Come with me for a moment. Come with me as we leave here and drive down Elizabeth Street. At the end of Elizabeth Street, you take a left on Debary Ave. Drive on Debary Ave. until to reach Providence and take a left. Drive down Providence until you reach Saxon. Take a right on Saxon and drive ½ mile and you will see something there on the left side of the road. I’m sure many of you have seen it before. It is a memorial, set up and maintained by the family of an accident victim.
Let me ask you, “Why is that memorial there?” It is there to remind us, to help us remember the person who lost his life there.
In Washington D.C., in Arlington National Cemetery, you will find many graves, headstones, and tombs, but several stand out above all of the rest. They are the tombs of the unknown soldiers. Let me ask you, “Why are those tombs there?” They are there to honor those who have given their lives in the defense of this country, but they are also there as reminders. They remind us of the value of the freedoms we enjoy in this country, and the high price paid for those freedoms.
How many of you are wearing wedding rings this morning? Why do wear a wedding ring? I know, you wife made you, but other than that, why do you wear that ring? Wedding rings are a sign to others that you are married. They are also reminders to us, of the commitments we have made. They are memorial reminders.
Just as we have set up many things in our lives to serve as reminders, God has also established a number of memorials over the years to help us remember as well.
Back in Genesis chapter 9, we find one of the earliest memorials ever established. You may remember, back in the early part of Genesis, God caused a flood to cover the earth and kill every living thing on earth except for Noah, his family, and two of every animal that had been on the ark. After the flood was over, God said, this is a sign of the covenant I am making between Me and every living thing, that I will not destroy the earth again with a flood. I have placed My bow in the clouds. God created rainbows as memorials, to remind us of the covenant He made with us.
You may remember the memorial God set up for the Israelites in the book of Exodus. If you remember, the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for 400 years. God sent 9 plagues on Egypt to convince Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Again and again Pharaoh refused. Finally, God said, “I will send a
...