Crossroads Sunday May 31 2026

Imagine it. We're trying to follow Moses. Being the leader after the great leader. And here we are stepping into leadership. Joshua stepping into leadership knowing that everyone is going to compare you to the person who came before you. Just imagine wondering if you were enough. Yet, god never tells Joshua, don't worry, you're amazing. God never says, believe in yourself. God doesn't say, it's all good. You got it? God says, will be with you. I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you. [00:38:48] (60 seconds)  #GodIsWithYou

So today, whether you're graduating, whether you're beginning something new, whether you're grieving something old, whether you're simply trying to figure out what your next step is, I want you to hear god's promise. will be with you. Not you have all the answers. Not you'll never be afraid. Not you'll never make a mistake. Just this, will be with you. And in the end, that is enough. Because courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage is taking the next step anyway. [00:49:36] (50 seconds)  #TakeTheNextStep

I've never really been one who believed in that because the scripture tells us where two or more are showing up. That's enough. And y'all we got more than two. The truth is we are inadequate. We are inadequate by ourselves. But that's never been the point. Joshua wasn't enough by himself. Moses wasn't enough by himself. The disciples, the apostles were not enough by themselves, and neither are we. The story of faith has never been about being extraordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things on our own. It's about being ordinary people, trusting an extraordinary god. [00:48:38] (58 seconds)  #OrdinaryPeopleExtraordinaryGod

When god gives Joshua another instruction that says, do not turn from the right or from the left. Charles Spurgeon once said that there is always a right hand ditch and a left hand ditch and that both are dangerous. Because life constantly teach tempts us to go toward the extremes. When we're afraid, often we overreact. We become reckless or sometimes we become paralyzed and some people charge ahead without listening and others refuse to move at all. And god tells Joshua to stay in the center, to stay grounded, to stay focused, to keep walking the path that feels especially relevant in our world today. [00:43:21] (57 seconds)  #StayCentered

Joshua isn't called to a confidence in himself. Joshua is called to a confidence in god. A confidence in god's calling on Joshua's life. Not something from himself, not from his resume, not from his experience, not from his abilities. Confidence because of the presence of god. Back in numbers 27, Joshua is described as a man in whom the spirit rests. That's a pretty great qualification right there. The spirit of god is with him. The same spirit that had empowered Moses, the same spirit that would guide Israel, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, the same spirit that lives in us. [00:39:48] (61 seconds)  #SpiritLedLeadership

You see, god never call carry god never called us to carry life by ourselves. We're never meant to, yet so many of us spend our days trying. We carry all these worries alone. We carry our grief alone. We carry our fears alone. We carry our ministry alone. We carry our responsibilities alone. And then we wonder why we are so tired, why we are so exhausted, why we have trouble dragging ourselves out of bed for the next day because we're just tired, because we're trying to do it all by ourselves, all by ourselves. And the good news of Joshua is that god says, you do not carry this alone. [00:40:50] (61 seconds)  #ReleaseTheBurden

Because we live in a world that is pulling us to be on polar opposite sides of the extreme. Either to be an outrage on one side or the other, to live in fear or one side or the other, to live in despair on one side or the other, to to live into arrogance on one side or the other, to be a part of division. The world is calling us there. I'm here to tell you, faithfulness isn't found in the extremes. Faithfulness is is found in taking the next step. Taking the next right step. The next faithful step. And then taking one step more and one step more and one step more and pretty soon you're just moving forward. And that's how god led Joshua. That's how god leads us. [00:44:18] (51 seconds)  #StepByStepFaith

And maybe that's exactly why god chose him because courage isn't the absence of fear. Courage is taking the next faithful step anyway when you are afraid, even when you are scared, even when you are terrified, even when you are not sure if that's the right thing to do or not. It's taking that next step. One of the biggest challenges that many of us face is this thing called impostor syndrome. It's that voice in your head. Maybe it's your mother's voice. Maybe it's a teacher's voice. [00:37:28] (45 seconds)  #SilenceTheImpostor

The truth is we are inadequate. We are inadequate by ourselves. But that's never been the point. Joshua wasn't enough by himself. Moses wasn't enough by himself. The disciples, the apostles were not enough by themselves, and neither are we. The story of faith has never been about being extraordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things on our own. It's about being ordinary people, trusting an extraordinary god. [00:48:59] (36 seconds)

You see, god never call carry God never called us to carry life by ourselves. We're never meant to, yet so many of us spend our days trying. We carry all these worries alone. We carry our grief alone. We carry our fears alone. We carry our ministry alone. We carry our responsibilities alone. And then we wonder why we are so tired, why we are so exhausted, why we have trouble dragging ourselves out of bed for the next day because we're just tired, because we're trying to do it all by ourselves, all by ourselves. And the good news of Joshua is that God says, you do not carry this alone. [00:40:49] (62 seconds)