This is good reading to help make sense of Winthrop's sermon: Information on Puritan sermon rhetoric

Near the end of Winthrop's sermon, he writes that ". . . wee shall be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deale falsely with our god in this worke we have undertaken . . . wee shall open the mouths of enemies to speake evill of the way of god and all professours for Gods [sic] sake" (317). Examine the points Winthrop covers in his sermon about how we (either now as a more secular America or his Puritan America) can be the sort of example he describes. What do these points do, or what does the sermon as a whole do, and what do they/it mean, either then or now or then and now?

Do we/did he live up to those words and why do you think it matters? Once you've identified those specific points/ideas/events, provide (at least some of) the passage itself from the text, briefly describe the passage, and explain/examine what you see being of interest or importance about these events. In short, what's the passage, what does it do or describe, and why might it matter or what might it mean?

In responding to at least two journals, do what you can to engage the original journalist in a conversation. If you agree with a point they raise, tell why and provide an example to illustrate your agreement. If you disagree, do the same. If there is something you don't understand, ask them about it, but postulate a possible answer while doing so by asking "I'm thinking that you mean something like yada yada yada. Am I right about that? Or could it be that you meant blah, blah, blah." Be ready to talk about the reading, your journal, and the points each touch on. Look also to respond to a response to your journal.