Reverend Samuel Rodriguez: The First Hispanic Pastor in History to Pray at a Presidential Inauguration

President Trump is making America is a Christian nation, again. For too long Christians and Jews have been persecuted in the homeland. The assault on religious liberty has reached its highest level in the past eight years. That has now changed. God is not dead. God and His Son Jesus is alive and well in the White House, again.

Natalie Fertig from McClatchy – D.C. reports:

President-elect Donald Trump will set a record with the amount of prayers during his inaugural ceremonies Friday.

Trump, who is starting the day at St. John’s Church for a service at 8:30 a.m., will have six religious prayers as part of the ceremony, three invocations and three benedictions.

That’s a record, according to Jim Bendat, the author of “Democracy’s Big Day,” who was speaking on CNN Friday morning.

Read more…

Time Magazine reports:

President Trump attended a private religious service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, across the street from the White House, as part of a modern Inauguration Day ritual.

The service was led by the Rev. Robert Jeffress, a Southern Baptist who campaigned hard for Trump during the closing months of the election.

Here is an excerpt from Reverend Jeffress’ sermon:

As the prophet Daniel said, it is God who removes and establishes leaders.

Today─one year later─God has raised you and Vice-President-elect Pence up for a great, eternal purpose.

When I think of you, President-elect Trump, I am reminded of another great leader God chose thousands of years ago in Israel. The nation had been in bondage for decades, the infrastructure of the country was in shambles, and God raised up a powerful leader to restore the nation. And the man God chose was neither a politician nor a priest. Instead, God chose a builder whose name was Nehemiah.

And the first step of rebuilding the nation was the building of a great wall. God instructed Nehemiah to build a wall around Jerusalem to protect its citizens from enemy attack. You see, God is NOT against building walls!

And the Old Testament book of Nehemiah records how Nehemiah completed that massive project in record time—just 52 days.

Why was Nehemiah so successful in building the wall and rebuilding the nation?

Read the full text of Reverend Jeffress’ sermon…

Steve Strang, the founder of Charisma Magazine and CEO of Charisma Media, reported:

What a historic day in America. Today the inauguration of Donald J. Trump was bathed in prayer! And in his inauguration speech, the new chief executive called on God to protect us.

Of the six who prayed, one was a rabbi and another a Catholic priest. The other four were strong evangelical Christians, and each unapologetically prayed in Jesus’ name.

I wanted to stand up and cheer, but I was too hemmed in by the crowd on the mall. (Read my previous report here). All I could do was videotape the prayers given by Rev. Samuel Rodriguez and Pastor Paula White-Cain, both of whom I’ve known since the late 1990s and both of whom have been on the cover of Charisma.

Read more…

Here is Reverend Rodriguez’s prayer:

“God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him and the kingdom of heaven is theirs. God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the earth. God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are those who are pure in heart, for they will see God. God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God. God blesses those who are persecuted, for doing right for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. And God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are My followers. You are the light of the world, like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on its stand where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, and everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Respectfully, in Jesus’ name.”

Watch the video of the pastors who prayed at the inauguration of President Donald J. Trump:

King Solomon Prayer of Wisdom – Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan.