City on a Hill

It's election day! Voting may seem like the most important thing you can do for your country or your community. If it feels like that, you put too much importance on the one day that rolls around every couple of years. You can add to the pressure you feel when you make your vote the only thing you think of when it comes to politics. You can exercise your citizenship by getting involved on any other day. Volunteer, get to know your public servants, serve on committees, write letters, the options are endless.

We were asked for a voter's guide. We don't believe in voter's guides, but we spend a little time on what we might want to say if we were to make one. Then, we make the case for good citizenship year-round, not just on election day.

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Today, Scott offers two prayers for election season. One synthesizes some key verses we've repeatedly used on this podcast. The other attempts to address particular issues that concern us. Feel free to use them in your family or small group. Maybe they will help you with prayers of your own. The most important thing we can do today is to pray.

NOTES:

Prayer #1 -- Scripture Prayer

Our Father in Heaven,

We pray your name will be hallowed. 

Don't let your people hallow anyone on the ballot. Cause us to revere no one but you, look to no one for salvation but you, and have hope only in you. Don't let Christians profane your name by how they support a candidate.

May your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We praise you for setting up kings and deposing princes. We praise you for the fact that the heart of a leader is like a stream of water in your hand, and you turn it wherever you will. So, we pray that your will will be done in this election and that you will use the collective will of the people to settle the course of our nation, our state, and our cities. We trust you to move people how you will. 

To that end, we pray for the welfare of our country. We long to live here as resident aliens who seek its good. We seek its good this week in our vote. We seek its good day in and day out by getting involved in the lives of our neighbors and in the community. We believe that our own welfare is wrapped up in this.

We pray for all those in authority, those who will be put in authority in this election. I want to thank you for living in a place and time where we get involved in their selection. That is a privilege we can't take for granted. Thank you for those on the ballot who are there as ambassadors of your kingdom.

Bring about a result in this election that will enable your church to lead peaceful and quiet lives. May the result of this election be the success of your church. Would you let your church be godly and dignified in the way they speak and the way they interact on social media this week? 

I really do pray for your church. It pleases you that people would be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Lord, use this election to create an environment in which that will happen best.

Finally, Lord. You said that if we bring you things in prayer, you will help us not be anxious. So, please help us not be anxious. Let our hearts be so confident and content that no critical, sarcastic, or worried comment comes out of our mouths since, out of the abundance of our hearts, our mouths speak.

Amen.

Prayer #2 -- Prayer for Issues

Heavenly Father, we are yours. You have adopted us. We live in a world of people who relate to you only as their creator. You made them in your image and they are important to you. Make them important to us. Make them important to us as we express our opinions and exercise our rights as we vote. Make them important to us all the time, too.

 May the way that we engage this election reflect the importance of our neighbors. May we do better than that. We want to vote and do everything such a way that we love you and our neighbors as ourselves.

 Would you protect our nation from polarization that would result in broken relationships or even in political violence. I pray, Lord, that politicians themselves would not inflame the polarization. That we would not invent or create enemies where they do not need to be.

Protect families that are divided by strong opinions. May Christian families and churches find unity in their relationship with you to be far stronger than a flimsy political opinion strongly held.

We commit the security of this election to you. You ask if it be your will, that the election itself would come off without a problem or violent backlash.

  Several things are especially concerning during this election. As always, we are concerned with the protection and preservation of human life. I pray that no matter who is elected that you would protect the vulnerable and the unborn. I pray that you would protect the elderly and the sick. Father, I pray for women who are find themselves in unthinkable circumstances and I ask that whether through political means or the kindness of neighbors that you would care for those women enable them to see if future includes unborn child.

 We pray, too, for the poor among us. Praying that they would flourish. I don't know what policy or even what politician will be of surest help to those who are hurting. But you do and I pray that you would work you're will for their good. So much is out of our control. Would you show your kindness to those who need it most.

The issues surrounding immigration are far more complicated than I realize. Would you be pleased to show kindness to the alien and stranger regardless of the results of this election but use the election to that end. I pray due process would be upheld and that the people who are not like the majority would be welcome in our country.

These things concern us more during this election. To the degree that political elections can further the flourishing of our neighbors and our community and our nation would you be pleased to make this election a good one? Would you do this for your glory and our good? We believe you can do this because of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. In his name, we pray, amen.

RECAP/TAKEAWAYS

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

We thought we should take our own recommendation and pray. We can wring our hands in worry, or we can fold our hands and pray. Here is a prayer you can use to pray during this election season. This liturgy for election day is from Every Moment Holy, Volume III by Doug McElvey. We highly recommend this series as a way of experiencing God's involvement in every day life.

NOTES:

Aeric prays a prayer from Every Moment Holy, Volume 3.

Or, you can find it on the Rabbit Room.

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

For three years, we've tried to encourage the church to break free from fear, from depending on politics, from making our neighbors into our enemies. Now, we are working against supposedly Christian magazine covers. Stoking fear, playing fast and loose with the Bible, telling only part of the story, and presenting Jesus as though he were partisan are only part of the frustrating fare in this issue of Decision Magazine.

In this episode, we express our disappointment with this magazine and The Stand, also a Christian magazine.

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

After the last presidential election, the results were called into question. Every state ratified its results a little over a month after the election. The time gap between the election and the final results provided an opportunity to cast doubt on the results. The delay is also reason to have confidence in the elections. We have extraordinary election security by any historical or worldwide standard.

Aeric loves elections. He watches them like a football game (albeit a slow-moving football game). He talks a bit about the process of counting ballots and even what it meant to him as a candidate. We hope this helps you have confidence in the process...just in case it is questioned again this year.

NOTES:

RECAP/TAKEAWAYS

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

In this encore episode, we talk about the political nature of the gospel and of the church. Could it be the church is not political enough?

NOTES:

Key Verse -- Isaiah 9:6-7

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.7 Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

How might the church be more political?

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Recently Kamala Harris has articulated some positions that Donald Trump claimed. Outrage ensued. People said she was flip-flopping. Rather than being upset, we wonder if the flip-flop might not be good!

NOTES:

Philippians 4:5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.

RECAP/TAKEAWAYS

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

In this episode, we discuss what the Republican shift away from a pro-life platform means. For most of our lives, especially if you were a one-issue voter, you had to vote Republican. The new Republican platform has changed significantly. Is that bad? Could it be good?

NOTES:

New republican party platform vs. 2016 Republican party platform

RECAP/TAKEAWAYS

GET IN TOUCH:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

MUSIC:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Here are a couple of resources that helped us:

http://www.robertbellah.com/articles_5.htm#_edn8

American Gospel

Music:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE), https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Comfort_Fit/Forget_And_Remember/03_Sorry

In this episode from the archives, we visit voting as stewardship. It should pair nicely with last week's episode.

Aeric recommends David French’s two-fold test (https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/how-then-should-christians-vote) recognizing that your vote is your endorsement. That means that voting for the “lesser of two evils” remains an endorsement of evil.

Your vote is your personal commitment to the person you vote for, even if your vote doesn’t make a difference in the election. (https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2020/10/19/voting-for-life/)

The smaller the election the more clout your vote will hold and the more difference you can make. Apply the two-fold character and policy test to local candidates, too. You can actually reach out to them and meet them. Aeric did.

Get out there and vote next week!

Music:

Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE), https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Comfort_Fit/Forget_And_Remember/03_Sorry