Sermon on Joshua 24:15

Joshua 24:15  ”……………….choose you this day whom ye will serve………but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

These words spoken by Joshua a long time ago, address what I truly believe is one of the greatest needs of our age. I know not how you feel about this but I am convinced that the strength of our nation, the strength of the community in which we live, the strength of the church is found in the commitment to make our homes, homes that truly fear the Lord and  serve him in sincerity (Joshua 24:14; Eph. 6:24).

We live today in a fast paced society in which so much pressure is being exerted upon us to say, think and do things that are not in harmony with the will of God. We cannot just assume that because we believe in God or because we go to church services, that our homes are going to be homes that serve the Lord. Every member of the family unit needs to examine and re-examine their place in the home—husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters need to take a close look at their individual responsibilities (Eph. 5:22-31; Eph. 6:1-4; Prov. 22:6; 2 Tim. 1:5).

Insofar as the home is concerned, I truly believe that a lot of pain, heartache and misery have been brought into all of our lives because God’s will concerning marriage has not been respected and followed (Matt. 19:3-9). Just because the government allows divorce for any reason does not mean that God condones it. We need to go back to the biblical principle of marriage: male and female, cleaving together as one flesh,  until death does them part.

 If our homes are going to be homes that serve the Lord in sincerity, homes in which our children and grandchildren are reared in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, we are going to have to teach them not only in word but also by example what it means to have that kind of home. It will be a home in which children are being taught some great basic values of life: RESPECT—WORK—PRAYER—TRUST. If these values are not seen in abundance in our lives as husbands, wives, mothers and fathers, then in all likelihood they will not be found in the lives of our children. As parents or just as husbands and wives, we need to work overtime to make sure our homes are serving the Lord (2 Tim. 1:5).

Much more can be said on his particular subject but for now suffice it to say that America does have a lot of problems—crime, disrespect for authority, loose morality, greed, perversions of all kinds, homosexuality and the list can go on and on. Answers are constantly being sought for our problems but I fear that most people are seeking those answers in the wrong place. Simply put, God is the answer and I truly believe that most of our ills would be cured with homes truly serving the Lord. “AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSE _______”  (You fill in the blank).

Charles Hicks