We Will Serve The Lord

WE WILL SERVE THE LORD

Josh. 24:15

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. A Father of five came home with a toy. "Which of you should be given the present? Who is the most obedient, never talks back to Mom, and does everything he or she is told to do?"

2. There was a silence for a moment, then a chorus of voices rang out, "You, Dad! You should get the present!"

3. Top Five Things You'll Never Hear a Dad Say:

5). Well, how 'bout that?... I'm lost! Looks like we'll have to stop and ask for directions.

4). Here's a credit card and the keys to my new car -- GO CRAZY.

3). No son of mine is going to live under this roof without an earring -- now quit your belly-aching, and let's go to the mall.

2). Whaddya wanna go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.

1). Father's Day? aahh -- don't worry about that -- it's no big deal.

4. KING FOR A DAY. For their 10th wedding anniversary, Danielle LeFeuvre of Toulouse, France, brought her husband a throne, a crown, and a scepter. "All of this talk about women's liberation and domination got him down," she explained. "He's a new man now that he knows the children and I consider him king and master in his own home."

But he's only "King for a Day!" Hey, we’ll take it!

5. Congratulations, Dads!

a. Scripture Declares, "Honor thy Father..."

b. "Dads, please stand."

c. Let's give our fathers a hand!

B. TEXT

“Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

C. THESIS

1. How might this verse be applied to our lives?

2. What did Joshua will mean by the last line -- verse 15 -- "As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord?"

I. JOSH. ACTED AS LEADER OF HIS HOUSE

A. BLURRED ROLES

1. The American male is in a sea of confusion.

2. Media/social messages tell us that we’re supposed to be something else very different than what our fathers were.

3. Traditional role -- as Breadwinner -- is almost gone. 20% of working wives make more money than their husbands.

4. A telemarketer phoned a home and said, "I'd like to talk to the person who makes the final purchasing decisions for your family."

The woman replied, "I'm sorry. That person is still at kindergarten and won't be home for another hour."

5. One husband humorously said, "My wife bosses the kids; the kids boss the cat and dog, and I can say anything I want to the geraniums!"

B. BIBLE POSITION

1. The Bible is clear -- God will hold dads accountable. Men are to be the head of the home.

a. “Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” 1 Cor. 11:3.

b. “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” Eph. 5:23-25.

c. In Exodus 12:3, God instructed, "Let every man take a lamb" for his family. The man acted as the priest and leader in spiritual things; we should too.

2. In the Bible fathers are held responsible for NOT taking their rightful place.

a. The High Priest Eli was held accountable for not correcting his sons (1 Sam. 3:13).

b. Moses was held accountable for not circumcising his son (Exodus 4:24-26).

3. One of the greatest needs of our wives is security. Wives feel more secure when their husbands are strong leaders.

4. Many men show no interest in spiritually taking the lead. But according to the Bible, it's not optional. We will give an account for how we do or don’t lead.

C. GUIDED BY LOVE

1. Leadership must be guided by love! To follow, our families must know we love them.

2. Our children may try to get their way, but there’s a deep longing for boundaries and stability.

II. JOSHUA SET EXAMPLE FOR HIS FAMILY

A. “AS FOR ME – I’LL SERVE THE LORD”