Remember

Remember

A Memorial Day sermon

Chuck Sligh

May 29, 2016

TEXT: Deuteronomy 32:7 – “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will show thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.”

INTRODUCTION

It seems the older I get, the more problems I have with remembering things.

Illus. – Yesterday I went to the PX and the commissary. I had parked behind one of the shopping cart sheds, but didn’t take note of that fact. I got some things at the PX and then shopped at the commissary, and when got outside, I couldn’t remember for the life of me where I had parked!

I went from one end of the parking lot to the other…and no car. So I move further up about a quarter of the way up, but still on the opposite side of the shopping cart shed, and again went from one end of the parking lot to the other.

Still I couldn’t find my car. I thought, Did the cops come and haul my car off?

So I decided to go to the OPPOSITE end of the parking lot and go from one end to the other again, but that far out, I was too far from my car to see it, even though I was now on the same side of the shopping cart shed.

By this time I had wasted at least ten minutes, and I was getting frustrated when suddenly my eyes locked on one of the shopping cart sheds. It was only THEN that I remembered that I had parked behind one of them. So I finally found my car!

I suppose we’ve all done that before, but some people have REALLY bad memories.

Illus. – There’s a story about a city fellow who was visiting a farmer friend. While there, the farmer said, “Watch this.”

The farmer gave a whistle and the city man watched in amazement as the farmer’s dog herded the cattle into the corral and then latched the gate with her paw.

“Wow, that’s some dog.” said the city slicker. “What’s her name?”

The forgetful farmer thought a minute, then asked, “What do you call that red flower that smells good and has thorns on the stem?”

“A rose?” answered the city slicker.

“Yeah, that’s it!”

Then the farmer turned to his wife and said, “Hey Rose, what do we call this dog?”

That is pretty bad, isn’t it? What’s your worst case of forgetfulness?

Illus. – Mine was when I was raising support to go to the mission field, and when Susan wasn’t able to go on that trip, I brought my oldest son along for some daddy-son time. While talking to people after the service, Chris fell asleep on a pew on the front row. And I forgot all about him!

We went to the restaurant and the preacher said, “Where’s your son?” Suddenly, I realized what I had done and I freaked out!

The pastor said he would send someone with a key to get him. Fortunately, he was still sound asleep and never knew his dad was trying to lose him.

That’s pretty sad isn’t it? These are all things we can relate to, and really, for the most part our forgetfulness is not really such a big deal. They’re just part of being human.

But there are times when forgetfulness is just plain wrong. Today—on Memorial Day Sunday—is one of those times.

Down through the years of our country, there have been brave people who have gone to serve their country in the Armed Forces. Many have been wounded and scarred—sometimes horribly, and permanently. Some have paid the ultimate sacrifice. They gave their LIVES in the service of their country. They sacrificed THEMSELVES so that we could continue to live in freedom.

So brethren, we dare not forget those brave people!

Illus. – I was thinking about this yesterday in preparation for this sermon. Tomorrow some of you will have a cook-out or do something fun with some friends. You’ll have fun, and you’ll do so without fear. You’ll have the right to exercise all of your freedoms.

If you get into a discussion about POLITICS tomorrow, you’ll have the liberty to say whatever is on your mind. Trump, Hillary, Sanders, your congressperson, your governor—you have complete freedom to criticize them however you want.

And think about this: If you bow your heads and thank God for your food before you eat, you’ll not have to fear punishment for exercising your religion as you see fit. You’ll be able to exercise those freedoms because of the sacrifices made by our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines.

On this Memorial Sunday, we must not be forgetful of those who have sacrificed for us. This Memorial Day, I hope there are some things you will consciously remember: