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<DIV>Independence Day Sermons: </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">
Galatians 5:1, 13-25 - <STRONG>“Liberty and
Civility”</STRONG></DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">
Galatians 6:24 - <STRONG>“Something to Brag
About” </STRONG> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Galatians 5 - the sermon titled "Liberty and
Civility" </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The United States of America is 234 years old
today. That’s a long time for a nation to remain free. But, when you look at our
history in the context of world history America is just a CHILD among the
nations. Egypt, China, Japan, Rome, Greece all make America’s history seem so
short. Consider what a brief time we’ve really been here as a nation: When
Thomas Jefferson died, Abraham Lincoln was a young man of 17. When Lincoln was
assassinated, Woodrow Wilson was a boy of 8. By the time he died Ronald Reagan
was a boy of 12.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">There you have it. The lives of four men can
take you all the way back to the beginning of our country, 232 years ago. We are
so young. And yet we stand tall among these nations because of the principles on
which we were established: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men
are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of
Happiness.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Thus begins the Declaration of Independence,
which we celebrate today. And do not let anyone fool you. Freedom ought and need
be celebrated. So many churches and ministers today loathe patriotism in the
pulpit. I am not one of those. I celebrate today with you the freedoms which God
has blessed this great nations of ours. Now I cannot tell you whether God has
blessed us with liberty and therefore we are free or we have wisely and simply
built our liberty based on biblical principles. In any case our freedom is from
God.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Now let me temper our celebrations with a
caution: With freedom comes great responsibility. We are not free to live
excessive lives. We are not set at liberty to pursue selfish ends. Our
independence should not make us infidels. As Paul so eloquently puts it: “You,
my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the
sinful nature.”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">What is true for the church is true for the
nation: Liberty demands civility. Freedom requires righteous behavior. On this
July 4th let’s celebrate Freedom and Civility.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">1. First Let’s Celebrate Freedom</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">2. Second Let’s Celebrate Civility.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The rest of this sermon following the outline
above can be obtained by joining <A title=blocked::www.eSermons.com
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/admin/FCKeditor/editor/dialog/www.eSermons.com">www.eSermons.com</A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_________________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Galatians 6 - the sermon titled "Something to
Brag About" </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Welcome on this Independence Day, 2010. Today
we celebrate the birth of our democracy. I believe it was comedian Johnny Carson
who defined democracy like this: “Unlike communism, democracy does not mean
having just one ineffective political party; it means having two ineffective
political parties. Democracy is welcoming people from other lands, and giving
them something to hold onto--usually a mop or a leaf blower. And, democracy
means that with proper timing and scrupulous bookkeeping, anyone can die owing
the government a huge amount of money.” We laugh to keep from crying, but
we give God thanks for the many blessings we enjoy as citizens of this free
land. Our topic today is “something to brag about.”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I want to begin our discussion today by telling
you about something interesting that happened live on television in Great
Britain sometime back. It involved a professional knife thrower. I say
“professional knife thrower.” That doesn’t mean a perfect knife thrower.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">It happened with more than a million British
television viewers watching. Professional knife thrower Jayde Hanson missed
his target and accidentally “nicked” his assistant. A spokeswoman for the
show was rightfully disturbed. “You don’t really expect that kind of thing
from a world record-holder,” she said.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">To make matters worse, Hanson had recently
bragged to a newspaper reporter that, in 11 years of performing, he had only hit
his assistant on five occasions. I’m not certain that, if you are a
professional knife thrower, hitting your assistant with a knife on five
occasions is something about which you ought to brag. It might make it a bit
difficult in recruiting assistants in the future.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I suppose, though, that bragging or boasting is
endemic to human nature. We boast about our children and our grandchildren. We
boast about our work. We boast about our athletic accomplishments. We boast
about the places we’ve been and the things we’ve done. On this July 4, we boast
about the land of our birth.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">An American was staying in London. He was
introduced to a man from Edinburgh, Scotland. The Scotchman asked him, “An’ what
country do you belong tae?”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">“The greatest country in the world!” replied
the American.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">“Mon! So dae I,” replied Scotsman, “but you
donna speak like a Scotsman.” </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">It’s really quite human to brag--about your
school, about your team, about your family, about your country. However, St.
Paul said on one occasion that there’s only one thing worth really boasting
about--and that is the cross on which Jesus Christ died. Paul writes, “May I
never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the
world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.”</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">This is quite a remarkable statement for many
reasons…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The rest of this sermon following the outline
above can be obtained by joining <A title=blocked::www.eSermons.com
href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/admin/FCKeditor/editor/dialog/www.eSermons.com">www.eSermons.com</A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">A Call to Be Careful</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Every year, the media and our local officials
remind us to be careful on July Fourth. The combination of inexperience and
fireworks can be dangerous, even deadly. Every doctor in town can attest to
the burns they will treat from sparklers and fireworks, barbeque, maybe even
sunburns. Every policeman in town can attest to the spike in driving after
drinking that takes place on the 4<SUP>th</SUP> of July. Now is an
excellent time to remind your community to be safe while they have
fun. </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The U.S. Government has collected a variety of
safety tips for this holiday, as well as some more light hearted links about
Independence Day at <A
href="http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence_Day.shtml"><FONT
color=#800080>http://www.usa.gov/Topics/Independence_Day.shtml</FONT></A>.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_______________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Celebrating the Declaration</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Americans celebrate July 4, 1776 as
Independence Day. We shouldn't. We should call it our DECLARATION of
Independence Day, for merely signing, quite literally, our John Hancock’s on the
declaration did not establish our independence. King George did not read the
Declaration and then say to Thomas Jefferson, "Nice piece of writing Tom, y'all
enjoy your USA, send me a postcard from Colonial Williamsburg." No, it took
seven years of struggle before the Constitution could be written. <BR><BR>Have
we forgotten the struggle involved in this noble experiment of democracy? Do we
cherish this land or do we shy from a word like "patriotism" because it's been
co-opted by the fanatic fringe? To be "patriotic" is not to be blind to our
nation's sins. Like every nation, we have our weak points.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">King Duncan, Collected Sermons,
www.Sermons.com</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">____________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR>Only in America</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Only in America can a pizza get to your house
faster than an ambulance.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Only in America do drugstores make the sick
walk all the way to the back of the store to get their prescriptions, while
healthy people can buy cigarettes at the front.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Only in America do people order double
cheeseburgers, large fries and a DIET coke.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Only in America do we leave cars worth
thousands of dollars in the driveway and put our junk in the garage.
Hello.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Only in America do we use answering machines to
screen calls and have call-waiting so we won’t miss a call from someone we
didn’t want to talk to in the first place.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Only in America do we buy hot dogs in packages
of ten and buns in packages of eight.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_____________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Inscription on the Statue of Liberty,
written by Emma Lazarus</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Give me your tired, your poor,</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Your huddled masses yearning to breathe
free,</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The wretched refuse of your teeming
shore,</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to
me;</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">I lift my lamp beside the golden door.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_____________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The Cost of Freedom</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">On July 3, 1776, the day before the signing of
the Declaration of Independence, George Washington wrote a letter to his wife,
anticipating the hardships which would soon occur. Here in part are his words,
"In a few days, you will see a Declaration setting forth the causes which have
impelled us to this mighty revolution and the reasons which will justify it in
the sight of God. I am fully aware of the toil and blood and treasure what it
will cost to maintain this declaration and support and defend these states; yes,
through all the gloom, I can see the rays of ravishing light and glory."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Brett Blair, <A
href="http://www.esermons.com/">www.eSermons.com</A></DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">______________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">"America today is running on the momentum of a
Godly ancestry, and when that momentum runs down, God help America."</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">General Omar Bradley - Details: Bradley is the
U.S. Army officer who commanded the highly effective 12th Army Group, which
helped ensure the Allied victory over Germany during World War II; later he
served as first chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (1949–53).</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">______________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Historical Background to the Declaration</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental
Congress, meeting in Philadelphia in the Pennsylvania State House (now
Independence Hall), approved the Declaration of Independence. Its purpose was to
set forth the principles upon which the Congress had acted two days earlier when
it voted in favor of Richard Henry Lee's motion to declare the freedom and
independence of the 13 American colonies from England. The Declaration was
designed to influence public opinion and gain support both among the new states
and abroad -- especially in France, from which the new "United States" sought
military assistance.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Although Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas
Jefferson, Roger Sherman and Robert R. Livingston comprised the committee
charged with drafting the Declaration, the task fell to Jefferson, regarded as
the strongest and most eloquent writer. The document is mainly his work,
although the committee and Congress as a whole made a total of 86 changes to
Jefferson's draft.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">As a scholar well-versed in the ideas and
ideals of the French and English Enlightenments, Jefferson found his greatest
inspiration in the language and arguments of English philosopher John Locke, who
had justified England's "Glorious Revolution" of 1688 on the basis of man's
"natural rights." Locke's theory held that government was a contract between the
governed and those governing, who derived their power solely from the consent of
the governed and whose purpose it was to protect every man's inherent right to
property, life and liberty. Jefferson's theory of "natural law" differed in that
it substituted the inalienable right of "the pursuit of happiness" for
"property," emphasizing that happiness is the product of civic virtue and public
duty. The concept of the "pursuit of happiness" originated in the Common Sense
School of Scottish philosophy, of which Lord Kames was the best-kno wn
proponent.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Jefferson emphasized the contractual
justification for independence, arguing that when the tyrannical government of
King George III of England repeatedly violated "natural law, " the colonists had
not only the right but the duty to revolt.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The assembled Continental Congress deleted a
few passages of the draft, and amended others, but outright rejected only two
sections: 1) a derogatory reference to the English people; 2) a passionate
denunciation of the slave trade. The latter section was left out, as Jefferson
reported, to accede to the wishes of South Carolina and Georgia, who wanted to
continue the importation of slaves. The rest of the draft was accepted on July
4, and 56 members of Congress began their formal signing of the document on
August 2, 1776.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">From the Library of Congress:</DIV>
<DIV
style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">http://lcweb2.loc.gov/const/abt_declar.html</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">____________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">An Inner Struggle of Allegiance</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">On a holiday weekend like this one, we are
reminded of the inner struggle of allegiance. We want to celebrate this land
that we love, and rightly so, and yet we want to be careful that our allegiance
to country never supersedes nor is ever equivalent to our allegiance to God. We
sing “God Bless America,” and yet we know that our faith will not allow us to
ask God’s favoritism toward us over other nations. We know there are no national
boundary lines with God.</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><BR>We struggle to love our country when our
government acts in ways we feel are contrary to God’s ways of justice and peace.
But we love our country by calling it to God’s ways of justice and peace. We
must not let our fear and struggle render us silent and still. Our first
allegiance is to the God whose truth still marches on.<BR><BR> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">W. Gregory Pope, The Inner Struggle</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">_________________________________</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, after
visiting America in 1831, said, "I sought for the greatness of the United States
in her commodious harbors, her ample rivers, her fertile fields, and boundless
forests--and it was not there. I sought for it in her rich mines, her vast world
commerce, her public school system, and in her institutions of higher
learning--and it was not there. I looked for it in her democratic Congress and
her matchless Constitution--and it was not there. Not until I went into the
churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness did I
understand the secret of her genius and power…</DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"> </DIV>
<DIV style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">The conclusion to this illustration and for
many additional illustrations and sermons for Independence Day can be accessed
at <A title=http://www.sermons.com/ href="http://www.sermons.com/"><FONT
color=#800080>www.Sermons.com</FONT></A>.</DIV>
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