I love the Fourth of July.
I love cookouts with family and friends, watermelon that somehow tastes better in July, little kids waving flags that are almost bigger than they are at parades, and fireworks lighting up the night sky. As a child, I loved the sparklers! (Lucy is convinced sparklers and fireworks were invented to upset her. Lily loves them.)
This year the celebration feels even bigger. America is marking its 250th birthday. That’s quite a milestone! It makes me wonder how many birthday candles would fit on that cake—and who would be responsible for lighting them all.
Milestone birthdays have a way of making us pause. We look back with gratitude. We remember the people and events that shaped us. We celebrate what has gone well, acknowledge where we’ve fallen short, and ask where we hope to go next.
Our nation is no different. As Christians, we know our ultimate citizenship is in God’s kingdom. Yet we can also be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy as Americans while praying that our country continues to grow in justice, compassion, and love.
As we celebrate this milestone, we’ll begin our July sermon series, The Four Freedoms, spending four Sundays exploring freedoms that speak not only to our nation, but also to our faith.
Maybe you remember hearing about President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. Norman Rockwell later captured those freedoms in paintings that have become part of American history.
As I prepared these sermons, it struck me that God had been talking about these freedoms long before Roosevelt ever gave his famous speech.
The Bible is filled with people speaking truth—even when it cost them. Moses stood before Pharaoh demanding the freedom to worship God. Jesus fed hungry crowds because freedom from want matters to God. Over and over again, Scripture reminds us, “Do not be afraid,” because fear was never meant to have the final word.
Each Sunday we’ll take one of these freedoms and ask what it means to live it as followers of Christ. How do we speak truth with grace? How do we protect the freedom to worship while respecting our neighbors? How do we care for those living in want? How do we become people whose lives are shaped more by faith than by fear?
Paul reminds us in Galatians, “You were called to freedom… only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love serve one another.”
I think that’s one of the greatest lessons of freedom. Freedom isn’t simply about our rights. It’s also about our responsibility to love our neighbors. The more I read Scripture, the more I discover that God’s vision of freedom is bigger than independence. It is freedom that leads us into community, compassion, generosity, and hope.
So enjoy the parades. Cheer for the fireworks. Eat an extra piece of watermelon—or pie if that’s more your style. Spend time with the people you love and give thanks for the blessings we often take for granted.
Then join us at Broad Street UMC this July as we explore The Four Freedoms. My prayer is that together we’ll discover that the greatest freedom we can ever experience is the freedom found in Jesus Christ. See you Sunday!
Peace, Pastor Tracy