Comments on DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed: Why Memorial Day is Worth Remembering

I liked your sentence: "Being a soldier is not a ...

2009-05-27T15:10:22.068-04:00

I liked your sentence: "Being a soldier is not a sub-Christian activity." A Christian can serve in the military honorably. Thanks for making that point! I am not in the military, but sometimes it seems that Christians have looked down on soldiers simply because of their profession (which has always been seen as necessary and honorable in the Bible).

I want to offer a look at corporate worship during...

2009-05-26T15:12:37.336-04:00

I want to offer a look at corporate worship during patriotic holidays. Specifically, Memorial Day 2009 which inspired the post.

Kevin, thanks for your perspective. I'm just glad you didn't tag the USA as some sort of new Israel. :-)

Mark

Our pastor struck a good balance, I thought. He ha...

2009-05-25T15:04:56.318-04:00

Our pastor struck a good balance, I thought. He had all the veterans stand and share when and where they had served. Their service spanned WWII to Afghanistan and we were surprised at the tours some had served - and honored to be in their presence. It gave me a more nuanced understanding of the church family we belong to - and deep gratitude for their sacrifice so we could worship freely. We sang "America the Beautiful"

America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobelness
And every gain divine.Our pastor then preached a great sermon about the Church at Philadelphia and emphasized in no undercertain terms that the Word and the Gospel are the answer to the ills of society. That every turn in society has come about because of prayer and revival, not the political process. He reminded us to pray for the salvation of those in power and says that he does so regularly.

If you don't believe what Pastor DeYoung wrote in ...

2009-05-25T14:14:20.569-04:00

If you don't believe what Pastor DeYoung wrote in #5, then stop a minute and think about what we *could* have done with our military had we chosen to...we could have take over the whole world (or at least Canada:) at the height of our power and prestige after WWII. We could have annihilated whole civilizations. We were (and still are in all reality) the most powerful nation the world has ever known). Instead, we helped rebuild the aggressor countries whom we defeated. What a commentary on our nation. It's not a perfect nation by any means. We will always have the shame of slavery to remember. But our nation has done great good in the world and our military especially. We are not God's people. Almighty God has been very good to us. Contrary to popular belief, He owes America nothing, just as He owes nothing to individual sinners. He could have easily ordained our defeat at the hands of our enemies. And He would have been more than just in doing so. We are not special. Quite the contrary. We should give thanks to Him for His kind mercies to us; that we remain a free people by God's grace. We should also remember those who gave their all on our behalf in the last 200 or so years of our history as a nation, many of whom were our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Excellent article and points.

Jeff
Kenosha WI

Thank you for expressing this in such a thoughtful...

2009-05-25T11:15:51.947-04:00

Thank you for expressing this in such a thoughtful and biblical way.

Thank you for this.

2009-05-25T10:46:17.931-04:00

Thank you for this.

So, how does appreciation for our country get work...

2009-05-25T10:38:32.926-04:00

So, how does appreciation for our country get worked out in the Sunday morning service? I've always been a little suspicious of entire services dedicated to Independence Day, etc. How does a pastor incorporate love of country in a way that is both sober and God glorifying?

I agree Kevin. Thanks for standing up and speakin...

2009-05-25T10:14:33.899-04:00

I agree Kevin. Thanks for standing up and speaking out with #5. That's not going to be very popular.

I especially like this line, "Whenever I’m at a ball game I still get choked up during the singing of the National Anthem."

Very good. Thank you for saying this. I'll link, a...

2009-05-25T08:56:25.809-04:00

Very good. Thank you for saying this. I'll link, and add one thought.