Category: Elections

Kidmin Sermon for Independence Day

Some Facts about our Founding Fathers:

Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence. Twenty-four of them held seminary or Bible school degrees.

In 1777. Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase bibles which were to be distributed throughout the 13 colonies! And in 1782, the United
States Congress declared, “The Congress of the United States recommends and
approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.”

On March 6, 1789, President John Adams called for a national day of fasting and
prayer for the country could “call to mind our numerous offenses against the
most high God, confess them before Him with the sincerest penitence, implore his pardoning mercy, through the Great Mediator and Redeemer, for our past
transgression, and that through the grace of His Holy Spirit, we may be disposed
and enabled to yield a more suitable obedience. . .”

Patrick Henry read the Bible for hours every day. During his “Give me liberty or give me death” speech, he quoted Matthew and Jeremiah.

In his first general order to his own troops, General George Washington said he called on: ‘Every officer and man…to live, and act, as becomes a Christian Soldier defending the dearest rights and liberties of his country.’

Verses about a Nation’s Responsibility Toward God:

Psalm 33:12 ICB  Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord. Happy are the people He chose for His very own.

Proverbs 11:14  ICB  Without leadership a nation will be defeated. But when many people give advice, it will be safe.

Proverbs 14:34  ICB  Doing what is right makes a nation great. But sin will bring disgrace to any people.

 Christian’s Responsibilities to our Nation:

Obey God first.  Acts 5:29 NRSV  But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”

Obey Our Leaders and the Law.  Romans 13:1 ICB   All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God.

Pray For Our Leaders. 1 Timothy 2:1 ICB  You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God.

5 Things to Teach Your Students about Elections

2059-seasonalThe United States of America is once again in an election year. Children are not immune to this even though they don’t vote. They hear the political commercials, the news, and people’s opinions. This gives children’s pastors an opportunity to teach children the responsibility we have as Christians to our nation’s government.

Here is a list of 5 things you can teach your students about elections:

God created government. Children need to understand that God created government for a purpose, and whoever wins the election, God places leaders in power. The Bible story of Saul being made king is a good example. Saul was a wicked king, but he still did a lot of good, and he was still placed in power by God.

Romans 13:1 (ICB) All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God.

The Purpose of Government is to Punish the Guilty & Protect the Innocent. God put government in place for a reason. It is there to mete out justice and protect its citizens from injustice. You could talk to the children about times they have been treated unfairly or hurt by others and what rules were in place to help them. A good Bible story about going to the government leaders for justice would be when two women brought their baby to King Solomon to have him rule who the mother was. God gave Solomon wisdom to make the right decision.

Romans 13:3-4 (ICB) Those who do right do not have to fear the rulers. But people who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be unafraid of the rulers? Then do what is right, and the ruler will praise you.  He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong.

 Christians should Obey Laws. You may want to explain that God expects Christians to obey laws even when they don’t agree with those laws. The only laws we are to disobey are the ones that we would have to disobey God to obey. The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would be a good example of that.

Romans 13:4-5 (ICB)  He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong. So you must obey the government. You must obey not only because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.

God Requires Christians to Pay Taxes. Nobody wants to pay taxes, but everybody should. A great way to teach this is to show in the Bible where even Jesus paid taxes.

Romans 13:6-7 (ICB) And this is also why you pay taxes. Rulers are working for God and give their time to their work.  Pay everyone, then, what you owe
him. If you owe any kind of tax, pay it. Show respect and honor to them all.

Pray for Leaders in the Government. The Bible is very clear that we should pray for our leaders. Friday I’ll post more about how children can pray for their government and leaders and for the upcoming elections.

1 Timothy 2:2 (ICB)  You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God.