Joshua & Identity Part 8

Sermon Texts:

Joshua 9:1-27

Acts 15:1-20

Today’s sermon looks at the Gibeonites, a Canaanite people who use deception to force a covenant with the Israelites. We examine the dilemma this covenant with the Gibeonites poses and how it is resolved. In doing so we see that the Gibeonites, though outsiders, are portrayed as insiders and like the story of Rahab, expands the definition of God’s people to those who should be excluded. In examining issues of identity and inclusion we look at the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15 and see what principles determine who is in and who is out.

Joshua & Identity Part 7

Sermon Texts:

Joshua 8:30-35

Romans 1:1-15

We look at the covenant renewal ceremony at Mt. Ebal. These are strange, ancient rituals that are foreign to us. I argue that these various rituals make sense of one of the key issues in Joshua - identity. Namely that the unity of the people is centered on the covenant. In this sermon we talk more about the covenant that is embodied and enacted in ritual and how that can help us understand faith which has become a very abstract concept in our churches. I argue for a more concrete understanding of faith that makes sense if we recenter the gospel away from us and personal salvation and to the Biblical understanding of Jesus as Lord.

Joshua & Identity Part 6

Sermon Texts:

Joshua 7:1-26

Philippians 3:4-9

Today’s sermon looks at the disturbing episode of Achan and the sin that led to his stoning. This also leads to an examination of corporate and individual sin giving us an opportunity to set these lessons in our own time by discussing systemic societal issues. We continue to examine issues of identity and how Joshua challenges ideas of who is us and who is them by comparing the story of Achan with Rahab. In the end we conclude with how this leads to Jesus and Paul’s thoughts about issues of identity and some practical ways we can live these lessons out in our community.

Joshua & Identity Part 5

Sermon Texts:

2 Kings 23:1-15

Romans 1:18-25

Joshua 6:1-27

In this sermon we study the battle of Jericho and also discuss the problem of violence. We look at the command to the Israelites to devote to destruction the men and women, old and young, and even the donkeys. We also look at how the battle of Jericho connects with the year of Jubilee. Ultimately, we see that Jericho is about God breaking down boundaries and freeing humanity from idolatry.

Joshua & Identity Part 4

Sermon Text:

Exodus 3:1-15

Joshua 5:1-15

This sermon continues our examination of the book of Joshua and identity by first examining the rituals of circumcision and Passover. However, things get bonkers when Joshua meets this mysterious figure known as the Commander of the Lord’s Army. That means we get to talk about the divine warrior motif in the Ancient Near East and a really cool literary technique called ellipsis or gapping. We also discuss the divine name revealed in the Tetragrammaton and one of my favorite verses in the Bible in Amos 9 of all places.

Joshua & Identity Part 3

Sermon Text:

Joshua 3:1-4:24

Matthew 3:13-17

On the surface these two chapters in Joshua are just a simple story of the Israelites moving from one side of the Jordan River to the other. However, as we dig deep we see that it function as liturgy. Here we discuss the role of liturgy and worship in knowing and develop and see how ritual functions as a form of epistemology. We learn what this passage tells us about God and particular what it says about God and boundaries. Then we apply this knowledge to the account of the baptism of Jesus and examine how Jesus brings all of these ideas into fulfillment and what implications all of this has for the church.

Joshua & Identity Part 2

Sermon Text:

Joshua 2:1-24

This sermon examines the story of Rahab and how her story subverts the narrative established in Joshua chapter 1 of obedience and unity. The story of Rahab in Joshua 2 is an incredible piece of literature in which the most non-Israelite imaginable, a Canaanite, a woman, and a prostitute, becomes the hero of this story. It would have been shocking to its ancient audience. We recover the shocking nature of this story and see what it has to tell us about issues of God and identity.

Joshua & Identity Part 1

Sermons Text:

Joshua 1:1-18

Ephesians 4:1-16

This sermon begins to introduce the major themes of Joshua especially as the book relates to identity. We will interact with ideas of identity and how it shapes religion and politics and enter into the contemporary debate over issues of tribalism. Also in this sermon, we discuss how Bruce Springsteen’s 1984 hit, “Born in the U.S.A.” can be used as a key to understanding the subversive nature of Joshua.