Happy 250 America

🇺🇸 Happy Birthday, America! 🇺🇸

Today, as we celebrate 250 years of freedom, I’m reminded that liberty is both a gift and a responsibility.

In this brief message, I share three things that are deeply important to me:

✝️ Our spiritual freedom — purchased for us through Jesus Christ.
🇺🇸 Our national freedom — preserved through the sacrifice of generations.
🤝 Our responsibility as Americans — to live with gratitude, serve others, strengthen our families, and faithfully pass truth to the next generation.

At The Pentecostals of Jonesboro, our mission remains clear: Share the Gospel. Grow disciples. Strengthen families.

Today, we thank God for the freedoms we enjoy, we honor those who have sacrificed to preserve them, and we pray for the future of this nation we love.

May God bless our families.
May God bless our communities.
And may God bless the United States of America.

🇺🇸 Happy 250th Birthday, America! 🇺🇸

#HappyBirthdayAmerica #America250 #GodBlessAmerica #Freedom #Faith #Family #POJ

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Good morning, Pentecostals of Jonesboro. It is so good to be able to talk to you today, and I want to say Happy Birthday America. Galatians records this from Paul. He said, For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but to love and serve one another. As I say happy birthday to America today, two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of men signed their names to a document declaring that liberty was worth fighting for. Sacrifice was worth making, and freedom was worth defending. And today I thank God for America. No, America's not perfect. She never has been, but I am still grateful for this nation. I remember Ronald Reagan once said that our form of government is the worst one in all the world, except for all the others. I'm grateful for the freedom to stand in front of you. I'm grateful for the freedom to open my Bible this morning. I'm grateful for the freedom to lift my hands and raise my voice and praise my God and preach the name of Jesus Christ that is the name that is higher than every name. It's higher than Washington. It's higher than Trump. It's higher than Biden. It's higher than any politician you can imagine. And I worship God according to the dictates of my own consciousness. So on this birthday of our nation, I want to remind us that there are some responsibilities that come with the freedom we have. First, I have a spiritual freedom. Before I'm an American, I'm a Christian. Before I pledge allegiance to the flag, I belong to Jesus Christ. And the greatest freedom that I have ever experienced in my life was not given to me by a government or written into a constitution or guaranteed by a court. It was purchased by the blood of the Lamb at Calvary. Jesus paid my price for freedom. If the Son therefore have set you free, you shall be free indeed. I have a freedom from the bondage of sin, freedom from the chains of my past, freedom from my heritage, freedom from condemnation, from hopelessness. I have freedom from the power of darkness. And the church, please never forget this. Political freedom can be won or lost with an election. National freedom can be threatened by an enemy, but spiritual freedom that was purchased by the blood of Jesus will stand the test of time. That's why we exist at POJ to share the gospel, to grow disciples, and to strengthen families, because the gospel still sets people free. We have a national freedom. Today I thank God for the United States of America. I thank God for those who stood on battlefields and who sailed across oceans and who left families behind and who's endured wounds and who endured death and loss. Our freedom has never, ever been free. From the first day of this nation, it's never been free. Somebody paid the price for the right that we have to broadcast a message like this to you today. Somebody sacrificed for the flag and it waves above us, and we have to remember what it represents. Somebody believed that generations later would understand that they didn't deserve liberty, but they were given liberty anyway. And I believe Christians should be grateful Americans. We should pray for our nation. We should honor those who served our nation. We should participate in our community events. We should respect the freedoms that we have been given because there are believers around the world today who cannot broadcast a message like this. They can't gather like we're going to tomorrow. And by the way, I can't wait to see all of you tomorrow. We're going to have a great time celebrating America and just having a time of fellowship. But they can't carry their Bible with them. They can't speak of the name of Jesus freely. They don't have the opportunities that you and I have. So today I really do say thank God for America. Again, not because she's perfect, but because freedom is precious. But with freedom comes responsibility. I hope today that if you have children in your home, that you'll take just a minute and talk to them about this great nation, what can make this nation better, how to heal the wounds that divide us at POJ. We have a wonderful, wonderful culture where we are unified. We're not divided. We're not divided among economic status. We're not divided among race. We're not divided among our heritage. You love people, whether they've been a part of our church for 10 minutes or 20 years. And I'm thankful for that. We have a very unique culture at POJ. But with that culture comes responsibility because freedom is something that we steward, not just given. In other words, liberty is not permission to live selfishly. Liberty is an opportunity to serve God. And I believe responsibility as an American begins with responsibility as a Christian. If we want a stronger America, we need stronger churches. And if we want stronger churches, we need stronger families. And if we want stronger families, we need stronger moms and stronger dads. Not Sunday school teachers or preachers, moms and dads and grandparents. We're working toward making POJ a multi-generational church, one where truth is handed down to the next generation. We have to share the gospel, not just with the world. We have to share the gospel with our families. We share the gospel because America needs Jesus. And in the government schools, your children won't hear that message. They won't hear that they need Jesus in their school system if they go to the government schools. You have to understand it is your responsibility as a mom and a dad because we not only want to share the gospel with the world, like I said, we want to share the gospel with our families. We want to grow disciples because converts become committed followers of Jesus Christ. That's what we're about. And strengthening families. Washington cannot do what the church has been called to do. Congress can't preach the gospel. The Supreme Court cannot make disciples. That responsibility belongs to us. And so I say, Happy birthday, America. I'm thankful for my national freedom. I'm thankful for my spiritual freedom. And I understand my responsibility as a Christian. God, make POJ a people of integrity. Make us a people of compassion and a people of courage and a people who love truth. Because you said if we don't have a love for truth, you will send us a strong delusion and cause us to believe a lie. People will stand for righteousness in our church without losing kindness. Give us people who will speak truth without surrendering love. Give us people that will serve you with everything they have. And help us today, on this 250th anniversary of our great nation, help us to share the gospel. Help us to grow disciples, and help us to strengthen families. May God bless you and your family today. May God bless this great United States of America, and may God bless the Pentecostals of Jonesboro.