Transcription downloaded from https://yetanothersermon.host/_/walkwithme/sermons/5777/a-fitting-memorial-1/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] The 27th of January. A fitting memorial. Our passage. Then Samuel took a stone and called its name Ebenezer, for he said, Till now the Lord has helped us. [0:16] 1 Samuel 7.12 Edinburgh is full of statues and memorials in every street in the city center. These commemorate people who made their marks in times past. [0:27] That is a good thing to do. Samuel, the last and best of the judges in Israel, set up a memorial stone as a thanksgiving to God following a famous victory over the Philistines. [0:40] The name of the memorial stone was Ebenezer, the stone of help. It was a good thing to erect this memorial so that people would remember it was God who had helped them to win this victory. [0:52] It is always good to remember how very much God helps us. It is good, too, to remember the great words of Paul. And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. [1:07] Romans 8.28 God is in overall control of the world he has made. And we will find that even the rough, hard experiences of our lives end up being for our ultimate good. [1:19] It will be the testimony of every Christian at the end of his or her life. Ebenezer, till now the Lord has helped me. And a prayer. [1:32] Almighty God, help me to trust you in the difficult times, knowing that your eternal purposes will work out for your glory and my good. Amen. Amen. Thank you.