1. An Exhortation to serve the Lord
Troy Appleton

2. Joshua 24:14-24
14 Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the Lord.
15 And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
16 And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods;

3. Joshua 24:14-24
17 For the Lord our God, he it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed:
18 And the Lord drave out from before us all the people, even the Amorites which dwelt in the land: therefore will we also serve the Lord; for he is our God.
19 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the Lord: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins.

4. Joshua 24:14-24
20 If ye forsake the Lord, and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good.
21 And the people said unto Joshua, Nay; but we will serve the Lord.
22 And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the Lord, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the Lord God of Israel.
24 And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey.

5. 1 Chronicles 28:9
“And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.” 

6. Isaac Watt’s Hymn ”When I Survey”
“Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine
Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

7. Jonathan Edwards’ Resolution

8. Jonathan Edwards’ Diary Consecration
I made a solemn dedication of myself to God, and wrote it down; giving up myself, and all that I had to God; to be for the future, in no respect, my own; to act as one that had no right to himself, in any respect. And solemnly vowed, to take God for my whole portion and felicity; looking on nothing else, as any part of my happiness, nor acting as if it were; and [to take] his law for the constant rule of my obedience: engaging to fight, with all my might, against the world, the flesh, and the devil, to the end of my life….

9. Jonathan Edwards’ Diary Consecration
I have been before God, and have given myself, all that I am and have, to God; so that I am not, in any respect, my own. I can challenge no right in this understanding, this will, these affections, which are in me. Neither have I any right to this body, or any of its members: no right to this tongue, these hands, these feet; no right to these senses, these eyes, these ears, this smell, or this taste…I gave myself wholly to Him.

10. John Owen ( )
“Many men live in the dark to themselves all their days; whatever else they know they know not themselves. Few labor to grow wise in this matter; few study themselves as they ought, few are acquainted with the evils of their own heart as they ought.”

11. Jonathan Edwards
“We made learn the folly and madness of the greater part of mankind in that for the sake of present, momentary gratification they run the venture of enduring all these eternal torments. They prefer a small pleasure, or a little wealth, or a little earthly honor and greatness that can last but for a moment to an escape from the punishment [of hell].”

12. Richard Baxter
“Will you in no greater ways show your love to your children, than every beast and bird will to their young? It is not dogs or beasts that you bring into the world, but children who have immortal souls…They have an everlasting inheritance of happiness to attain, and it is that which you must bring them up for. They also have an endless misery to escape, and it is that which you must diligently teach them to avoid. If you do not teach them to escape the flames of hell, what thanks do they owe you for teaching them how to get by in this life? If you do not teach them the way to heaven and how they may be sure of their salvation, what thanks do they owe you for teaching them how to make their livings in this world…It is in your hands to do them the greatest kindness, or the greatest cruelty, in all the world. Help them to know God and be saved, and you do more for them than if you helped them by kings or princes.”

13. J.C Ryle
“He that has trained his children for Heaven, rather than for Earth – for God rather than for man – he is the parent that will be called wise at last.”