All Messages
It’s Complicated
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Part 4
Ken Tram
2 Corinthians; Joshua 3:11; Joshua 4:1-7; Colossians 2:8; 2 Timothy 2:2
You may not have kids, but someone is watching how you live out your faith, and what you never say out loud still teaches them something. Pastor Ken walks through Joshua 3-4, where Israel crosses a river at flood stage and then sets up twelve stones so their children would ask what they mean. His point is that faith isn’t pretending the flood isn’t there, and it was never meant to stop with you. It’s for parents, and for anyone who wants their faith to outlast them.
COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS MESSAGE
What does “faith isn’t pretending the flood isn’t there” mean?
In Joshua 3, the Jordan was at flood stage during harvest, and the priests carrying the ark were told to step in anyway. They didn’t act as if the water wasn’t there; they obeyed while it was still there, and the water stopped as their feet touched it. Pastor Ken says faith is trusting that God is bigger than what’s in front of you.
Why did God have Israel take twelve stones from the Jordan?
In Joshua 4:1-7, one man from each tribe took a stone from the middle of the river as a memorial, so that when children asked what the stones meant, parents could tell them what God did. Pastor Ken says God didn’t just want Israel to reach the promised land; he wanted their children to know who brought them there.
Does this apply if I don’t have kids?
Pastor Ken says yes. He says he is talking about legacy, not only parenting, because whether you realize it or not you are shaping the people around you and those coming after you. He points to the kids at church who learn to worship by watching the adults around them, and to 2 Timothy 2:2, where Paul says to entrust what you’ve learned to reliable people.
How do I pass on my faith without making it a big program?
Pastor Ken gives three ideas. What you don’t intentionally teach will be accidentally replaced (he cites Colossians 2:8). Legacy is built in ordinary moments, since Joshua 4 says “when” children ask, not “if.” And information isn’t fruit; reproduction is, so the goal is to pass it on, not just to know it.
