01-19-2013 Burt Beach: Religious LIberty: Windows of Vulnerability? from Spencerville Adventist on Vimeo. Bert Beach presented this sermon at the Spencerville Seventh-day Adventist Church on January 19, 2013.

Some people believe that their religion obligates them to not only control themselves, but to control others as well. I believe that it is possible to make religious freedom as expansive as possible, and truly allow people to follow the dictates of their hearts as God (or whatever they believe in) leads them. Not only do I think that this is the solution that works best for our democracy, but I also happen to think that this is the solution that gets us closer to what God wants as well.

Hobby Lobby is appealing the ruling. Ultimately, for the Greens, it may come down to the question of whether a business can serve both “God and mammon.” (Matthew 6:24).

On November 6, 2012 voters in many states had the opportunity to make decisions on a number of state laws through ballot measures. Voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington voted in favor of measures that would legalize same-sex marriage. Voters in Minnesota rejected a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and voters in North Carolina voted to define marriage as solely existing between one man and one woman.

A Dwight Nelson Sermon on Politics: American Confusion from

The Jackson Sun has interviewed Walter “Chick” McGill and Lucan Chartier about their trademark dispute with the Seventh-day Adventist Church (their church is named “Creation 7th Day Adventist”) that has landed both of them in jail for contempt of court. Although later released, McGill and Chartier maintain that they could be incarcerated again if they refuse to change the name of their church, which they believe was given to them by God.