NCF Sunday Worship Livestream - January 19, 2025

Sermon Title: “Being Prepared for Battle”   (Pastor Bob)

Sermon Text: Joshua 5:2-15

Sermon Summary:

Our war is not against flesh and blood but the principalities of darkness. The question is, “Are we ready to do battle for the Lord?” What is one thing Christian children know about the book of Joshua? God caused the walls of Jericho to come a-tumbling down! What we often miss is how God prepares His people for battle. There has to be a covenant renewal. The present generation of males had not been circumcised. Circumcision was the mark of God’s covenant with Israel. It signified in the O.T. one’s membership in the visible church as does baptism in the N.T. Then they observed the Passover, the meal of remembrance in the O.T. just as the Lord’s Supper reminds us what Christ did for us. These two observances remind God’s people who they are and what God has done for them in the past. They also, however, need to break from the previous generation that sinned in the wilderness. They need to be obedient to God’s commandments and not repeat the disobedience of the past. Once these steps are followed, then the commander of the Lord’s army shows up. Why? They need to remember it is the Lord who wins the battle, not them. So I ask again, “Are we ready to do battle for the Lord?”

Meditation: Proverbs 21:31

"The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the LORD." 

Call To Worship:  Psalm 34:1-10 

N.T. Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20