WHAT IF EVERY PASTOR IN AMERICA PREACHED AN "ELECTION SERMON" THIS SUNDAY?

Every pastor and minister of the gospel should present an “Election Sermon” leading up to the November 5 election. The purpose is to bring the principles and values of heaven into the political realm. If we do not bring heaven’s values to the political arena, we leave it to the godless news media and the woke TikTokers to be the primary influencers of America’s elections and civil government.

An Election Sermon is not something new. America’s Founders freely intermingled Christian teachings and values with their civic elections. An early example of this was the establishment of the “Election Sermon” in New England in 1633. This statute provided that each year, at the time of the annual election of the governor and his assistants, a minister would be appointed to preach an “Election Sermon.”

This was a major event, attended by both religious and civic leaders. After the delivery of the sermon, it was then printed and distributed throughout the colony. This tradition spread and continued for over two-hundred years, even after the founding of the nation. In 1860, the noted lawyer and historian, John Wingate Thornton, wrote,

The annual “Election Sermon”—a perpetual memorial, continued down through the generations from century to century—still bears witness that our fathers ever began their civil year and its responsibilities with an appeal to Heaven, and recognized Christian morality as the only basis of good laws (Hyatt, America's Revival Heritage (Second Edition), 20).

Christian Influence Considered Necessary for the Success of the Nation

Yes, the Founders wanted ministers of the gospel to bring their message to bear upon the nation. This is why George Washington, after becoming commander-in-chief, appointed Christian chaplains throughout his army. This is why chaplains were appointed to Congress and continued the tradition, established by the Continental Congresses, of beginning each day's proceedings with prayer. The early chaplains also conducted Sunday services in the House Chamber every other week.

John Marshall, who served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1801-1835, made the Supreme Court facilities available to a local congregation for their Sunday gatherings. So, on Sunday morning, the singing of Christian hymns and the preaching of God’s Word could be heard ringing through the chambers of both the House of Representatives and the Supreme Court. This was neither surprising nor offensive to anyone, for it fit perfectly within the mindset of the founding generation.

Washington and all the Founders knew that the success of the Constitutional Republic they had formed hinged on the moral character of its citizens and their ability to govern themselves according to Christian values. This is why President John Adams, in a 1798 address to the officers of the Massachusetts Militia, declared,

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion . . . Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious [Christian] people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 173).

No Separation of Church and State in the Minds of the Founders

The idea of a separation of church and state in which the church stays out of politics is a modern, contorted interpretation of the First Amendment that has no basis in the founding generation. The First Amendment was written to keep the state out of the church, not the other way around. It forbids the government from playing favorites with any sect or denomination. Nothing more or less!

Yes, in early America it was considered a duty of Christian ministers to bring Christian values to bear upon politics and civic elections. As Michael Novak said, “The founders did not believe the constitutional government they were erecting could survive without Hebrew-Christian faith.”

The Johnson Amendment, passed in 1954, that prohibits religious nonprofits and churches from “participating” or “intervening” in elections is completely out of sync with America’s founding generation. We must not be intimidated by it!

It’s Time for a Courageous Stand

Jesus Christ is the Messiah-King promised by the Old Testament prophets, and we are told to proclaim His kingdom and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 24:14; 28:18-19). There is no realm of society that is exempt from his Lordship. 

This does not mean that we are trying to impose a Christian political system on the nation. No, we are merely seeking to impart the values of Jesus Christ to every realm of American society, including the political realm. America’s founders all agreed that this is the key to a stable and happy nation. George Washington made this clear in his First Inaugural Address, saying,

The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained. (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 2nd Edition, 174).

Some Practical Suggestions

If you, as a pastor, are concerned about violating the Johnson Amendment and being harassed by the IRS, here are some suggestions and things to remember.

1) As a private citizen you have a constitutional right to state your views, even from the pulpit. To cover yourself, you can state up front that you are speaking as a private citizen and minister of Jesus Christ, not as the representative of any church or organization. 

2)  You don't have to promote a politician or party. Focus on the issues. Address the need for character in politics. Emphasize the need for women and men of honesty, integrity, godliness and common sense.

3)  Address the abortion issue and show from both Scripture and science how abortion destroys and devalues human life.

4) Read passages such as Psalm 33:12, which says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” and encourage people to vote, not according to party or personality, but according to the principles and policies expressed by the candidates.

5)  Quote from the founding fathers their views concerning the need for Christian moral influence if America is to be a stable and happy nation.

Once you finish your Election Sermon, it will be clear in the minds of the people how they should vote, even though you have not endorsed any candidate or party. If every pastor in America preached an Election Sermon between now and November 5, the results, I believe, would be monumental. 

I am convinced that the "Election Sermon" is an American tradition that should be revived. What do you think?

This article was derived from America's Revival Heritage (Second Edition) and 1726: The Year that Defined America by Eddie L. Hyatt. These and other books by Eddie Hyatt are available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com.

WHY NEITHER WASHINGTON NOR LINCOLN WOULD BE WELCOME IN TODAY'S DEMOCRAT PARTY

In a recent interview, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. stated that his uncle (John F. Kennedy) and his father (Robert F. Kennedy) would not be welcome in today’s Democrat Party because it has moved so far to the Left. In this article, I also want to suggest that neither George Washington nor Abraham Lincoln would be welcome in today’s Democrat Party because in their lurch to the Left there has emerged a hostility toward the Bible and Bible-believing Christians.

This hostility was on full display when the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, described himself as a “Bible-believing Christian.” Democrats came unhinged with MSNBC host, Jen Psaki, calling Johnson a "religious fundamentalist" and mocking his faith. The Daily Beast compared Johnson to the "Taliban and the mullahs in Iran." Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority leader in the House, ripped into Johnson, calling him an “extreme, right-wing idealogue.” Others referred to him as "dangerous" and a "threat to democracy."

Not a single Democrat leader, including Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, have distanced themselves from these atrocious remarks by their colleagues. I must, therefore, assume that this is how they feel about the millions of “Bible-believing Christians” in America, including myself.

We probably should not be surprised for in 2019 the Democrat National Committee (DNC) unanimously passed a resolution embracing the “religiously unaffiliated,” which is a euphemism for those committed to secularism and atheism. The resolution also declared that neither Christianity nor any religion is necessary for morality and patriotism.

The resolution was backed by secularist groups like the Secular Coalition for America and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. These groups erroneously insist that America was founded as a secular nation and they regularly threaten lawsuits against the public display of crosses, Ten Commandment displays, and all other religious symbols. They also oppose prayer and Bible reading in the public schools, veteran cemeteries, and all public venues.

This hostile attitude was expressed by Democrat Congressman, Jerry Nadler, toward a Republican colleague who read from the Bible during a debate on the House floor. Nadler (D-NY), who was serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee at the time, sternly rebuked Greg Steube (R-FL), saying, “Mr. Steube, what any religious tradition describes as God's will is no concern of this Congress."

This antagonistic attitude toward the Bible and “Bible-believing Christians” is not only biased, it is un-American. For example, a ten-year study to determine where America’s founders got their ideas for the nation's founding principles and documents, found that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 167-68).

When, therefore, George Washington insisted on taking the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible, it was an expression of his deep respect for the Bible as a guide for national policy and morality. In a December 1982 article in Newsweek entitled “How the Bible Made America,” the authors wrote,

For centuries [the Bible] has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document: the source of the powerful myth of the United States as a special, sacred nation, a people called by God to establish a model of society, a beacon to the world (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 7).

The so-called “big tent” of the modern Democrat Party obviously has no room for someone like me. I am, however, okay with that since they obviously would have no room for George Washington or for Abraham Lincoln, who in an 1864 speech, said of the Bible,

It is the best gift God has given to man. All the good the Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man's welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.

I am proud to join George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and many others outside the modern Democrat Party's so-called "big tent." How about you? Will you join us?

Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt has a commission to reclaim America's godly heritage that is being destroyed by modern secularists. This article was derived in part from  book, 1726: The Year that Defined America, available from Amazon and his website at www.eddiehyatt.com. 

THREE REASONS MY FAITH WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO VOTE FOR A CERTAIN POLITICAL PARTY

I am neither a registered Republican or Democrat. I have no personal stake in the success of any political party. As a Christian and a minister of the Gospel my goal is to see the values of Heaven adopted and lived out by as many people and institutions as possible. Only then can we hope to be a happy nation, for as George Washington declared in his First Inaugural Address,

The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the external rules of order and right, which Heaven itself has ordained. (Hyatt, Pilgrims and Patriots, 2nd Edition, 174).

Neither political party completely expresses my values, but one party has turned so far away from the founding principles of this nation and the values I hold, that I feel compelled to make the following statement. The following are three reasons my faith will not allow me to vote for a Democrat.

Reason #1
Their Disdain for Bible-Believing Christians

When the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, described himself as a “Bible-believing Christian,” Democrats came unhinged. MSNBC host Jen Psaki called Johnson a "religious fundamentalist" and mocked his faith. The Daily Beast compared Johnson to the "Taliban and the mullahs in Iran." Hakeem Jeffries, the Minority leader in the House, ripped into Johnson, calling him an “extreme, right-wing idealogue.” Others referred to him as "dangerous" and a "threat to democracy."

Not a single Democrat leader, including Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, have distanced themselves from these atrocious remarks by their colleagues. I must, therefore, assume that this is how they feel about the millions of “Bible-believing Christians” in America, including myself.

We probably should not be surprised for in 2019 the Democrat National Committee (DNC) unanimously passed a resolution embracing the “religiously unaffiliated,” which is a euphemism for those committed to secularism and atheism. The resolution also declared that neither Christianity nor any religion is necessary for morality and patriotism.

The resolution was backed by secularist groups like the Secular Coalition for America and the Freedom from Religion Foundation. These groups erroneously insist that America was founded as a secular nation and they regularly threaten lawsuits against the public display of crosses, Ten Commandment displays, and all other religious symbols. They also oppose prayer and Bible reading in the public schools, veteran cemeteries, and all public venues.

This hostile attitude was expressed by Democrat Congressman, Jerry Nadler, toward a Republican colleague who read from the Bible during a debate on the House floor. Nadler (D-NY), who was serving as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee at the time, sternly rebuked Greg Steube (R-FL), saying, “Mr. Steube, what any religious tradition describes as God's will is no concern of this Congress."

This antagonistic attitude toward the Bible and “Bible-believing Christians” is not only biased, it is un-American. For example, a ten-year study to determine where America’s founders got their ideas for the nation's founding principles and documents, found that they quoted the Bible far more than any other source (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 167-68).

When, therefore, George Washington insisted on taking the first presidential oath of office with his hand on a Bible, it was an expression of his deep respect for the Bible as a guide for national policy and morality. In a December 1982 article in Newsweek entitled “How the Bible Made America,” the authors wrote,

For centuries [the Bible] has exerted an unrivaled influence on American culture, politics and social life. Now historians are discovering that the Bible, perhaps even more than the Constitution, is our founding document: the source of the powerful myth of the United States as a special, sacred nation, a people called by God to establish a model of society, a beacon to the world (Hyatt, 1726: The Year that Defined America, 7).

By demeaning “Bible-believing Christians,” the Democrat party has distanced itself from America’s founding generation and from millions of modern “Bible-believing Christians.” I cannot vote for such a party.

Reason #2
Their Flight from Reason and Common Sense

Our faith will often transcend reason, but it will never violate or do damage to reason. Our Creator is a rational Being and His creation can be understood by rigorous investigations based on reason and common sense. This is the thinking that gave birth to modern science. When, therefore, reason gives way to vibes and feelings, confusion and chaos are bound to ensue, which is exactly what has happened.

We have, for example, heard Democrats struggling to define a woman. They struggle because they have rejected reason and common sense, and accepted the irrational idea that gender is a cultural and societal construct rather than a biological reality. Now guided by vibes and emotion, they will allow biological men to participate in women’s sports and are okay with men using women’s restrooms and locker rooms. Because they have rejected reason and common sense, they insist that men can have babies, and that a woman can become a father. Is this not confusion of the worst sort!

The Democrat Party is also for allowing children to choose their gender, and in many cases without parental notification. They also defend irreversible sex-change surgeries for children that remove the breasts of young girls and the genitalia of young boys who are confused about their sexuality. They call it “gender-affirming care,” but it is irrational child abuse of the worst sort.

The worldview behind this is “postmodernism,” an atheistic way of thinking that denies that there is any such thing as objective truth and reality. Modernism rejected religious dogma but emphasized “reason” as the way to discover truth. The postmodernist has also rejected reason for he/she claims there is no objective truth or reality to be discovered.

For the postmodernist, truth is not something to be discovered; it is something to be created. Postmodernism is, therefore, very “I” or ego centered. I create my own personal reality and everyone around me must adjust to accommodate my irrational choices. A male athlete decides to identify as a woman and compete in women’s sports, and he expects the women, the school, and the world to bend and bow to his irrational choice without question. Is this this not egoism of the worst sort!

This way of thinking is a blatant violation of reason and common sense. It is in conflict with the natural order as created by God. Such thinking, based on “vibes” and “feelings,” can only lead to societal confusion, turmoil, and chaos. I cannot vote for a party that has chosen to go down such a dark and dangerous path. 

Reason #3
Their Contemptuous Attitude Toward Life in the Womb

Just a short distance from where I live, a young woman gave birth to a baby in the bathroom of an Applebee’s restaurant. She then threw it in the garbage and left. According to a published report, the newborn’s lifeless body was found by employees who were cleaning the bathroom about 30 minutes after the mother left the restaurant.

How could someone be so callous and inhumane about a new-born life? I do not know her situation, but perhaps she had heard of the Democrats in the New York state legislature breaking into cheers after passing a bill that allowed a mother to abort her baby right up to the time of birth.

Perhaps she had also heard of former Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia promoting his pro-abortion bill and saying that if a baby survives an abortion, the infant will be made comfortable while the mother and her doctor decide if the newborn baby should live or die.

Not a single Democrat party leader spoke against these “death bills” that devalue human life. Their attitude is tragic but understandable, for if you reject both the Bible and reason, then it is easy to see human beings as mere products of time and chance with no real inherent value. That thing in the womb is just a clump of cells and flesh to be discarded at the slightest whim or inconvenience.

On the other hand, those who hold a Christian worldview see the baby in the womb as a life from God—a real person. Erica, who was about to have an abortion, came to this realization in a very stunning way. Having second thoughts about her abortion, she begged the nurse to let her see her baby. She wrote,

As soon as I saw my child on the ultrasound, I knew I couldn't do it. I saw the heart beating, and he moved his little hands (almost like a wave). I think God intervened and sent me a message that I was about to make the biggest mistake of my life.

That the hand of our Creator is on our life from the moment of conception is vividly expressed in Psalm 119:13-16, which reads,

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

It is also interesting that Luke, who was a physician, recorded the response of John the Baptist, who was six months along in his mother’s womb, when he heard the announcement from Mary that she would also be giving birth to a Child. He must have kicked for his mother, Elizabeth, said to Mary, For indeed as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy (Luke 1:44).

Science has, indeed, confirmed that after 11 weeks in the womb the baby has brainwaves and can kick. He/she also squints, swallows, and sucks their thumb. They are sensitive to heat, light, noise, and all body systems are working.

After 20 weeks in the womb, babies are capable of experiencing pain and that capability for pain increases with each passing day. Babies in the womb experience excruciating pain during an abortion. They will seek to avoid the abortionist tools and will emit a “silent scream” as their tiny bodies are ripped apart.

According to Brookings, 95% per cent of abortions are done for convenience and to end unwanted pregnancies. Such a contempt for life in the womb should not be part of a civilized society and will eventually lead to other forms of “legalized” murder. I cannot vote for a party that has such a contemptuous view toward life.

In Summary

On November 5 I will be voting. I will not be voting according to party or personality. I will be voting according to principles and policies expressed by the candidates and their party platforms. As it now stands, my faith will not allow me to vote for a Democrat.

Dr. Eddie Hyatt has over 50 years of ministerial experience and is the author of over 20  books. This article is derived from his books 1726: The Year that Defined America and Pilgrims and Patriots (Second Edition) and a book he published in 2016 entitled, 5 Reasons I Changed My Mind About Donald Trump. This article expresses his personal views and is not given to represent any organization with which he is associated.