Now Is the Time: Stand for Justice and Unity

Devotional

Day 1: The Danger of Inherited Beliefs Without Examination

Many people adopt their religious and political views by default, through family or marriage, rather than through personal conviction and deep examination. This can lead to a faith that is more about tradition than a true, internal relationship with God. The Lord looks beyond these outward labels to the heart, to our true thoughts and intentions. It is vital to move beyond an inherited faith to one that is personally owned and deeply understood. [42:14]

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)

Reflection: What is one belief or assumption you've held primarily because it was passed down to you? How might you begin to examine that belief in the light of Scripture to make it truly your own?

Day 2: A Call to Stand Against Injustice Wherever It Is Found

Injustice is not a problem of the past or limited to certain groups of people; it is a persistent reality that requires our attention and action. History, from the internment of Japanese Americans to the treatment of Indigenous peoples, is filled with moments where people failed to stand for what was right. Silence in the face of wrongdoing only allows it to continue and grow. God calls His people to be a voice for the voiceless and to actively pursue justice for all. [48:34]

Make the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. (Ephesians 5:16 NIV)

Reflection: Where have you seen or heard about an injustice recently, whether in your community or in the wider world? What is one practical step you could take this week to learn more or to stand in solidarity with those who are marginalized?

Day 3: The Strength Found in Our Diverse Community

The body of Christ is beautifully diverse, comprising people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. This diversity is not a challenge to be overcome but a strength to be celebrated, reflecting the vastness of God's creation and love. When different cultures and traditions gather together in worship, it provides a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven. Embracing our neighbors of all faiths and backgrounds is a powerful testimony to God’s unifying love. [53:27]

You have seen him, and he is the one speaking with you. Then the man said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. (John 9:37-38 NIV)

Reflection: Who in your community comes from a different background or holds different beliefs than you? How could you intentionally engage with them this week to foster understanding and demonstrate Christ’s love?

Day 4: The Importance of Active Involvement in Our World

It is easy to become consumed with the demands of daily life and personal responsibilities, withdrawing from the larger issues facing our communities and nation. However, faith is not meant to be lived in isolation but should compel us to engage thoughtfully and compassionately with the world around us. God calls us to be responsible citizens who advocate for righteousness and peace, using our voices and actions to influence our society for good. [01:00:10]

Then Jesus told him, “I entered this world to render judgment—to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39 NLT)

Reflection: Considering the pressures of your own life, what is one area in your community or nation where you feel God nudging you to become more informed or involved?

Day 5: The Foundational Need for Love in All Relationships

Love is the essential ingredient that sustains all meaningful relationships, yet it is often expressed unevenly. There will be seasons where one person gives far more than the other, requiring grace, humility, and a heart of service. Taking a moment to express gratitude for the love we receive, especially when we are on the receiving end of a disproportionate share, nurtures and strengthens our bonds. This active, gracious love is a powerful testimony to the world. [01:04:14]

If you were blind, you wouldn’t be guilty, but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:41 NLT)

Reflection: Who in your life consistently gives more to your relationship than you feel you give in return? How can you tangibly express your thankfulness and love to that person today?

Sermon Summary

Born and raised a Methodist and later married into Lutheranism, the account traces a long journey of faith marked by lay leadership, chapel service in a retirement community, and eventual membership in a 300-year-old Presbyterian congregation. Local church history and quirky artifacts—the witness tree and a horse skeleton beneath the pulpit—anchor a deeper point: religious affiliation often follows family, culture, or marriage more than deliberate choice. Scripture (1 Samuel 16:7) provides the moral yardstick: outward markers matter less than inward intentions. Historical injustices—enslavement, forced removals of Native children, the mass graves at an Indian boarding school site, and the internment of Japanese Americans—underscore a call to justice that must move from memory to action.

Civic structures require vigilance. The three-legged-stool analogy explains the balance among executive, legislative, and judicial branches; when one leg weakens, the stool falls and liberty erodes. The founding commitment to separation of church and state emerges from deist influences and aims to protect religious pluralism rather than enforce a single faith. Local geography offers a vivid example of that pluralism: mosque, synagogue, and Latter-day Saint chapel sit close together, modeling neighborly coexistence and mutual respect.

Immigration and labor receive pointed attention: successive waves of newcomers—Mexican, Vietnamese, Venezuelan, Honduran—fill difficult jobs and enrich communal life, while detention numbers and criminal-record statistics demand humane, measured responses. Economic hardships and repeated recessions illustrate the material pressures that drive civic disengagement, yet the narrative insists that personal busyness must not become an excuse for silence. Stories of peaceful protest, community rallies, and small acts of accompaniment at immigration appointments highlight practical ways to stand with the vulnerable.

Relationships and everyday love also matter: faithful marriage requires uneven giving at times, and concrete gestures of care renew bonds. A closing reflection on Martin Niemöller’s poem reframes civic responsibility as spiritual duty—silence in the face of others’ suffering ultimately leaves no one to speak. The throughline calls for faithful seeing, public action, and neighborly love as central practices for a healthy common life.

Key Takeaways

1. Faith often follows birth or marriage A large share of religious identity arrives by family or spousal association rather than by theological wrestling. That reality demands humility: true spiritual assessment turns from labels to interior motives and sustained practice. 1 Samuel 16:7 reframes evaluation from externals to the heart, inviting ongoing self-examination and repentance. [41:42]
2. Justice demands active, collective witness Historic wrongs—boarding school deaths, internment, labor abuses—show that memory alone cannot repair harm; communal action must follow acknowledgment. Justice requires organizing, showing up, and sustained advocacy that centers the harmed instead of abstract principles. Collective witness also disciplines individual conscience, turning sympathy into structural change. [47:06]
3. Separation of powers sustains liberty The three-legged-stool metaphor makes a simple warning: when branches of government lose balance, rights and remedies erode. Guarding institutional roles preserves space for dissent, remedy, and democratic contestation. Citizens hold a responsibility to restore equilibrium through civic engagement and legal means. [50:16]
4. Religious diversity strengthens common life Closely situated houses of worship illustrate that pluralism can become neighborliness rather than division. Shared public space asks for mutual respect, active listening, and cooperation around common goods like schooling and care. Protecting that diversity requires both legal safeguards and everyday practices of welcome. [53:27]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[34:10] - Classroom habits and opening
[34:40] - Thanks and acknowledgments
[35:43] - Tone and purpose stated
[36:28] - Faith journey and lay leadership
[37:29] - Retirement community life
[38:46] - Donegal Springs church history
[41:42] - Faith, politics, and the heart
[43:21] - Standing for justice (Ephesians 5:16)
[46:28] - Army War College and graves
[50:16] - Three-legged stool: government balance
[52:24] - Religious neighbors on the island
[56:01] - Immigrants and labor
[60:10] - Civic action and rallies
[65:02] - Niemöller poem and closing call

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading: 1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV)
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

Observation questions

According to 1 Samuel 16:7, what is the fundamental difference between how the Lord sees and how humanity sees?
The sermon mentions that a majority of people have the faith or politics they were "born, raised into, or married into." [41:42] What does this suggest about how we often form our most important beliefs?
What are some of the historical examples of injustice mentioned, such as the mass graves at the Indian boarding school? [46:28]
The three-legged stool is used as an analogy for the U.S. government. What are the three legs, and what is the consequence if one weakens? [50:16]

Interpretation questions

If God judges the heart and not outward labels like religious or political affiliation, what does that imply about the true measure of a person's faith?
The poem by Martin Niemöller describes a progression where silence in the face of others' suffering eventually leads to no one being left to speak. What is the underlying message about communal responsibility?
The sermon points out that immigrants often "are doing the jobs we don't want." [56:01] How does this reality challenge common narratives about immigration and the economy?
Seeing a mosque, synagogue, and Latter-day Saint chapel in close proximity is presented as a model of neighborly coexistence. [52:24] What does this teach us about the relationship between religious pluralism and a healthy common life?

Application questions

Since God looks at the heart and not our outward labels, what is one step you can take this week to move from a faith of habit or heritage to one of genuine, internal conviction?
The call is to move from memory of historical injustices to active, collective witness. [47:06] Is there a local issue of injustice you feel compelled to learn more about or get involved with? What is one practical way you could "show up" or offer accompaniment to those who are vulnerable?
The three-legged stool of government requires citizen engagement to maintain balance. [50:16] What is one way you can responsibly engage with the legislative, executive, or judicial branches this month (e.g., contacting a representative, educating yourself on a issue, voting)?
The geographic closeness of different houses of worship is a gift. [52:24] What would it look like for you to practice active listening and neighborly respect with someone whose religious beliefs differ from your own?
The poem by Martin Niemöller ends with, "Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me." [01:05:18] In your current context, who are the "they" that people might be silent about today? What is one way you can use your voice to speak up for them?
Relationships are described as not always being fifty-fifty, but sometimes ninety-ten. [01:04:14] Who in your life might be giving 90% more than you are right now? How can you concretely show love and gratitude to that person this week?

Sermon Clips

But the point I wanna make is this, all relationships are not fifty fifty. Sometimes they're sixty forty, Sometimes they're ninety ten. Now is the time, sometime today. Please take that significant other that you're with. Hold their hand, put your arm around them, give them a hug, and thank them for giving 90% more times than you did. Bill, you and I know that. Go ahead and carry both of 90% more than we do. We're off in that 10%. So please, now is the time to show love to that special someone. Don't wait till tomorrow. Love conquers everything. Now is the time to express that love to one another. [01:03:59] (63 seconds) #ShowLoveNow

The latest estimate is we've detained 400,000 of our brothers and sisters. 26% of those might have a record, just like each and every one of us, Speeding records, parking tickets, something that's inconsequential. There's less than five percent of those 400,000 have been arrested for a violent crime. So deport them to keep the people that came here for a better life. Now is the time to stand with their brothers and sisters that are black, brown, and yellow. [00:56:11] (45 seconds) #StandWithImmigrants

Please, I know each and every one of you are working with your own bills. Think about it. Many of you went through those recessions and didn't know it because you were busy raising your family. Please take the time to get involved. Now is the time to contact your representative, your senator, your delegates, and get involved. Go to rallies. Be with neighbors when they go to immigration appointments. Now if you think you're alone, don't. Carrie and I thought we were alone. We had 1,400 residents. We felt still felt alone. So when the first Kings rally no Kings rally came about, we thought, maybe we should go. [00:59:47] (47 seconds) #CivicActionNow

The legislative is to pass the budget and make laws, and the judicial is to interpret and not rewrite rewrite them. We need all three to be equal. Otherwise, the stool falls over. Now is the time to right the stool. Our our country is also founded on separation of church and state. It was not to be meant to be a white, Christianist, nationalist nation or Jewish nation or Muslim nation. You may or may not be aware that many of our founding fathers, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and Thomas Paine were deists. [00:50:40] (56 seconds) #BalanceTheBranches

I don't want you to take that sharp left. I want you to take a sharp right heading to the towards the South Shore. Alright? Everybody with me? What's one of the first things I come to? Islamic center. Less than 100 feet away right next to it. What do I come to? Jewish synagogue. The Jewish synagogue. And if I go a little bit further, the next thing I come to is? The Church of Latter Day Saints. Carrie and I traveled all over the world and I've never seen the togetherness. [00:52:19] (44 seconds) #InterfaithNeighbors

We've traveled Europe, China, South America. This is the only place we've seen it. This is the time. Now is the time for all religions, not one. Think about it. You're lucky to have it here. We need more of it. This country has needed and welcomed people of all races and religions. We are a melting pot. We need each other. Where I was born and raised, we had the largest kosher, which is Jewish, poultry plant in the world. [00:53:14] (46 seconds) #CelebrateDiversity

But if she graduated four years later, she was valedictorian of the class. We are a melting plot. Then after Vietnamese, we had the Venezuelans, and now we have the Hondurans. And when we go back to visit, Carrie and I go to that restaurant. It's the best Honduran restaurant in town in the whole area. Immigrants are not taking our jobs. They are doing the jobs we don't want. [00:55:32] (39 seconds) #ImmigrantsDoTheWork

So it doesn't matter what religion you are or what political persuasion you are. God looks inside to see what you really are. Now some of our great grandparents were slaves and have worked for generations until the sixties before gaining any semblance of equality. Fifteen months, and we went back fifty fifty years. Now is the time to stand with our brothers, our sisters, and neighbors, and friends. Make your voices and opinions known. Individually, we may not be able to do much, but together, we can accomplish a lot. [00:42:32] (51 seconds) #UnitedForEquality

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Now Is the Time: Stand for Justice and Unity

Devotional

Day 1: The Danger of Inherited Beliefs Without Examination

Day 2: A Call to Stand Against Injustice Wherever It Is Found

Day 3: The Strength Found in Our Diverse Community

Day 4: The Importance of Active Involvement in Our World

Day 5: The Foundational Need for Love in All Relationships

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Chatbot

Now Is the Time: Stand for Justice and Unity

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