"Christians Engaged"

"It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us, that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion, that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” ~ President Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

While we usually start this preview off with Scripture, today we pull from a great speech delivered 161 years ago just thirty minutes or so from where our church building sits today. Scripture is God-inspired and will always hold prominence over any man's speech or writing, but it is reasonable to think that President Lincoln was led, at least in part, by the Holy Spirit on that day as he reminded the people of the uniqueness of our great nation and the gift and responsibility of self-governance that God bestowed upon the United States. Of course, even self-governance is submitted "under God", but as long as we remain humble before Him, we must recognize that He has entrusted to us a government "of the people, by the people, for the people". That means that we have to be involved, my friends. We don't simply clamor for a new king as Israel mistakenly did in 1 Samuel 8, and we certainly can't be content to merely grumble and complain about the things we don't like in the current public servants we have chosen. Instead, we carefully and prayerfully seek God for how He wants us to use our gifts in this nation - namely, a vote and a voice - and then we act in humble obedience to Him. This week at Friendship, our title is "Christians Engaged", and we'll explore what that means not only in light of the current election climate, but also for ongoing civic engagement by God's people. Make no mistake about it - it's got very little to do with alignment to any political party. If you are ready to put aside all the divisiveness and vitriol of the ridiculous onslaught of political ads and seek the Lord for what He wants from you as you work out your salvation with fear and trembling, then this message is for you!