For His Glory Pastor

 Tom Marker

4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”                                                Joshua 4:4-7

The nation of Israel is about to cross the Jordan and enter the Promised Land. The LORD tells Joshua that 12 men representing each of the twelve tribes are to take 12 stones out of the midst of the Jordan, take them to the place that they spend the night after the crossing. These stones were to be Memorial stones. As future generations would see these stones, they would be reminded how that God cut off the waters of the Jordan, so that their ancestors were able to pass through into the Promised Land.

This month, the month we celebrate 140 years of God’s abiding presence amongst His children, the question must be asked, “Where are our memorial stones? Has God done something significant throughout history that we can lay claim to? That we can look back and say, “Here we have seen God moving, His Sovereign hand guiding.”

This will be one of our objectives on September 18-19, to demonstrate in exhibits and video and music and testimony that God is indeed faithful.  What He began on September 11, 1870, spreading the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ alone throughout central Pennsylvania, transforming the hearts of men, women and children, calling young people to full time Christian service, supporting the work of the Holy Spirit by prayer and financial resources and yes even going to serve beyond the comfort zone of the Susquehanna Valley, not only has God began His good work in the past, He continues to do so in the present and will fulfill His sovereign Plan  to build His church in the future until Jesus comes!

If you have been blessed by this church in any way, if you were baptized here, married here, perhaps a pastor or deacon or some other servant of God sat by your hospital bed and prayed with you when you were  afraid or in despair or a dozen other ways this church has touched your life, then come and celebrate with us and lay a stone of remembrance of your own to the Glory of God!!