Choosing to Serve God Through Love and Justice

Devotional

Day 1: Standing Before God and Everybody

The oath of service requires full-bodied commitment, a public declaration that transcends private devotion. Like soldiers raising their right hands or Israelites gathered at Shechem, true allegiance demands vulnerability before witnesses. Joshua’s challenge cuts through ambiguity: serving God means rejecting the safety of spiritual neutrality. This moment isn’t about perfect resolve but the courage to let others see your trembling “yes.” [31:13]

“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)

Reflection: Where have you been tempted to keep your faith private or convenient? What would it look like to let one trusted person see your unresolved edges in following Christ?

Day 2: Three Times Chosen, Three Times Sure

Joshua’s repeated questioning reveals a truth: fidelity grows through reaffirmation, not one-time heroics. The Israelites’ triple declaration mirrors the baptismal covenant’s rhythmic call-and-response. Like military recruits repeating oaths before peers, our “we will” gains texture through repetition. Doubt isn’t the enemy here; shallow certainty is. Each “yes” sands down the idols we still clutch. [35:20]

And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the Lord.” 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 24:21-22, ESV)

Reflection: Which of your past faith commitments needs renewing today? How might saying “we will” aloud in community strengthen your resolve?

Day 3: Golden Calves in Camouflage

Foreign gods aren’t just stone statues but the fear, complacency, and greed that whisper, “Protect yourself first.” The sermon’s “golden calves” analogy reframes sin as misplaced allegiance—anything that outranks loving neighbors or pursuing justice. Like soldiers scanning for domestic threats, we’re called to root out the idols wearing Sunday best. [39:03]

And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!”… And the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.
(Exodus 32:4-6, ESV)

Reflection: What respectable-looking distraction most often competes with your baptismal vows? When have you mistaken privilege for peace with God?

Day 4: Proclaim, Love, Strive—The Baptismal Trifecta

Service isn’t abstract—it’s proclaiming grace through casseroles and courage, loving neighbors through inconvenient listening, striving for justice through small rebellions against apathy. The baptismal covenant reframes enlistment as everyday labor: showing up when the battle is against cynicism, exhaustion, and the myth of “someone else’s problem.” [38:11]

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8, ESV)

Reflection: Which baptismal promise (proclaim, love, strive) feels most challenging in this season? What mundane act could embody that promise today?

Day 5: Weaning From the World’s Milk

The hymn’s plea—“From love of pleasure, lust of gold… wean us”—admits our addiction to lesser gods. Like soldiers shedding civilian comforts for duty, discipleship requires detoxing from cultural compulsions. This isn’t about hating the world but loving God enough to let holy hunger replace cheap substitutes. [41:40]

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.
(1 John 2:15-16, ESV)

Reflection: What harmless-secular habit quietly competes with your spiritual focus? How might fasting from it create space to taste God’s goodness anew?

Sermon Summary

Joshua calls Israel to an oath of service grounded in what God has already done. From Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to the rescue from Egypt and arrival in Canaan, God has been present with the people. The choice of whom to serve grows out of that history. Like an oath of enlistment, it carries a sense of duty to something bigger than the individual, with pride, trepidation, courage, and determination.

Joshua does not let the people’s promise pass without a challenge. Israel has a long-standing fascination with other gods. The golden calf is not so easily forgotten. Three times the people affirm their service, and Joshua makes the requirement plain: put away the foreign gods and incline their hearts toward the Lord. An oath to serve God means letting go of whatever competes for that service.

The baptismal covenant gives that same commitment a concrete shape for Christians. Serving God means proclaiming by word and example the good news of God in Christ, seeking and serving Christ in all persons, loving neighbors, and striving for justice and peace while respecting every human being’s dignity. Proclaiming, loving, striving: these are not extras added to faith. They are what believers signed up for, with God’s help.

The foreign gods remain close at hand. Fear of difference or change can hold believers back. Complacency and privilege can make another person’s suffering easy to acknowledge and then switch off. Greed and arrogance put the self ahead of God and others. Renewed service therefore calls for humble self-reflection, not merely another declaration. The heart needs God’s help to recognize its faults, cast away its golden calves, and turn again toward love and service.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s Faithfulness Comes Before the Oath. Joshua reminds Israel of God’s presence across generations before asking whom the people will serve. Their commitment answers a history of rescue and care rather than beginning with their own determination. Christian service likewise gains its bearings from remembering God’s faithfulness, not simply from the strength of a promise. [32:36]
2. An Oath Requires Undivided Service. Joshua presses beyond Israel’s repeated assurances and names the foreign gods still among the people. A sincere declaration does not remove the need to surrender competing loyalties. Devotion becomes concrete when the heart turns toward God and lets go of what keeps pulling it elsewhere. [34:25]
3. Baptism Gives Service a Concrete Shape. The baptismal covenant joins proclaiming Christ’s good news with loving neighbors and striving for justice and peace. Respect for human dignity belongs within service to God, rather than sitting beside it as an optional concern. The promise depends on God’s help, but that dependence does not make its demands less practical. [37:14]
4. Golden Calves Can Look Quite Ordinary. Fear, complacency, privilege, greed, and arrogance can all distract believers from serving God. The ability to notice suffering, say that somebody should act, and then turn away exposes how quietly those loyalties work. Humble self-reflection asks what keeps love from becoming action, rather than assuming that idolatry always looks obviously religious. [39:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[29:17] - Military Family and Oaths of Service
[32:20] - Joshua Gathers Israel to Choose
[33:54] - Putting Away the Foreign Gods
[36:13] - The Meaning of Service Today
[36:44] - The Baptismal Covenant
[38:11] - Proclaiming, Loving, and Striving
[39:03] - The Golden Calves That Distract
[40:47] - Renewed Service and Humble Self-Reflection
[41:23] - A Prayer to Recognize Faults

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Joshua 24:14-15
“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, 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.” [18:07]

Exodus 32:4
“And he received the gold from their hand and fashioned it with a graving tool and made a golden calf. And they said, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” [34:11]

Matthew 22:37-39
“And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” [37:41]

Observation questions

What parts of Israel’s history does Joshua recall before asking the people to choose whom they will serve? What do these events have in common? [32:48]
As Israel repeatedly promises to serve God, what competing loyalty does Joshua confront, and what changes does he require beyond a spoken promise? [34:38]
What three actions describe service to God in the baptismal covenant, and how do they connect with loving God and loving neighbors in Matthew 22:37–39? [38:11]
The golden calf in Exodus 32:4 was a visible idol. What ordinary attitudes and behaviors are identified as golden calves that can distract believers from serving God today? [39:18]

Interpretation questions

Why does it matter that Joshua recalls God’s faithfulness before calling Israel to commit? How might that order change a believer’s understanding of duty to God? [33:07]
Why does Joshua challenge the people’s repeated promises rather than simply accepting them? What does this suggest about the difference between sincere words and undivided service? [33:51]
In light of Matthew 22:37–39, why do seeking justice, making peace, and respecting human dignity belong within service to God rather than being optional additions to faith? [37:41]
How can fear, complacency, or privilege become a competing loyalty rather than simply a personal weakness? What might reveal that one of these has begun to govern a person’s choices? [39:36]

Application questions

Where can you recognize God’s faithfulness in your own history, including through difficult seasons? How might remembering that care strengthen you in a particular act of service now? [32:48]
Which is most likely to draw you away from loving service right now: fear, complacency, greed, or arrogance? If you feel comfortable sharing, what recent choice helped you notice it? [40:01]
Is there someone whose differences make you hesitant to know or serve them? What small, respectful step could help you move toward that person rather than away? [39:18]
Can you recall a recent moment when you noticed someone’s suffering but felt tempted to leave it for somebody else to address? What manageable response might be possible now? [39:36]
Proclaiming Christ involves both words and example. In a relationship or setting you are already part of, how could your words and actions together make Christ’s love more visible this week? [37:28]
Serving God calls for both honest self-reflection and dependence on God’s help. What practice could help you recognize a competing loyalty and begin letting it go? How could this group support you without judging or pressuring you? [41:05]

Sermon Clips

49s

#LoveThyNeighbor

“Proclaiming that all are beloved children of God, and all receive God's grace, no matter what. It is loving, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and it is striving, striving for justice and peace and the respect of every human being. Proclaim it, loving, striving. That's what it means to serve God. That's what we all, myself included, signed up for.”

51s

#FaithInAction

“So today, as we celebrate the veterans who have made an oath of service to this country, I invite us all to reaffirm our own oath of service to God, to seek out ways to serve God through loving others and working for justice and peace in our world, and to engage in self reflection, humble self reflection, to find those golden tabs in our lives that distract us from God and cast them away.”

63s

#OvercomingFear

“But what are those foreign teeth? What are those golden caps that distract us from serving God in these ways? Perhaps it is fear. Maybe a fear of people or things that are different than we are. Or maybe even fear of change that holds us back. Maybe it is complacency or privilege. The ability to look the other way or to carry on with our days when we see someone in need, when we see something horrible on TV and say, that's rough. Somebody should do something about it. And then turn it off.”

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Varina Episcopal Church This sermon · AI assistant

Why did Joshua repeatedly challenge Israel’s oath of service?

How does our baptismal covenant define serving God?

Which modern golden calves distract us from serving God?