107 Coldren Street, Johnstown, Pennsylvania 15904, United States
Upcoming Sermons & Devotional Message
July sermons 2026
7-12- Put Me In The Pool
Ezekiel 36:25-27 John 5:1-9
7-19- Roots
Psalms 1:1-6 Matthew 5:1-12
7-26- The Whole Truth
Genesis 15:1-6 John 14:12-14
Devotional Message : These will change 1-2 times a week. Stop by often to read the new message.
Some Thoughts on Freedom
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people who God chooses for His inheritance."
(Psalm 33:12)
Freedom is one of life’s greatest gifts, but we often only scratch the surface of its potential in our lives. The ideal of freedom has changed the world. The Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence 250 years ago today, which said: “We hold these truths to be self-evident—that all men are created equal—and are endowed by the Creator with certain unalienable rights—that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness…” With those words, the ideal of American freedom was birthed—and is available to all.
Today, we celebrate the ideal of freedom. Our freedom has been bought at a great price—the blood of sons and daughters in every generation—giving us liberty. Freedom is a gift that’s often taken for granted—unless or until it’s threatened.
Our constitutional freedom is one of life’s most precious gifts—but there's a deeper, more profound freedom available to us. It’s the freedom Jesus came to give us—a freedom that was unleashed in His life, death and resurrection. He knew it would be costly—and before He died, Jesus told them the price He was willing to pay: “Greater love has no man than this—than to lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). This freedom was also bought at a price.
There are two sides to freedom. We mostly think of freedom to be freed FROM something that controls us—freedom FROM tyranny—FROM oppression—FROM bondage—FROM imprisonment—FROM whoever and whatever prevents us from being all that we can be. Today, we celebrate America’s freedom FROM British domination.
But there’s another side to freedom—a side we sometimes neglect. It’s not enough to just be freed FROM something—we must also be freed FOR something. Freedom FOR something means we can do things we haven’t been able to do in the past. For example, freedom FROM political oppression is also the freedom FOR expressing our opinions without fearing we will be tortured or killed—freedom FOR voting for the candidate of our choice—freedom FOR the right to peacefully protest—and freedom FOR making our country a better place for all our citizens. We love freedom; however, if we only have freedom FROM without freedom FOR, then we don’t have real freedom.
We are living in a time of incredible, seismic change in our culture. One reason we're having such a difficult time, I believe, is that we've forgotten both sides of freedom. Liberty is not the license to do whatever we want. License is freedom without law; liberty is freedom within constraints. But the deepest form of freedom is one born in the human soul. Some think we can legislate freedom — that the secret lies in passing the right laws. Law without grace, however, is legalism, which is simply another form of bondage.
Others believe the answer is less law and smaller government — that a kinder, gentler nation is built on personal liberty above all else. In other words: if it feels good, do it, as long as no one gets hurt. Live and let live. But liberty without restraint is license, and grace without law is license. One of the consequences of freedom is that it can be abused — and taken for granted.
Law tempered with grace, however, is freedom. Friends, the answer to what troubles us won’t be solved by massive governmental reform. What ails us is really a matter of the heart. What we need is a revival of soul—a movement in the hearts, minds, and lives of individuals who live into the fullness of the freedom we have in Christ.
Jesus said,
“If you make my word your home, you will be my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you FREE” (John 8:31-32).
Freed FROM—and freed FOR.
So what are we freed FROM? What are we freed FOR? The answers to those questions have much greater strength and depth when we’ve experienced both sides of freedom in Jesus. I encourage you to pursue both sides of FREEDOM.
Happy Independence Day!