Let me ask you a question: during the battle for the city of Jericho what was more significant--the citizens of Jericho being locked-in or the nation of Israel being locked-out? Fear had immobilized the city of Jericho. They were stronger and walled-in, but fear controlled them. Don't allow your fears to lock you in.

After over 40 years, Israel finally entered into Canaan. They were finally home. They were in the promised land. Yet their journey was not over; they had simply entered into a new season. Life is full of seasons: some short, some long. In every case we go into the next season having faith in the past, hope for the future, and love for the present.

When Joshua led the nation of Israel across the Jordan River, several things were accomplished: It validated Joshua as a suitable replacement for Moses, and it got the nation of Israel into the promised land. And it all started with a step of faith.

This message from Pastor Derrel Strickland, part of our journey through the Book of Joshua, brings us to an intriguing story about Rahab and the significance of the red thread. Rahab, a woman of faith, helped the Israelite spies and marked her window with a scarlet cord—a symbol of her faith and a promise of safety. Pastor Derrel emphasized that the red thread symbolizes the sacrifice and salvation offered through Jesus, showing how faith in Him liberates us from sin. The story of Rahab encourages us all to hold onto our faith and trust in the red thread of Christ's sacrifice, which spans from Genesis through Revelation. The core takeaway is that, like Rahab, we must immediately act on our faith and trust in God's promises.

The twelve men that spied out Canaan all saw the same thing, but two had a different perspective. Those that lived in Canaan saw the same thing but they too had a different perspective. Are you seeing through eyes of faith or eyes of fear? The eyes you see through determine what you see.

Shortly after Moses' death Joshua told the people get ready. That in three days we are entering in the place of rest. We need to ask ourselves the question: Are we ready to leave? What preparations to we need to make? Let's look and see what we need to do to be ready.

od told Joshua to be strong and courageous. That sounds easy but sometimes it's not. How can we be strong and courageous? Let's talk about it.

Joshua is an Old Testament type of Christ. Even the name Joshua is the Hebrew word for Jesus which means "Jehovah is Salvation". Just as Joshua lead Israel out of the desert into the Promised Land, Jesus our savior leads us out of this world into heaven.

As we begin a study of the book of Joshua, we find that Joshua was an assistant to Moses from an early age. Moses passed the baton to a man who had been mentored by him for many years. He not only passed the baton he passed the anointing. God was with him.

Years ago the question was asked, "if you were put on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?" That's a great question. What would your answer be? I am thankful that I will not be tried for my good works but for the work of Jesus Christ and what that work accomplished for me. Let's look at it.

Have you ever seen someone runs into a spider web and they do the crazy dance, waving their harms trying to get it off? There are many things in life that are like that. Satan is a deceiver and he weaves webs to catch us in. One strand of the web normally doesn't stop us but weaving many together binds us into a strangle hold. Let's talk about Satan's Web.

After Peter had been used to heal the lame man at the temple gate he saw an opportunity. What did he do with it? What do we do with an opportunity? Let's look at it.

Jesus invited the people to come to him and rest. God encouraged Moses to enter into His rest. David, the man after God's own heart, understood that he could enter into the refuge of God almighty. The invitation is still open. Come unto me and I will give you rest.

There are several "I Am's" of Christ. Many we have memorized. Today let's look at a few of those that may not be as popular but are still very significant.

Isaiah 43 reveals some deep truths and reminds us of who we are. He is the Lord and we are His. The truth of our redemption, our forgiveness, and our protection are all revealed in the chapter as God shows us that "I am the Lord, and you are mine."

We know that God is the healer of our physical illnesses but we must remember he is the healer, the mender, and the restorer of our lives as well.

When God says "I am the Lord", what does that mean? It means He is an eternal God--a self existing one. He is the Lord that did, the Lord that will do and the Lord that is doing. Let's talk about it.

Scripture tells us that God is the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Jesus tells us God is the God of the living not the God of the dead. The truth of the resurrection started being told in the very beginning of the Bible. Think about it: the Almighty God is the God of the living because Jesus died and rose again and so shall we!