Sermons by Billy and Obama<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies. Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sermons by Billy and Obama\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies. Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Terry Mattingly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-05-03T11:05:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tmatt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/\",\"name\":\"Sermons by Billy and Obama\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-05-03T11:05:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2010-05-03T11:05:46+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\"},\"description\":\"Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies. Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sermons by Billy and Obama\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/\",\"name\":\"Terry Mattingly\",\"description\":\"On Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1\",\"name\":\"tmatt\",\"description\":\"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes a weekly column for the Universal Syndicate.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/author\/tmatt\/\"}]}<\/script>\n","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sermons by Billy and Obama","description":"Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies. Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sermons by Billy and Obama","og_description":"Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies. Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/","og_site_name":"Terry Mattingly","article_published_time":"2010-05-03T11:05:46+00:00","author":"tmatt","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"tmatt","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/","name":"Sermons by Billy and Obama","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-05-03T11:05:46+00:00","dateModified":"2010-05-03T11:05:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1"},"description":"Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies. Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sermons by Billy and Obama"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/","name":"Terry Mattingly","description":"On Religion","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/#\/schema\/person\/76ce2260a572ff41a28fb285de9350f1","name":"tmatt","description":"Terry Mattingly directs the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes a weekly column for the Universal Syndicate.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/author\/tmatt\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/610"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1865\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

{"id":1865,"date":"2010-05-03T07:05:46","date_gmt":"2010-05-03T11:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tmatt.net\/?p=1865"},"modified":"2010-05-03T07:05:46","modified_gmt":"2010-05-03T11:05:46","slug":"sermons-by-billy-and-obama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tmatt\/2010\/05\/sermons-by-billy-and-obama\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermons by Billy and Obama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Both men faced rows of loved ones still wrapped in grief after shocking tragedies.<\/p>\n

Both men quoted the Psalms. Both concluded with visions of eternal life and heavenly reunions. Both referred to familiar songs that offered comfort.<\/p>\n

Facing those gathered in Beckley, W.Va., to mourn the loss of 29 miners, President Barack Obama asked them to remember<\/a> a rhythm and blues classic \u2014 \u201c Lean on Me<\/a>\u201d \u2014 that had its roots in coal country life. <\/p>\n

Songwriter Bill Withers wrote: \u201cSometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow. \u2026 Lean on me, when you\u2019re not strong and I\u2019ll be your friend. I\u2019ll help you carry on, for it won\u2019t be long \u2019til I\u2019m gonna need somebody to lean on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Rev. Billy Graham was more daring<\/a> at the 1995 prayer service for the 168 victims of the bombing at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The world\u2019s most famous evangelist even quoted an explicitly Christian hymn.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose I will not, I will not desert to its foes,\u201d claims \u201c How Firm a Foundation<\/a>,\u201d in its final verse. \u201cThat soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, I\u2019ll never, no, never, no, never forsake!\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no way to know if Obama and Graham talked about heaven, hell and eulogies when they held their first face-to-face meeting, just a few hours before the president traveled to West Virginia.<\/p>\n

Reporters were not allowed to witness the 30-minute session, the kind of confidential meeting that Graham has held with every president since Harry Truman. Obama was the first to meet with the evangelical statesman at his log home on a mountainside above Montreat, N.C.<\/p>\n

Graham\u2019s career has been defined as much by these moments of civil religion as by the decades of crusades in which he preached to millions. Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton told reporters that Graham is a \u201ctreasure to our country\u201d and that, while the 91-year-old preacher has \u201csome of the creaks that come with advancing age,\u201d he remains as \u201csharp as he ever was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some details of the meeting were relayed to the Associated Press by the Rev. Franklin Graham, the outspoken heir to his father\u2019s ministry. Billy Graham gave Obama two Bibles, one for him and one for First Lady Michelle Obama. The evangelist prayed for America and for wisdom for the president. Obama offered a prayer thanking God for Graham\u2019s life and ministry.<\/p>\n

Franklin Graham\u2019s presence guaranteed the discussion of at least one sensitive subject, since the Army recently rescinded his invitation to speak at a Pentagon prayer service. After the Sept. 11 attacks, the younger Graham called Islam an \u201cevil and wicked religion\u201d and he still insists that Muslims need to know that Jesus died for their sins.<\/p>\n

When they discussed the Pentagon\u2019s approach to religion, Franklin Graham said that Obama promised \u201che would look into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the kind of theological terrain that presidents strive to avoid. Thus, Obama remained safely vague when using God language in West Virginia. If there is comfort in the wake of the mine tragedy, he said, \u201cit can, perhaps, be found by seeking the face of God, who quiets our troubled minds, a God who mends our broken hearts, a God who eases our mourning souls.\u201d<\/p>\n

Obama concluded with an appeal for safer mines, blending spiritual concerns into the politics of rock and coal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot bring back the 29 men we lost. They are with the Lord now,\u201d he said. \u201cOur task, here on Earth, is to save lives from being lost in another such tragedy; to do what must do, individually and collectively, to assure safe conditions underground. \u2026 We have to lean on one another, and look out for one another, and love one another, and pray for one another.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Oklahoma City, Graham had closed with an openly evangelistic appeal, the kind of spiritual warning he has urgently voiced for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event,\u201d he said, \u201creminds us of the brevity and uncertainty of life. It reminds us that we never know when we are going to be taken. I doubt if even one of those who went to that building to work or to go to the children\u2019s place ever dreamed that that was their last day on earth. That is why we each need to face our own spiritual need and commit ourselves to God.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"