"LEARNING TO BE A MODEL PARENT"

''LET FREEDOM RING'' Galatians 5:1,13-14 (Gal 5:1) "So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don't get tied up again in slavery to the law." (Gal 5:13-14) "For you, dear friends, have been called to live in freedom--not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love. {14} For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."" INTRODUCTION: a. Today throughout our land churches everywhere will celebrate freedom and especially Religious Freedom b. Many will do just as we have done, say the pledge, sing the patriotic songs, and thank God for freedom c. Freedom has set many on difficult and perilous paths with the hope of great rewards 1. We regularly read of people overcoming great obstacles to flee the shackles of oppression just to be FREE d. Over and over these stories are played out in history - People have always sought and desired freedom e. Freedom is Fragile and is lost most often when people take it for granted I. FREEDOM FORMS AMERICA a. At first our land was seen as a remote prison where undesirables and convicts could be sent b. Soon it was the destination of those seeking religious freedom and fleeing oppression 1. They braved the elements and seas on small boats for a taste of freedom 2. Many died on the journey and yet they came - by the 1000's c. Why - seeking Freedom d. Little did England realize what she had created and the flame she had lit - a flame that would finally burn all oppressive ties with England e. Our ancestors fought the tyranny of oppression and won Freedom for all of us 1. Signers of the Declaration of Independence illustration a. Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? Five signers were captured by the British as traitors, and tortured before they died. Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned. Two lost their sons in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured. Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War. They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. What kind of men were they? Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means and well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured. Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags. Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward. Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton. At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt. Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months. John Hart was driven from his wife's bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later he died from exhaustion and a broken heart. Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates. Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more. Standing tall, straight, and unwavering, they pledged: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor." They gave you and me a free and independent America. Some of us take these liberties so much for granted ... We shouldn't. II. THE GREAT AMERICAN LESSON a. Although many had come seeking Religious Freedom they did not give it to those who differed from them b. This religious prejudice could have cost America the victory in the Revolutionary War c. The religious oppression in many colonies was as fierce as any place in Europe - People were jailed and tortured for differing beliefs d. We as Baptists were born from the desire for religious liberty 1. Roger Williams was forced to leave Mass. because of religious intolerance 2. He went to Providence, Rhode Island and began the First Baptist Church, based on "soul liberty" and its guarantee e. To win the Revolutionary War the official churches of many colonies had to compromise with the "dissenters" in their colony in order to get their men to fight 1. Baptists in Virginia demanded their own chaplains before they would fight - It was a hard pill to swallow but it was granted and fight they did f. The lesson of the Revolution was not lost in the victory. 1. As the framers of the Constitution began to write the Constitution and the Bill of Rights - Religious intolerance was the first to be challenged 2. The very first right in the Bill of Rights is not Free Speech but rather the Freedom of Religion and a prohibition on governmental interference 3. Civil Religion leads to oppression and prejudice and division a. Wars and all kinds of evil have come because of Civil Religion 4. We do not want religious privilege but rather religious freedom a. Do you really want mandatory prayer in schools? 1. We have assumed it would be the Lord's Prayer - NOT Necessarily - My guess a non-sectarian prayer would be written – a non religious prayer – How offensive is that 2. Do you really want the Clinton Administration or any other administration writing a prayer that your chuildren are forced to pray? b. Privileges can be changed or removed by those in power - I prefer freedom and liberty g. Civil Religion leads to a government that says just enough to make you believe that God is on our side 1. A. Lincoln story - Asked if the Lord would be on our side responded, "I am not concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of right. But it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and the nation should be on the Lord's side" III. REAL FREEDOM a. Comes from a right relationship with God through Christ b. Real Freedom is explained and demonstrated in Communion




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