O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name from this time forth and for evermore. From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same, the LORD'S name is to be praised for His name alone is excellent. His glory is above the earth and heaven.
Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord -- Philippines 2:11
From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul. -- Deuteronomy 4:29
When the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior. -- Titus 3:4-6
Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him. -- Daniel 2:20-22
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -- Romans 8:38,39
_________________ GOD BLESS THE USA
"It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” -- Patrick Henry [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.” - Patrick Henry
"The religion which has introduced civil liberty is the religion of Christ and His Apostles.... This is genuine Christianity and to this we owe our free constitutions of government." -- Noah Webster from public school textbook, 1831: "History of the United States"
“The policy of one age may ill suit the wishes or the policy of another. The Constitution is not subject to such fluctuations. It is to have a fixed, uniform, permanent construction. It should be, so far at least as human infirmity will allow, not dependent upon the passions or parties of particular times, but the same yesterday, today, and forever.” -- Joseph Story, U.S. Supreme Court
For the past seven years Coach Joe Kennedy of Bremerton High School in Washington state has quietly kneeled in prayer after the school's football games. He has always waited until players have left the field to then walk onto the 50-yard line to pray.
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
He typically thanks God for the opportunity to play a good game, win or lose, and asks for God's blessings upon the students' lives and their futures. The prayer is usually less than 30 seconds and causes no intrusive disturbance.
He instructs no one to join him but over time many of his students have chosen to do so. One of the joiners is an agnostic who voluntarily supports his coach and teammates as he feels it is an inspirational practice.
However, a few students, including the school president, are dismayed by the school's tolerance of the believers; and they therefore tried to organize a protest. The Satanic Temple of Seattle was invited to attend the game supposedly in an effort to claim the right to express their religion after games as well. This reason given for the protest is nonsensical since there is (or was) no one stopping anyone from quietly praying after games, regardless of religion. Furthermore, if there are any volunteers who might want to join them, they are (or were) free to do so.
It was in September of 2015 that the school district told Joe Kennedy he must stop praying on the school property because there may be a violation of the Establishment Clause. Coach Joe Kennedy, a Marine veteran who knows and has fought for our Constitution of freedom and justice, understood that his rights were being violated; and he sought legal help from the Liberty Institute.
"Liberty Institute is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization committed to defending and restoring religious liberty across America—in our schools, for our churches and throughout the public arena. Often, our help is a last resort for those whose constitutional freedoms and God-given rights have been denied." Mission statement from the Liberty Institute
After reviewing the case and within a month, Liberty Institute sent a letter to the school board clearly explaining why the coach is within his rights to offer personal prayers. Two days later and a few hours before the next game, a homecoming game, the school told Joe he was facing disciplinary action if he ever prayed again on school property within sight of his players. In other words, he must hide when he prays.
Kennedy stated:
"BSD does not uniformly or consistently enforce its discriminatory policy. I have observed other BSD employees engage in visible religious expression without adverse consequences.”
That night, attorney Hiram Sasser of the Liberty Institute walked with Kennedy onto the field as Kennedy intended to offer his usual post-game prayer. They didn't walk alone for long. Bremerton players came back to support their coach. On top of that, many players from the opposing team joined in a circle around the coach as he prayed.
Coach Kennedy was suspended.
December 15, 2015: Liberty Institute filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the school's violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“Coach Kennedy engages in private religious expression during noninstructional hours, after his official duties as a coach have ceased. He neither requests, encourages, nor discourages students from participating in, or coming to where he prays. … Under these circumstances, there is no constitutional prohibition against Coach Kennedy’s private religious expression.” Hiram Sasser
