“Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 NKJV
Francis Scott Key was a world changer for God’s glory. During the War of 1812, having been forced to watch bombs burn Fort McHenry, he wrote the Star-Spangled Banner.
“Oh say can you see, By the dawn’s early light; What so proudly we hailed
At the twilight’s last gleaming. Whose broad stripes and bright stars Through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched Were so gallantly streaming. And the rocket’s red glare, The bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night That our flag was still there. Oh say does that star-spangled Banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free, And the home of the brave.”
In 1931, the “Star-Spangled Banner” became the national anthem of the United States.
In 1824, Key was one of the founders of the American Sunday School Union.
In 1830, Key chaired the American Sunday School Union conference that launched the “Mississippi Valley Enterprise.” The plan: start Sunday schools from the Alleghenies to the Rockies and from Michigan to Louisiana, where individuals attending classes would hear the Gospel and learn to read and write using the Bible as their primary text.
Their strategy: start a class, teach it, then turn it over to a local teacher. In 50 years, more than 50,000 people professed faith in Jesus Christ as a direct result of the Sunday School outreach.
In 1887 at an American Sunday School Union rally in Coney Island, New York, the first Christian flag was presented, based on Psalm 20:5: “We will rejoice in your salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.”
The pledge to the Christian Flag: “I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag, and to the Savior for whose kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty to all who believe.”
Two of my tallest friends (both stood 6’6”) died one week apart in 2002. Dave Breese was President of Christian Destiny, and Loren Doehrmann served as a teacher and principal of Trinity Lutheran School in Darmstadt, Indiana. Dave and Loren also stood very tall spiritually. “Well done, good and faithful servant … Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
Saturday, July 4, God willing, new American and Christian flags will be flown at 7:27 PM, to be seen by passersby on US 41 North and Boonville New Harmony Road.
A Christian flag honoring Dave Breese personifies the slogan: “Keep your flag of faith unfurled. Through the faithful efforts of his wife Carol and others, Dave’s international ministry continued via television, radio and the printed page.
An American flag honoring Loren Doehrmann will also fly. Loren and Janet Doehrmann visited all 50 USA state capitals. His investment in the lives of many students lives on and on.
As the new flags are dedicated, there will also be a special prayer time for Fair Share 2026, beginning at the Gibson County Fair in Princeton, Indiana, July 6-10; and continuing day by day, week by week: McLean County Fair, Calhoun, Kentucky, July 9; Lawrence County Junior Fair, Sumner, Illinois, July 12; Warrick County Fair, Boonville, Indiana, July 13-17; Richland County Fair, Olney, Illinois, July 20-24; White County Fair, Carmi, Illinois, July 21-23; Knox County Fair, Bicknell, Indiana, July 27-31; Edwards County Fair, Albion, Illinois, July 28-30; Wabash County Chamber Days, Mt. Carmel, Illinois, August 12-14.
During and following Fair Share, we are endeavoring to connect with local believing congregations.
Meanwhile, Telling The TRUTH radio can be heard daily on the VCY America network in 25 states, on WSJD in Mt. Carmel, and online via podcast. A listener from Delaware recently requested 500 copies of God’s ABCs to take to Liberia, Africa, where he will be teaching evangelism to about 300 teenagers at a camp this month.
Every Saturday at 7:27 PM, TTT Saturday nights continue in person and online (livestream and on demand). It is a joy to connect with adults (many of whom are TTT alumni), teenagers, and preteens from Tri-state communities, across America, and around the world.
Anne Graham Lotz writes: “In gratitude for the cross, what will you do to live in the freedom Jesus died to give you? This year, celebrate that freedom by telling someone else how they can be set free from self, sin, and Satan. Tell them about The Cross: God’s Statue of Liberty.”
Jesus said: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8 NKJV
When you Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you are free indeed.