Matt 28.16-20; Lk 24.45-49; John 14.15-17; Acts 2.1-4; Gal 5.22;
Psalm 33.10
It’s the season of remembrances
May 25, Memorial Day
June 6, 70th anniversary of D-Day
June 8, Pentecost
July 4, Independence Day
Dec 26, 1941...
Winston Churchill, 19 days after
Pearl Harbor, addressed the
United States Congress…
Europe was under the heel of Nazi
Germany, Japan was astride much of the Pacific…
But, Churchill asked, “What kind of people do they
think we are? Is it possible that they do not
realize that we shall never cease to persevere
against them until they have been taught a lesson
which they and the world will never forget?”
June 8, 2014
Today, fascism is dead, communism is waning
There are new problems:
• a slow economy and much unemployment
• 17 trillion $ national debt
• rapid technological changes
• moral values in flux (good is evil, and evil is good)
• marriage, family and life under attack
• Political correctness rampant
• Faith and virtue being marginalized
“Much of the United States has reached the point where virtue
is hardly esteemed at all, or at least not welcomed in the
public square, and where vice is often flaunted…”
---Oz Guinness
Questions today
Who do WE think we are?
What kind of society do we want America to be?
Can a self-indulgent America sustain her freedoms?
“Leadership without character, business without ethics
and science without values---in short, freedom
without virtue---will bring the republic to its knees.”
---OzGuinness
How are we, as Christians, to respond to these things?
Moral virtue is a necessity
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
“Public virtue cannot exist without private virtue, and Public
Virtue is the only foundation for Republics.”
---John Adams
“No system of social arrangements, no matter how cleverly
devised, no matter how democratic in character, is adequate to
preserve freedom unless it is undergirded by certain habits and
attitudes which are shared by members of the society.”
---John Gardner
“Beyond any question, the American founders consistently linked
faith and freedom, republicanism and religion…”
---Ben Carson
Take note of the dollar bill…
ANNUIT COEPTUS --He [GOD] has favored our undertakings
Needed: a new Pentecost, a new
Springtime of the Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth (John 14.15-17)
The Holy Spirit gives power to spread the gospel (Matt 28.1820; Luke 24; Acts 2.1-4)
The Holy Spirit gives gifts for the common good (I Cor 12.4-7)
The Holy Spirit is the source of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5.2223)
The Holy Spirit is the source of moral virtue and maturity that
enables Christians to be salt and light---and to do so with
humility, and courage!
Every day decisions….
Will you make time to pray, and read the Bible thoughtfully?
Will you be kind to those you meet today?
Will you be honest in all your dealings with others?
If hurt or misused, will you forgive?
Will you be on time for work, and do your work well?
If you meet someone in need of help, will you do so?
Are you generous with your income?
Are you trying to be a responsible citizen of our country?
Are you willing to stand up for/share your beliefs and values?
It is our response to such everyday decisions that determine
whether the fruit of the Spirit grows within us. Whether we
become mature people, or mature citizens.
Self discipline is crucial
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need
someone to teach you again the first principles of God’s
Word. You need milk, not solid food; for all those who live
on milk are unskilled in the word of righteousness, for they
are still children. Solid food is for the mature, for those
who through practice are able to distinguish good from
evil. Therefore, let us leave the elementary doctrine of
Christ and go on to maturity…”
---Hebrews 5.12-13, 6.1
“The flourishing and decaying of all civil societies… are moved
to and fro upon the axle of discipline.”
---John Milton
We must stand and be counted, as Christians,
as citizens of America…
“I believe it is time for us to stand up and be counted. We can
no longer be passive because the Judeo-Christian way of
life in America is at stake. We do not need to be ashamed
of our faith, and we certainly should not allow those who
believe differently to change who we are in order to be
politically correct. Yes, we should accept them with
brotherly love as we have been taught, but we should never
compromise our belief system.”
----Ben Caron, M.D.
“Blessed is the nation, whose God is the Lord…”
---Psalm 33.10a
There is no magic, there are no shortcuts in
becoming people of virtue, in participating in
a Springtime of the Spirit…
But the Holy Spirit is available to each and every
one of us through repentance, faith and prayer…
A prayer for the Holy Spirit (in the bulletin)