A Prayerful Tribute

A PRAYERFUL TRIBUTE TO OUR TROOPS

A Sermon for Memorial Day Sunday / May 27, 2007

Intro: The custom of placing flowers on the graves of the war began on May 5, 1866, in Waterloo, NY, and Waterloo has been recognized by Congress as the official birthplace of Memorial Day. In 1868, Gen. John A. Logan, then president of the Grand Army of the Republic, declared that May 30 would be a day to decorate with “flowers the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion.”

After World War I the day was set aside to honor lives lost in all American wars, and the custom was extended to pay homage to deceased relatives and friends, both military and civilian. The most solemn ceremony conducted on Memorial Day is the placing of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns located in Arlington national Cemetery.

• We have much to remember.

• It is significant that our country takes time to stop and remember.

• You may want to take flowers to a grave this weekend & pause there & to remember & say a prayer.

• You may want to express your gratitude for brave people who made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can enjoy the freedoms that are ours today.

Whatever you do, don’t forget how we got here. Don’t forget the price that brought us to where we can live in freedom & enjoy the blessings that God has given us in this country. This is Memorial Day weekend. Please don’t ever forget!

Video: Remembering is something very important. If we forget we will find ourselves fighting the same paths that have already been won by previous generations and wars.

In the silence of this moment,

grateful vigil I will keep.

For the memory of their names,

and the precious lives they gave.

Memorial Day is not one day to remember; its one day to remind us of what is important everyday.

• We have been given a very great and precious gift in the form of a nation.

• These United States of America is a gift.

• Not only do I want us to remember our fallen heroes; I want us to add to the fight they lost their lives in. Is there a greater validation then to pick up the vigil?

What can we do?

I don’t think any of us have tanks in garage and M16 and grenade launchers stashed in our closets.

We are at a loss thinking of how we can fight back against the terrorist threats that face our nation.

We may not be about to physically fight, but what we can do is fight against what is behind these attacks.

EVIL.

Evil is not some thing; he is a person.

Good is not some thing; His name is Jesus.

2 Chronicles 20:2-13 NIV “2 Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Sea. It is already in Hazazon Tamar" (that is, En Gedi). 3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the LORD, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the LORD; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. 5 Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said:

"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. 7 O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 ’If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

10 "But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you." 13 All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the LORD.