Joshua’s Most Famous Sermon Text
Joshua 24:14–18 (NET)
14 Now obey the Lord and worship him with integrity and loyalty. Put aside the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt and worship the Lord. 15 If you have no desire to worship the Lord, choose today whom you will worship, whether it be the gods whom your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But I and my family will worship the Lord!”
16 The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can worship other gods! 17 For the Lord our God took us and our fathers out of slavery in the land of Egypt and performed these awesome miracles before our very eyes. He continually protected us as we traveled and when we passed through nations.18 The Lord drove out from before us all the nations, including the Amorites who lived in the land. So we too will worship the Lord, for he is our God!”
Preachers love this text because it draws a clear line and asks people to choose which side they wish to stand.
The problem with people is that in some moments things look so clear, and we make big decisions and declarations, only later on to have a change of heart, and wander over someplace else.
“Nones” in America
We like to imagine who these “nones” are. I’m sure most of us know some, some of us know a lot. Maybe some of us are “nones”. Continue reading →
