TITLE:ANZAC Day (Australia's Memorial Day)
AIM:We remember and we are thankful
TEXT:Genesis 14:14
OBJECT:Army ration pack

Do you know what this is? It's an Army ration pack. Enough food to keep a soldier fed for a whole day. Look there's biscuits, cheese, meat, jam, vegemite, chewing gum, noodles, and so much more. When our army is in training, or in battle, this is the food that they eat and survive on.

Tomorrow is ANZAC day. It is one day in our nations calendar when men and women, boys and girls, old people and young people, rich people and poor people, new immigrants and first fleeters pause together to remember.

We remember the sacrifice of our countrymen who went to fight wars in days gone by.
We pause to remember and silently thank them for making our life livable.
We pause to remember and silently pray to God to keep us safe.
We pause to remember and silently shed a tear for the families these brave men and women left behind.
We pause to remember and thank God we weren't called on to make this sacrifice.

Fighting is not a fun thing to do.
Fighting someone you don't even know is even harder.
Fighting someone you don't know for a reason that doesn't really matter to you is harder still.

That's what it was like for our men.

They were fighting a war for a King and later Queen most had never seen. They were fighting a battle that belonged to someone else. They were doing their duty. They were doing what was right.

You might remember our devotion last week - where we spoke about generosity and look at Genesis 13, where Abram invited Lot to choose which land he would like and Abram was content to take the rest.

Well this week our devotion comes from Genesis 14 - the very next chapter. In here you'll read about a battle or a war that went on between the kings of the Gentile nations. In the course of this war, Lot and his family and all his belongings, along with his countrymen were seized by the four victorious kings.

When Abram heard of what had happened to Lot he called out his 318 trained men and went out in pursuit. He ambushed the enemy at night and recovered Lot and his possessions, and freed all the other people and their possessions too.

Here, in a similar situation, Abram became involved a war that he didn't need to become involved in, fighting for something that wasn't his. But it was the right thing to do.

Whatever you thoughts about war.
Whatever your feelings about the army, or the navy, or the air force.
Whatever you personally think of these things, tomorrow you will be called on to march with pride in our local ANZAC day march.

You will be joining spirits with mean and women, boys and girls all over our country and indeed right around the world as we remember the men and women who gave up their own life, so that you could live as you do today.
Lest we forget.

Let us pray...