7-8-2026
We just celebrated 250 years of freedom in the United States of America. I hope your celebration included family and friends and, of course, Jesus. But I want to address something that troubles me.
There are those who would say that it is inappropriate for a church, for a pastor, for a Christian to celebrate such a patriotic event. Without hesitation I say, “I stand for the flag, but I kneel at the cross.” And I am not embarrassed to celebrate the freedom we enjoy in the US.
To borrow from Josh Howerton:
I love my King of Kings more infinitely than any earthly ruler. And there is an Eternal Kingdom that has infinitely more allegiance from me than any earthly country.
In the Bible, God established 3 institutions for the good of the world:
– The Family
– The church
– The State (governments)
This means that a Christian man should seek to be…
– A family man
– A churchman
– A statesman
Last week, we celebrated the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, and part of being a “statesman” is loving your country.
– A family never gets better unless the father LOVES his family.
– A church never gets better unless people LOVE their church
– A nation cannot get better unless people LOVE their nation
So, to be clear, I unapologetically love my country, and I thank God for the historically unique way Christianity played a role in the founding of our nation. I will continue to celebrate moving forward, not IN SPITE of the fact that I’m a Christian, but BECAUSE I’m a Christian, who is grateful to God for what He has done in the past and imploring Him to pour out his Spirit in our culture for the good of its future.
In the words of the song by Carman, “We need God in America again!”
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord…… (Psalm 33:12a, NIV)