Hello, this is pastor gary from first baptist church of laplata. Happy Independence Day! I remember being frustrated with my son’s 4th grade history exam grade. One of the questions he missed was, “What is the 4th of July?” and he answered June 22. While he got the answer wrong—in fact his answer didn’t even make any sense–America’s Declaration of Independence was actually approved on July 2, 1776, and most of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence signed the document on August 2, 1776. What is the significance of July 4, 1776? That’s when the Declaration of Independence was dated and read publicly in Philadelphia for which the Liberty Bell was rung to summon the public to hear it. Declaration of Independence signer and future President, John Adams, thought Independence Day should be celebrated on July 2 and was so against celebrating on July 4, that he never did so—even refusing invitations to attend Independence Day appearances and parties. John Adams so hated the celebration of Independence Day on July 4th, that he decided to die on July 4th, 1826, 50 years after the original July 4th. I suppose the actual day does not matter. For instance, we celebrated Independence Day yesterday at church with patriotic songs and fireworks. The same goes for worshiping God: Sunday is the day we gather for formal, corporate worship; however we can gather to worship God on any day, and we should worship God individually every day. Happy birthday, America!
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