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[ Music ] A message from the Lord, hallelujah! A message, O my friends, for you. It's recorded in His Word, hallelujah!

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You said it, and I know it is true. Look at Liv, my brother Liv. Look to Jesus now and live. It's recorded in his word, hallelujah.

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And it's only that you look and live. Jesus told me in his word, hallelujah. His blood will save a sick soul. Believe in His word, hallelujah

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His word can run and make me whole Look and live, my brother live Look to Jesus now and live It's recorded in His word, hallelujah

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♪ And it's only that you look at Liv ♪ ♪ Look at Liv ♪ ♪ Jesus, you're to be a living example ♪ ♪ Of good sermony ♪

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♪ Jesus, draw him on your knees ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ He will hear you and will give you ease ♪ ♪ Look at Liv ♪

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♪ My brother, look to Jesus now and live ♪ ♪ It's recorded in his word, hallelujah ♪ ♪ And it's only that you look at me ♪ Speak now to our hearts, oh God.

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grant that we may hear in the strong and precious name of Jesus. Amen. And these stones shall be a memorial unto the children of Israel forever. Joshua 4 and the latter part of the seventh verse. stones shall be a memorial to the children of Israel forever.

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The subject of the message, "Save the Stones." Save the Stones. The British Museum is a slab of black basalt known as the Rosetta Stone. It is so named because it was discovered in 1799 near Rosetta, Egypt.

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The stone was erected in 195 BC by the priests of Egypt in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes in remission of the dues of the sacerdotal body. It was written in three languages, Greek, hieroglyphics, and the characters of the sacred language.

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This stone is preserved. It is regarded as a precious possession. It is a relic from a dim past. This stone tells the story of a part of the history

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of the human family. Stones help us to remember. We have our memorial stones and cemeteries so that those who live now and those who come later

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may know that a particular person lived, served and died. Saint Bernard said, you will find something more in words than in books. woods than in books.

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Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from the masters. Memories are essential to our wellbeing. Those who have no past to remember,

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have no future to claim. In Israel, in Jerusalem, there's a place called Yad Vashem.

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It is dedicated to the remembrance of six million Jews who were murdered during World War II. There in this building may be seen many books and countless items that contributed to the mindset

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and the brutality involved in the mass murder of a people. so that they as well as others may never forget what happened. I don't understand those of our race who want to forget our slavery experience in this country, who want to ignore it and act as if it never happened.

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Because we cannot fully appreciate the struggle of yesterday and the opportunities involved in the challenge we have today, unless we remember.

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I know it's painful. many times to remember. Some do not want to attend a memorial service because it makes them sad.

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And some of us have rather strange notions about how to honor the dead. They believe that you honor the dead by forgetting about them as soon as possible.

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Recently we've had several deaths in our church membership, a series of deaths more than usual. And I have been particularly concerned about the fact that a number of those families, in fact, almost everyone,

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came to the worship service the Sunday following the funeral, were present in the worship service, which is wonderful. And there were those who said, I don't think those people should come.

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They should stay in respect to the dead. No, there's something wrong with someone's religion who thinks that by staying away from church, that you're showing respect for the dead

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when you claim to be a Christian. There's something wrong with that kind of religion. In fact, as long as you're able to get to church, there ought not be anything that should stand in your way

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of worshiping God with the community of the faithful. Very serious business. And I think that many times that kind of mindset comes from people who really don't get involved

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but they just come to be seen and to see what is happening. So it's to these families' everlasting credit that they had enough faith in God and would enable them to come out and worship God

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in the midst of adversities that may occur in your life. So the best way to memorialize a departed friend, a relative is to have a deeper commitment and a closer walk with God.

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That should be the monument of memory. that ought to be a stone we save and point to it with reverence and gratitude for the future.

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How do we remember? I said there's something precious about memories. I realize that they may be painful, but there is still cause to remember, to remember.

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Some time ago there was a family and they were getting along in years. So the husband and wife had a talk And the husband said, you know,

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"Just the two of us, let's make our wills. "And I will you what I have, all I have, "you will me all I have." He said, "Yes, that's good."

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So the wife went down and she had the will made. She willed things to her husband. But the husband didn't make a will. He said he made it, but he didn't.

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And he died before the wife. And the wife was so grief stricken that she could not attend the husband's funeral. She was so grief stricken.

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It would make her remember all the pleasant times that they had together. So she could not attend. But then after he was dead for some time and they began to get into their affairs and she

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found out that he didn't leave a will and she had so much trouble and so much expense trying to get out of the maze that she was in because he didn't do those things that she said to the reverend, she said, "You know, if I could go out there and dig him up in the cemetery. If I could go out there and dig him up, Reverend, I would beat him up.

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So sometimes memories can be painful, can be painful. Now Joshua plants in the minds and hearts and lives of Israel what God has done. It's no ordinary thing. God has done the unusual. He has led them through the wilderness sojourn of 40 years. What has been done 40 years ago,

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many of those people have gone on, but they had told their descendants, and they told others, and on and on the story goes. And there are those that happened 40 years ago.

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Well, now there may be those of the present generation who would say, "What has God done for me lately?" But here is an up-to-date report, as recent as the morning newspaper. After Israel had crossed Jordan, he directs Joshua to have a person from each of the 12

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tribes to gather up a stone from the midst of the Jordan River, place that stone on their shoulder and carry the stones and put them down where they spend the night. Save the stones, save the stones, carry them with you. These are stones of memory. Wherever you spend the night, have the stones with you. Now these stones are

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gathered out of the middle of the Jordan River. They are memories that emerge out of the collective experience of God's people. They are memories, precious memories, that are to be gathered up. Gather these stones out of the Jordan. In In other words, there are certain memories that we ought to be able to gather up out of our experience and preserve them, save the stones.

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Do not forget how God worked. When you arrived at where you are, you just didn't get there by your own doings. Don't forget how you faced the fear that was related to the swelling current of the Jordan. Do not forget how God calmed your raging fears. Do not forget how the Lord cut a path through

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the waters and you walk through the waters on dry land, save the stones. You see the stones are a tribute to the deliverer of God's people. God is the deliverer himself. They are monuments of memory, so save the stones. Stones are evidence of Israel's remembrance of God's gracious acts for his people.

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Israel, by saving the stones, would be saying in precept and practice that the Lord has done great things for us, whereof we are glad. Now we as a people have some stones that we ought to save, gather them up out of the Jordan River. Oh, one stone that comes to mind is a stone represented in 1619. That's when we were

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brought as slaves to this country, 1619. That's a stone. Gather it up out of the Jordan of our experience as a people. Well, we had Plymouth Rock as a nation in 1620. That's a stone. We remember it when we think about America as a nation. 1776 is a stone we remember in connection with the freedom fight for independence. But for us, there

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1863, Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. That's a stone. It's a stone in our Jordan River. It's a stone.

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Gather it up. Don't forget, don't forget it. 1955, that's another stone. Civil Rights Movement, when Sister Rosa Parks

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refused to give up her seat. That's a stone. it represents a miraculous action and the part of God in the life of our nation and of us as a people. You see the stones are a sign of our witness. That's why

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Israel is to carry the stones with them, put them down where they spend the night. The stones are a means of testimony. When Laman and Jacob met, when Jacob had left without saying goodbye to Laman and Laman, his uncle Laman came and found out that he was gone.

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He went after him and he overtook him and they had a conversation. They made a covenant. And Jacob said to him, "Gather some stones."

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And they made a heap of stones as a witness of the covenant. And we repeat what was said, "May God keep his eyes on you

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while I'm not there to keep my eyes on you. That's really what it means. Stones are a witness. Stones from Jordan are a witness of God's mighty power, God's mighty acts in the life of his people. The stones we save are to remind us that we serve a mighty God. Our God can carry us through impossible circumstances. Our

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God can comfort us in the river of affliction. When sorrows like sea billows roll, our God can give us peace that surpasses human understanding. Save the stones, saved the stones. I suspect that most of us here have had some crushing disappointment and somehow that the clouds seemed to have covered your

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existence at that time when that crushing disappointment occurred. But But somehow by the grace of God, you were able to work through that crushing disappointment and the sun was shining again. The cloud disappeared.

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Well, save that stone. That's evident of God's miraculous action in your life. Save that stone. Some of us have had some serious illness, some human frailty, maybe some disease, some

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problem, some visit to the hospital. That's been an experience and you didn't know how it was going to come out, but somehow by the grace of God, you came out all right. That's a stone.

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You ought to save that stone. Save it. Save that stone. Shakespeare says that there are sermons in stones, sermons in stones.

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The person who catches the biggest fish of his life, he doesn't just talk about it because if he just talked about it, maybe some people wouldn't really understand how big it was and all of that and we have a lot to say about fisherman's tails and all of that.

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But here this man catches this great fish and he takes it, no he doesn't eat it, but he takes it to the taxidermist and he has him to mount it

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and he places it on the wall, sometimes in his home or in the office so that people in the future will know what a great catch he had.

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He saves it. Well, we ought to have a way of saving the stones in our lives that remind us of what God has done and how good he has been and how great has been

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his power in our lives. Save the stones, save the stones. I don't know just exactly what David did, but sometimes I wonder that when he decided

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to fight against the giant Goliath of Gath and he went forth with just five smooth stones and a sling and the Bible doesn't say that he missed with any of them it only talks about one of those stones that he took and when he let go it said it sank into the head of Goliath and he fell down dead and David came and

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took the sword from its sheath and cut off the head of the giant Goliath. I don't know, maybe he took that stone home and just put it there on the matter so to speak so that he could remember how he went forth to fight this giant and had this stone and how God by his grace was able to give him the

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victory he saved it he saved it. Well it seems that we have some stones we have some stones we have some things that that we like to use the sort of like a conversation piece conversation be we we have a piece of furniture in our living room and my wife says that this is a conversation piece because when most

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people see it they wonder what it is and they begin to ask well when you save these stones, they become a conversation piece. Because, and people ask, "Well, how did you make it?" Well, you can point out that you made it by that.

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I have some stones in my life, you have some stones in your life. You know, well, when I was born, that was sort of a stone. I can remember some other experiences.

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When I finished elementary school, that was a stone in my life. When I finished high school, that was a stone in my life. When I finished college, that was even a bigger stone

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because I was wondering if I would ever be able to do that. That was as to how God worked itself. That in, I was wondering and worrying about how I was gonna make it through four years of college

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and God enabled me to finish in three years. That's a great stone. I can't help but talk about how God has done it. And so I just like to take that stone

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and put it on the mat and ever so often, I look at it and I want to talk about that stone that God was able to provide. I just, Greg, I got it out of the joy,

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it's out of my experience. I picked it up out of the river, and I'm gonna say that. You know the stone when I got married?

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That's a stone. Stone. When my children were born, that's a stone. One born in 1947, another born in 1948,

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another born 1950. All those stones. - Yes Lord. - And I thank God that somehow they were gifts from him

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and that they came into the world and in sound mind and body. That's a stone. Thank God for what he has done.

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That's a stone. - Stone. Stones in the Jordan. Stones in the Jordan.

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Well, we're celebrating Memorial Day. We may call it Memorial Sunday, some call it Memorial Weekend. And some just look on it as a time to party,

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time to take a vacation, but it's a time to remember. And everybody, everyone here ought to remember what God has done and say praise God, from whom all blessings flow.

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remember what God has done. Oh I hear the words of that psalmist saying, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget her cunning, may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I remember not Jerusalem above my chief joy. I remember. And the wonderful thing about is that those who remember God can

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rest assured that God will always remember us. And we sing a song saying, "He will, oh yes, he will remember me when all others have forgotten us." God remembers. God remembered Noah and he remembers you, he remembers me, God remembers us. You know some of us have problems with our memory. I was listening this

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morning and they said well if you as you grow older and you have problems with your memory, so well you ought to get some B12 and you take a little B12 and that'll help you along the way. The scientists have discovered that that will slow down the forgetting process. Well, there are some things we

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ought to always remember. We ought to always remember our relationship to God. We ought to always remember how God reached out and how God lifted us up from the muck and bar, placed our feet on a solid rock, put a new song in our mouth, and established our goings. That's a good word we ought to always remember. So we ought to be able to

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sing Rock of Ages cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee. As we sing this, it's a personal testimony. It's a sign of our witnessing. It's a sign of our gratitude. It's a sign of our commitment as we rededicate ourselves to him. As we sing this song we extend the privilege of the church. We ask you to come by letter, by

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Christian experience. We invite you to come. Unite with the people of God here at Ebenezer upon your profession of faith by restoration you may come. While we sing Rock of Ages, cleft for me. I invite you to come. ♪ Clef for me ♪

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♪ Let me hide myself in thee ♪ ♪ Let the water and the blood ♪ ♪ Drown thy wounded side with flow ♪ ♪ Nothing more ♪

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♪ Oh don't you ♪ ♪ Think of me ♪ ♪ So near and dear ♪ ♪ In my tears ♪

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♪ Two years have gone ♪ ♪ Through my veins ♪ [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC]

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# In the snow # # In the rain of Christ the King # # Take me home, my house of King # # I'll always be there #

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♪ When our hearts are full to give ♪ ♪ Give us once more ♪ ♪ And behold the almighty Lord ♪ ♪ How courageous He is ♪

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♪ Out of Egypt, come for me ♪ ♪ And behold, myself in thee ♪ (choir humming) [MUSIC]

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[MUSIC] [ Music ] Oh, thou who art the chief's cornerstone, thou who art the stone that the builders rejected,

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help us to hide ourselves in you as we face the challenge of this new week. Grace, mercy, and peace be with you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

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♪ Oh Lord, bless your people ♪ ♪ The Lord give His crown to Bethlehem ♪ ♪ And give you peace ♪ ♪ And give you freedom ♪

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♪ The Lord give His praise to Shaddafar ♪ ♪ And He praise shall stand to you ♪ ♪ And He praise to us ♪ ♪ The Lord bring gracious ♪

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♪ Praise to us ♪ ♪ And all to you, all to you, all to you ♪ ♪ Of ev'ry age, of ev'ry age, ♪ ♪ And all to you, all to you,acing ♪

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♪ All to you ♪ [BLANK_AUDIO]