Set Down the Rock and Serve the Lord

Joshua’s call to choose the Lord exposes a mistake as old as Israel and as familiar as an eagle nesting a rock. Murphy’s rock looked like an egg, but no amount of warmth or protection could make it hatch. Power, prestige, and privilege look like sources of life too. These pseudo gods seem to deliver, especially when the barns are full and life is going well.

Moses warns that prosperity can make God’s people forget the Lord who brought them out of slavery. Cities they did not build and vineyards they did not plant can become evidence, in their eyes, of their own goodness and right to possess them. Christian nationalism tells that same false story: the United States belongs to Christians because Christians are the right kind of people. This pseudo god wears the Lord’s name while asking for trust that belongs to Jesus alone.

Israel’s history shows where that trust leads. The walls rise, the temple shines, and then Babylon comes. The gods of wood and stone cannot save anyone because they have never been alive. Murphy’s rock could stay warm forever and still remain a rock. False gods may offer a season of full barns and climbing numbers, but they have no life to give when trouble comes.

Isaiah names the difference while Babylon’s gods ride through the streets on carts: false gods have to be carried; the living God carries his people. God carries them from before birth until their hair turns gray. God has always been the one leading, giving, and bringing his people out.

Jesus refuses the tempter’s offer of kingdoms, power, and splendor. His obedience leads instead to the sick, the poor, the forgotten, and finally a cross. The cross looks like loss by every visible measure, but God raises Jesus from the dead. The risen Christ gives away the life no idol can provide.

God loosens the grip of idolatry by giving something alive. Murphy’s rock gives way to an eaglet entrusted to his care. Christ’s life, redeemed life, and the neighbor’s life leave no room for clutching a stone. Service to the Lord takes shape in care for neighbors without homes, honor for the peoples whose land was taken, welcome for those arriving, and concern for every neighbor’s grandchildren. God’s gifts become life to tend rather than possessions to defend.

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Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [22:22] - Murphy the Eagle and His Rock
• [23:52] - Mistaking Pseudo Gods for Life
• [25:10] - Moses Warns Against Forgetting
• [26:11] - Christian Nationalism and False Trust
• [27:17] - Israel’s Prosperity and Babylon’s Arrival
• [29:18] - The God Who Carries His People
• [30:52] - Jesus Refuses Power and Prestige
• [32:06] - Life That Idols Cannot Give
• [32:27] - Murphy Receives Something Alive
• [33:24] - Setting Down the Rock to Serve

Bible Reading

Joshua 24:15
“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.” [21:58]

Deuteronomy 6:10-12
“And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” [25:10]

Matthew 4:8-10
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.” [30:52]

Observation questions

1. In Deuteronomy 6:10–12, what gifts do the people receive without producing them themselves, and what danger does Moses warn about once they have enough? [25:16]
2. What made the gods of the land seem trustworthy, and how do power, prestige, and privilege offer a similar appeal today? [24:07]
3. In Matthew 4:8–10, what does the tempter offer Jesus, what does he demand in return, and how does Jesus respond? [30:52]
4. What specific examples of caring for neighbors give practical shape to Joshua’s call to serve the Lord? [34:09]

Interpretation questions

1. Why might receiving good things lead people to believe they deserve more than others, rather than leading them to gratitude? How does Moses’ reminder of deliverance from slavery challenge that belief? [25:35]
2. How does the belief that the United States belongs to Christians alone turn national identity into a rival to the Lord, even when it uses God’s name? [26:11]
3. How do Jesus’ refusal of the tempter’s offer and his path to the cross challenge the idea that influence, wealth, or visible success prove faithfulness to God? [31:31]
4. Why might receiving Christ’s life and caring for a living neighbor loosen a person’s attachment to an idol more deeply than simply being told that the idol is false? [33:20]

Application questions

1. What is one good thing in your life that you are tempted to treat as entirely your own achievement? What might help you remember the gifts and people that made it possible? [25:47]
2. When your security feels threatened, what do you turn to first? How could you recognize when a useful resource—such as money, influence, or a political affiliation—is becoming something you trust more than Jesus? [26:40]
3. Where do you notice yourself becoming defensive about status, possessions, or national identity? What might it look like to pause and consider whose life or needs you could be overlooking? [33:09]
4. God carries his people even when their strength fails. Is there a burden you are carrying as though everything depends on you? What might trusting God with it look like this week? [30:02]
5. Jesus’ cross and resurrection challenge our usual measures of success. Where do you feel pressure to look successful, and how might Christ’s gift of life free you to choose faithfulness instead? [31:53]
6. Which neighbors could you get to know or care for more intentionally—people without homes, Indigenous neighbors, newcomers, or families concerned about their children’s future? What is one realistic step you or this group could take toward listening and offering care? [34:18]