A Date to Remember

The very first official sermon I preached was based on Joshua chapter 4.  It was the spring of 1990 and I was doing a pastoral internship at the church where I grew up, Calvary Lutheran Church of Golden Valley, MN.  The sermon experience was memorable for me personally, for a number of reasons, and so it was a bit of serendipity that the main point of the text was the Lord’s call to remember.  To refresh your memory, Joshua 4 is the account of the Lord’s instructions to Joshua regarding their building a monument of memorial stones from the Jordan river.  Joshua and the leaders were instructed to take up 12 stones from the middle of the Jordan river, where the people had crossed the river on dry ground, at a time the river was overflowing its banks.  The Lord’s purpose for the memorial was that “all the people of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you (the people of Israel) would fear the Lord their God forever” (Joshua 4:24).  The Lord had done a miracle in their midst and He wanted to make sure they would remember the miraculous nature of what He had done for them, a detail that was important for them and future generations.

 

This is of course not an isolated call to remember but is part of a refrain repeated throughout Scripture, Exodus to Revelation.  We are to remember all “His mighty deeds” but in particular His divine guidance, provision, protection along with our true identity and Kingdom purpose.  Over the last couple of months, I have been inviting us to remember individually as a way to experience personal spiritual renewal.  Beginning this month, I want to shift our focus to the Remember event taking place on Friday night May 31, 2019, at Thanksgiving Church in Bellevue, NE.  We are going to gather that evening to remember individually, and celebrate corporately, the goodness of God, the great things He has done in our lives and the plans He has for us to advance His Kingdom.  We are going to spend time worshipping, remembering His deeds, thanking God, celebrating the Lord’s Supper and then praying for one another.  In the next couple of paragraphs, I want to share with you why I think you should consider joining us in the celebration.

 

First, it is always appropriate to give thanks to the Lord for all He has already done.  Most of us would confess we don’t thank the Lord nearly enough. Remembering also does a couple of things in us.  It builds our faith as we remember how God has been faithful in the past and it reminds us to be grateful.  In spite of whatever we feel we don’t have or wish wasn’t going on in our lives, the fact remains we have so much to be grateful for, beginning with the gift of our salvation.  If God never did anything else in our lives this gift alone is beyond comparison and something we can never repay.  We have the blessing of heaven to look forward to for all eternity.  In your remembering, you will experience a new vitality in your relationship with God and an increase in your ability to trust Him in the present and future.

 

Second, we are going to celebrate our unity as the body of Christ by receiving the Lord’s Supper together.  While theologically we may have slightly different understandings about the meaning of communion, on this night we will choose to focus on our points of agreement, such as our essential oneness as the children of our heavenly Father and our being co-heirs with Jesus the King, regardless of any other differences we may have?The apostle Paul says it this way in Ephesians 4:4-6, “there is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”  Just as we can be filled with the Spirit individually, the Scriptures remind us, we can be filled with God’s Spirit corporately (Ephesians 5:18).  We are going celebrate as the family of God, seeking to be filled corporately, seeing Jesus’ name lifted up.

 

Third, as we close out our evening together there will be an extended time of ministry where you will be able to receive healing prayer for any issue that concerns you and receive a fresh word of encouragement for the next season of your life.  There will be a trained ministry team along with special guests Walter and Ida Cowart of Armorbearers Ministries and Lee and Doris Harms of the Healing Rooms in Kansas City, MO who will be available to pray for anyone who desires to receive ministry.  I expect many will receive spiritual, emotional or physical healing.  In addition, I believe many will receive confirming prophetic words reminding them of the Kingdom plans and purposes God has for their lives.  By God’s Spirit, we will receive healing, freedom, and revelation of God’s great love for us.  Who isn’t ready for more of personally experiencing God’s love and goodness?

 

The genesis for the Remember event was a conversation I had with the Jesus back in May of 2018 regarding a healing encounter I had with Him back on May 31, 1979.  Jesus rescued me from physical and spiritual death, healed me physically and freed me from a years’ long addiction to alcohol and drugs.  I have experienced first hand the truth of John 8:36, “if therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.” 

 

But the evening is really about you, your story and finding your place in God’s story.  I believe Friday night May 31, 2019, is our opportunity to take our next steps together realizing God’s promises for each of us.  I do hope to see you then.  May you continue to experience God’s best in your journey with Jesus the King!