“Concord Hymn,” Ralph Waldo EmersonBy the rude bridge that arched the flood,
Their flag to April’s Breeze unfurled,
Here once the embattled farmers stood,
And fired the shot heard ’round the world.
April 19, 2025, marks the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Lexington and Concord. On this day in 1775, the opening shots of the American Revolution were fired. The Minute Men militia, composed of farmers and volunteers, faced the British regulars, the highly trained and financed professional soldiers of King George III.
The colonists at this time were English citizens, but their loyalty to the King’s authority was destroyed because his government encroached on their liberties. The corrupt English parliament inhibited their right to bear arms, devalued the currency, laid heavy taxes without representation, saddled the colonists with the debt of the French and Indian War, authorized illegal search warrants, and other policies aimed at denying the colonists their God-given rights as free men and women.
When the British marched on Lexington and Concord to destroy the munitions storehouse, the Minute Men mustered on the green and stood bravely against the most formidable army in the world, indelibly changing the history of mankind. The blood of the patriots shed that day became the seedbed of a new nation—a Christian nation—a miracle that astonished the world.
Teach the Children
- Study and learn America’s Christian history to know your God-given heritage. So the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Psalm 78:6
- Study the lives of the great orators, statesmen, pastors, and soldiers who led the American Revolution. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. Psalm 78:7
- Celebrate the 250th birthday of our nation over the next two years! And they remembered God was their rock, that God Most High was their Redeemer. Psalm 78:35