Sermon Illustrations

America’s Spiritual Heritage with the Bill of Rights.

A century and a half before the Bills of Rights was framed, the early colonist adopted the Constitution of the New England Confederation. The document declared its framers’ devout faith and steadfast purpose. The proclamation read:

"Whereas, we all came into these parts of America with one and the same end and aim, namely, to advance the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and to enjoy the liberties of the Gospel in purity and peace."

The little colony of Rhode Island became the first political state in world history to guarantee absolute religious freedom to all faiths. That was in 1644.

Moreover, before the Liberty Bell was hung in Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, in 1752, our Christian patriots directed that this inspired Scripture from Leviticus 25:10 be inscribed thereon: Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto the inhabitants thereof.

Also, the brave Christian patriots who signed the Declaration of Independence included it in these immortal words: With a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.

At the Constitutional Convention, Benjamin Franklin rose to utter these words: ...God governs the affairs of men: and if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? Matthew 10:29

Those men knelt in prayer, and the result was the Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta of our freedom. Faith in God and the Bible is interwoven into the very fabric of our nation’s history.