Bulletins - Richvale Community Church

Good morning!
Yesterday, we had a wonderful work day, and I am so grateful for all the help. I had no idea how much we stored in those cabinets in the kitchen—
It was a lot..
Everyone got involved and worked.. so well together
—- In just an 1 1/2 hr, the work was done!
Amazing— thank you so much.
..Today we are continuing our series in the book of Joshua:
Finding God in Transitions,
We going to looking at the importance of doing mission together. Joshua opens with Israel camped on the east bank of the Jordan River.
Behind them lies forty years of wilderness wandering.
Ahead lies the land God promise—a place of rest and fruitfulness.
They stand at a crossroad…an intersection of now and what’s next..
When you think about it.. there is always that tension in life..
—But before they enter the land there are some preparations that are made..
There are two occasions when Joshua calls a “time out.” Last week, we focused on the first time out ..
.
When the spies slipped into Jericho and the king discovered them, they had to hide—and they found refuge in the house of Rahab, a prostitute.
It is here that we see God’s providence at work. This interaction between the spies and Rahab becomes a pivotal point in the narrative,
And through her actions, we begin to see a larger story unfolding—a story that points to God’s plan of salvation.
As the Scriptures progresses we see a scarlet thread of redemption that connects dots… from
From…
Rahab to Boaz, to David, and ultimately to the ancestry of Jesus.
When we fast forward to the New Testament,
. The redemptive thread continues , offering salvation to all who believe
We learn from Rahab that even in the midst of our own transitions, God’s providence is at work. we can have confidence that God still saves. As it says in Hebrews 7:25 (ESV):
“He is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him.”
But here is the thing..
Just as Israel stood on the banks of the Jordan with great promises before them, they still had to walk in to the promises land!
This brings us to a key question for us today:
T/s How do we do mission together

1. Focus on God’s Presence..
Have you ever rushed into a decision and regretted it?
I still remember, as a teenager, watching the launch of the Space Shuttle Challenger live on television. Seventy-three seconds after liftoff, it exploded in the sky. The nation was stunned.
Later investigations revealed something sobering: the launch had been rushed. Engineers had warned that the frigid temperatures could cause the O-rings to fail, but under pressure to keep the schedule, leaders pressed ahead.
It reminds me how dangerous it can be to move too quickly
Even a brief pause can make a difference. Researchers at Columbia University and Pittsburgh
Did a study.. that discovered that just 50 milliseconds—
less than a blink of an eye—before making a decision can dramatically improve accuracy.
That tiny pause gives the brain a moment to filter out distractions and focus on what really matters.
When we pause, even briefly, we open the door for God’s wisdom and guidance to shape our decisions.
Joshua hits the Pause button and calls a second “time out”
this after Israel arrive on the banks of the Jordan river— here we find another 3 day period of preparation before they cross over into Canaan..
this where our text begins..
Joshua 3:1–6 ESV
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
So here they are on the banks of the Jordan River —as they gather around Joshua they can see river swelling up
because of the melting of the winter snows from Mt. Hermon to the North.. and so banks are flooding and turbulent waters look overwhelming..
We can relate to this scene. because
—- life can become overwhelming..challenging —
Especially when we come face to face with our own obstacles — whether it is health, family or finances or worries..
….and The closer we are too a problem the bigger they seem to be …
but in these times that we can lean into faith.
Martin Luther king once — said that
“faith is taking that step even when we don’t see the staircase”Martin Luther king
Faith is about Gods presence… it’s not simply believing.. it’s not Faith in Faith..
It’s believing God draw a near to us..in the face of our challenges
Here in the face of the Jordan… Joshua gives the instruction — to honor God’s presence..
A. He tells Israel when you see the priests with Ark — Follow it.
— The ark of the covenant represented God presence among the people… it was guided Israel through the Red Sea… it lead Israel through the wilderness..
— Faith presses in to the presence of God…
Joshua instruct Israel to let the ark and priest lead from the front about 3000 feet — approx. (1/4 mile) —
The reason for this was to first
…keep a clear line of sight and keep God front and center of their journey..
Second reason was was the Holiness of God…
God is our loving Father…but he is to be reverenced—
There balance of God being “Abba Father” and God being the Eternal God..We are live with this balance of respect and reverence.. .
The third reason is that they were going to be led into new territory and they need his guidance..
..The next step was consecrated themselves..
Joshua 3:5 ESV
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
As the people get ready to enter the land Joshua doesn’t say go and “Sharpen your swords and check your shields!”
Joshua says consecrate — or sanctify your heart
The word consecrate me and sanctify or to set a part…
— it speaks of devoting themselves completely to the Lord. Why..
“ for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders.”
This was internal readiness — getting our hearts ready for what God is going to do.. prepare for the miracle..
There is a readiness that comes with spiritual battles
In the Nt Peter tells, us to prepare out hearts before mission..
being always precedes doing for Christ… it’s worship before works..
1 Peter 3:15 ESV
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
The way we consecrate .. is we disconnect… Jesus took time to seek the father .. often slip a way…from h is disciples.
if we go it to experience God miracles we have to take time ojt..
Joshua asked the people to disconnect from anything that was unclean and to devote themselves wholly to the Lord..
The way we do this is we
Examine our hearts.
when we do communion with the emblems of God salvation.. this to me we to reflected and to confess.. Paul earned the Christians in Cornth that they were not take it lightly because many became sick and even died … by not observing communion well..
To confess,
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Allow the spiritual access to be cleansed..
How do we do mission together?
I. Focus on God’s Presence
2. Step Forward in Faith
One of my favorite quotes comes from William Carey, the father of modern missions.
He lived In an era when the church often hesitated to send missionaries abroad due to doctrines of predestination and election, Carey challenged those mindsets.
He wrote passionately about why the unreached needed to hear the Gospel and ultimately became a missionary himself, traveling to India and China.
He was of the first missionaries In t he modern era…
He famously said,
‘Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.’” William Carey..
During his life be brought several hundred to Christ..
Carrey reminds us that Faith moves .. forward ….it attempts great things.
In the story …
When the spies returned from Jericho, they brought Good news — That God had given them the land.
In chapter 2 we read ..
Joshua 2:24 ESV
24 And they said to Joshua, “Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us.”
This was good news indeed. God had given clear promises:
“Every place your foot touches will be your inheritance.”
“I will go with you.”
“I will never leave you or forsake you.”
here is the thing..even though God had promised the land …the Promises still need to be Realized....
The people still had to possess the land. God’s mission is always forward-focused, and it takes faith to move forward..
Paul echoes the same truth:
Philippians 3:13 (ESV) “Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead.”
God said to Joshua, “Get ready for the miracle.” because it is a head of you! Joshua stands up and shares what God is about to do
Joshua 3:7–13 ESV
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”
The crossing of the Jordan was no ordinary day. not .. only was God leading the people he was also
establishing Joshua as the leader of His people—
just as He had raised up Moses to deliver Israel from Egypt.
We need godly leadership who will remind us of the holiness of God.. reminds is to , “Listen. Watch. See God at work.”
This was going be a spiritual battle….
When the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan, something remarkable happened:
God stopped the waters upstream at a place called Adam.
It was different from when Israel Red Sea..
, the waters didn’t part instantly at their feet…
Rather the miracle had already begun—out of sight, upstream, God had prepared the way.
GOD stop the water up stream!
This should encourage us because GOD WORKS UPSTREAM OF OUR LIVES..
Think about life. There are forces that flow toward us—challenges, temptations, fears—just like a river rushing downstream.
Sometimes the pressures we face are influenced by things far upstream: decisions made by others,
unseen circumstances,
even generational patterns.
God, in His sovereignty, can stop those problems before they ever reach us.
When the priests stepped into the middle of the Jordan, the waters miraculously stopped flowing.
But here’s the thing: the miracle was not only to establish Joshua’s leadership, and it was not only to demonstrate God’s power. It was for the nation as a whole.
The y were going to know God in a new and real way,
They were about to step into a foreign land filled with idols of stone, but the living God would show His power.
Joshua says.
“This is how you will know that the living God is among you… He will drive out the nations before you.” T the water recedes and the priest walk in dry land..
They go and stand in the midddle of the Jordan..
—priests holding the Ark of the Covenant—while the entire nation crossed safely: grandparents, parents, children, even infants.
This moment reminds us of an important truth:
God’s promises are never merely individual.
His faithfulness extends to our families, our communities, and even to generations yet to come.
How do we live this out together? I. Focus on God’s Presence
2. Step Forward in Faith
3. Celebrate God’s Power—
Celebration is an important part of our lives. We celebrate birthdays and anniversaries, holidays and special events—weddings, graduations, milestones of every kind. Why? Because these moments mark something meaningful and lasting.
As Christians we celebrate even deeper realities.
At the Lord’s Supper, we remember what Jesus did for us on the cross. He took the bread and the cup and said, “Do this in remembrance of me.”
In baptism, the water itself becomes a symbol of our decision to follow God in obedience.
Symbols are powerful. They help truth take root in our hearts.
If you ever visit New York City’s 9/11 Memorial, you’ll see two massive reflecting pools that trace the exact footprints of the fallen towers.
Standing there, you feel the weight of memory.
Memorials have a way of making things stick—of saying, “Don’t forget what happened here.”
In the book of Joshua it’s the
The Twelve Stones – as a symbol of a lasting memorial to God’s power.
The crossing of the Jordan was breathtaking. As the priests stepped into the flooded river, the waters stopped far upstream and piled up in a great heap.
The entire nation—families, elders, children—walked across on dry ground.
Before the waters returned, Joshua chose twelve men, one from each tribe. : pick up twelve stones from the very spot where the priests had stood and carry them to the night’s campsite.
god tells Joshua why the y were to do t his!
Joshua 4:6–7 ESV
6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
Some scholars believe there were two memorials—one right in the riverbed and another at Gilgal, their first campsite in the Promised Land.
Either way, the purpose was clear:
They were a memorial lest we forget..

David wrote in
Psalm 103:1–2 ESV
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
Throughout the psalm David stirs up his heart and his soul… to remember God goodness.
Why because .
It is easy to forget! So many times God answers prayers — and we move on - The benefits are all of God Graces… all that God has done on our behalf.
The original Hebrew verb translated “forget”
means “to lose memory or remembrance of,”
but it can also mean “ignore” or “cease to care about.”
—Like David we need to continually remind ourselves of the goodness of God…
As we look over our lives and we should take time to Pause an to celebrate victories…
We Do this by Celebrating who God is..
When we praise and worship — We are celebrating —God for who he is and what has done…
The memorial Stones had a purpose..
it was was to provide an object lessons.
They were a visual aid for parents
When children asked, “What do these stones mean?”
parents were to answer with the story of a God who parts rivers and keeps promises.
It is a reminder that — We have to tell stories of our Past -
What God has done… and our own journeys..
— lastly… the Stones point out That God is alive...
Francis Schaeffer put it this way:
“The stones were to tell the other nations round about that this God is different. He really exists; He is a living God, a God of real power who is immanent in the world.” Francis Schaeffer
As you read chapter 3 and 4 you find that Joshua took time to tell story… the text it is repetitive —
Crossing tthe Jordan represented commitment
As the last Israelite stepped onto the western bank, the priests followed—and the river surged back, erasing every footprint.
The people lifted their eyes to the land ahead. There was no return to the wilderness.
No turning back..
Crossing the Jordan meant they were committed— committed to face armies and fortified cities, committed to walk by faith in the living God, committed to leave behind the ways of the flesh.
Conclusion-
The Story of Joshua is about God mission… It is about God working in and through his people…
Our mission at Richvale Community is simple yet profound: To know Christ—and to make Him known.
As a church family, we long to grow closer in our relationships: closer to God and closer to one another… to go deeper in discipleship and wider in evangelism.
When Israel crossed the Jordan, God gave them a powerful instruction: Take twelve stones from the riverbed and carry them to Gilgal.
.”
Where is your Gilgal? Where are the places where God has unmistakably shown up in your life— rescued you, provided for you, guided you?
Here’s the challenge for us: Each of us must pick up our own stone.
Memorials are visible steps of obedience.
They are stones of remembrance that speak to our children, our neighbors, and our friends, declaring: “The Lord is alive and faithful!”
Faith always moves forward.
And we do this together—on mission, as one people of God.
Saint Francis of Assisi once said,
“If God can work through me, He can work through anyone.”
If God can use ordinary stones to tell His story, He can use ordinary people—like you and me— to carry His presence and proclaim His name.
So, to day the challenge I’d , pick up your stone. Remember what God has done. And step forward in faith— story church in Africa.. you now entering God smiddion..
- - Hebrews 7:25NLT
- - Joshua 3:1–6NLT
- - Joshua 3:5NLT
- - 1 Peter 3:15NLT
- - Joshua 2:24NLT
- - Joshua 3:7–13NLT
- - Joshua 4:6–7NLT
- - Psalm 103:1–2NLT

1. Focus on God’s Presence..

2. Step Forward in Faith

3. Celebrate God’s Power—

it was was to provide an object lessons.

Conclusion-

Hebrews 7:25NLT

Joshua 3:1–6NLT

Joshua 3:5NLT

1 Peter 3:15NLT

Joshua 2:24NLT

Joshua 3:7–13NLT

Joshua 4:6–7NLT

Psalm 103:1–2NLT