08.23.26 [SS], ‘Defying Labels’, Joshua 2:9-13
Pre/Post Worship Music -
Song Everlasting God 4556538
On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand 1294761 Lynn/Linda
Passage/Prayer Joshua 2:9-23 Julianna
Song Made for More 7207758 Lynn/Linda
Message Defying Labels Rick
Song Same God 7183537 Lynn/Linda
Community Rick
Closing Music The Blessing 7147007 Lynn/Linda
Closing Peace Rick
Pre/Post Worship Music -
Music, Lynn/Linda, (Slides)
Everlasting God 4556538
Verse
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Pre-Chorus
Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliv'rer
Chorus
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
Verse
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Pre-Chorus
Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliv'rer
Chorus
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
The Solid Rock 7207758
Verse 1
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name
Chorus
On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
Verse 2
When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In ev'ry high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
Chorus
On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
Joshua 1: 1-2, 17-18 & Joshua 2:3-13, Juliana, (Slides)
Our reading today comes from Joshua 1: 1-2, 17-18 and Joshua 2:3-13
After Moses’ death, the Lord said to Joshua, “Arise, you and your people go over the Jordan into the land I am giving you. “
After Joshua told the people what God had said they responded, , “We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. May the Lord be with you as he was with Moses! Be strong and of good courage.”
Joshua sent two spies secretly into Jericho, saying, “View Jericho and the land.” They came into the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.
The King found out and sent a note to Rahab telling her to bring the men to him. She hid the men and tricked the King and his warriors.
Before the men laid down on the roof, she came up to them and said , “We all know the Lord has given you the land, and fear of you has fallen upon all of us, and everyone is afraid.
Swear that you will tell the Lord that I have dealt kindly with you. Promise to deal kindly with me and my family, the men promised.”
Join me in the prayer of Jesus,
Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be your name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven./Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
/For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Music, Lynn/Linda, (Slides)
Made For More 7207758
Verse
I know who I am ’cause I know who You are
The cross of salvation was only the start
Now I am chosen free and forgiven
I have a future and it’s worth the living
Chorus
(‘Cause) I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more
Verse
I know who I am ’cause I know who You are
The cross of salvation was only the start
Now I am chosen free and forgiven
I have a future and it’s worth the living
Chorus
(‘Cause) I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more
Bridge
Hallelujah You called out my name
So I’ll sing out Your praise
Hallelujah You buried my past
I’m not going back
Chorus
(‘Cause) I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more
Message, Rick
[Leave message slide up until first slide]
[Slide] Illustration: Gary and Bay of pigs, 1961, a strategy that was lacking in commitment and resources.
Strategy - Two spies slip into Jericho in the darkness of night. They find shelter in the last place anyone would expect, the house of a prostitute who actually lived in the city wall. And there Scripture gives us a remarkable military strategy and confession of faith.
A confession Not from a priest. Not from an Israelite. From Rahab, an unlikely element of a victory for the Isrealites.
[Slide] She said…"I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
[Slide] We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the Amorites”.
[Slide] She continues”…As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in anyone, because of you; for the Lord your God is he who is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
Joshua 2:9-11
[Slide] Rahab’s words started with fear, progressed to searching, and then to faith. Her journey mirrors our journey.
Rahab’s account is not just her response to the news of the Israelites' victories, it is how all of the people of Jericho were feeling. She firmly says that ‘Her’ peoples’ hearts "melted" and their courage failed because of what they'd heard.
Visualize how this fear became a huge cloud over the people of Jericho. Everyone in the city had heard the same reports. Everyone felt the same dread. That is how fear works.
[Slide] Scary news spreads quickly. We usually accept the news without any consideration. Instead we automatically open the door to fear, and then we become prisoners to anxiety.
[Slide] And, then, Anxiety goes into full Attack on our Hope.
This may be THE major lesson in this story for us thousands of years later. An entire city was cowering in understandable and expected fear but only this one woman and her family survived their fear.
[Slide] The same fear attacked everyone in Jericho but the people had a choice of 2 different paths.
[Slide] Most chose the path that led to death.
But, the path Rahab chose the path that led to redemption.
[Slide] The people of Jericho dealt with the fear by locking gates and readying desperate defenses.
[Slide] But Rahab reacted to the fear by opening a door and welcoming two strangers inside. The same news that crushed a city softened one woman's heart to truth.
[Slide] Like Doubt, Fear is not the same as Faithlessness. Both are real emotions which can consume us. And, Along with Hope they are physically experienced. They are sneaky, manipulative, and destructive.
But, they can Also be Life Giving.
[Slide] Fear, Doubt, and Hopelessness do not stand alone. There is always a foundation for those attacks on our inner security.
[Slide] When faced with Doubt, Fear, or Hopelessness, our first question must be…
"What will I do with this Fear, Doubt, or Hopelessness?"
[Message Slide]
IIustration: First year Cadets, White Christmas, Homesickness…, different responses of cadets
[Slide] The community of Jericho chose the path of growing their Fear, Doubt, or Hopelessness.
[Slide] On her own Rahab came to a theological understanding that she would later confess to the Israelite spies, "The LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
This was no small confession. A Canaanite woman, who probably carried an ‘Unclean’ label, was raised to believe in many gods, arrives on HER OWN, without a priest, without a prophet, without a single verse of Torah in hand, came to the conclusion that Israel's God was not merely powerful, but Supreme. God over heaven and earth. God alone.
Rahab had NOT spent the days before allowing her fear to become more and more oppressive.
[Message Slide]
Illustration: Theresa making confession of her own faith journey and search.
[Slide] Rahab’s faith didn't begin with certainty; it began with paying attention, listening, considering, watching, and even critiquing.
While, in this story, we usually get stuck at the probable reputation of Rahab, the amazing element of this passage is the pattern of her journey of faith.
[Slide] Faith rarely arrives fully formed at once.
[Slide] Then, Rahab moves from confession to Trust: "Now then, please swear to me by the LORD... that you will save me, and my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death."
Joshua 2:12–13
Her fear of Jericho's coming judgment doesn't evaporate once she believes.
[Slide] This is what Paul was talking about when he said to the church at Philippi, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”
[Message Slide]
Rahab’s journey lands her listed on Hebrew’s Heroes of faith, and in Matthew's genealogy among the ancestors of Christ himself. This fearful, searching woman from the wall now seen standing in the family line of the Messiah.
Closing Illustration: Ann Lamont Life Long Faith Journey,
Music, Lynn/Linda, (Slides)
Same God 7183537
Verse 1
I'm calling on the God of Jacob
Whose love endures through generations
I know that You will keep Your covenant
I'm calling on the God of Moses
The one who opened up the ocean
I need you now to do the same thing for me
Chorus
Oh God my God I need You
Oh God my God I need You now
How I need You now
Oh Rock oh Rock of ages
I'm standing on Your faithfulness
Verse 2
I'm calling on the God of Mary
Whose favor rests upon the lowly
I know with You all things are possible
I'm calling on the God of David
Who made a shepherd boy courageous
I may not face Goliath
But I've got my own giants
Chorus
Oh God my God I need You, Oh God my God I need You now
How I need You now, Oh Rock oh Rock of ages
I'm standing on Your faithfulness
Bridge 1
You heard Your children then, You hear Your children now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You answered prayers back then, And You will answer now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You were providing then You are providing now
You are the same God, You are the same God
Bridge 2
You moved in power then, God move in power now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You were a healer then, You are a healer now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You were a Savior then, You are a Savior now
You are the same God, You are the same God
Chorus
Oh God my God I need You, Oh God my God I need You now
How I need You now, Oh Rock oh Rock of ages
I'm standing on Your faithfulness
Community (Slides) Rick
Closing Music (Slides) Lynn/Linda
The Blessing 7147007
Verse
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace
Chorus
Amen, Amen, Amen
Verse
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace
Chorus
Amen, Amen, Amen
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
Please Stand for the closing Peace…
Leader: May the peace of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Leader: Go in the Peace of the Lord, Have a Great Week
Pre/Post Worship Music -
Song Everlasting God 4556538
On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand 1294761 Lynn/Linda
Passage/Prayer Joshua 2:9-23 Julianna
Song Made for More 7207758 Lynn/Linda
Message Defying Labels Rick
Song Same God 7183537 Lynn/Linda
Community Rick
Closing Music The Blessing 7147007 Lynn/Linda
Closing Peace Rick
Pre/Post Worship Music -
- If there is audience interaction please put camera on person speaking
- Record message on memory card -
- Leave space above Speaker’s head
Music, Lynn/Linda, (Slides)
Everlasting God 4556538
Verse
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Pre-Chorus
Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliv'rer
Chorus
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
Verse
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Pre-Chorus
Our God You reign forever
Our Hope our strong Deliv'rer
Chorus
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles
The Solid Rock 7207758
Verse 1
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame
But wholly lean on Jesus' name
Chorus
On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
Verse 2
When darkness veils His lovely face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In ev'ry high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil
Chorus
On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
Joshua 1: 1-2, 17-18 & Joshua 2:3-13, Juliana, (Slides)
Our reading today comes from Joshua 1: 1-2, 17-18 and Joshua 2:3-13
After Moses’ death, the Lord said to Joshua, “Arise, you and your people go over the Jordan into the land I am giving you. “
After Joshua told the people what God had said they responded, , “We will obey you just as we obeyed Moses. May the Lord be with you as he was with Moses! Be strong and of good courage.”
Joshua sent two spies secretly into Jericho, saying, “View Jericho and the land.” They came into the house of a harlot named Rahab, and lodged there.
The King found out and sent a note to Rahab telling her to bring the men to him. She hid the men and tricked the King and his warriors.
Before the men laid down on the roof, she came up to them and said , “We all know the Lord has given you the land, and fear of you has fallen upon all of us, and everyone is afraid.
Swear that you will tell the Lord that I have dealt kindly with you. Promise to deal kindly with me and my family, the men promised.”
Join me in the prayer of Jesus,
Our Father who art in Heaven hallowed be your name. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven./Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
/For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Music, Lynn/Linda, (Slides)
Made For More 7207758
Verse
I know who I am ’cause I know who You are
The cross of salvation was only the start
Now I am chosen free and forgiven
I have a future and it’s worth the living
Chorus
(‘Cause) I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more
Verse
I know who I am ’cause I know who You are
The cross of salvation was only the start
Now I am chosen free and forgiven
I have a future and it’s worth the living
Chorus
(‘Cause) I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more
Bridge
Hallelujah You called out my name
So I’ll sing out Your praise
Hallelujah You buried my past
I’m not going back
Chorus
(‘Cause) I wasn’t made to be tending a grave
I was called by name
Born and raised back to life again
I was made for more
So why would I make a bed in my shame
When a fountain of grace is running my way
I know I am Yours
And I was made for more
Message, Rick
[Leave message slide up until first slide]
[Slide] Illustration: Gary and Bay of pigs, 1961, a strategy that was lacking in commitment and resources.
Strategy - Two spies slip into Jericho in the darkness of night. They find shelter in the last place anyone would expect, the house of a prostitute who actually lived in the city wall. And there Scripture gives us a remarkable military strategy and confession of faith.
A confession Not from a priest. Not from an Israelite. From Rahab, an unlikely element of a victory for the Isrealites.
[Slide] She said…"I know that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.
[Slide] We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the Amorites”.
[Slide] She continues”…As soon as we heard it, our hearts melted, and there was no courage left in anyone, because of you; for the Lord your God is he who is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
Joshua 2:9-11
[Slide] Rahab’s words started with fear, progressed to searching, and then to faith. Her journey mirrors our journey.
Rahab’s account is not just her response to the news of the Israelites' victories, it is how all of the people of Jericho were feeling. She firmly says that ‘Her’ peoples’ hearts "melted" and their courage failed because of what they'd heard.
Visualize how this fear became a huge cloud over the people of Jericho. Everyone in the city had heard the same reports. Everyone felt the same dread. That is how fear works.
[Slide] Scary news spreads quickly. We usually accept the news without any consideration. Instead we automatically open the door to fear, and then we become prisoners to anxiety.
[Slide] And, then, Anxiety goes into full Attack on our Hope.
This may be THE major lesson in this story for us thousands of years later. An entire city was cowering in understandable and expected fear but only this one woman and her family survived their fear.
[Slide] The same fear attacked everyone in Jericho but the people had a choice of 2 different paths.
[Slide] Most chose the path that led to death.
But, the path Rahab chose the path that led to redemption.
[Slide] The people of Jericho dealt with the fear by locking gates and readying desperate defenses.
[Slide] But Rahab reacted to the fear by opening a door and welcoming two strangers inside. The same news that crushed a city softened one woman's heart to truth.
[Slide] Like Doubt, Fear is not the same as Faithlessness. Both are real emotions which can consume us. And, Along with Hope they are physically experienced. They are sneaky, manipulative, and destructive.
But, they can Also be Life Giving.
[Slide] Fear, Doubt, and Hopelessness do not stand alone. There is always a foundation for those attacks on our inner security.
[Slide] When faced with Doubt, Fear, or Hopelessness, our first question must be…
"What will I do with this Fear, Doubt, or Hopelessness?"
- [Slide] Will I allow it to take me hostage?
- Can I try to I figure out the Basis for this?
- Why is this Fear, Doubt, and Hopelessness present?
- Am I going to feed and grow the Fear, Doubt, or Hopelessness?
[Message Slide]
IIustration: First year Cadets, White Christmas, Homesickness…, different responses of cadets
[Slide] The community of Jericho chose the path of growing their Fear, Doubt, or Hopelessness.
- [Slide] Rahab chose to think it through.
- She chose to pick apart the news they had all heard,
- She looked at the power of her community as opposed to the foundation of the Israelites.
[Slide] On her own Rahab came to a theological understanding that she would later confess to the Israelite spies, "The LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath."
This was no small confession. A Canaanite woman, who probably carried an ‘Unclean’ label, was raised to believe in many gods, arrives on HER OWN, without a priest, without a prophet, without a single verse of Torah in hand, came to the conclusion that Israel's God was not merely powerful, but Supreme. God over heaven and earth. God alone.
Rahab had NOT spent the days before allowing her fear to become more and more oppressive.
- Instead she had been searching.
- She put the rumors together of a sea that split and kings that fell
- She reasoned her way toward the true God long before she ever met any Israelites face to face.
[Message Slide]
Illustration: Theresa making confession of her own faith journey and search.
[Slide] Rahab’s faith didn't begin with certainty; it began with paying attention, listening, considering, watching, and even critiquing.
While, in this story, we usually get stuck at the probable reputation of Rahab, the amazing element of this passage is the pattern of her journey of faith.
[Slide] Faith rarely arrives fully formed at once.
- Lasting faith seldom comes through emotional moments or a sudden epiphany.
- Faith comes the way it came to Rahab through open ears and eyes,
- Paying attention to the evidence in front of us.
- Through refusing to explain away what unsettles our old presumptions.
- Through following a trail of reports and rumors and half-understood truths until they resolve into faith.
[Slide] Then, Rahab moves from confession to Trust: "Now then, please swear to me by the LORD... that you will save me, and my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them, and deliver our lives from death."
Joshua 2:12–13
Her fear of Jericho's coming judgment doesn't evaporate once she believes.
- It transformed into urgency for the people she loves.
- She asked not for herself alone but for those she loved.
- She asked these strangers to treat her the way God treats his people.
[Slide] This is what Paul was talking about when he said to the church at Philippi, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling”
[Message Slide]
Rahab’s journey lands her listed on Hebrew’s Heroes of faith, and in Matthew's genealogy among the ancestors of Christ himself. This fearful, searching woman from the wall now seen standing in the family line of the Messiah.
Closing Illustration: Ann Lamont Life Long Faith Journey,
- Describes faith journey as stagger rather than leap.
- Anti-faith parents
- Secret praying
- God gave her Friends of different faiths, addition following loss
- Sense of God’s presence.
- Drunk and high, Ducked into church close by for the soothing music, Small church where she was embraced.
- Drawn by inspirational music and later the theology.
- Gradually, accepted hand of Jesus.
- Progressively settled into God’s peace, trusting God.
- Different for most.
Music, Lynn/Linda, (Slides)
Same God 7183537
Verse 1
I'm calling on the God of Jacob
Whose love endures through generations
I know that You will keep Your covenant
I'm calling on the God of Moses
The one who opened up the ocean
I need you now to do the same thing for me
Chorus
Oh God my God I need You
Oh God my God I need You now
How I need You now
Oh Rock oh Rock of ages
I'm standing on Your faithfulness
Verse 2
I'm calling on the God of Mary
Whose favor rests upon the lowly
I know with You all things are possible
I'm calling on the God of David
Who made a shepherd boy courageous
I may not face Goliath
But I've got my own giants
Chorus
Oh God my God I need You, Oh God my God I need You now
How I need You now, Oh Rock oh Rock of ages
I'm standing on Your faithfulness
Bridge 1
You heard Your children then, You hear Your children now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You answered prayers back then, And You will answer now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You were providing then You are providing now
You are the same God, You are the same God
Bridge 2
You moved in power then, God move in power now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You were a healer then, You are a healer now
You are the same God, You are the same God
You were a Savior then, You are a Savior now
You are the same God, You are the same God
Chorus
Oh God my God I need You, Oh God my God I need You now
How I need You now, Oh Rock oh Rock of ages
I'm standing on Your faithfulness
Community (Slides) Rick
- 08.30.26 [Summer Stories], Authentic Response, Luke 8:1-3
- Today, 09.23.26, Students back, Welcome Lunch
Closing Music (Slides) Lynn/Linda
The Blessing 7147007
Verse
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace
Chorus
Amen, Amen, Amen
Verse
The Lord bless you
And keep you
Make His face shine upon you
And be gracious to you
The Lord turn His
Face toward you
And give you peace
Chorus
Amen, Amen, Amen
Closing Peace (Slides) Rick
Please Stand for the closing Peace…
Leader: May the peace of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Leader: Go in the Peace of the Lord, Have a Great Week