Every year on November 11, Canadians pause in a silent moment of remembrance for the men and women who have served, and continue to serve our country during times of war, conflict and peace.

Today we join others across our nation to honor those who fought for Canada in the First World War, the Second World War, and the Korean War, as well as those who have served since then. More than 1,500,000 Canadians have served our country in this way, and more than 116,000 have died. They gave their lives and their futures so that we may live in peace.

The National War Memorial in Ottawa stands for the generations to come to serve as a reminder of the sacrifice of those who served our country. When you visit Confederation Square and see the memorial it causes you to stop and reflect on the freedoms we enjoy.

God also wants us to stop and reflect on His faithfulness to us when we have faced the battles of life. God encourages us to have memorials.

In Joshua chapter four, after successfully crossing the Jordan River, God instructs Joshua to set up a memorial.

Key text: Joshua 4:1-24

Why have memorials?

1. We tend to forget what God has done for us.
1. Joshua 4:7b These stones will stand as a permanent memorial among the people of Israel.
2. Memorial in the scripture means to prick, pierce or penetrate the memory.
3. Judges 2:10  After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the LORD or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.
2. To remind ourselves and the next generation of the faithfulness of God.
1. Joshua 4:21,22 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future, your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
2. What makes your children ask about God?
3. Memorials are intended to provoke questions from the future generations. Christianity is always only one generation away from extinction.
4. Our generation may have lost the art of storytelling.
5. Deuteronomy 4:9 However, be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you don’t forget the things which you have seen with your own eyes. Don’t let them fade from your memory as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren.
3. They are a signpost to the world.
1. Joshua 4:23,24  “Yes, GOD, your God, dried up the Jordan’s waters for you until you had crossed, just as GOD, your God, did at the Red Sea, which had dried up before us until we had crossed. This was so that everybody on earth would recognize how strong GOD’S rescuing hand is and so that you would hold GOD in solemn reverence always.”

• What triggers you to remember God’s goodness in your life today?
  
  
• What memorials do your children see that would provoke them to ask about God?