In 1776 our forefathers broke the yoke of dependence upon a foreign monarchy to declare a free and independent government that would be “Of the People, For the People and By the People.” No longer would our country be dominated by foreign rule dictated by a king not duly appointed by its citizens. This nation would be a republic whose civil leaders are chosen by and answerable to the people they serve. Rather than a top-down hierarchy, our country was created to be a bottom-up democracy in which its people voluntarily associate and work together for the common good.
 
Abraham Lincoln said, “Government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from the earth.”
 
Real freedom is not cheap, neither is freedom free. The Bible says, “You my brothers, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Galatians 5:13)
 
Freedom is not guaranteed by the laws it creates.
Freedom is not sustained by the armies it places in the field.
Freedom is not bought through its tax codes and economic systems.
Freedom is sustained by the personal choices its citizens make to love and serve one another.
 
People must choose to love one another if freedom is to survive. Hear the very next verse which follows the one stated above, “If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:14)
 
Freedom is costly. It costs us our personal independence to secure the national independence. It costs us our love and commitment to serve others if we are to preserve and protect the freedom we have for each other.
 
My oldest Son Matthew left home the day after he graduated from high school to join the Marines. That was one of the hardest days in my memory. I can still see the taillights of the Marine Core officer’s car as they left our home to take him to Paris Island. It was hard to give my son to the Marine Core, but it was a sacrifice necessary to preserve and further the cause of freedom in this land. Freedom requires giving. It calls for sacrifice and service. Freedom is not free, neither is it cheap. I’m afraid our country would rather fuss and fight than pay the price of service and love it takes to make freedom stronger and more resilient against its enemies.
 
I remember the chilling prediction the Russian President, Nakita Khrushchev, made in 1956 when he said, “We will take America without firing a shot. We do not have to invade the U.S. We will destroy you from within…”
 
I was 8-years old at that time. His words did not mean a lot to me then, but now they do. With Russian interference and disinformation so prevalent in our social media platforms and political structures; with the sad display of violence and hate storming our nation’s capital on January 6th this year, with continued grievance and hate rhetoric so in vogue throughout our land, we seem to be picking and chewing each other apart rather than serving and loving one another as we should. We seem to know more about what divides us than we do about what unites us.
 
Is Mr. Khrushchev more of a prophet than I thought he was?
 
I’m going to fight back. I’m not going to allow selfish disunity and personal privilege to rob my freedom. My commitment is to love and serve. I’m going to follow the great commandment to “…love God with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength”, and then as best I know how to, “…love my neighbor as I love myself.” (Matthew 22:37-39)
 
I’m going to give what it takes for the sake of freedom.
 
Will you join me? 

The sixth commandment gives us the secret to long life and a positive future, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” (Exodus 20:17)
 
The word HONOR means to treat with respect or to show appreciation for the position a parent holds. Treat your mom and dad like the prizes and trophies they are. The writer of Proverbs describes such HONOR like this, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore, get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.  Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you” (Proverbs 4:7-8). Like the treasure of wisdom, moms and dads are prizes from God that make life worth living.
 
Respecting fathers is another way the Bible teaches us to HONOR them, “Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:3). Treat mom and dad like you do Sunday mornings. Of course, when Leviticus was written, the Sabbath started at 6:00 Saturday morning and ended at 6:00 Saturday evening. It was a 12-hour period that designated the Lord’s Day and within that time period you were expected to treat it as holy unto the Lord. You did no work on that day. You were careful about what you did and what you said on that day out of devotion and respect of God. We are to HONOR our Father and Mother like you do the Lord’s Day. Of course, in our day we treat Sunday like any other day. This causes our children to misunderstand the meaning of HONOR both in their own homes and in the house of God.
 
Honoring your father also carries with it the need to obey him, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right” (Ephesians 6:1). The need to obey is spelled out within the supreme law of God as defined by Moses, “…so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life” (Deuteronomy 6:2).
 
Living a long life is more than eating all your veggies, getting enough sleep, lowering your stress level, or getting plenty of exercise. Long life is also about obedience to God’s laws and His ways. How can anyone who is out of step with God expect to avoid the consequences of disobedience. Health and happiness begin with the way we obey God at home when it comes to giving dad the HONOR he deserves.
 
There is an important verse which God spoke to Eli after his sons profaned the offering of God, “I promised that your house and your father’s house would minister before Me forever. But now the Lord declares: ‘Far be it from Me! Those who honor Me, I will honor…’” (1 Samuel 2:30).
 
How are we to honor God in this day when Sunday is treated like just another day?
How do we honor God when children disobey and disrespect their parents?
 
We honor God the old-fashioned way. We honor Him by the way we prize and treasure our fathers by treating them with the respect and admiration they deserve. When we honor our fathers, God gives His honor back in return. Honor begets honor. Long life in any land is a by-product of HONOR that begins at home.

 
Next Sunday morning, our church will celebrate fathers attending the service with a special gift in love and appreciation for the blessing of Godly fathers whom our Lord has placed within our church family. We thank God for our fathers.

• Fathers provide a stable hand to guide our homes.
• Fathers offer the great example commanded in the Bible in which they, “…love their wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Ephesians 5:25).
• Godly fathers show the world what real sacrificial love is all about.
• Fathers demonstrate the way God feels and acts toward us and our nation as a whole.

 
Listen to this promise which God gave to king David, “I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men, but my lovingkindness shall not depart from him…” (2 Samuel 7:14-15). God is a loving compassionate father who never gives up and never abandons His job. Good, caring, faithful fathers show everybody around them what God looks like.
 
On Father’s Day we will recognize special dads and grandads attending the service. Gifts will be given for:

• The Oldest Father attending the service.
• The Father with the youngest child attending the service.
• The Father with the most children attending the service.
• The Grandfather with the most children and grandchildren attending the service.

 
Every father within our congregation should be aware that we love and appreciate them all. Believing fathers are the building blocks upon which the Lord establishes His kingdom and carries His work forward in the world. Thank you, Fathers of Grace, for the testimony and example you are to us all.
 
There was a certain child who wanted to do something great for his dad on Father’s Day. He worked hard and long enough to earn $100. He went to the bank and got a crisp, brand new $100 bill. On Father’s Day, the child gave his dad an envelope with the $100 bill inside with this instruction, “Go out and buy something good for yourself.” The Father did exactly that. He went out and bought a wonderful present for his wife.
 
I like that. Loving Fathers are truly a rich present to everybody around them. To their wives, to their children, to their friends, to the Lord’s church, to the community, and to the country, Fathers are the gift that keeps on giving over and over again so that our world can be the blessing God intends it to be. May God bless our fathers.

Last night’s midweek prayer service and Bible study was amazing. There was a powerful fellowship within those attending that reminded me of the bonds we share through our shared faith in Jesus. The prayer time was spent lifting up the physical needs of our people who are experiencing sickness and distress from various health problems. The Bible tells us to pray for each other when we suffer, “…the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:15). We have recently seen the healing hand of God working because sick folks are being restored to health. 
 
Then we encourage one another through testimonies of praise. Last night’s testimony time was especially rich and rewarding. We heard about people within our fellowship who have gone the second mile to help others when there is a need. We rejoiced to hear about the birth of great grandchildren. We praised God together for the preaching this past Sunday by Brother Earl Pirkle. I thanked the Lord for the days of vacation granted to Robbie and Me by our loving church family.
 
Can a church ever praise God too much?
 
The answer is obvious, Absolutely Not. Praise is simply returning back to God the honor and glory due Him. He is worthy of our praise.
 
We prayed for our church and its ministries. So much is happening among us as we return our lives back to normal activities. We prayed for our ministry of the Lord’s Supper this coming Sunday. We rejoiced in the possibility of enjoying Potluck Fellowship Supper this Sunday night. We tasted in our imagination homemade Chicken and Dumplings brought by Mrs. Margaret Douglas. We saw in our mind’s eye the chocolate pie Mrs. Betty always brings. We relished in the possibility of tasty casseroles and vegetable dishes lining the serving tables. Then, who can pass the desert table where pies, cakes, and cookies are abundantly arrayed. Some people start at the desert table in case Jesus comes back sooner than expected.
 
I can’t imagine what church would be like without our people praying together. We certainly would fail to be all that God wants us to be without prayer. The Bible says, “…the effectual fervent prayer of the righteous accomplishes much” (James 5:16). Last night’s prayer time with God’s people was truly rich and abundant.
 
We have been working through Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus on Wednesday nights. Last night we studied the last part of Paul’s prayer for the church in chapter 3, verses 20 and 21. Bible study on Wednesday night is more informal and personal. People read the scriptures to each other. People comment and ask questions.

​Last night, at the end of the study, Susan Grindle shared a testimony about a woman who came into Waffle House last Sunday after church praising God and telling everyone about how Jesus was working in her life. We were talking about what Paul said in his prayer, “Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…” (Ephesians 3:20a).

This woman in the middle of Waffle House’s Sunday lunch audience was bragging on the abundance of Jesus. Everybody in the place was attentive to her story. Then Susan said, “I want what that woman has.”
 
What better way to spend Wednesday night?
 
Wednesday night is helping all of us want more of what we all have in Christ. Wednesday night is about loving each other more, going deeper into God’s word and praying for God’s perfect will to be accomplished in our lives.
 
Why not join in and enjoy the abundance of Christ on Wednesday nights?