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Sunday 5 July 2026
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Sermon Notes
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Church Anniversary 2026 Acomb Baptist Church
Sunday 5th July 2026
What do these stones mean to you? - Joshua 4
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
· The end of Israel's 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.
· The faithless generation has died out.
· Moses has died and been buried by God.
· Only Joshua (Moses') successor and Caleb remain from the faithless generation.
· Israel has wandered with God dwelling among them and going before them - ark of the covenant and the most holy place in the Tabernacle.
· God has now prepared his people to enter the Promised Land.
IMMEDIATE CONTEXT - Joshua 3-4
· Israel will now cross the Jordan and enter the Jordan Plains.
· Once again God will part the waters - as he had done with the Red Sea after they had left Egypt.
· The priests had been instructed to carry the ark of the Covenant to the Jordan - once they stood in the water God would part it allowing the people to cross on dry land passing before the ark of the Covenant.
A STRANGE INSTRUCTION!
One man from each of the twelve tribes of Israel is to take a stone from the bed of the Jordan where the priests carrying the ark of the covenant had stood, having first placed them at the feet of the priests (4:9)
Joshua then placed he stones in the camp at Gilgal (4:20)
What was the purpose of doing this with the twelve stones? "This may be a sign among you ... these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever"(4:5-7)
They were to be a constant reminder to Israel of God's faithfulness - who God is and how God had saved them and brought them into he Promised Land. And an opportunity to share this with the generations to come when they asked, 'what do these stones mean to you?' (4:6)
This was not to lock them in the past but to stir faith and to stir hearts to worship.
As we celebrate our church anniversary what does this passage of Scripture teach us?
GENERALLY
We don't have to gather stones from riverbeds, but we do have constant reminders of the faithfulness of God, who he is and what he has done to rescue us from captivity to sin:
1) The Lord's Supper – the saving work of Christ through his death and resurrection
2) Baptism – how we have been united to Christ in his death and resurrection
3) The Bible – from cover to cover reminds us of who God is, what he is like, what he has done for us in Christ, and what he has promised he will do
Each of these remind us of God's promise, presence and provision as they point us to Christ.
SPECIFICALLY
Remembering the story of Acomb Baptist Church, we can celebrate:
1) God's faithfulness to those who have gone before
2) their faith and obedience as they continually looked to Christ through the Lord's Supper, Baptism, and The Bible.
3) God’s continued faithfulness to us today
4) His call to each of us to faith and obedience as we look to Christ through the Lord’s Supper, Baptism, and the Bible
Celebrating the church's anniversary encourages us to:
1) LOOK BACK - and give thanks to God
2) LOOK UP - and worship our God who is lovingly faithful
3) LOOK OUT: with faith filled obedience to God and his word to share the gospel with others
By doing so we live out our faith in such a way that our children and others will ask, "What do these stones mean?"
Mark and Andrea Hotchkins' June prayer letter
Tuesday 30 June 2026
Jim Harries - End June News
In his latest news, Jim has come to the end of his time in the UK. While here - as well as spending as much time as he can with his mum - he has still been doing his 'African' work - preparing for activities in Africa over the next couple of months.
Jim's hosts while in the UK worship at Living Word Church, Fareham. Jim was able to have a meeting with their Pastor, Rev Chris Wickland - aka The Vexed Vicar. Jim contrasts issues affecting Christians in the UK with the global context.
Sunday 31 May 2026
Mark and Andrea Hotchkins' May prayer letter
Sunday 12 April 2026
The Marriage of Tom Ibbott and Poppy McCarthy
Yesterday, Saturday 11 April 2026 1pm
