immoral, a grace like this seems too good to be true. This Sermon we will see scandalous grace and saving faith on full display. Bring a friend who needs both.