Sunday Summary - July 1, 2012

We began the month of July with a great day of worship! 

At 8:00am we had 27 men gather for a delicious breakfast and a good time of fellowship at our Brotherhood Meeting. Hudon Miller and the Kitchen Crew can put out a FANTASTIC breakfast!

Following Sunday School at 10 we entered into our Worship Service at 11:00. It was good to have Lee back from his time off. The music ministry was a blessing to all. The choir did an excellent job singing "We will remember." Jenny Williams shared a special with us and we are always glad to have Jenny minister to us in song.

I had planned a message unlike any I had ever preached in the four years I have been at Everett Springs. I entitled the message: "God, Country, and the Christian Citizen" and wanted it to remind us of: 1) The Founding of our Country, 2) The Folly of our Culture, and 3) The Future for Christians. I will share a few highlights and links from the message in this post and in a couple to follow.

Understanding the Heritage of our country is important. There appear to be quite a few revisionists out there who want to deny or downplay the Biblical and godly heritage of our nation. Here are a couple of quotes I shared in the message that reflect the worldview of some of the founding fathers.

• Benjamin Franklin, Constitutional Convention on June 28, 1787
  "We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings, that 'except the Lord build the House, they labor in vain that build it.' I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel."
  (It appears from his words that he had a working knowledge of Scripture and an understanding that without the Lord's help our nation would not survive.)
  
• George Washington
  "Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly implore his protection and favor."
  (Wise words that we should heed even today)

In speaking of the Folly of our Culture I had no shortage of illustrations. In fact, I had to limit the illustrations to fit the allotted time. As I said on Sunday, I am providing you with the links to a few of the current events I referenced in the message.

1. Lawmakers claim Air Force becoming "hostile towards religion"
   Click the link above and you will learn how the Air Force suspended the teaching of an ethics class because the material referenced a Bible passage.
2. Bibles in the Military... a threat to National Security!
   Imagine that. Actually I don't want to imagine that but that is a clear indication of the folly of our culture.
3. Mayor Plans to Keep God in government
   Click above to read of the troubles of Warner Robins Mayor Chuck Shaheen. I like how he said: "The state needs to get out of the church, but the church doesn't need to get out of the state."
4. Choosing RACE over what is RIGHT
   Rep. Allen West saw the same thing I did in the report that the Congressional Black Caucus' walked out on the contempt vote for Eric Holder. He says it far better than I did and we need more men like him who will stand for the truth and speak it without compromise.

Well, I had five more points illustrating the Folly of our Culture, but I will save some of them for another day and another blog post.

Tomorrow I will share a few more highlights from the message.

Pastor Mike