Passport Power

A US passport is strong, but it is not the strongest in the world. The apostle Paul talks about a passport that shatters racial and religious barriers. 

For material based on today's gospel text, see "G-Force," July 19, 2009, at HomileticsOnline.com. If you're headed abroad on vacation this summer, one of the things you absolutely must have in your possession before boarding your flight is a valid passport.


U.S. citizens, armed with a little blue book, will get into 158 countries without needing to secure a visa in advance -- pretty good access to the world. If you hold a German passport, on the other hand, you get to enter 161 countries, which makes your burgundy-colored book the world's most powerful passport. No other country in the world offers its citizens more unfettered access to the nations of the globe than Germany.

Your U.S. passport, as strong as it is, will not get you everywhere without a visa. Let's say you want to see the Great Wall of China and the Forbidden City. You get tickets for Beijing. Oops! You need a visa to travel to China.

Fortunately, your passport will be checked stateside to make sure you have a visa. If...