MEMORIAL DAY 2022
WHAT A MEMORIAL SHOULD BRING TO MIND
INTRODUCTION: MEMORIAL DAY IS A HOLIDAY MEANT TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIVES FOR OUR CONTINUED FREEDOM. THEIR SACRIFICE WAS NOT FOR A MOMENT IN TIME, BUT FOR THE SPAN THAT WOULD STRETCH FROM WHERE THEY WERE TO WHERE WE ARE AND INTO THE FUTURE. MEMORIAL DAY SHOULD REMIND US THAT THE PRESENT IS NOT ALL THAT MATTERS; THAT THERE IS RELEVANCE IN THE PAST, AND THAT THERE IS STILL MUCH WE CAN GLEAN AND LEARN FROM THE PAST. YET, ALL TO OFTEN MEMORIAL DAY HAS BEEN REDUCED TO ANOTHER DAY OFF FROM WORK, OR PERHAPS THE START OF THE BBQ SEASON.
TRANSITION: YET MEMORIALS WERE IMPORTANT TO GOD. THAT IS CLEARLY EVIDENT AS MEMORIALS ARE SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE PAGES OF THE BIBLE. SO, IN THE NEXT FEW MOMENTS, I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT A FEW OF THESE MEMORIALS – IN A GENERAL SENSE, WITH THE HOPE OF DRAWING US TO WHAT, FOR THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST, SHOULD BE THE ULTIMATE MEMORIAL.
Psalm 105:1-5 (NIV) Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 2 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. 4 Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. 5 Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
WHAT WE SEE HERE IN THE TEXT IS A SERIES OF WE ARE ENCOURAGED TO DO, WITH THE FINAL ONE BEING THAT OF REMEMBERING. SO, IN OUR TIME TOGETHER, LETS TAKE A FEW MOMENTS LET US EXPLORE WHAT I WOULD CALL THE ACTIVITIES OF A MEMORIAL.
1. GIVING THANKS TO THE LORD
a. GIVING THANKS NEEDS TO BE ROOTED IN THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH THAT GOD IS THE AUTHOR OF ALL OUR BENEFITS
b. THIS FALLS LOGICALLY IN THE USE OF LORD – THE GOD WHO KEEPS HIS COVENANTS
2. CALL ON HIS NAME
a. LITERALLY WE ARE TO CALL HIM BY HS NAME.
b. GOD HAS BEEN GIVEN SO MANY NAMES THROUGHOUT THE BIBLE
c. NAMES WERE GIVEN TO GOD WHERE SIGNIFICANT EVENTS TOOK PLACE AND AN ASPECT OF THE NATURE OF GOD WAS REVEALED TO THE RECIPIENT
d. CALLING GOD BY HIS NAME IS A WAY OF REMEMBERING WHO HE IS IN RELATION TO WHAT HE HAS DONE
3. MAKE KNOW, … WHAT HE HAS DONE
a. GOD NEVER MEANT FOR HIMSELF TO BE RESTRICTED IN OUR MINDS AND MEMORIES
b. PART OF THE CHRISTIAN MEMORIAL PROCESS IS TO MAKE TIME TO TALK ABOUT GOD
i. TESTIMONY OF GOD’S PROVISION OR ANSWER TO PRAYER IN THE LIFE OF ANOTHER BELIEVER
ii. WITNESS OF GOD’S DESIRE FOR NO ONE TO PERISH
4. SING TO HYMN
a. BRING YOUR BEST THOUGHTS ABOUT GOD AND EXPRESS THEM IN THE BEST LANGUAGE FOR COMMUNICATION AND RETENTION – MUSIC
b. WHY, HOW MANY OF YOU CAN REMEMBER ADVERTISEMENT JINGLES FROM WHEN YOU WERE A CHILD?
5. TALK ABOUT WHAT GOD DOES
a. THIS IS THE THIRD PART OF THE METHODS OF COMMUNICATION
i. THE FIRST DEALS PRIMARILY WITH THE HISTORY OF THE ACTIVITY OF GOD
ii. THE SECOND DEALS WITH THE WAY WE COMMUNICATE BEST
iii. THE THIRD FOCUSSES ON THE PRESENT METHOD OF COMMUNICATION
1. THE BIBLE GIVES US A HISTORY OF THE ACTIVITIES OF GOD
2. THE BIBLE GIVES US A VALID PREDICTION OF THE FUTURE ACTIVITY OF GOD
3. THE THIRD ENCOURAGES US TO KEEP GOD IN OUR CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW
6. GLORY IN HIS HOLY NAME
a. GOD IS SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF
b. THIS IS ONE OF THE FEW PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE WHERE THE CONCEPT OF “BOASTING” IS USED IN A POSITIVE SENSE
c. PART OF CHRISTIAN MEMORIAL IS BEING PROUD OF GOD
d. ONE OF THE REASONS PRIDE IS SEEN IN A NEGATIVE LIGHT IS THAT IT INFLATES THE SITUATION ONE IS PROUD ABOUT
e. FOR GOD, THE IS NO SITUATIONAL INFLATION. GOD ALWAYS ACCOMPLISHES EVERYTHING IN SUCH A WAY THAT NONE OF IT CAN BE CALLED INTO QUESTION
7. LOOK TO THE LORD
a. ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONAL TRUTH ASSOCIATED WITH MEMORIALS IS THAT THEY ARE A REMINDER OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED
b. THEY ARE A CHALLENGE TO LEARN FROM OUR PAST
c. THEY ARE AN EXHORTATION TO IN MANY WAYS AVOID REPEATING OUR PAST
d. FOR THE FOLLOWER OF CHRIST, SEEKING GOD GOES FURTHER
i. IT INVOLVES US PUTTING OURSELVES UNDER HIS PROTECTION – SEEKING HIS PROTECTION
ii. THIS IS SO IMPORTANT WHEN WE REALIZE THAT OUR STRUGGLES AS A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST ARE SPIRITUAL IN NATURE
iii. EVEN WHEN WE SEE OUR STRUGGLE AS PHYSICAL, WE NEED TO LOOK FOR THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION
iv. AS I ALLUDED TO LAST WEEK, WE NEED TO BE DOING THINGS GOD’S WAY
v. SO WHEN THERE IS A STRUGGLE, WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES IF THIS STRUGGLE IS DUE TO MOVING AWAY FROM GOD’S PLAN FOR THE SITUATION
1. DID I FIRST GIVE THE ISSUE TO HIM BEFORE TACKLING IT MYSELF?
2. AM I FOLLOWING GOD’S PATTERN
vi. IT IS THESE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT PUT US UNDER GOD’S PROTECTION AND WE ARE SEEKING HIM
e. AND DON’T FORGET THE WORD, “ALWAYS”
i. SEEKING IS NOT ONCE AND DONE
ii. SEEKING IS A REGULAR ACTIVITY
8. REMEMBER WHAT HE DID
a. WITH REGARD TO GOD MEMORY IS TWO PRONGED
i. REMEMBER WHAT HE HAS DONE
ii. REMEMBER WHAT HE HAS SAID
b. MEMORIALS THROUGHOUT THE SCRIPTURE REVEALED TO US THA NATURE OF GOD AS THEY WERE ERECTED WHEN GOD REVEALED SOMETHING ABOUT HIMSELF
c. THE WORDS GOD SPOKE DID FAR MORE THAN REVEAL THE CHARACTER AND NATURE OF GOD, THEY GAVE INSTRUCTION FOR US TO FOLLOW
NEXT SUNDAY, WE CELEBRATE COMMUNION, AND WE OBSERVE A UNIQUE MEMORIAL. MEMORIALS ARE MEANT TO DRAW US TO THE PAST TO REMEMBER SOMETHING. COMMUNION ALTHOUGH IT REFERENCES THE PAST COMPLETED WORK OF CHRIST YET POINTS US TO THE FUTURE – JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT THEY WERE TO DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF HIM. BUT HE ALSO TOLD THEM THAT HE WOULD NOT DRINK THE CUP AGAIN UNTIL HE DRANK IT WITH THEM. COMMUNION IS THE MEMORIAL THAT ALSO POINTS US TO THE FUTURE. A FUTURE WITH OUR LORD AND SAVIOR.
LET ME SHARE THIS QUOTE WITH YOU AS I CLOSE:
Yet in the Lord’s Supper we see even more than that. We also see the promise of Jesus Christ that He will come again and that we will eat and drink anew with our Lord in the kingdom of God (Mark 14:25). The Lord’s Supper points us not only to the past but toward the promised future as well. The past and the future are made into vital contemporary realities for us by the presence of Christ. The meal is a memorial that reinforces a hopeful memory.
