Veteran’s Day is a special occasion, where we get to honor the soldiers who have committed their entire life to serve their country. It is a time when we celebrate all who fought throughout United States history.
From soldiers in the Great War, World War II, and the Vietnam War, we get the opportunity to recognize their service on Veteran’s Day. They have given so much, and so they deserve to be honored on remembrance day in our congregations.
Air Force pilots, Army men, Marines, and Naval captains should all feel championed during this big day during our Sunday Services. Everyone in the Armed forces deserves our respect, so let’s celebrate them using our platform on Sunday morning.
Here is a message that you can share with your congregation to commemorate remembrance day.
Starting Out: Honoring the Veterans
During the introduction of your Veterans Day service, you should start by honoring all who have served to protect the religious freedoms of the United States. Having the members of the military community stand to be honored signals to the congregation that you are grateful for them.
Lead the congregation in clapping for all of those who stand. This is a great way to front-load the honoring of the Veterans, and then you can move on to the rest of your message.
You do not have to have a specific message that aligns with the idea of Veterans Day, but I will be presenting you with one route for communicating the Gospel during a Veteran’s Day service.
What’s Next: Introducing the Topic for Veteran’s Day
To begin your Veteran’s Day message, we recommend that you share a story about yourself that has something to do with the military.
If you had a family member who fought in the military or you remember playing with army men as a kid, and you wanted to be an army man yourself. Regardless, try to find a story to connect with your audience over the topic of the military. It’s a good way to bring in Veteran’s day without being intrusive.
From there, you should transition to the importance of the military. Being in the military is truly an honor because of the reason that they fight. The people in the military fight to protect freedom and keep the citizens of the kingdom safe.
“Everyone wants to take actions that are noble,” you can say. You can call their attention to the fact that everyone wants to stand up boldly for the causes that they believe in. This can be something important like defending the nation or protecting those in need. Or it can be silly: people get defensive over their favorite TV shows or favorite music artists. People are willing to fight for the things that they believe in.
Tell them that everyone has been passionate about a cause or a mission that they personally have. Everyone has a mission and a goal that they want to achieve in their lives.
Here you are setting up the rest of your message, where you are going to talk to them about the service that we are called to as Christians.
Ask them, “Did you know that you have been given a mission by God to achieve a meaningful purpose?”
Connect The Congregation to Scripture
The Bible tells us about the mission and the purpose that we are called to as Christ followers. The veterans we celebrate on Veteran’s Day fight for things that are important, and we have an important fight too. In 1 Peter 2:9 NKJV, “9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;”
Many people think that being a part of a valiant fight means enlisting in the military, but God has actually told us that we have a fight that we are supposed to be in. There is a fight against light and darkness that we are supposed to engage in.
Tell a story about a time when you were in a battle. It may have been a football game against a rival school or a time when you had to passionately defend something that you believed in.
Draw the audience’s attention to the fact that being on the team or supporting the thing you were defending meant that you had to stand out. You were set apart.
This passage has that same message. If we believe in Jesus Christ then we are set up for a purpose. We don’t go through life meaningless, but instead, we are called to a higher mission: to advance the Gospel.
You should put the main point here, and it can be something along the lines of, “God has given you a Sacred Duty to advance the Gospel.”
What Does This Mean For Us Today?
Following the main point, you should transition to a part where you tell the congregation how they can be ready to fulfill the calling that God has placed on their lives. Use Ephesians 6:10-18 as the anchor text for this portion.
Ephesians 6:10-18: Christians Soldiers
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
What to do with this Verse
Ephesians 6 teaches us that we have to gear up to conquer life and defend against the enemy’s attacks. Life is going to throw a lot of things in the way, but you can stand strong if you put on the armor of God.
It is our sacred duty as Children of God to gear up to fight against the darkness of life. We must live in truth, righteousness, and readiness to share the Gospel. We have to equip ourselves with faith, salvation, and prayer in the Holy Spirit, and we must be alert.
Draw the congregation’s attention to the importance of equipping all of these things in our lives so that we can be more effective warriors for Jesus.
Application: Stay Ready for the Fight
As you close the message, you want to remind the congregation about the topics that you covered. The Bible teaches us that we are set apart for the purpose of fighting against the darkness, but that without being prepared the fight will be much more difficult.
Your application point for this message can be: Get ready for the fight by staying connected to God’s Spirit.
Pray with your congregation, and then dismiss.
For more sermon ideas check out our message on the creation story.
