Twelve Stones - Lesson 1 - Introduction

Just like Moses and His chosen people,
The Lord has taken us from captivity
From the captivity of sin and bondage.

He has since allowed us to live a life of freedom
We have crossed over
and we will be allowed to enter His Promised Land,
For all eternity.

We have been, in turn, handed an awesome responsibility
A responsibility of walking differently
A responsibility of loving differently
A responsibility of sharing differently
and a responsibility of teaching differently.

Like Moses and the Israelites have we forgotten where we came from?
Have we taken our freedom for granted?
Do we at times miss being in bondage?
Have we even forgotten where we are going?

Let’s not forget our past.
Let’s not forget our awesome responsibility.
And let’s not forget the foundation that out truths are laid on.
and let’s certainly not forget to pass the torch
on to our next generation.

Joshua 4:1-24




Hebrews 10:7, ‘Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.’

This verse is also told in Psalm 40:7

So when we read the Old Testament we are to look for Jesus.

How do we see Jesus in Joshua chapter 4?





Joshua 4:3, ‘And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests' feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.’

Here we see the Lord speaking through Joshua.
He wants us to pick up our burdens, carry them for a little while,
Then lay them down.

He asks these men to lay them in a place where they will appear periodically.
Where others will be able to see them at times.

What do you have to share about this verse?





Let’s keep in mind,
All those who entered the Promised Land
were not present when the Red Sea was parted.

They did not live a life of captivity in Egypt.
Did the older Israelites share the stories of God’s handiwork to this new generation?

Joshua 4:6, ‘That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?’

A sign among you, a memorial, a reminder of what was went through.

Have we forgotten where we came from?
Have we forgotten the miracles the Lord has performed in our lives?

What does this verse say to you?





How are we at sharing information to the next generation?
To our children and their peers.

What about younger Christians?





Psalm 78:3-6, ‘Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:’

I think we forget.
Not intentionally but we forget.
And with that forgetting things get twisted.
We remember the story not as it was.
Maybe taking a little too much credit for it ourselves.

We possibly get mad at our children or the younger generation.
We don’t understand why they are doing what they are.
Or why they are not doing what we think they should be doing.

We sometimes expect our children to be stronger than ourselves.

How have we been at teaching them?





Thinking about those twelve stones,
I want to think of them as a foundation to build on.
So we don’t forget.

Here are twelve stones that I want us to elaborate on these next 12 weeks.
12 foundational basics that we can make stronger in our lives.
Stronger in our daily walk.
And stronger in our teaching of the next generation.

- Commitment
- Communication
- Consistency
- Faith
- Honesty
- Humility
- Integrity
- Love
- Prayer
- Selflessness
- Service and
- Trust


Ephesians 2:20, ‘And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;’


1Timothy 6:19, ‘Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.’


I believe we know most of what we will be going over.
We need to relearn it
Over learn it.
And keep it present.

next chapter

back to index