We're All In This Together- Min Stacy McKenzie

Joshua 1 opens with God’s people standing at the edge of a new season. God tells Joshua that Moses is dead, but the promise is still in front of them: “Get ready to cross the Jordan River.” God does not call Joshua to move by himself. God gives him the responsibility to lead the people forward together.

The changing seasons of New York give a picture of how church life can shift. Seasons do not always happen exactly as expected. Spring can feel like winter again, summer can stay longer, and winter can come early. But eventually the season changes. God has carried the church through closed doors, online worship, transition, sacrifice, and every hard moment, and God is still calling His people to look ahead.

The call to move forward requires more than waiting for somebody else to do something. The body of Christ needs every member to recognize that God has placed something in each hand. Prayer, teaching, encouragement, welcoming strangers, visiting the sick, mentoring young people, and serving when nobody is watching all belong to the work of the church. The future cannot rest on one person, because every member matters.

God’s Word remains the compass for the next season. Joshua cannot lead according to his own opinions, preferences, or whatever sounds good. God commands him to obey the Word, meditate on it day and night, and refuse to turn to the right or the left. The Word may not show every turn in the road, but it gives enough light for the next step. Personal preferences cannot become more important than the mission God has given.

The picture of Nehemiah’s wall calls for a mind to work. The people built because they shared a purpose, even while opposition stood around them. The church needs more than a mind to attend, hear songs, and receive encouragement. The work requires people who bring solutions with concerns, pray for one another instead of talking about one another, and reach people who may not look, think, or worship exactly the same way.

The body image makes the assignment plain: not everybody has to do the same thing, but everybody has to do their part. The hand, foot, eye, and ear all have different work, yet the whole body is strengthened when each part fulfills its calling. Unity does not mean identical gifts or personalities. Unity means shared faith in Christ, submission to God’s Word, and commitment to the gospel.

God’s command to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous,” rests on God’s presence, not an easy road. The past can be honored without becoming a trap. Christ’s death and resurrection declare that the work is not in vain, the story is not over, and hope remains for the church, its families, its young people, and the next generation. Jesus is the first step for every person seeking a new beginning, forgiveness, hope, and a place in God’s family.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Everybody has a part to play The body of Christ cannot be healthy when a few members carry all the weight. God gives different assignments, gifts, and strengths, but every assignment matters to the whole. The call is not for everybody to do the same thing, but for every believer to stop waiting and faithfully do the part God has placed in hand. [19:58]
• 2. God’s Word guides the next step God does not promise to reveal every detail of the road ahead. God gives His Word as a lamp, providing light for the step directly in front of His people. A church stays steady in transition when Scripture, rather than preferences or opinions, remains its compass. [22:21]
• 3. Unity requires a mind to work Nehemiah’s builders did not merely admire the wall or talk about its condition. The people worked with enthusiasm because they understood that rebuilding required shared labor. Love for Christ becomes visible when concerns come with solutions, prayer replaces gossip, and service becomes stronger than criticism. [23:57]
• 4. Courage keeps moving through change Courage does not mean the road contains no obstacles, disagreements, or slow seasons. Courage keeps obeying God when the outcome cannot yet be seen. God’s presence gives His people strength to reach beyond what feels familiar and welcome the next season in faith. [27:23]
• 5. Christ’s resurrection makes hope possible Jesus rose again, and therefore the work done for God’s kingdom is not in vain. The cross and empty tomb declare that the story is not over, even after painful seasons and hard transitions. Christ’s living presence gives the church purpose, strength, and a future.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [12:06] - Joshua’s Call to Lead Forward
• [14:06] - Seasons Change in Church Life
• [16:34] - Looking Ahead to God’s Promise
• [18:00] - Get Up and Move Together
• [20:50] - Let God’s Word Be the Guide
• [23:20] - Build Together With a Mind to Work
• [25:09] - Everybody Doing Their Part
• [27:23] - Moving With Courage and Faith
• [29:28] - Honor the Past Without Living There
• [31:00] - The Church Needs Every Member
• [34:22] - Because He Lives, the Work Is Not in Vain
• [37:11] - The First Step Is Jesus

Bible Reading

Joshua 1:1-9
“After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, 'Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses. From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun shall be your territory. No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” [12:06]

1 Corinthians 12:12-27
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” [19:58]

Nehemiah 4:6
“So we built the wall. And all the wall was joined together to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.” [23:57]

Observation questions

1. In Joshua 1:1–9, what responsibility does God give Joshua, and who is included in that assignment? [18:31]
2. What repeated instructions does God give Joshua about courage, fear, discouragement, and obedience to God’s Word?
3. According to 1 Corinthians 12:12–27, how does Paul describe the relationship between the many members and the one body? [20:18]
4. In Nehemiah 4:6, what does the people’s attitude toward the work reveal about why the wall was rebuilt despite opposition? [23:35]

Interpretation questions

1. Why does God connect Joshua’s courage with careful obedience to His Word? What can happen when a church is guided mainly by preferences, opinions, or familiar ways of doing things? [21:07]
2. Paul teaches that different members have different functions, yet all belong to one body. How does this correct the idea that only visible leaders or gifted people are important in the church? [26:40]
3. Nehemiah’s people had “a mind to work.” What might it look like for believers to bring solutions along with concerns instead of only pointing out problems? [24:15]
4. God’s promise of His presence did not mean Joshua’s road would be easy. How does God’s presence give courage during slow progress, difficult decisions, or change? [27:48]

Application questions

1. What is one ability, burden, or opportunity God has placed in your hands right now—such as prayer, encouragement, teaching, welcoming, visiting, mentoring, or serving—and what could it look like to use it this week? [19:58]
2. When you feel concerned about something in the church or in your community, do you usually withdraw, criticize, pray, or look for a way to help? What would it mean to bring a solution with your concern? [24:18]
3. Is there a personal preference, habit, or expectation that could make it harder for you to welcome people who think, look, or worship differently than you do? How can love for Christ become greater than that preference? [24:49]
4. What “next step” is God’s Word putting in front of you, even if you cannot see the whole road ahead? What Scripture can help guide you as you take that step? [22:33]
5. Is there a past season—good or painful—that you may be holding onto so tightly that it is difficult to move forward? How can you honor what God has done without becoming trapped there? [29:45]
6. Where do you need courage right now: serving in a new way, having a loving but difficult conversation, reaching out to someone, or trusting God through an uncertain change? [28:41]
7. Jesus is alive, so work done for His kingdom is not in vain. How does the resurrection give you hope when serving feels unnoticed, tiring, or slow? [34:39]