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Go Back to SermonsPatriotic Sunday
Sunday, July 2, 2006
1 Timothy 2.1-4 Mount Pisgah Allen R. Hunt
July 2, 2006 How to be a Patriotic Christian
I. You probably saw it but I need to remind you just how silly we have become
17 year old Cameron Frazier – junior at Boynton Beach in south FL got help from ACLU
Sued the FL State Board of Education and Education Commissioner John Winn – said he was disciplined for not standing during the pledge of allegiance last year
Teacher, Cynthia Alexander, told him he was “ungrateful and un-American” after he twice refused to stand for the pledge
Lawsuit challenged state law requiring pledge to be said at beginning of day at all elementary, middle and high schools
Cameron Frazier cited his 1st and 4th amendment rights – to recite or not to recite
Frazier won – ruled unconstitutional, awarded $32,500, teacher reprimanded in writing
Funny how he refused to pledge allegiance and say with “liberty and justice for all” – but wasted no time in hiding behind skirt of US legal system when someone called him on it
That is called enjoying the fruit without doing the labor
Or enjoying freedom without responsibility
Our family had a marvelous trip last two weeks to retrace the journeys of the apostle Paul – took us through Greece and then to Turkey – Ephesus, wow
But our guide recounted the history of Turkey – how many times it has changed hands, religions – now 99% Muslim, 1% other – and he made the comment that for the last 1000 years they have “had no problems of any kind with religion” – and I thought to myself of the priest killed in Turkey just a few months ago, and the Christians being persecuted there right now – may not be considered a “problem” to him but to me, huge
Gave thanks to God for the incredible privilege of living in America where we have real religious freedom
We give it lip service – but today it is important to really express just how grateful and blessed we are to be able to worship and speak freely
II. 3 basic words
Anyone who knows me knows that I love words – feel obligated to take care of words
Make sure they don’t get thrown around, discarded, beaten up, abused
And these 3 words need a little TLC today
3 words – “I pledge allegiance”
Not difficult or unfamiliar – we all know what they mean
I – most of us are familiar with “I” – as in me, myself, and I
Pledge – commit, take oath, give word
Allegiance – fidelity, faithfulness, devotion, loyalty, obedience
I commit to be loyal to – to be devoted to – to be faithful to
I do that a lot – have pledged my allegiance a lot in my life
Did that to God when I became a Christian – joined the Church – do you commit to God? Will you be loyal to Him? Yes, I pledge allegiance to God
Did that when I got married
Will you be faithful? Will you be devoted only to her? Yes, I pledge allegiance to Anita
Did that when my kids got baptized
Do you pledge to bring your child to church to worship that they may learn about God?
Do you pledge to teach child about Jesus? Yes, I pledge allegiance to them and to God
Come to think of it – I have pledged a lot of allegiance in my day
III. Like you, I have pledged allegiance throughout my life – in lots of places – to the American flag
I have done so willingly and gladly
Pledged allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands
Fortunate to live in a nation where I have not yet had to choose between pledging allegiance to my family, to God or to the nation – first amendment is very very precious
Rare for an American to have conflicting loyalties
More often that not, our loyalties complement not conflict
So I pledge allegiance to:
IV. 1 Nation
Not many nations – just 1
1 nation – founding fathers invested, even sacrificed, their lives to create 1 nation
So that there would be no such thing as hyphenated Americans
Not Arab Americans, Euro-Americans, African-Americans, Chinese-Americans
Just Americans
V. Under God
When Jefferson shared in worship in the legislature and in the Supreme Court, he did so because he knew something
“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Our rights, our freedom come from God – God made us to be free – so we could choose Him and serve Him willingly
Separation of church and state are a good thing – but a godless nation is a scary place
Schools may not teach you that – courts may not agree
But we all know where rights of man come from - God
VI. Indivisible
In 1945, Brunner graduated from high school in MS – next month went off to boot camp in Great Lakes – to defend nation – to guarantee that some things would not disappear
Mettle of my father’s entire generation was tested
Whether the nation would fracture and divide and disintegrate – in face of hostility
Or whether a nation devoted to noble principles would stand together
And one generation believed that there are some things worth dying for
Remains to be seen whether my generation and yours will muster the same mettle, have the stomach to combat wrong
As we stare into eyes of evil, I pray that we will
VII. With Liberty
Worth dying for in 1776, worth dying for in 1861, in 1941, and worth dying for now
Realized that anew this week
I am a lucky man – you have given me the opportunity to lead a remarkable church
Because of a twist of fate called ‘birth’, I live in a nation where I enjoy the right to worship when, how, and where I please
I for one am grateful to have loyalties that complement rather than conflict
But I am also committed to defending the freedom of my nation where folks have the liberty to choose God or reject Him – even offend me
That freedom deserves our gratitude – Reminded of how precious liberty is every time I see that millions are seeking to come here for that very freedom – liberty is precious
I hope I am willing to give my life for Gospel of Jesus Christ – truth is worth dying for
But also hope I am willing to give life for liberty
Because surest way to lose liberty is to sit back and take it for granted
VIII. And Justice
Justice means that everyone will be treated the same
Same rules apply to everyone
Reminded of that a few weeks ago – when accompanied a friend to the Fulton County Courthouse – in that courtroom were folks from every walk of life – America is different
We all live by the same laws
IX. For All
Atlantans know this well
For it was our son who said
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal
That one day on the red hills of Georgia, son of former slaves and sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood
That will be a day when all God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning
‘My Country tis of thee; sweet land of liberty; of thee I sing
Land where my fathers died; land of the pilgrim’s pride; from every mountainside, let freedom ring’”
Why I will never be embarrassed to be a patriotic Christian
May God protect His Church
And May God bless America – with liberty and justice for all
New Hope mission
July 2, 2006 How to be a Patriotic Christian
I. You probably saw it but I need to remind you just how silly we have become
17 year old Cameron Frazier – junior at Boynton Beach in south FL got help from ACLU
Sued the FL State Board of Education and Education Commissioner John Winn – said he was disciplined for not standing during the pledge of allegiance last year
Teacher, Cynthia Alexander, told him he was “ungrateful and un-American” after he twice refused to stand for the pledge
Lawsuit challenged state law requiring pledge to be said at beginning of day at all elementary, middle and high schools
Cameron Frazier cited his 1st and 4th amendment rights – to recite or not to recite
Frazier won – ruled unconstitutional, awarded $32,500, teacher reprimanded in writing
Funny how he refused to pledge allegiance and say with “liberty and justice for all” – but wasted no time in hiding behind skirt of US legal system when someone called him on it
That is called enjoying the fruit without doing the labor
Or enjoying freedom without responsibility
Our family had a marvelous trip last two weeks to retrace the journeys of the apostle Paul – took us through Greece and then to Turkey – Ephesus, wow
But our guide recounted the history of Turkey – how many times it has changed hands, religions – now 99% Muslim, 1% other – and he made the comment that for the last 1000 years they have “had no problems of any kind with religion” – and I thought to myself of the priest killed in Turkey just a few months ago, and the Christians being persecuted there right now – may not be considered a “problem” to him but to me, huge
Gave thanks to God for the incredible privilege of living in America where we have real religious freedom
We give it lip service – but today it is important to really express just how grateful and blessed we are to be able to worship and speak freely
II. 3 basic words
Anyone who knows me knows that I love words – feel obligated to take care of words
Make sure they don’t get thrown around, discarded, beaten up, abused
And these 3 words need a little TLC today
3 words – “I pledge allegiance”
Not difficult or unfamiliar – we all know what they mean
I – most of us are familiar with “I” – as in me, myself, and I
Pledge – commit, take oath, give word
Allegiance – fidelity, faithfulness, devotion, loyalty, obedience
I commit to be loyal to – to be devoted to – to be faithful to
I do that a lot – have pledged my allegiance a lot in my life
Did that to God when I became a Christian – joined the Church – do you commit to God? Will you be loyal to Him? Yes, I pledge allegiance to God
Did that when I got married
Will you be faithful? Will you be devoted only to her? Yes, I pledge allegiance to Anita
Did that when my kids got baptized
Do you pledge to bring your child to church to worship that they may learn about God?
Do you pledge to teach child about Jesus? Yes, I pledge allegiance to them and to God
Come to think of it – I have pledged a lot of allegiance in my day
III. Like you, I have pledged allegiance throughout my life – in lots of places – to the American flag
I have done so willingly and gladly
Pledged allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands
Fortunate to live in a nation where I have not yet had to choose between pledging allegiance to my family, to God or to the nation – first amendment is very very precious
Rare for an American to have conflicting loyalties
More often that not, our loyalties complement not conflict
So I pledge allegiance to:
IV. 1 Nation
Not many nations – just 1
1 nation – founding fathers invested, even sacrificed, their lives to create 1 nation
So that there would be no such thing as hyphenated Americans
Not Arab Americans, Euro-Americans, African-Americans, Chinese-Americans
Just Americans
V. Under God
When Jefferson shared in worship in the legislature and in the Supreme Court, he did so because he knew something
“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Our rights, our freedom come from God – God made us to be free – so we could choose Him and serve Him willingly
Separation of church and state are a good thing – but a godless nation is a scary place
Schools may not teach you that – courts may not agree
But we all know where rights of man come from - God
VI. Indivisible
In 1945, Brunner graduated from high school in MS – next month went off to boot camp in Great Lakes – to defend nation – to guarantee that some things would not disappear
Mettle of my father’s entire generation was tested
Whether the nation would fracture and divide and disintegrate – in face of hostility
Or whether a nation devoted to noble principles would stand together
And one generation believed that there are some things worth dying for
Remains to be seen whether my generation and yours will muster the same mettle, have the stomach to combat wrong
As we stare into eyes of evil, I pray that we will
VII. With Liberty
Worth dying for in 1776, worth dying for in 1861, in 1941, and worth dying for now
Realized that anew this week
I am a lucky man – you have given me the opportunity to lead a remarkable church
Because of a twist of fate called ‘birth’, I live in a nation where I enjoy the right to worship when, how, and where I please
I for one am grateful to have loyalties that complement rather than conflict
But I am also committed to defending the freedom of my nation where folks have the liberty to choose God or reject Him – even offend me
That freedom deserves our gratitude – Reminded of how precious liberty is every time I see that millions are seeking to come here for that very freedom – liberty is precious
I hope I am willing to give my life for Gospel of Jesus Christ – truth is worth dying for
But also hope I am willing to give life for liberty
Because surest way to lose liberty is to sit back and take it for granted
VIII. And Justice
Justice means that everyone will be treated the same
Same rules apply to everyone
Reminded of that a few weeks ago – when accompanied a friend to the Fulton County Courthouse – in that courtroom were folks from every walk of life – America is different
We all live by the same laws
IX. For All
Atlantans know this well
For it was our son who said
“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal
That one day on the red hills of Georgia, son of former slaves and sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood
That will be a day when all God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning
‘My Country tis of thee; sweet land of liberty; of thee I sing
Land where my fathers died; land of the pilgrim’s pride; from every mountainside, let freedom ring’”
Why I will never be embarrassed to be a patriotic Christian
May God protect His Church
And May God bless America – with liberty and justice for all
New Hope mission