Memorial Day: Remembrance

MEMORIAL DAY: REMEMBRANCE

REVELATION 22:12-21

MAY 25, 2003

INTRODUCTION: Where the Stars and Stripes and the Eagle Fly by Aaron Tippen

Well if you ask me where I come from Here’s what I tell everyone

I was born by God’s dear grace In an extra-ordinary place

Where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly...

It’s a big old land with countless dreams. Happiness ain’t out of reach

Hard work pays off the way it should Yea, I’ve seen enough to know that we got it good

Where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly... There’s a lady that stands

in a harbor for what we believe And there’s a bell that still echoes

the price that it cost to be free

I pledge allegiance to the flag And if that bothers you, well that’s too bad

But if you’ve got pride, and you’re proud to do Hey, we can use more like me and you

Where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly... Yes, There’s a lady that stands

in a harbor for what we believe And there’s a bell that still echoes

the price that it cost to be free No, it ain’t the only place on earth

It’s the only place that I prefer To love my wife and raise my kids

(Hey) The same way my daddy did Where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly...

Where the stars and stripes and the eagle fly...

Courtesy of the Red, White, & Blue (The Angry American)

(Toby Keith)

©2002 Tokeco Tunes (BMI)

This was written a few days after the September 11th terrorist attacks. My father was a soldier in the Army in the ‘50s and always flew a flag to show his patriotism. I had just lost him in a car wreck six months before the attacks took place, so I wrote my feelings down. I never really intended for this to be a song. It was originally titled “Angry American.”

American Girls and American Guys We’ll always stand up and salute We’ll always recognize When we see Old Glory Flying There’s a lot of men dead So we can sleep in peace at night When we lay down our head

My daddy served in the army Where he lost his right eye But he flew a flag out in our yard

Until the day that he died He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me

To grow up and live happy In the land of the free.

Now this nation that I love Has fallen under attack A mighty sucker punch came flyin’ in

From somewhere in the back Soon as we could see clearly Through our big black eye

Man, we lit up your world Like the 4th of July

Hey Uncle Sam Put your name at the top of his list And the Statue of Liberty

Started shakin’ her fist And the eagle will fly Man, it’s gonna be hell When you hear Mother Freedom Start ringin’ her bell And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you

Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue

Justice will be served And the battle will rage This big dog will fight When you rattle his cage

And you’ll be sorry that you messed with The U.S. of A. `Cause we`ll put a boot in you’re a@# It`s the American way Hey Uncle Sam Put your name at the top of his list And the Statue of Liberty Started shakin’ her fist And the eagle will fly Man, it’s gonna be hell When you hear Mother Freedom Start ringin’ her bell And it feels like the whole wide world is raining down on you Brought to you Courtesy of the Red White and Blue

I CAN’T ALWAYS REMEMBER EVERYTHING

Remembering is sometimes hard work. There were three old sisters who lived together. One sister got up to go to bed, and half way up the stairs she stopped and asked "was I going up or was I coming down"

One sister replied with a hint of aggravation, "you were going up to bed."

A second sister headed into the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. Once in the kitchen she hollered back to her sister who was still down stairs: "What did I come in here for?"

The sister responded again, this time a little more annoyed than the last: "You went in to make yourself a sandwich.

"I’m so glad I am not as forgetful as the both of you are" she said as she ’knocked on the wood’ of the end table.

Then she got up, walked over to the door, and said "Who is it?"

SOURCE: Steve Malone

TRANSITION THOUGHT: As we gather on this day before Memorial Day, we celebrate our heritage, the truth that we are free today because many died for our freedom. We celebrate sacrifice. We remember that we have what we have because of the ultimate sacrifice of lives laid down so that we could be free. Memorial Day is also a time to remember the Gospel story, to remember the ultimate sacrifice of the perfect life laid down so that we might be eternally free.