Pastor: Richard Hurd
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MIdweek Message Caton Church A Global Methodist community of faith July 2, 2025 Friday is the 4th of July and there will be many celebrations, complete with fireworks and flags, parades and all the rest. There will be observances designed to remind us of our cultural and political heritage as Americans. However, most of those public events will be devoid of any mention of our “Christian” heritage as Americans. Those in the public eye will somehow forget, that those first arrivals in 1620 declared that their endeavor was “for the glory of God, and advancement of the Christian faith.” They will not take note that the writers of our Declaration of Independence did so declaring, “a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence,” and they will surely not recall the fourth verse of our own national anthem that proclaims, “Blest with victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation. Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just, And this be our motto: "In God is our trust." I could go on and on quoting the founding Fathers as they proclaimed allegiance to “God and Country” (in that order), and still many would continue to deny it. So called, learned people have declared that America is no longer a Christian Nation, but I take issue with that statement. Following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 the Japanese emperor said that he feared that they had awakened a sleeping giant, and he was right! I believe that in America today Christians are a sleeping giant, and we need to wake up, brothers and sisters. We need to make our voice heard, we need to proclaim that this “is” a Christian Nation. I read where over 200 million people watch the Chosen, a crowd sourced video depiction of the life of Jesus Christ. To me this is just a little glimpse of that sleeping giant… all of those two hundred million people want to know who this Jesus really is. All they are looking for something to believe in, and they know that all of those other distractions that the world offers aren’t going to cut it. The truth is, they are looking for what we already have, a sacred relationship with Jesus Christ. If we would just wake up long enough, and with enough courage to tell them, then this sleeping giant could in fact change the world in ways and in numbers we have not imagined. Jesus had but twelve disciples and they turned the world upside down. If only a fraction of those two hundred million people were what we refer to as “seekers,” and they could be led to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, imagine what they could do! I know that sounds like a dream, but maybe it sounds like a dream because we are still sleeping. I hope all this gives you something to think about as we pray that God might continue to Bless America Independence Day. Yours in the Love of Christ, Pastor Dick Breath Prayer : Lord, Heal our Land. Amen |
