(Note:  Beginning of message has announcements)

The Fourth of July! Independence Day! It brings to mind fireworks, sparklers, family barbecues, picnics and baseball and, of course, our freedom!

National Freedom

The “Declaration of Independence”

On July 2, 1776, Congress voted to approve a complete separation from Great Britain. Two days afterwards — July 4th —the early draft of the Declaration of Independence was signed by only two individuals at that time: John Hancock, President of Congress, and Charles Thompson, Secretary of Congress.

Four days later, on July 8, members of Congress took that document and read it aloud from the steps of Independence Hall, proclaiming it to the city of Philadelphia, after which the Liberty Bell was rung. The inscription around the top of that bell, Leviticus 25:10, was most appropriate for the occasion: “Proclaim liberty throughout the land and to all the inhabitants thereof”.

On August 2 of that same year, fifty-six men signed their names to the historic document, giving birth to a new nation as they declared their independence from Great Britain.

On the very day they approved the Declaration, Adams, foreseeing that their actions would be celebrated by future generations told Abigail: “It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty”.

The signers of the document

            1. Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists.

They were well-educated, successful and financially secure -- but they valued liberty more. With courage and resolve they agreed to the following commitment: "For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."

These men signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that, if captured by the British, they would be executed.

May God bless you through this message! 

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