Donald Trump, his wife Melania, his children and their families all began Inauguration Day by attending a private church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
St. John’s is known as “The Presidents’ Church” because it is located across from the White House. Its services have been attended by every president since James Madison.
“I’m honored to deliver the sermon Friday morning at the private family prayer service.”
In 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt attended an Inauguration Day worship service at St. John’s, which began a precedent that has been followed by presidents ever since to have an Inauguration Day prayer service.
Due to the light rain, the family loaded up in armored SUVs to drive the block from Blair House to St. John’s at approximately 8:40 a.m. As the president-elect walked up the stairs to entrance of the church, Trump greeted Reverend Dr. Luis León, rector of the church, with a warm handshake.
Dr. Robert Jeffress, a personal friend of Donald Trump and pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, was asked to deliver the message to the Trump and Pence families. The title of the sermon was: “When God Chooses a Leader.”
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Just before the service was scheduled to begin, Dr. Jeffress said in a statement, “I’m honored to deliver the sermon Friday morning at the private family prayer service for the president-elect, vice president-elect, their families, at St. John’s before the swearing-in at the Capitol. My goal is to encourage rather than lecture our new president and vice-president.”
Regarding the content of his message, Dr. Jeffress said in a statement just before his sermon, “I am going to compare President Trump to another great leader God raised up 2,500 years ago to restore the nation of Israel. The leader God chose was neither a politician nor priest but a builder named Nehemiah.”
“Nehemiah was the ‘original wall-builder’! I will share with the president and audience the three reasons God granted Nehemiah incredible success in his restoration of the nation.”
He continued, “God told Nehemiah that the first step in restoring the nation was the building of a large wall around the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was the ‘original wall-builder’! I will share with the president and audience the three reasons God granted Nehemiah incredible success in his restoration of the nation.”
In the Old Testament Book of Nehemiah, God used Nehemiah to lead the Israelites to secure and rebuild the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was the cup-bearer to the Persian king. God used Nehemiah’s relationship and persuasion with the King Artaxerxes to fulfill the restoration of Jerusalem. Nehemiah served as governor of the Jerusalem province for 12 years. During his effort to build the wall, he faced critics, crisis, and adversities. However, Nehemiah persevered.
During his interview on “The O’Reilly Factor” Thursday night, Dr. Jeffress said of his intent for today’s message to Donald Trump, “I want to encourage him.”
He said Donald Trump’s faith is important to him, but also personal. He asked for Americans to pray for President Trump and the new administration. And when comparing Donald Trump to Nehemiah, Dr. Jeffress declared, “He is not going to stop for his critics.”
Katie Nations, married for 15 years, is a working mother of three young children. She lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
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