The Making Of A Memory

THE MAKING OF A MEMORY

JOSHUA 4:4-7

Ill: Bob, good man with a bad memory. He meets up with a friend he hasn’t seen in years. He greets his friend Bill saying, “Remember what a bad memory I had? Well I and my wife went to this seminar and now I have a great memory.” Bill says to him “Really what was the name of that seminar?” Now Bob remembered his wife attended with him, seeing his wife nearby he went to ask her what the name of the seminar was. He turns to Bill and says, “What is the name of the flower with a long stem, red petals and thorns? Bill says, “You mean a rose?” Yeah said Bob thanks, “Hey Rose what was the name of the Seminar we attended?” Memory is a funny thing sometimes it fails us. We tie a string around our finger to remind us of something, we jot down notes, we circle dates on the calendar. Easter reminds us of the Resurrection, Christmas reminds us of the birth of Jesus. Memorial day reminds us of the brave men and women who gave their lives for our freedoms. Some of them died on the battlefield, some were lucky enough to make it home. Some of those are here with us today.

Memorial day started near the end of the civil war. Some people in the south decided to place flowers on the grave of soldiers who had given their lives for the Confederacy. By 1868 the practice of spreading flowers on the graves of soldiers spread to the North as well as the South, it was called “Decoration Day.” After WW1 it became a nationally recognized holiday called Memorial Day. Remembering all those who had sacrificially given all for the freedoms we now celebrate.

Joshua 4:4-7

SO JOSHUA CALLED TOGETHER THE TWELVE MEN HE HAD APPOINTED FROM THE ISRAELITES, ONE FROM EACH TRIBE, AND SAID TO THEM, “GO OVER BEFORE THE ARK OF THE LORD YOUR GOD INTO THE MIDDLE OF THE JORDAN. EACH OF YOU IS TO TAKE UP A STONE ONHIS SHOULDER, ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF THE TRIBES OF THE ISRAELITES TO SERVE AS A SIGN AMONG YOU. IN THE FUTURE WHEN YOUR CHILDREN ASK YOU, “WHAT DO THESE STONES MEAN?” TELL THEM THAT THE FLOW OF THE JORDAN WAS CUT OFF BEFORE THE ARK OF THE CONVENATN OF THE LORD. WHEN IT CROSSED THE JORDAN, THE WATERS OF THE JORDAN WERE CUT OFF. THESE STONES ARE TO BE A MEMORIAL TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL FOREVER.”

History has a way of being that type of memorial for us. Presently in a town located in the State of Pennsylvania, such a memorial to the civil war exists, the town is called Gettysburg. It serves as a reminder of war that separated this country. Just as those stones were to serve as a reminder, the tombstones and markers remind us of what once was. In Washington D.C. There are several memorials, the Lincoln, the Jefferson, the Vietnam Veterans. In the Bible there are several of these.

THE PASSOVER:

A reminder to all of Israel of how God delivered Israel from the bondage of slavery in Egypt. It serves as a constant reminder of the Great Love of God for his people.

EX 12:14 "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD--a lasting ordinance. 15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day through the seventh must be cut off from Israel

16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat--that is all you may do. 17 "Celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come

In the present, the Lord’s Supper replaces the Passover or the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

For the Lord’s Supper is a proclamation of a memory.

24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Yesterday at the Memorial Day services at the Flag we heard about another table. It was a table with 5 settings to remember those who served in all branches of the service but did not make it home. The Commander from the Vietnam Veterans Association read these words: