Choose This Day Whom You Will Serve

Devotional

Day 1: The Oak and the Axe

Joshua stood before Israel at Shechem, dust clinging to sandals still worn from conquest. He gripped his staff and declared, “Put away the foreign gods among you.” The people swore allegiance, but Joshua knew their hearts. Centuries later, Boniface raised an axe over Thor’s oak. Pagans waited for lightning that never came. The splintering trunk echoed Joshua’s warning: half-hearted worship collapses. [38:21]

Idols thrive in unexamined corners. The Amorite gods promised fertility; Egypt’s deities offered familiar comfort. Joshua named these rivals because compromise starts with small surrenders. Boniface’s axe didn’t just fell a tree—it exposed the lie that God shares space with lesser loves.

You’ve felt the weight of divided loyalty—the career that consumes your Sundays, the anxiety you coddle like a shrine. Name one “tree” you’ve hesitated to cut down. What false promise keeps it standing?

“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
(Joshua 24:14–15, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one idol hiding behind reasonable excuses. Demand courage to uproot it.
Challenge: Write down one practical step to diminish that idol’s influence today—delete an app, schedule a fast, or burn a symbolic object.

Day 2: Witnesses Against Ourselves

The Israelites shouted, “We will serve the Lord!” Joshua didn’t celebrate. He pressed them: “You are witnesses against yourselves.” Their words became a binding oath, a sword hanging over future rebellion. Promises made in sunlight test us in shadows. [30:53]

Vows matter because God hears them. Baptismal waters still ripple with the echo of “I renounce the devil.” Wedding rings outlast fleeting emotions. Joshua forced Israel to confront the gap between passion and perseverance—to see their zeal as future evidence should they wander.

How many spiritual highs have you claimed only to forget when trials came? Your past self—the one who wept at the altar or journaled fervent prayers—stands ready to testify. When did you last revisit the vows you made to God?

“Then Joshua said to the people, ‘You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.’ And they said, ‘We are witnesses.’”
(Joshua 24:22, ESV)

Prayer: Confess one broken vow and ask for grace to recommit without shame.
Challenge: Text a friend one specific promise you’ve made to God (e.g., “I vowed to tithe” or “I pledged to forgive X”). Ask them to check in next week.

Day 3: The Holy Spirit’s Grip

Joshua warned, “You cannot serve the Lord.” Israel bristled, but he named their fatal flaw: self-reliance. Centuries later, Luther scribbled, “I cannot by my own reason or strength believe.” Both men pointed beyond human grit to divine grace. [33:08]

The Israelites’ history proved Joshua right—they chased idols within generations. Our strength fails; God’s doesn’t. The Spirit isn’t a cheerleader but a lifeline, gripping us when temptation pries at our fingers.

Where are you straining to “be better” instead of clinging to the Spirit? That secret habit, that relationship you won’t release—what if surrender, not effort, is the path to freedom?

“Whenever the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge, and he saved them from the hand of their enemies… For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning.”
(Judges 2:18, ESV)

Prayer: Beg the Spirit to strengthen you in a specific area where willpower has failed.
Challenge: Memorize Judges 2:18. Whisper it when temptation strikes today.

Day 4: Framing the Covenant

Joshua chiseled the covenant at Shechem—a stone monument, not wall art. Israel’s “as for me and my house” wasn’t a cozy motto but a wartime pledge. Today, we frame verses while ignoring the call to tear down altars. [27:29]

Every decorative cross risks becoming a hollow symbol if it doesn’t point to daily death. Joshua’s covenant demanded action: “Put away foreign gods.” Grace covers failure but never excuses complacency.

What holy symbol in your home has become background noise? The cross on the wall, the Bible on the shelf—when did you last let them confront you?

“But Joshua said to the people, ‘You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.’”
(Joshua 24:19, ESV)

Prayer: Thank God for His jealousy—His refusal to share your heart with counterfeits.
Challenge: Touch one faith symbol in your home today. Pray for courage to live what it represents.

Day 5: From Egypt to Shechem

Israel stood where Abraham first built an altar (Genesis 12:6). Joshua retraced their story: slavery, plagues, Red Sea, wilderness, victory. Each step proved God’s faithfulness; each misstep revealed their amnesia. [26:38]

Remembering is resistance. The Amorites’ gods seemed powerful until Israel recalled the Nile turning to blood. Our doubt flourishes when we fixate on present battles and forget past deliverance.

What “Egypt” has God freed you from that the enemy claims still defines you? Write that story. Tell it to someone under 25.

“The people answered, ‘Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods… It is the Lord our God who brought us up… and preserved us in all the way that we went.’”
(Joshua 24:16–17, ESV)

Prayer: Recite three specific ways God has provided for you this year. End with “We will serve the Lord.”
Challenge: Call a family member today. Share one story of God’s faithfulness from your shared history.

Sermon Summary

We stand before Joshua chapter 24 and hear a sharp summons: fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and faithfulness. We remember how God brought Israel out of Egypt, fought for them, and gave them rest in the land. Victory did not end the battle for holiness. We commit to follow God not as a short-lived impulse or cultural posture, but as a whole-life allegiance that shapes home, work, and conscience. The phrase as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord presses us to consider the cost of that claim and the seriousness of promising fidelity to the one true God.

Words matter. When we declare our faith, we place ourselves under covenantal obligation and become witnesses against our own future choices if we abandon that claim. We do not make vows for ceremony alone. Baptismal promises, confessions, and familial pledges bind our wills and call forth accountability because souls face real peril when faith collapses into mere cultural identity. The warning that God is holy and jealous exposes our weakness: left to our own strength, we will drift into the alluring gods of comfort, status, and security.

We cannot sustain faith by willpower. The Holy Spirit works through the proclaimed Word, calling us, creating faith, and sustaining that faith through forgiveness. The discipline of the church and the means of grace supply the help we lack. Scripture does not leave us with despair over human failure; it unfolds God’s faithfulness across history. The remainder of the Bible proves that God does not abandon Israel or his church but comes to rescue and restore.

Putting away foreign gods remains urgent and practical. Idolatry wears many faces today: possessions, political loyalties, ease, or any thing that promises life apart from God. Stories like the cutting down of Thor’s oak remind us that false gods hold power only as long as we grant it. The Spirit removes our blind attachments and reorients our worship to Christ, who fulfills God’s promises and secures our hope.

So we choose today whom we will serve. We acknowledge our frailty, rely on the Spirit rather than our own stubbornness, and proclaim with deliberate hearts to serve the Lord in sincerity and faithfulness. We ask for the Spirit’s power to know, love, and serve the God who redeemed us from sin, death, and the devil.

Key Takeaways

1. Fear and serve the Lord We must cultivate reverent awe that issues in faithful service across every domain of life. Fear here means recognizing God’s holiness and responding with whole-hearted obedience, not mere emotionalism. True service flows from sincere trust in God’s past deliverance and present sustaining power. This call anchors our daily decisions in covenant loyalty. [24:29]
2. Faithfulness cannot be self generated Human resolve fails under persistent temptation and deceitful comforts. The Holy Spirit creates and sustains faith through the preached Word and the sacraments, so our perseverance depends on God’s work, not our grit. Recognizing this frees us to repent honestly and receive divine help. Trusting God’s faithfulness reshapes how we pursue holiness. [33:08]
3. Declarations are solemn witnesses Public vows and covenant words carry spiritual consequence and expose the heart’s true direction. When we speak promises in baptism, confirmation, or family vows, we submit to accountability and the judgment of our choices. Those words must lead to repentance, discipline, and concrete practices that embody the claim. Treat speech as binding before God and neighbor. [30:36]
4. Remove idols from daily life Idols today hide under comforts, ambitions, and ideologies that displace God’s rule. Confronting them requires honest inventory, gospel-driven repentance, and practices that dislodge false trust. The church’s discipline and the Spirit’s work cut down what once seemed indispensable so worship can be restored to Christ alone. Our daily habits reveal whom we truly serve. [36:49]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[22:39] - Scripture reading: Joshua 24
[23:35] - The call to fear and serve
[24:29] - The warning despite victory
[25:26] - Faith as lifelong commitment
[27:05] - The cost of household declaration
[30:36] - Words as witnesses and vows
[33:08] - The Holy Spirit enables faith
[35:23] - God remains faithful to Israel
[36:49] - Command to remove false gods
[38:42] - Boniface and Thor's oak example
[40:02] - Christ as fulfillment and hope
[41:12] - Call to serve with sincerity
[66:50] - Closing prayers and benediction

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Joshua 24:14-24 (ESV)
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” 16 Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods... 22 Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” 23 He said, “Then put away the foreign gods that are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.”

Observation Questions

In Joshua 24:15, Joshua declares, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” What specific actions or choices does this statement imply for a household? [27:05]
Verse 22 says the people are “witnesses against yourselves.” What does this phrase suggest about the weight of their public commitment to God?
How does Joshua’s warning in verses 19-20 (“You are not able to serve the Lord… He will not forgive your transgressions”) contrast with the people’s confidence in their own faithfulness? [34:30]
What practical step does Joshua command in verse 23, and why is it urgent?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Joshua warn the Israelites to “fear the Lord” even after they’ve experienced victory and rest in the land (v. 14)? [24:29]
The people declare, “We will serve the Lord” (v. 21), yet Joshua insists they are “witnesses against yourselves” (v. 22). How does this tension reveal the difference between cultural faith and covenantal faithfulness?
The sermon mentions that “idolatry wears many faces today.” How might the story of cutting down Thor’s oak (Boniface) illustrate the modern call to “put away foreign gods”? [38:42]
Joshua says God “will not forgive your transgressions” if they turn to idols (v. 19). How does this warning align with the sermon’s emphasis on God’s faithfulness despite human failure? [35:23]

Application Questions

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” is often displayed as a motto. What daily habits or decisions in your home actually reflect this claim? Are there areas where your actions contradict it? [27:29]
The sermon warns that idols today include “possessions, political loyalties, or ease.” Which of these most subtly competes for your worship? What practical step could you take this week to “put it away” (v. 23)?
Public declarations of faith (e.g., baptismal vows) are called “solemn witnesses.” When have you felt the tension between your words and actions in living out these vows? How can accountability help? [30:36]
The sermon says, “We cannot sustain faith by willpower.” What rhythms (prayer, Scripture, community) do you rely on to receive the Holy Spirit’s strength instead of your own grit? [33:08]
Boniface’s act of cutting down Thor’s oak required boldness. What “idol” in your life or community needs to be confronted with similar courage? What makes this difficult? [38:42]
Joshua’s warning in verse 19 exposes human weakness. Where have you experienced failure in faithfulness, and how does God’s promise to “rescue and restore” reshape your response to that failure?

Sermon Clips

53s

#ChooseThisDay

“My friends, we find our forebearers forebearers in Israel faced with the question, choose this day whom you will serve. We are asked that same question. To be a Christian is no small matter. It is not a matter of fitting in with your family or your friends, but it is a matter of following the one who saved and redeemed us from sin, death, and the devil. And even if we take being a Christian seriously, we cannot rely on our own power and strength to remain faithful for we will fail in that. But the Lord God, who has acted to save us, will act to help keep us faithful. So let us rejoice then in this good news and serve God with sincerity and in faithfulness.”

43s

#ScriptureNotStars

“You know, we as humans may be faithless, but God is faithful. And the rest of this bible, the entirety of this bible, is evidence that God did not abandon Israel to their own devices and destruction, and he will not abandon his bride, the church, to whom we belong to. He will come to our aid and guide us. And now some of that aid and guidance is very practical. You know, we don't need to go out there and watch the stars or how the clouds form to know what the Lord is telling us to do. No. We look to scripture.”

48s

#GodSustainsFaith

“God knows how weak we are, how incapable on our own we are to follow him, how easily we are seduced by pagan gods. But God is with us. He acts to pull us to himself through all of the mess of this world, helping us to remain faithful and giving us the strength to carry on and to put away all the false idols that we worship in our days to serve him alone. And, of course, the entirety of this endeavor of faith that we are all embarking on, that the people of Israel embarked on, and that our ancestors embarked on rests solely upon Jesus Christ.”

40s

#TrustGodNotSelf

“the full weight of that. And so what do we do about it? Do we just lock in and focus? Do we muscle our way through and white knuckle hold on to Jesus and by our power stay faithful? Well, if you've been around here for even a short amount of time, I hope that you have heard that that is not how the Christian walks with God. Trusting in their strength to be faithful, but instead trusting in God to deliver us from the powers that we cannot overcome on our own.”

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St. John Lutheran Church, Boerne This sermon · AI assistant

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