Rev. David Holwick Memorial Day Sunday
First Baptist Church
Nobleboro, Maine
May 26, 2019
Deuteronomy 32:7-15
REMEMBERING DAY
I. Remembering Day.
A. Heritage is important.
1) One sign a nation is on the downward slope:
In his book "When Nations Die," historian Jim Black cites
10 warning signs a culture is in crisis.
One of those signs is the loss of respect for tradition."
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2) My old town in New Jersey used robo-calls to build interest
in their Memorial Day parade and celebration.
a) Most of these parades are only a shadow of what they
were in the past.
3) Today's passage in Deuteronomy 32 commands the Israelites
to remember the past generations.
a) The current generation is supposed to have curiosity.
b) The older generations are supposed to give explanations
of what they experienced and God's purposes in it.
B. The specific reason for Memorial Day.
1) The historical roots.
The seed for Memorial Day was planted in 1866.
The United States was recovering from the Civil War.
Henry Welles, a drugstore owner in Waterloo, New York,
suggested that all the shops in town close for one day
in honor of the soldiers who were buried in the
local cemetery.
On the morning of May 5, the townspeople placed flowers,
wreaths and crosses on the graves of the Union soldiers.
They also lowered all the flags in the community to
half-staff.
It was not a joyous celebration, but a sober memorial.
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2) Their sacrifices have made our society possible.
3) There is no doubt their sacrifice has had a huge impact.
a) Our wars gave us independence as a nation.
1> My own direct ancestor came to America from
Germany in 1742.
2> All four of his sons served in the Pennsylvania
militia.
b) Our wars have helped define our values, like freedom.
c) These wars have also helped others experience
those values, even those who had been our enemies.
d) We must acknowledge that none of our wars have been
totally pure, and some were pretty rotten, but we
cannot deny their impact on us.
II. It is just as important to remember those who have died in peace.
A. Civilians can have a greater impact than soldiers.
1) This is not to disrespect those who have served in the
military.
a) My own family is loaded with soldiers past and present.
b) But as intense as wars can be, they tend to be
relatively short-lived.
c) The real work of the nation takes place in the
intervening years, by ordinary people.
2) War is never enough.
a) Sacrifice alone does not keep a nation safe and good.
b) Many countries have lost more soldiers than us.
1> Russia lost millions in World War II.
A> Their country was devastated, but they were
victorious.
B> Their soldiers returned home to a rigid
totalitarian state.
2> Today their country is mired in crime, corruption,
drunkenness, and despair.
A> Russians now have freedom, but the godless
heritage of their recent past haunts them.
B> Winning wars alone did not give them what they
really need.
c) Our spiritual and moral foundations matter more than
military victories.
B. America's civilian heritage.
1) Consider your ancestors.
a) Most of mine were dirt farmers.
1> A few served as soldiers, but most did not.
2> They spread across the nation seeking new
opportunities.
3> None of them got rich as far as I can tell.
4> Their families were stable - and large.
5> I'll bet your ancestors were much the same.
b) Each generation gained something.
1> They tended to be more educated.
2> Personal wealth definitely increased.
A> Homes got bigger.
B> More cars.
c) Yet all these things were means to an end, not the
goal itself.
1> These people came to America for a better life,
a good life.
2> The good life is far more than prosperity.
3> Other values were more important.
2) My early ancestors were religious.
a) The first thing they did in Pennsylvania was build
a log house.
b) The second thing they did was build a German Reformed
Church. (It is still there)
III. Religion has shaped America.
A. Many came here because of religious commitments.
1) Religion here was not forced, but free.
2) People sought out like-minded friends and formed churches.
3) As the Spirit led them, they changed their doctrines
and the way they worshipped.
B. Religion was reflected in our nation's foundation.
1) Many claim that all the Founding Fathers were atheists.
a) Some were, but many were believers.
2) The Declaration of Independence and Constitution reflect
Christian principles about human nature.
a) There is acknowledgement that we answer to a Creator.
b) Our government was given checks and balances because
human nature remains sinful.
c) Yet the ideal of a better government and society is
always held out.
3) Our neighborhoods reflect the outgrowth of these ideals.
a) There is a sense of neighborliness.
1> Perhaps this is not as strong as it was in the
past, but it is still there.
b) We have open yards instead of walled enclosures.
1> We may fear those unnamed criminals, but we tend
to trust those who live next to us.
2> (Bin Laden's compound with 12-14-foot walls - not
at all unusual for that neighborhood.)
IV. A nation's faith can fade.
A. Deuteronomy gives a thumbnail sketch of this tendency.
1) God led the Jews in the wilderness.
2) He provided for them so they prospered.
a) (I like the "heavy and sleek" in verse 15.)
3) How the people responded.
a) They deserted him and forgot him. 32:18
b) They replaced him with the worship of demons.
B. America has as well.
1) In the 1700s, only about 2% of people belonged to a
church.
2) In the 1920s, Bible-believers were mocked and despised.
3) Today we see the same trends.
a) Youth are falling away.
b) Christians are seen as narrow haters.
C. What falls away, can come back.
1) Great revivals have swept our nation through its history.
2) This happened in Nobleboro in the 1870s.
Methodist camp meetings drew thousands of people
to this area to hear the Word of God.
Could it happen again?
3) God is still reaching people today.
I am going to a high school reunion in August.
My high school was unusual, because it was on an Army
base in Heidelberg, Germany.
I was thinking of other classmates to invite to the event
and Jean McFaul came to my mind.
Jean was the first girl I was able to talk to.
I would pedal my bike 12 miles to her house to visit.
We listened to her brother's albums like the Beatles and
Elton John.
We were never romantic (to my chagrin) but we shared a
lot of deep things about our lives.
In February 1973 I became a Christian and she asked me
about why I had come to believe.
She herself did not.
We gradually found other interests and I heard she got
married right after we graduated.
I didn't know her married name so I did not expect success
in locating her.
But I did. I found her obituary.
Jean died of breast cancer at age 60.
The obituary said Jean loved to hike in Colorado, and to
read the Bible.
Instead of flowers she wanted friends to donate to
Samaritan's Purse and World Vision.
So Jean died as a Christian, and her daughter wanted the
world to know this.
I am glad I know it, and wonder if our late-night talks
maybe had an impact on her. [1]
V. All of us will be remembered.
A. How will your great-grandchildren remember you?
1) Will they associate you with Christian faith?
2) Is that being passed down in your family right now?
3) If some don't believe, what are you doing about it?
B. You won't be remembered very long.
1) Celeste's family's old photos that no one can identify.
2) It doesn't take long to be forgotten.
3) But God never forgets those who put their trust in him.
a) Have you done this?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
This sermon is a reworking of one I preached on May 29, 2011.
[1] Personal recollection by David Holwick; both of us were in the Class
of 1974 of the American High School of Heidelberg, Germany. Jean’s
obituary can be found at https://www.kibbeyfishburn.com/obituary/4139091.
#26673 “Passing the Baton of History,” by Rev. Kelly Boggs, Baptist
Press, http://www.baptistpress.org, November 2, 2008.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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