Introduction: What is Memorial Day? Americans love their holidays, and for most people Memorial Day is a 3-day weekend, a time for picnics, cookouts and travel. The beginning of Summer fun! But Memorial Day is much more than that. It is an essential part of celebrating what it means to be an American. Listen to this essay about Memorial Day, written by a high school girl from San Francisco in 1996: (read it)

Christian Americans should have a higher appreciation of Memorial Day than anyone else. I want to emphasize two words this morning: "knowledge".......and......"attitude."

I. KNOWLEDGE

A. It is important to know that our liberties as Americans rest on the foundation of the Christian Faith of the Bible. Freedom (both spiritual and political) is a gift from God to those who love Him and who obey His Laws. Consider these Bible verses:

And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. (Lev. 25:10)

And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. (Psalm 119:45)

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised (Luke 4:18) (Isaiah 61:1) Read by Jesus in the synagogue when He began His earthly ministry....

Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (2 Cor. 3:17)

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage....brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. (Gal. 5:1, 13)

So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. (James 2:12)

Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6)

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8:32, 36)

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.(Romans 8:2)

B. In America we enjoy President Roosevelt's "Four Freedoms," which he explained in his State of the Union Speech in January 1941: Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Fear, and Freedom from Want. The people of the Muslim nations of the world do not enjoy those four freedoms. The people of the Atheistic Communist nations of the world do not enjoy those four freedoms. The people of the Hindu nations of the world do not enjoy those four freedoms. The only people in the world who enjoy those four freedoms are people of nations where the Christian Faith of the Bible is honored and strong.

C. It is true that the USA is a "secular nation." We have no State Church. BUT: It is also true that America rests on, and still respects, a solid Christian foundation. Listen to these quotes from some of the founders of our nation:

1. Benjamin Franklin's address to the Constitutional Convention of 1787:
"All rulers and citizens must be aware that the establishment of authority and power among rulers and nations is the result of God's sovereign decree, according to His good pleasure. No civil government can claim that it has risen by its own strength and wisdom; to do so is to bring the wrath and judgment of God upon the whole nation." and in another place, "He who shall introduce into public affairs the principles of a primitive Christianity, will change the face of the world."

2. Thomas Jefferson.
"The reason that Christianity is the best friend of Government is because Christianity is the only religion that changes the heart." And in a letter to William Canby, 1813: "Of all systems of morality, ancient or modern, which have come under my observation, none appear to be so pure as that of Jesus."

3. John Adams.
"The highest story of the American Revolution is this: it connected in one indissoluble bond the principles of civil government with the principles of Christianity."

4. John Quincy Adams:
"The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were...the general principles of Christianity."

5. Noah Webster:
"The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and his apostles, which enjoins humility, piety and benevolence; which acknowledges in every person a brother, or a sister, and a citizen with equal rights. This is genuine Christianity, and to this we owe our free constitutions of government..."

6. Abraham Lincoln:
"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book. The only assurance of our nation's safety is to lay our foundation in morality and religion...Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."

Don't let anyone fool you that America is not a Christian nation, or that America does not rest on a Christian foundation, because it is, and it does. (That is not to say America is perfect and still doesn't have far to go!) It is this Christian foundation, and nothing else, by which we enjoy Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion, Freedom from Fear and Freedom from Want. If America loses its Christianity, it will become like all the other non-Christian nations of the earth, and we will lose our freedoms, too.

Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." It is important for all Americans to be reminded on Memorial Day, that America is a Christian nation (not by law, but more importantly by faith and by deed).

II. THANKSGIVING

A. Today we especially give thanks for all Americans in uniform, especially those who have given their lives to preserve our great nation. Since the American Revolution in 1776, approximately 1,200,000 American men and women have died in wars defending our freedoms. We owe them a debt of gratitude and appreciation. No Christian American should be guilty of have a mumbling, groaning, irritating, complaining and ungrateful attitude. All the freedoms we have, all the prosperity, all the peace.....these blessings from God should instill in each of us an overwhelming attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving to almighty God.

1 Chr 16:34 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
1 Th 5:16 Be joyful always;
1 Th 5:17 pray continually;
1 Th 5:18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

B. Most of the things that irritate us and make us depressed and grumbling are really little things: our schedule got mixed up; we had a bad hair day; we had a fight with the spouse; the children have been acting up; we got lied to about something; we lost some money; we lost a job; there's something broken in the house that needs fixing; etc. etc. etc. But consider: You eat every day. Your children eat every day. You sleep in a bed and in a house. You have clean running water. You can see. You can hear. You can walk. You are not in prison. ETC. ETC.

James 1:17-18 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Psa 7:17 I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psa 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Psa 107:8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
Psa 107:9 for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

Psa 136:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.
Psa 136:2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.
Psa 136:3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.

Conclusion: Every American Christian should exemplify these two words: KNOWLEDGE and THANKSGIVING. On Memorial Day, when we remember all the Americans who have died for freedom around the world, serving their country, may God help us to remember them, honor them, and give thanks for what they have done for us, by the grace of God. Amen.