Introduction: Joshua had led Israel for many years. They had occupied most of the promised land. Now it was time for Joshua to die, and he had a final challenge for his people. He exhorted them to do two things:

I. Get rid of all your old gods (vs. 14).

A. The Israelites still had some(Similar to the story of Rachel -- see Genesis 31:17-21)

B. Do Chattanoogans worship false gods and idols?

The Hindoos are worshipping Maha Lakshmi, and Ganesh

It has also been said that whatever we hold as more important than our dedication to Christ can become a god to us. Is serving Christ the most important thing to us, or is there something else?

II. Serve the Lord as a family (vs. 15).

A. Joshua dedicated his "house" to serving the Lord.

"House" is the Hebrew word "beth," literally "house."

Of course, he meant his household. Sometimes people argue over the meaning of the word "family," but Joshua sidesteps that question, and says, "Whoever lives under my roof will serve the Lord."

B. You are not responsible for how people live, except for those under your roof.

You can't compel your neighbor, nor your grown and moved out children to live in any particular way.

C. The Lord has given us some simple rules to form our households.

1. He commands spouses to love each other, and to be faithful to one another for a lifetime. American culture has pretty well abandoned this commandment.

(See Providence Journal article).

2. He commands children to obey their parents, one of the ten commands.

He underlines the importance by the death penalty for disobeying this Law (see Deut. 21:18-21). We certainly don't do this any longer. In fact, you can be arrested for spanking your child!

3. He commands parents to bring their children up to know the Lord.

Deut. 6:6-9; 20-25. Your children need to see that you believe in God, and that you live by His Word, and you must require your children to obey His Word, too. What percentage of Americans are obeying these commandments?

D. If we find some crazy horrible events taking place in our society, should we be surprised? If we reject the Laws of God, what do we expect? Can man make better laws than God? I don't think so!

Conclusion: Joshua and the Israelites promised to abandon all their old gods, and to serve only Jehovah, maker of Heaven and earth. They promised to be faithful to one another, and to love their children, and bring them up to know the Lord. We need to make these very same promises, and we need to keep our vows for a lifetime. May the Lord help us all to be faithful to Him.