Christ Gives Us Freedom
OPENING PRAYER:
Lord, help me celebrate the freedom I have in Christ on this special holiday focusing on freedom in our country. Amen
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD: "I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song; he has given me victory. This is my God, and I will praise him- my father's God, and I will exalt him! The LORD is a warrior; Yahweh is his name! Exodus 15:1-3 NLT
REFLECT:
June 1980 in many ways mirrored June 2022. Inflation and interest rates were rapidly escalating. In fact, in 1980 they had both risen to the lower double digits. The general attitude among people was bleak. Out of the blue I received an invitation from The U.S. State Department inviting me to a plenary session in Washington, D.C. in less than 3 weeks. I soon discovered that I was the only educator in the area who received the invitation and so it was a special invitation. I went home and told my wife and daughter we were taking a trip to the nation’s capital.
We ended up taking a trip that changed our whole perspective on what was happening in this country. Even though things looked bleak economically, we began to really appreciate what happened to make it possible to have the freedom we have in this country. We toured historical sites from Jamestown/ Williamsburg, Virginia to Lexington/Concord, Massachusetts. We learned what sacrifices men and women made so we could enjoy the freedoms we have today. The fourth of July celebration in Historic Williamsburg was exciting and very heart warming.
What we were feeling about the freedom we have in our country during our historical tour and the fourth of July celebration was what the Israelites were expressing in the focus Scripture. They were excited about the freedom they had just received from God in their escape from Egypt.
APPLY:
We, like the Israelites, have been under a yoke. Our yoke is not Egypt but sin. Jesus outlines how we can gain freedom from that yoke in John 8:31-36. “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?’ Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” You, too, can enjoy this freedom if you call on the name of Jesus as your savior.
CLOSING PRAYER:
Lord, help me to claim the words of Galatians 5:1 “It is for freedom that Christ has set me free. I need to stand firm, then, and not let myself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Amen
WORSHIP: