Invitations: Remembrance
Speaker: Pastor Carey
Read: Exodus 15:1-7; Joshua 4:20-24; Psalm 78:4-7
Discussion Questions:
1. What resonated with you as you listened to this sermon and reviewed it?
2. What wonders have God worked in your life this year? Read Exodus 15:1-19 and identify any personal experiences that help you relate to this song.
3. If God’s invitations come in a whisper, what can we do to facilitate hearing and discerning His voice?
4. What are some invitations God may extend to us? What might be the end result for us if we fail to hear and accept God’s invitation?
5. Henry Nouwen was quoted as saying that one of the greatest tragedies of our life is that we keep forgetting who we are and waste a lot of time and energy to prove what doesn’t need to be proven. What does this mean to you?
6. The Israelites set up stones to help them remember crossing the Jordan after God miraculously dried it up. What we can do to help us remember God’s work in our lives?
7. It was said that sometimes we need to look backwards to get the momentum for the next part of our journey that will require us to grow. What does this mean to you?
8. Psalm 78:5-6 and Joshua 4:21-22 both speak of making our children aware of our victories through God. Why is this important? How can we better practice this today?
Sermon Recap:
The world is filled with invitations, a calling or request to respond to something. Some we seek after and want, and others, such as loss or tragedies, are things we never expect. God also often extends invitations to us. He bids us to move in certain directions or calls us to do specific things. Such invitations have nothing to do with our worth or accomplishments, and may not make sense to us. His purpose is to shape us, sustain us, anchor us or grow us. His invitations come in a whisper, but often we miss them because we are too busy with life issues. But Jesus understood and experienced the pressures of life, and by example for us, said yes to God’s invitation to wait, rest, pray, love and remember.
At the start of this new year, it is important for us to accept God’s invitation to reflect and remember. How we respond will shape our lives in the coming days. Remembrance anchors our story within God’s greater story and plan. and gives us perspective, encouragement and hope.
For example, the song Moses gave the Israelites in Exodus 15, helped them to remember their miraculous crossing of the Red Sea and victory over the Egyptians, and gave them hope for their future. Their gathering and placing of stones where the Jordan River parted helped them to remember their journey from bondage and gave them encouragement as they moved towards the promised land. Like them, our spiritual journey is not linear. We too will experience ups and downs, failures and victories, good times and bad. Remembering how God brought us through past situations will give us perspective and hope. We can then say, “ God, You were with me then and You are with me now.”
