Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
October 26, 2025
Joshua 24:14-28
At the beginning of worship:
Early in the fourth century, Constantine, the Roman emperor, legalized Christianity. Supposedly, going into battle significantly outmanned, he dreamed of a cross. He had crosses painted onto the shields of his soldiers and won the battle. In time, he embraced the faith and joined the church.
I’m not sure it was like this for Constantine, but a lot of folks join the church and then discover it’s less than peaceful. A friend of mine wrote a novel about a man who lived his whole life alone in the wilds of the north woods. His parents moved to the wilderness and when they died, he stayed. It was all he knew. When a lost hunter comes to his cabin looking for help, he tells him about Jesus. The recluse wants to be a part of a church. He moves back to civilization, only to discover a church full of conflict and fighting between various factions.[1]
In Constantine’s time, two significant factions argued over the nature of Christ. One group believed Jesus was God and the other, the Arians, led by Bishop Arius of Alexander, taught that Jesus had been created by God before the creation of the earth. This debate over Jesus as a creature or as God hurt the mission of the church. Ironically, an Arian bishop brought Constantine into the faith.
Not being a theologian himself, but a ruler, Constantine realized the problem. He called the bishops of the Church together in Nicaea, a town along the coast of what’s today Turkey. Essentially, he locked them in a room and told them to work it out. From the Council of Nicaea, held in 325 AD, comes the essence the Nicene Creed. That council was held 1700 years ago, this year.
Between now and Advent, on the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea, I want us to spend some time with this creed. This is the most significant creed of the Church. Protestant, Catholics, Orthodox, and Coptic Christians accept the Creed. Even churches who claim to be non-creedal owe an allegiance to this document if they believe in the Trinity and the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. This creed becomes the foundation of Christianity as we know it.
Before reading the scripture:
Today, I want to link my sermon to the beginning of the Creed. It starts, “I believe” or “We believe.” You can make a case for both. There is no official translation of the Nicene Creed into English. The Eastern Church mostly uses “We” and the Western Church (Protestants and Roman Catholics) mostly uses “I.”[2] However, the Presbyterian Church in our Confessions uses “We.”
The “I” seems appropriate when one joins the church. The “We” seems more appropriate when we, as the church, proclaim in unison our faith. When we say the Creed or any of the confessions, we draw on a historical profession of faith by those before us who, like us, followed Jesus.
Also notice, this creed doesn’t tell us what to do. Instead, it informs us as to the nature of the one we worship.[3] The creed summons us to worship God. Worship is the priority of the church. While everything we do is important—from sharing the gospel to helping those in need—worship always remain at the forefront of the Christian faith. God acts so that we might experience salvation. God acts and then calls us to do likewise, which is why we worship God first, then are sent out to serve God through our lives. The foundation of our discipleship comes from knowing God.
Our text today will be from the last chapter of Joshua. While I talk about the text, you can be looking for it, as it’s toward the front of your Bibles. Israel now controls the Promise Land. In this chapter, Joshua calls the Hebrew people together at Shechem, a historically important site for the Jacob story in Genesis.[4]
The summons to Shechem brings the story of Joshua to a close. Joshua begins by recalling all that God has done for the Hebrew people, going back to Abraham. Joshua wants the people to know they didn’t conquer the land on their own. God led them to victory.
Next, we get to our text for this morning, which begins in verse 14. This is essentially a renewal covenant. The people in the Promised Land are to once again proclaim their loyalty to God. After this passage, the chapter ends with the death of Joshua.
Read Joshua 24:14-28
We believe. When we say these words, with Christians throughout the ages, we proclaim the God we worship. We believe in a triune God: Father, Son, and Spirit. As one author writing on the creed says,
To confess the faith is to make what we believe into something shared, public, and recognizable, not just a fleeting thought in the heart. The baptismal confession makes us members of Christ’s army, and to this day there are places where this confession can get you killed. It is not just saying what is in our heart; it is joining a community and sharing its dangers and tasks as well as its blessings.[5]
In our morning text, the people of Israel are at a point in history that they must decide what they believe. It’s a dangerous decision, because they’re surrounded by people who believe differently. Furthermore, it appears some still hold on to other gods, even those gods beyond the Euphrates and the gods of Egypt.
It’s hard to let go of what we believe as we see in Jacob’s story in Genesis. Jacob’s wife Rachel stole her father’s gods and brought them with her as they headed toward the land promised to Abraham.[6] In addition, the Hebrews were acquainted with the gods of Egypt.
Furthermore, in the Wilderness, they built their own golden calf to worship. If these people are going to become the covenant people of God, they must put away that which they’ve trusted before and keep only God at the forefront of their lives.
A covenant is an agreement between two parties. We make covenants all the time. Marriage is a covenant. In a way, a covenant is a contract where each party pledges to do something for the other. God made a promissory covenant with Abraham. He was promised descendants who would become a great nation and who would out-number the stars.[7]
Now, the rewards of Abraham’s covenant are being realized. His descendants have become many and are establishing a nation. Israel can now live out their covenant with God, so they essentially make a discipleship covenant.[8] God will be their God, and they will do God’s work in the world.
As one commentator notes:
The call of Joshua to Israel is more than simply a narration of past history. It is a demand for discipleship, a call to hear and obey in faithfulness and loyalty the commands of God.[9]
Joshua expects the people to decide who they will serve. Will it be God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob? Or will it be some other god? The decision is up to them, but Joshua has made up his mind. He and his family will serve God. He’s not taking a poll. He’s not waiting around to see which way the winds blow. Joshua doesn’t desire to be a part of the “cool crowd.” Such desires leave us open to being misled.[10] Instead, Joshua sticks with the truth, with the God who has delivered the people from bondage in Egypt.
The people immediately agree to stick with Joshua. “Not so fast,” Joshua said. Joshua doesn’t just want an emotional commitment which might change next week. He wants the people to truly make the right decision. Joshua pushes back. “You can do it,” he challenges. “And if you enter into this covenant and don’t keep your end of the bargain, God will be vengeful.” But the people continue to insist they’ll follow God. They are told that if they make this covenant and they break it, they’ll be on the hook and must answer to God. But the people insist they’re in it for God.
Only at this point, after being assured of the people’s commitment, does Joshua make the covenant between God and his people. He writes it down, so they’ll know what God expects. And he sets a stone under a large oak, designating the place as holy, kind of like a shrine or altar.
As I said earlier, the book of Joshua ends with his death. But we’re told in verse 31 that they people remained faithful to the covenant for at least two generations—not only during Joshua’s life, but also during the lives of the elders who outlived Joshua.
To be in a covenant with God has benefits and requirements. Jesus establishes with us a new covenant, one of grace. But we enter this covenant promising to further his ministry and mission. Like Jesus, we’re to be concern for the poor, the sick, the needy, even those who gotten into trouble and find themselves in prison.[11] Like Jesus, we’re to show compassion and empathy and agape love, which is the type of love which works for the best for others.
We’re living in an unsettled time. The government shutdown means many are going without a paycheck. Some will look to food banks for help. And soon, many of our neighbors who depend on benefits like SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Women, Infant, and Children) may find their budgets impacted.[12] As followers of Christ, of the God who we profess to believe in, we have our marching orders. We need to be generous and gracious and to do what we can to make the lives of others better.
The Creed reminds us of what the God we proclaim has done for us. And as followers of this God, who strive to be godly, let’s do what we can to support food banks through our giving and volunteering to help the vulnerable among us.
Let’s now stand and confess our faith with the Nicene Creed, a creed the church has said for 1700 years.
[1] Robert Marshall, On Rabbit Trails and Bear Hunts, (2007).
[2] Philip Cary, The Nicene Creed: An Introduction (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2023), 17.
[3] Cary, 12.
[4] See Genesis 33:18-34. There, after Jacob was reunited with his brother Esau, he built an altar to God. Then, tragically, Shechem raped his daughter Dinah, and his sons revenged her abuse.
[5] Cary, 20.
[6] See Genesis 31:34.
[7] See Genesis 12:1-2 and 15:5.
[8] E. John Hamlin, International Theological Commentary: Joshua: Inheriting the Land (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1983), 189-190.
[9] Trent C. Butler, Word Biblical Commentary: Joshua (Waco, TX: Word Books, 1983) 279.
[10] I’m indebted to Jennifer Erin Valent, a Christian Twitter for this insight. She posted on October 22, 2025: “When you never grow out of the desire to be a part of the “cool” crowd, you’re an easy mark for an unprincipled grifter.”
[11] Drawing upon Matthew 25:35-36 and 43-45.
[12] It is still a question about how much and when the shutdown will impact such programs, but most agree that if it goes on too long, it will hurt. See https://www.npr.org/2025/10/24/nx-s1-5581354/federal-shutdown-snap-wic-food-aid-ebt-hunger and https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/10/14/wic-funding-uncertain-government-shutdown/86691522007/
I’m sure I must have come across the Nicene Creed at some point during my crazy Christian upbringing. Crazy, because we went to whatever church was available from Northern Baptist to Roman Catholic. I became very familiar with it when Terry and I became Episcopals, a compromise between his Roman Catholic faith and my Northern Baptist faith. Canadian Baptist churches were non-creedal. It was really hard for me to repeat the Nicene Creed at every service. To be honest, I still struggle with it. I really believe in the right and responsibility of each individual to interpret the Scriptures for themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Which brings me to a question. What version of the Bible do you think is best? I’m rereading the Bible that my father gave me gave me which is a King James one. I love the familiar words, but sometimes I wish for a more modern translation.
I have many versions of Scripture which I will look at (or I look at them online at biblegateway.com I mostly use the New Revised Standard but will also spend time reading “The Message,” which is a paraphrase. I also like the New Jerusalem Bible (I think it and the NRSV do a much better job with the poetry of Scripture than the New International Version. But for the beauty of language, the King James can’t be beat. Overall, I’d suggest you check out “The Message” for just reading.
Thank, Jeff!
I just checked out “The Message,” and I have it bookmarked. This is really helpful, and I trust more than AI. 😂
LOL, no, my info didn’t come from AI. I’m curious as to what it would recommend, but that would only be based on what others have said and who said it the most times, I’m afraid.
Anytime you get a bunch of people together there are going to be some arguments and debate between them. Have a good week.
Yep, that’s true. However, it’s surprising how much unity there has been around the fundamentals of the nature of God throughout history.
I did not realize the Nicene Creed was celebrating an anniversary this year. I grew up saying the Apostles Creed, but that one is not used as often in the Episcopal Church, where we say the Nicene Creed each week. It begins with “We” in our Book of Common Prayer in both Rite I and Rite II.
I prefer the “We” as there is too much individualization within the faith already.