The colonial preacher was prophet,
newspaper,
video,
Internet,
community college,
and social therapist all wrapped in one.
Their influence on all aspects of life in those days was so great, that even contemporary television and personal computers pale in comparison.
Day after day,
week after week,
ministers drew the people into a rhetorical world that was more compelling and more immediate than the physical settlements surrounding them.
Sermons taught not only the way to personal salvation in Christ,
but also the way to temporal and national prosperity for God's chosen people.
Events were perceived not from the mundane, human vantage point
but from God's perspective.
The vast majority of colonists were Presbyterian
to whom things were not as they might appear at ground level:
all events, no matter how mundane or seemingly random, were parts of a larger pattern of meaning, part of God's providential design.
The outlines of this pattern were contained in Scripture and interpreted by discerning pastors.
Colonial congregations saw themselves as the "New Israel,"
endowed with a sacred mission that destined them as lead actors in the last triumphant chapter in redemption history.
Check it out: http://www.newcelebrations.com/independencedayusa.html
