Gtcotr/052817
A memorial is a remembrance of
someone who has died. In our nation, we understand that freedom and peace have
a price. Freedom and peace costs us the lives of our sons and daughters,
fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors.
In honor of those who gave their
lives in sacrifice for our freedom we have set aside a national day of
remembrance, we call it Memorial Day, which we celebrate tomorrow, and this is
Memorial Day Weekend. Everyone is encouraged to take a moment at 3 p.m.
tomorrow and remember those brave souls who chose the course and served the
cause, giving their lives in defense of our Nation’s decided best interests.
There are so many heroes in our past
who served in one way or another to make America great. Men and women alike …
those who sailed with and supported Columbus, families on the Mayflower, the
colonialist who braved the elements of a new harsh world, those early pioneers
and settlers of the west, men and women of science and medicine, those who
brought the railways to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, people like
Lewis and Clarke, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers and the Reverend Dr Martin
Luther King Jr., … so many educators and philanthropist, inventors and
astronauts, homemakers and shipbuilders, factory workers and farmers … first
responders across America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, a
land filled with heroes.
Every day of the year could be a
special day commemorating a different segment of our society for their
unselfish and sacrificial contribution in making America great and leaving a
legacy behind.
However, one class of citizen stands
out on the front lines of our nation when we think of the heroes of our past,
it’s the American Soldier. Memorial Day is about those who died defending us in
war.
Bow your hearts with me as we
remember these brave men and women in a prayer of thanksgiving to God for their
service and their sacrifice.
John 15 NKJV
12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you.
13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life
for his friends.
One Sunday morning a father and his
young son were sitting in church and the young lad noticed a plaque hanging on
the wall with several names engraved on it. “What is that father?” the young
man asked. It’s the names of all those who died in the service, the father
replied. Which service was it, questioned the son, the 9 o’clock or the 11
o’clock.
In our 10:30am Service today we are
going to honor 74 Sailors who lost their lives on June 2, 1969, serving on the
USS Frank E. Evans, a Naval Destroyer, number 754. Our Church has purchased 100
folded flag necklaces through Point 27 from Shields of Strength, which we will
be sending to the Gold Star families of these sailors who gave their all in
defense of our nation’s decided bests interests.
There is nothing like the noble
death of a family member or friend who has been lost in the line of duty
whether military or first responder. Many have placed their lives on the line
and returned home … some have not. We owe a debt of gratitude and thanks to
them and to their families for the sacrifice made. May we never forget!
Let’s look again at our scriptures
for today from John 15
John 15:13 Greater love
has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
Three Lasting Truths
1.
If you want to be great you must become a servant.
2.
Life is not always a choice but, how we live is.
3.
God never forgets a sacrifice … nor should we!
May
God bless America and the memory of her best and bravest sons and daughters who
gave their all. And may we never forget the debt we owe our Heavenly Father for
the sacrifice of His Only Son so that we might have a peace filled eternity
when our work on earth is done.
