A Call To Action

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A Call To Action
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The Election Sermonan early tradition
At the time of the Founders, it was a common
practice for ministers to preach "Election
Sermons," and it was very common for a clergyman
to be invited to give a sermon before the
newly-elected government officials. This 1790
election sermon by Rev. Daniel Foster was given
before the Massachusetts Governor (John Hancock),
Lieutenant-Governor (Samuel Adams), and both
houses of Legislature. Rev. Foster admonished
these elected officials using Proverbs 816 (By
Me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges
of the earth), and encouraged them to govern
according to God's ways.
There was no separation of church and state as
we hear of it today. Christians and Christianity
were integrated into the fabric of the nation.
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Our RepublicUnique in the History of the World

• France is now in her 15th government since its
  Revolution.
• Brazil has had seven constitutions since 1822
• Poland has had 7 since 1921
• Afghanistan has had five since 1923
• Russia has had 4 since 1918
• USA one government, one constitution for 230
  years

Why?
We have the longest standing constitution in the
history of the world.
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
The Declaration of Independence was...
founded upon one and the same theory of
government... expounded in the writings of
Locke.
John Quincy Adams
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
The Declaration itself was copied from Lockes
Treatise on Government.
So. Who was Locke?
Richard Henry Lee Signer of the Declaration
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
In Lockes book, of only 400 pages, there are
over 1500 Bible references to show the proper
operation of civil government. This was the text
book of the framers of the constitution. Therefore
, the Bible is the foundation of our government!
John Locke
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
Example
Separation of Powers (the three branches of our
government) For the LORD is our Judge, The LORD
is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our King (Isaiah
3322) Judge Judicial Branch Lawgiver
Congressional Branch King Executive Branch
The Holy Bible
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
Example
Our President Must Be A Natural Born Citizen
"you shall surely set a king over you whom the
LORD your God chooses one from among your
brethren you shall set as king over you you may
not set a foreigner over you, who is not your
brother. (Deuteronomy 1715)
The Holy Bible
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
Example
Witnesses on Capital Punishment Whoever is
deserving of death shall be put to death on the
testimony of two or three witnesses he shall not
be put to death on the testimony of one
witness. (Deuteronomy 176)
The Holy Bible
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
Example
Tax Exemption for Churches it shall not be
lawful to impose tax, tribute, or custom on any
of the priests, Levites, singers, gatekeepers,
Nethinim, or servants of this house of God. (Ezra
724)
The Holy Bible
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
The general principles on which the fathers
achieved independence were ....the general
principles of Christianity... Now I will avow
that I then believed, and now believe, that those
general principles of Christianity are as eternal
and immutable as the existence and attributes of
God.
John Adams
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
Our founding fathers believed this
Righteousness exalts a nation, But sin is a
reproach to any people. -Proverbs 1434
The Holy Bible
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Our RepublicThe longest standing constitution in
the history of the world.
The Bible is the primary source from which the
founding fathers structured our government.
Therefore, its values and principles must be the
guide for our participation as citizens. There is
no place of greater importance to apply these
values than in the voting booth.
A ten-year project researching 1500 writings from
the founding era yielded 3154 quotes, 34 of
which were from the Bible. This was 4 times more
than the next most quoted source.
Conclusion
The Holy Bible
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The Christian Vote 1992-2000
1992-2000 saw a 40 decrease in Christian voters.
Out of 60 million evangelicals in America, only
15 million voted in 2000. 24 million are not
even registered to vote!
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Vote and Vote Responsibly

• For Christians, this is really quite simple.
• We must vote. To vote, we must register and go to
  the polls.
• We must vote responsibly. To be responsible, we
  must do two things.
• Know the moral issues.
• Know where the candidates stand on these issues.
• This has been made easy with the Voter Guides
  that are available.

Think not that your interests will be safe in the
hands of the weak and ignorant or faithfully
managed by the impious, the dissolute and the
immoral. -Matthias Burnett
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Responsible Voting
For Whom Should We Vote?
Our liberty depends on our education, our laws,
and habits . . . it is founded on morals and
religion
Fisher Ames (Framer of the 1st Amendment)
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Responsible Voting
For Whom Should We Vote?
It is religion and morality alone which can
establish the principles upon which freedom can
securely stand. The only foundation of a free
constitution is pure virtue.
John Adams
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Responsible Voting
For Whom Should We Vote?
Idealism
We must elect leaders who best represent our
values, even if the candidate seems to be the
lesser of two evils. Failure to vote for the
better of two, because neither represents the
ideal, is a vote for the worse of the two.
This is due to the nature of our government,
which is essentially a two-party system.
Certainly, neither party can lay claim to be the
righteousness party. But it is critical that
the party which best represents our values has a
majority in the congress and occupies the Oval
Office. Otherwise, no progress will be made
toward national righteousness.
Dont Let Idealism Steal Your Vote.
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The Power of the Christian Vote
2002
A national effort among Christians saw the
Christian vote increase in 2002 by 2.
Does 2 make a difference?
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The Power of the Christian Vote 2002
Since Roe v. Wade (1973) Congress had not passed
one bill that reduced the scope of abortions or
the type of abortions, but only restricted some
funding. The 2002 congress became the first to
pass not just one but three bills that protected
unborn life all three were signed by President
Bush
1. Infant Born-Alive Protection Act
2. Unborn Victims of Violence Act
3. Partial-Birth Abortion Ban
Yes, 2 makes a difference!
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The Christian Vote 2004
2004 saw 27.1 million of 60 million evangelicals
turn out to vote. This is progress but is still
less than half of evangelicals. If 2 had such a
result, imagine the power of 10 or even more!
What will happen in 2006? It depends upon us!
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A SimplePlan of Action
Be a representative for your church. (Consider
showing this presentation in your church or
distributing it to other Churches, Bible Study
groups, etc.)
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Recruit volunteers from the congregation to call
through the church directory asking people if
they are registered to vote.
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A SimplePlan of Action
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Plan a voter registration table at your church.
If possible, do this when the message is on civic
responsibility.
Organize a get-out-the-vote effort. Some people
may need rides to the polls. Others may need
encouragement or help to get absentee ballots
ahead of time if they will be unable to go to the
polls on election day.
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A Final Thought
The Church must take right ground in politics.
The time has come that Christians must vote for
honest men and take consistent ground in
politics Christians have been exceedingly guilty
in this matter. But the time has come when they
must act differently
Charles Finney
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This presentation compiled by Brad
Sherman Purpose Ministries P. O. Box
5004 Coralville, Iowa 52241 www.getpurpose.org Q
uotes and data taken from research done by David
Barton WallBuildersP.O. Box 397426 Circle
DriveAledo, TX 76008-0397 www.wallbuilders.com