3. Homosexuality is an abomination before God. “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them” (Lev 20:13). Practicing homosexuals cannot enter the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9- 11). All of the sexually immoral -- homosexual and heterosexual -- shall have their part in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8).

4. Some talk about the Founding Fathers as Christians. It would be a stretch to call the first six Presidents Christians. Jefferson to Adams: “The day will come when the mystical generation of Jesus, by the supreme being as his father in the womb of a virgin will be classed with the fable of the generation of Minerva in the brain of Jupiter. But we may hope that the dawn of reason and freedom of thought in these United States will do away all this artificial scaffolding, and restore to us the primitive and genuine doctrines of this the most venerated reformer of human errors.”

5. G OD R EIGNS !

6. Because God reigns, saints through the ages have submitted to Him over men. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Daniel The Apostles

7. Because God reigns, his Word will have the final say. Jesus: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away” (Matt 24:35). “The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever” (1 Pet 1:24-25). Chief Justice Roger Tanney wrote the majority opinion in Dred Scott v Sanford: He said that blacks were “an inferior order and altogether unfit to associate with the white race.”

8. The Word of God, not the word of a Supreme Court, will judge us. “The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day” (Jn 12:48). Rev 20:12.

9. Because God reigns, He is the Sovereign over all nations. “The L ORD is king forever and ever” (Ps 10:16). “The L ORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Ps 95:3). “The L ORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all” (Ps 103:19). “The Lord our God the Almighty reigns” (Rev 19:6).

10. God raises up and abases kings. “The Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan 4:17). Jesus before Pilate: “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above” (Jn 19:11). “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God” (Rom 13:1).

11. The Declaration of Independence: “To secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” Lincoln: “We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

12. Because God reigns, my citizenship is in heaven. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20). We may make full use of our rights as US citizens. Paul appealed to his Roman citizenship when he was about to be beaten (Acts 22:22-29).

13. Because God reigns, he will be victorious in the end. until he has put all his enemies under his feet “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1 Cor 15:24-25). the Lamb will conquer them “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful” (Rev 17:14).

14. B ECAUSE G OD REIGNS, WE NEED TO SPEND SERIOUS TIME IN PRAYER.

15. Pray for our political leaders. “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way” (1 Tim 2:1-2). Rev 8:3-5.

16. Pray for the church. John 17. Paul said that he had daily pressure because of his “anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor 11:28).

17. Pray for yourself. “Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath” (Matt 24:20). Two things: It is no sin to get yourself out of harm’s way. It is perfectly acceptable, not only to pray for yourself, but to pray that you can escape danger.

18. B ECAUSE G OD REIGNS, WE NEED TO BE SALT AND LIGHT. Matt 5:13-16 1 Pet 2:13-17

19. “I NDEED, ALL WHO DESIRE TO LIVE A GODLY LIFE IN C HRIST J ESUS WILL BE PERSECUTED ” (2 T IM 3:12).