Freedom to Worship for 250 years
When we first moved to Little Rock twenty plus years ago, married just over a year, we plugged right in at the little Baptist church at the bottom of the hill, sitting at the entrance to our neighborhood. We loved the family feel of the church and that we could walk there (though we only did once or twice). We’ve always believed that the key to community is proximity, which is why we tried to find a house close to Valley View when we moved back to Louisville.
But back to Little Rock: We started out in a Sunday School class with about ten other couples, all newly married, and all without kids. I got to know one guy in the class, Eric, and realized he was also a history buff. It wasn’t long before we were reading and discussing history books together, and eventually had the chance to lead a d-group on the Christian roots of the United States of America. I found the book fascinating, especially all the original source materials the author referenced and quoted. It’s not a coincidence that the number one book the founding fathers quoted in all their correspondence, and it wasn’t even close, was the Bible. That doesn’t mean they were all faithful Christians, though many were, but without a doubt they were saturated in a biblical worldview when starting a new nation.
This Sunday we plan to celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary. We will have apple crisp at 10am, so come early and wear your best red-white-and-blue outfit. I’m glad we get to celebrate this momentous anniversary together. In fact, I think the most powerful way anyone could celebrate America’s 250th is by gathering to worship. I’m so grateful that we live in a country that has freedom of worship in its founding principles. For 250 years Christians have not had to worry about gathering publicly to worship Jesus. As we gather this Sunday and look at Laodicea, the seventh and final church in our Churches of Revelation series, we will also pray that our nation and our church grow in faithfulness to Jesus Christ in all that we do. May God grant us freedom and favor as we seek to share the Gospel across the Southend of Louisville!