Thursday, June 02, 2016

Joshua 24 Responsive Reading

Last week our Young Adults ministry finished up a series on the life of Joshua. We finished with the famous verse that many Christians have posted in their home. It comes from Joshua 24:15 and basically states the commitment Joshua made in front of the Nation of Israel,
"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua presented an option to the Israelites to decided that day who they would serve. Would they serve the gods of the foreign lands of would they serve God? Would they serve the gods on the other side of the river or would they serve God? Would they serve the gods in Egypt or would they serve God? Joshua never pressured the people to serve God, he simply stated what he would do and invited the people to do the same.

To conclude the series I wanted to do something creative, something we normally don't do. I had ideas of giving everyone a piece of paper and letting them write out a commitment to God. We talked about other creative ways we could close it and then it came. We decided to do a responsive reading and invite people to respond as Israel did with a commitment to serve God. Understanding the nature of our group I had to set this up well and make sure no one felt pressured or forced to make the commitment. It was up to them to participate or not.

Here's how it went:

Leader- Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- You are not able to serve the Lord. He is a holy God
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

Leader- Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord
People- We will serve the Lord our God and obey him

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