1. In God We Trust

2. Sermon in Coins
Jesus used the inscription on a coin as a sermon (Mt. 22:15-22)
Is there a sermon in our currency?
A few religious references are found on our currency: the “eye” on the back of the $1
“In God We Trust” was first suggested during the Civil War; it appeared for the first time on the 1864 two-cent coin; it appeared on the one-dollar silver certificate in 1957

3. Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861:
Dear Sir:
No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.

4. Does America Trust in God?
Consider our school shootings…
Pearl, MS (Oct. 1997)
Springfield, OR (May 21, 1998)
Columbine, CO (April 20, 1998)
Virginia Tech (April 16, 2007)

5. Does America Trust in God?
Consider our laws…
Abortion (4,400 a day)
Same-sex marriage in some states
Gays & lesbians in denominations
Birth-control distributed in some schools
Prayer removed from some schools
Ten commandments removed in places
Pornography rights upheld on the Internet
Profanity “rights” upheld on the airwaves
Murderers let off easy for “insanity”

6. “In God We Trust” Where should these words appear?
God wants them on our mind, not on our money (Mt. 22:37-38)
God wants them on our heart (Mt. 15:8)
God wants them in our obedience (Lk. 6:46)

7. “In God We Trust”
Have these become meaningless words of a by-gone religious era?
What do these words really mean?
We trust God is (Heb. 11:6)
We trust God’s words are true (Jn. 17:17)
We trust God’s ways are best (Prov. 3:5; Isa. 55:8-9)

8. “In God We Trust” What do these words really mean?
We trust God’s well-being (Psa. 56:4,11)
We trust God’s will prevails (Phil. 2:24)
We trust God will right all wrongs (Rev. 6:10)

9. In God We Trust “Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people”
Proverbs 13:34