e-news for week of 6/27/10

I love it when Independence Day falls on a Sunday. “Why?” you may ask. At the core of our nation stands this first statement we commonly call “The Preamble”:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.

Endowed by their Creator… May we never forget that at the breakout moment of our nation, we affirmed our Divine Creator. This Creator did put the truth of His love and self-evident truth in front of all of us.

America stands as a free nation. You are free to pursue happiness. You live a free life. You have liberty.

You are an American whose heritage and honor run deep. We are the world’s bastion of freedom. We are a city on a hill. The lamp of American freedom shines hope into this world.

And while we love America and the freedom we enjoy, if we are only free for 70-80 years if the Lord allows us to live that long, then that type freedom is short lived.

While the freedom America stands for is a personal freedom, the freedom that Forum will proclaim this Sunday is a forever and ever freedom. Freedom from sin. Freedom from the grave. Freedom in Christ. Frankly, I’d rather live as a slave for 70-80 years and know Christ and His freedom than to be free my whole life and die as a slave to sin.

This Sunday we’ll talk about our citizenship and freedom in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2 will be the primary text if you want to read ahead.

Looking forward to worshiping with you this Sunday.

Scott

PS – I want to take just a moment to compliment our summer intern, Bradley Williams, on a great message this past Sunday during first service and north campus. As a ministry, we are raising up and equipping ministers for kingdom purposes. It’s exciting to see it in every area of ministry.