Loeffler and Warnock will contest one of two Senate runoff elections in Georgia on January 5. Republican Senator David Perdue will face Democrat Jon Ossoff in the second race on the same day.
A video of Warnock’s sermon has resurfaced on YouTube and Loeffler shared a clip on Twitter on Wednesday. In it, Warnock can be seen preaching on the topic of serving God.
“I’m the daughter & granddaughter of veterans, and proud to serve on the VA Committee,” Loeffler wrote.
“@ReverendWarnock—this is despicable, disgusting, and wrong. You owe our active military & veterans—who sacrifice so much for our country—an immediate apology.”
Warnock says in the video clip Loeffler shared: “America, nobody can serve God and the military. You can’t serve God and money. You cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. America, choose ye this day who you will serve. Choose ye this day.”
The full video of the sermon, entitled “When Truth Meets Power,” was uploaded to YouTube in April 2011 and can still be watched on the site, though it had just over 1,000 views at the time of writing.
In the video, which is just over three minutes, Warnock discusses politics in general terms. He has been senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia since 2005 and the sermon appears to have been delivered there.
“Politicians try to keep their power. Political parties lie in order to keep their power. And church folk, yeah, you too, maneuver…in order to keep your power. And Jesus says, that’s not power. That’s paranoia,” Warnock said at the time.
“Because when you’ve got real power, you’re not worrying about your place in the world. You know how to be exalted and you know how to be abased. You know how to sit high and you know how to sit low and you’re not worried about your place in the world because you’re connected with something that’s greater than you and you’re concerned about something that’s greater than yourself.
“When you have real power, Jesus says that you’ll lay it down so that somebody else can have some power. Real power will lay itself down on behalf of the powerless.”
Terrence Clark, communications director for the Warnock campaign, told Fox News in a statement that the sermon was “based on a biblical verse that reads ‘No man can serve two masters… Ye cannot serve God and mammon,’ a biblical term for wealth.”
“Reverend Warnock was speaking about the need to commit to moral life before pursuing other priorities,” Clark said. “As the video of the congregation’s response makes clear, this is another blatant effort by Kelly Loeffler to take Reverend Warnock’s words completely out of context. Given her own decision to spend her first days in the U.S. Senate profiting off the pandemic, perhaps she should watch the sermon more closely.”
Clark was referring to accusations of insider trading made against Loeffler. A Senate investigation into the matter has been dropped. She denied any wrongdoing.
The runoff elections in Georgia may be crucial in determining control of the Senate. If Warnock and Ossoff succeed, the balance of power in the chamber will shift to the Democrats.
