"A Promise for You and Your Children" 2012

Joshua 3:17-4:7 Acts 2:36-42

Joshua 3:17-4:7 (New Revised Standard Version)

While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan. {4:1} When the entire nation had finished crossing over the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua: {2} "Select twelve men from the people, one from each tribe, {3} and command them, 'Take twelve stones from here out of the middle of the Jordan, from the place where the priests' feet stood, carry them over with you, and lay them down in the place where you camp tonight.'" {4} Then Joshua summoned the twelve men from the Israelites, whom he had appointed, one from each tribe. {5} Joshua said to them, "Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, one for each of the tribes of the Israelites, {6} so that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, 'What do those stones mean to you?' {7} then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever."

Acts 2:36-42 (New Revised Standard Version)

Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified." {37} Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, "Brothers, what should we do?" {38} Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. {39} For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him." {40} And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." {41} So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added. {42} They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Earlier this week,

I met with some other pastors up in Northern New Mexico,

and before we got down to work, we each told

something about the story of our own faith journey…

… what we were doing

and what God was doing that brought us into ministry,

then we each of us told

the story of our call to serve in New Mexico.

The stories of our faith journey are important and instructive ---

- and when we talk about

how God is present and at work in our lives,

it says a lot about God and our relationship with God;

and even what we might expect from God in the future.

Today’s text from Joshua builds on the continuing story

of God present and at work

in the lives of the Israelites all the way back in Egypt;

through all their struggles of escaping from slavery,

and during their 40 year trek in the wilderness.

The book of Joshua begins

when they were finally at the banks of Jordan River

and ready to cross over into the Promised Land.

As instructed by God, the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant

obeyed, and stepped out into the water of the Jordan River ---

- and at that moment, the river suddenly stopped flowing,

creating a dry, safe place for them to cross the over.

* A dry, safe place has a very particular meaning in Scripture.

We are told at the beginning of Genesis,

that the earth was formless and void, a watery chaos,

and that God separated the waters, which created

a dry and safe space for humans and animals to live.

Meaning that, creation was God providing a dry and saving place

from the surrounding watery chaos and formless void all around.

That same theme was played out again in the story of Noah’s ark.

40 days and nights became chaotic and stormy flood waters,

and the ark separated and kept safe the people and animals

in the dry and saving place provided by God …

… the ark was God’s provision,

a place of rescue and safety from the raging flood waters.

That dry and safe place, the saving ark theme

was also played out once again in the story of Moses as a baby.

When commanded by Pharaoh that all male babies

born to the Hebrews had be thrown into the Nile River to drown,

the mother of Moses

made a papyrus basket that floated on the river.

It was a dry and saving safe place

keeping him alive amid the threatening waters of the Nile.

Then later during the Exodus,

when Pharaoh changed his mind about letting the people go

and sent his army to bring the slaves back to Egypt;

the people were trapped between

Pharaoh’s army behind and the sea waters before.

So God directed Moses to raise his staff and the waters separated

creating a dry and safe place for the people to cross.

Clearly it’s a recurring theme for God to be present, powerful,

and to make a dry and saving place amid the threatening waters.

Getting back to the Joshua passage,

when the people had crossed the Jordan River on dry land,

someone from each of the 12 tribes of Israel was chosen to

àpick up a stone from the middle of the dry river bed…

… and carry that river rock with them all day long,

to build a monument or memorial from those stones

where they camped that 1^st night in the Promised Land.

* Now, why did God command them to do that?

If you have ever seen rocks taken from a riverbed,

you immediately notice that water has eroded them smooth,

and they look a lot different than rocks of the desert.

So for future generations yet to come,

that pile, or memorial made from rounded river stones,

sitting a whole day's journey away from the Jordan River,

would look noticeably out of place…

… and future generations of children would notice about it:

"what are those rounded and smooth river rocks,

that memorial doing way out here in the desert?"

Then, the older generation, those who knew the stories,

of coming through the wilderness to the Promised Land

and about crossing the Jordan River on dry ground,

and about carrying those heavy stones all dayà

à had a perfect opportunity to tell the story of the memorial,

about the dry & safe places of God amid the threatening waters.

That memorial they built in the desert from river rocks,

also served as a reminder to tell their children their stories…

about dry places of safety and God's miracles, and that à

the rock memorial was a sign of God's love and care for them.

vs. 6

"when your children ask in time to come, what do those stones mean do you ? then you shall tell them ... so these stones shall be a memorial forever"

The memorial was a symbol to encourage story-telling,

to re-tell the stories of what God had done for them ;

so that future generations would know about

God's mercy, power, promises and presence with them,

and they would know about God’s grace and love for them.

Acts chapter 2 tells the story about Peter’s Pentecost sermon,

in which he ties the hope and promises of the Old Testament

to the life, ministry and events of Jesus Christ ---

- the one, Peter reminds them, they had crucified.

And so in response they asked (vs. 37), “what should we do?” …

… to which, vs. 38,

Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you …”

If you think about the symbolism of baptism, it is thatà

we too pass through the water as a sign of God’s salvation.

In baptism, symbolically, we pass through the waters,

as a sign of God's gracious place of rescue and blessing

-- a safe and dry place amid the raging and threatening waters.

Baptism is a sign of God's loving grace, care and promises,

as by the water of baptism we claim and recognize

that we belong to God whose love by grace saves us,

and baptism shows that we are indeed the saved, who belong to God…

… and so when we baptize our children,

the water is a symbol of God's love, grace and promise;

and as a church, and as parents of children,

we also vow that we will encourage and nurture their faith…

… so that they will know and believe,

that they are loved, precious and cared for by God …

… so that in time, our children

will choose to claim that Christian faith for themselves,

à and thereby identify themselves as the beloved people of God…

… which is why Peter is able to assure his listeners in Acts vs. 39

"the promise is for you, and for your children"

Many times we have made that solemn promise and oath before God

that we will teach this faith and truth to our children.

So how do we teach Christian faith, truth & values to our children?

That was answered in Joshua, to use the stones as a reminder,

as a symbol to help teach with the stories of our faith.

vs. 6

When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off in front of the ark of the covenant of the Lord. … So these stones shall be to the Israelites a memorial forever.

I still remember as a very little boy sitting in the backseat

on the way home from church one Sunday,

and asking my parents, why they served juice in church?

They used the opportunity of the question I asked

to tell and teach me how the Gospel story about Jesus

was connected to the sign and symbol of Communion;

helping me to recognize my own connection to that story.

It is along those same lines and purpose that we put so much into

Vacation Bible School, Salt & Light, & Sunday School each year.

The stories of faith and their meaning are the way we convey

the truth of God's love, mercy and purpose to our children.

Our children are entrusted to us by God,

so that they can learn how much God loves and cares for them,

by experiencing the love and care that we have for them.

Their understanding of God's grace, mercy and love for them,

is built on the experience of love & mercy that we show to them.

Children grow and believe that God really loves them,

by experiencing, receiving and recognizing that we love them.

They will believe the truth of faith and that God’s love is real

to the degree they observe authentic faith and love in us.

And of course the other piece is that

we cannot teach or show what we ourselves do not yet know.

A few weeks ago I flew to Pittsburg, and half listened through

the familiar litany, that in the event of an emergency,

an oxygen mask would drop, and make sure you secure

your own mask before helping those around you.

It’s an obvious metaphor, before nurturing faith in others,

first, we need to be growing in our own walk of faith.

So what do your children know about the priority of God in your life?

And what do they know about how you came to faith,

or what difference faith in Jesus has made in your life?

God wants us to teach them what we believe …

God want us to teach them about our faith …

… and as Christians, we have a unique authority and responsibility

to pass along our faith & values down through the generations.

As important as our words and explanations are,

our actions and deeds will always speak even more loudly.

For better or for worse, our children are watching and learning,

and call is to pattern and model what we hope to instill.

What does the way we live, say about God’s in our lives?

The things we do, our attitudes and the things we say,

what do they declare about the importance of faith to us?

Will it be Bible stories and seeing our faith lived authentically,

or will they learn from cartoon characters on TV or movies?

** Whose stories and values will they learn to live by?

Opportunities to teach our stories of faith are limited and finite.

One time, a busy executive promised to take his kids to the circus.

Just before they were about to go, the phone rang.

It was a call from the office,

something urgent had come up, a crisis at work.

The children braced themselves for the coming disappointment

that their day that the circus would have to be canceled.

But instead the executive said, "I'll handle that tomorrow"

The caller insisted, "You know the circus will come back again."

and the executive replied,

"I know that, but their childhood will not."

The teachable moments in life are limited and passing,

only a finite number of opportunities to make a difference;

… what will we teach about the stories and truths of our faith?