Today We Remember- Memorial Day 2106

Memorial Day 2016

“Today we remember”

John 15:13

Isaiah 2:4

Psalm 33

Pledge of Allegiance

National Anthem

Honor those families that have lost a loved one in active duty

Honor all those who are active and retired military

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It is my honor this morning to come together with my friends

My family

My brothers and sisters in Christ

To worship my God

Yahweh

Jehovah

The God of our ancestors

The God of Abraham

The God of Isaac

The God of Jacob

The Lord of the universe

Our creator

It is an extreme privilege that we live in a place in the world where we are free to do that

To join together and worship

To come together and raise our voices in praise

There are many places in this evil world where not only do the citizens of those places not have the right or privilege to do that

But they are often not only persecuted

But

Many times they give their lives in the pursuit of Christianity

And

The spread of the gospel

Once again we need to thank God that this is not how we are called to live

In this great county we live in we have been given the right to worship as we please

Live where we please

Do what we please

Many have fought and died

Protecting our freedom

The very freedom that this country was founded on

And the very freedom that set us apart from other nations

John 15:13

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

In the context of this verse Jesus is explaining to his disciples that he must give his life for all of us

That he must fulfill his purpose

And that purpose was to pay the price of the sins of the world

And to deliver all who would believe from the penalty of their sin

He is also teaching his disciples that

They too

Must be willing to give their very lives

For their brothers and sisters and for Him

We know

Each of the disciples did give their life for the gospel

Most were martyred

Only The Apostle John lived a long life

But even he spent the last years of his life imprisoned for the cause of Christ

They like Jesus gave their lives for their brothers and sisters in Christ

They gave their lives for the freedom the gospel brings

Today we come to pay honor and tribute to our soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice

And to give honor the those disciples and heroes of our faith who paid the ultimate price

To give honor to all of those who have died in defense of freedom

And

To our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Who – is the true picture of freedom

So my question this morning is how do we do that?

How do we, do that?

Can we ever say thank you enough?

Can we ever give enough praise?

Enough medals

Enough salutes

Enough speeches

I think the answer is no

Words and ceremonies can never express the gratitude we have for those who purchased our freedom

For those men and women who died in the service of our country

For those men and women that gave their lives and their freedom for the cause of Christianity

Or for our Savior Jesus Christ

Who gave it all

Everything he had

Paying a debt he did not owe

On a cross

Humiliated

Beaten

Rejected

Abused and killed

So that you and I could have the chance at true freedom-spiritual; freedom

Deliverance from what we deserve

Once again we come together to give thanks

But our words will never be enough

So

If our words are inadequate- if they are never enough

How do we truly show our gratitude?

How do we give thanks?

How do we let them know?

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How do we let them know?

How do we let them know that we understand the price they paid?

How do we let them know that we understand the sacrifice they gave?

How do we let them know that we want to honor them?

I believe in all my heart the best show of gratitude is action

Not what we say

But what we do

Not our words

But our deeds

We as a show of gratitude first to our Lord and Savior

Must love as he loved

We are to love each other as he loved us

We are to practice sacrificial love

Unconditional love

A love that does not see the past

A love that does not see the outside of someone

But

a love that sees their hearts

A love that listens to each other

A love that encourages one another

A love that gives of ourselves to others