Let us pray: Gracious and eternal Father, we come to you this day seeking to understand the ways in which your Spirit moves in our lives. Lord, in these moments, may we be moved by love in our hearts and receive wisdom in our minds. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address has been called America's "greatest gathering of words."1 Lincoln's message was given over 130 years ago on the Civil War battlefield in Pennsylvania named Gettysburg. The burial of the Union dead was still underway on November 19, 1863, when Lincoln delivered his speech. We should not forget that it was a cemetery that the president had been invited to dedicate that day. What makes the Gettysburg Address the greatest speech in American history is the way in which Lincoln gave firm definition t…