Celebrate America, Scott Howard

Celebrate AmericaSunday, July 4, 2021Scott HowardWhy I celebrate America today…1. God has consistently blessed America— Psalms 33:12… “Blessed is the nation whoseGod is the Lord; and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.”God has blessed our nation, over, and over, and over, and we are asking Him to bless us onceagain. Not because we deserve it, but because He is a God of mercy, and grace, andkindness, and He delights in showing mercy…*Review modern human history, you will see that… The freedoms, abundance, and libertieswe have enjoyed cannot be understood in any way other than having come from the handof God.*We are a people with a country! We are a people with a mighty God! We are a peoplewith a future, filled with possibility, if we will once again turn in humility and honorAlmighty God and continue to recognize Him as our source.*My prayer…Thank you Lord for our country…and…God bless America, again!2. Our nation is unique… It was founded upon biblical principles by people with a desire to find anopportunity to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, without interferencefrom a king or a state church. They weren’t perfect…but they wanted a country based on a Judeo-Christianworldview, derived from the Bible. We cannot afford to forget our past— good andbad… Christians have led the fight for the poor, for children, for women, and for theabolition of slavery. 52 of the 55 signers of the Declaration of Independence were orthodox, deeplycommitted Christians… And…The other three all believed in the Bible as divinetruth, and in the God of Scripture and in His personal intervention in history. It’s the same Congress that formed the American Bible Society. Immediately aftercreating the Declaration of Independence, the Continental Congress voted topurchase and import 20,000 copies of Scripture for the people of this nation. *We have a culture that runs deep with Christian values. Freedom, honesty, hardwork, sacrifice, integrity, and generosity are not encouraged, or even applauded, inevery culture. God loves people from every nation, race, language, and tribe. But…I believe… TheUnited States is a unique representation of the grace and mercy of God. We areunique among the nations of the world— both in our history and our foundingdocuments— and in the mission of faith from which our nation was birthed. It doesn’tmean that we are perfect or that our history is perfect. But…In our complaints andbitterness about our own nation… we can overlook what the rest of the world is like… The nations of the world do not enjoy the liberties and the freedoms, the abundance,and the opportunities that we take for granted. If it were universal in scope, therewouldn’t be millions of people making terrific sacrifices to come to this nation. I have freedom—to vote, to speak, to travel, to live. We enjoy a level of freedompeople in repressed nations cannot even fathom.2 I don’t know exactly how my ancestors got here…but thank God they did…3. What we celebrate…we propagate… The great blessings that God has shown us comes with a great responsibility…. Every generation has to determine which principles will guide us. This is atremendous responsibility… it only requires three generations for an principle to belost. If we fail to embrace those things that brought us liberty and freedom, and toteach them to the next generation, we are abandoning our responsibilities. The Church is God’s idea, but our primary goal as the ecclesia is not just to go toHeaven, but to do the will of God while we’re on earth. God has given us liberty andfreedom and blessing and abundance so that we could take the gospel of theKingdom to the whole world. Christianity is the only hope of humanity. Jesus changes usCheck out our app, Life Church Live:Available on Google Play & App StoresGiving: life-church.org/givingBaptism: https://www.life-church.org/ihavedecidedYouTube ChannelMobile Campus FacebookHurley Campus FacebookInstagram