What Do These Stones Mean?

A Sermon on Joshua 4:21-24

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Scripture

Joshua 4:21-24 ESV KJV

And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan …

Sermon Description

Most people have certain ways in which they remember or celebrate markers of significance in their lives. In a similar way, God told the Israelites to set up a pile of stones to mark the day they crossed over the Jordan River and into the land that God had promised to give them. In this sermon from Joshua 4:21–24 titled “What Do These Stones Mean?” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows why monuments are important for the Christian walk. First, they point to their history, and this is very important since the Christian faith sets itself apart from false religions because it is based entirely on historical facts. Second, these markers call attention away from human action and towards God’s action, allowing focus on Him. The reason God acted in human history is because humanity was enslaved to sin and was in desperate need of intervention. Dr. Lloyd-Jones encourages believers to look at milestones and monuments important to them and the Christian faith as reminders that the Lord is mighty to save.

Sermon Breakdown

Christianity is based on historical facts and events, not philosophy or theories.
The facts and events of Christianity are the result of God's actions, not man's actions.
The Bible is a record of God's redemptive acts and interventions in history.
God delivered the Israelites from bondage in Egypt through miracles like parting the Red Sea. This foreshadows God delivering us from the bondage of sin through Jesus.
We are all helpless slaves to sin and cannot free ourselves, just as the Israelites were helpless under Pharaoh.
God sent Jesus, His Son, to redeem us and reconcile us to Himself, just as He sent Moses to redeem the Israelites.
The death and resurrection of Jesus are historical facts at the center of the Christian faith.
The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the spread of the early church were the result of God's actions.
God has intervened throughout history through events like the Reformation to preserve His church.
God's acts are miraculous, supernatural, and beyond human understanding.
This building points to God's judgment of sin as well as His power to save sinners.
The message of this church is that God can save and transform even the worst of sinners through His almighty power.
God will complete the work He has started. No enemy, including communism or atheism, can thwart His plans.
We should rejoice in God's salvation and proclaim His mighty works to others.

Itinerant Preaching

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.