Rock and Roll Summer
Sam Hayes
Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow
August 11, 2019 • Rev. Sam Hayes
8-11-19 Sermon Notes “Don’t Stop Thinking About Tomorrow” Reluctantly, I clicked on the news headline icon. I say, “Reluctantly,” because I almost don’t want to look at the news these days. Do you ever feel that way? So here were the headlines the day I am writing this: 1. The death toll in the shooting in El Paso rises to 22 2. Nine people killed in shooting in Dayton, Ohio 3. Sharks bite 3 people within a 24-hour period at New Smyrna Beach, Florida 4. The Dow plunges nearly 1,000 points after a dramatic escalation of the US-China trade war sparked a global sell-off 5. Thousands of new Indian troops have been deployed to an already heavily militarized Kashmir – and Kashmir is in lockdown 6. Widespread strikes bring chaos to Hong Kong Notice anything about these headlines? They are all BAD NEWS! If this is all we have to go on, then who would want to think about what tomorrow might bring? But – we are people of the gospel (which means “good news”) and one of the reasons we gather each week to worship is to remind ourselves that God’s tomorrow is worth thinking about!! Listen to what God’s tomorrow will look like: Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” (Rev. 21: 1-5 NRSV) This Sunday we will finish off our “Rock n Roll Summer” series with a bang! We’ll hear the words of Fleetwood Mac – “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow!” And we CAN think about tomorrow, because in a sea of bad news, Christians still live as people of hope! See you Sunday! Pastor Sam
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
August 4, 2019 • Rev. Sam Hayes
August 4, 2019 Sermon Notes “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” I was taught by my mom and dad that when someone sends you a gift, you need to say, “Thank you!” Sometimes, it is even appropriate to write a thank you note – like for graduation gifts, etc… It’s just the right thing to do. It follows a certain form. You ask how the other person is, tell them how you are, thank them specifically for the gift, and tell them you look forward to seeing them. It goes something like this: Dear Aunt Kathryn – How are you? I am fine. Thank you so much for the nice hand-knitted scarf you sent me for Christmas. It’s just what I wanted. I hope to see you soon. Love, Sam I was thinking that Paul’s letter to the Philippians is really a thank you note – a thank you note written to the Philippian church for their support while he was in a Roman prison. What would you expect Paul to write in his thank you note? Maybe something like: Dear Philippian Church – How are you? I am fine. Thank you so much for the nice gift of money you sent me. It’s just what I wanted. I hope to see you when I get out of prison and come to Philippi. Love, Paul This is not, however, what Paul says in his thank you note. First of all, he waits until the very last paragraph of his letter (a pretty long letter) to even mention the gift. When he does mention the gift, he only does so in passing. It’s not like he is “gushing” over the gift. Listen to what he says – 10 I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned for me, but had no opportunity to show it. 11 Not that I am referring to being in need; for I have learned to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4: 10-13 NRSV) He goes on to say, I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. (Phil. 4: 18) He is grateful…but he was already a grateful, content person before they sent the gift by Epaphroditus. “I have learned the secret,” Paul said. The “secret” is not how to get more things so you can be satisfied. The “secret” is finding your satisfaction in the only One who can give it. Jesus Christ! That way, whether you have little, or have plenty – whether you are hungry or full – you can still experience satisfaction, knowing that you can do all things through Christ who strengths you! As our Rock n Roll Summer series continues with (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, by the Rolling Stones, I wonder if you have learned the “secret” that Paul learned. See you Sunday, Sam
All You Need Is Love
July 28, 2019 • Sam Hayes
7-28-19 Sermon Notes “All You Need Is Love” Gadsden FUMC Preaching is something I love to do – it’s my calling. I always try to do my best, but I know that I don’t always hit a “home run” (so to speak). At the very least, I try not to “strike out!” Every preacher I know likes to hear encouraging feedback on his or her sermon. It’s not what you live for, but it is helpful. I’ve learned that not everyone’s feedback is equally helpful. I remember one Sunday years ago (not at GFUMC) there was a man in the congregation who was so sound asleep during the sermon that I thought he was going to fall out of the pew. When I was shaking hands at the end of the service, he yawned, stretched, and said, “Good sermon, preacher.” Not really helpful feedback! The one person I really like to hear from about my sermons is the woman who always tells me like it is – my wife! She doesn’t do the “good sermon preacher” thing every Sunday. In fact, she rarely says something about my sermon – so when she does, I sit up and take notice. Why? Because she is not just my biggest fan – she is also my most honest critic. There are some Sundays, though, when I really wish she would say something…especially when I think I’ve done a pretty good job. One Sunday I thought I’d preached a pretty good sermon, and driving home I kept waiting for her to say something. Nothing. Crickets. Finally I said, “What did you think of the service today?” “It was good,” she said. I was thinking, “Good??” I had to try a different approach. I thought I’d be sneaky. So I said, “Honey, how many REALLY great preachers do you think there are in America?” She thought for a minute and said, “I don’t know…but there’s one less than you think.” But just think for a minute… What if I was the best preacher in the world? What if I could “speak in the tongues of mortals and angels?” That’s what Paul writes in 1 Cor. 13: 1. Let’s take a look at “The Love Chapter… If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast,[a] but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly,[b] but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. (1 Cor. 13: 1-13 NRSV) So…the tongues of morals and of angels… What’s that all about? The “tongues of mortals” refers to human languages. Just imagine…what if I could preach in every language? I Googled it, and found that there are about 6,500 different languages spoken in the world. What if I could preach in all 6,500 of them? Whew doggie! And the tongues of angels? What’s that? Well – some scholars think it may refer to the way angels communicate to each other in the heavenly realm. What if I could do that? Wouldn’t that be cool? Or “tongues of angels” could refer to the gift of tongues that Paul talks about in 1 Cor. 12. The Corinthians apparently really wanted that gift, according to Paul. What if, in addition to all 6,500 mortal languages, I had the gift of speaking in “unknown tongues” as well? If I was the greatest preacher in the world…could speak in every mortal and angelic language…all of that would amount to a big, fat, nothing unless it came from a heart of love. Paul says that I would be a “noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” Corinth was a city in Greece, and was famous for its many places of worship to the various Greek gods and goddesses. One of the characteristics of heathen worship in Corinth was the clanging of gongs and cymbals. What Paul would say to me is, “Sam, if what you say doesn’t come from a heart of love…it is as useless in the eyes of God as the noisy gongs or clanging cymbals of heathen worshippers.” And Paul would say the same to you, too. Ouch! As important as preaching, tongues or prophecy might be…love is more important. Same goes for knowledge and even mountain-moving faith. Love trumps even giving and serving… What am I saying here? What was Paul saying in 1 Cor. 13? To put it in the words of a Beatles song – “All You Need Is Love.” If you think that is mamby pamby, then you’re thinking wrong about it. Join us this Sunday for the next message in the “Rock-n-Roll Summer” series! See you Sunday, Pastor Sam
Eleanor Rigby
July 21, 2019 • Sam Hayes
A car manufacturer once asked a map company to find the most remote place in the country. “Remoteness” was measured by distance from a publicly-maintained road. What was the winner? Well – there is a place in the SE corner of Yellowstone National Park called “Thorofare Ranger Station. The station is just a cabin, a barn, and a corral. The park ranger who looks after it has to drive 15 miles from his home, then saddle up his horse and travel another 32 miles into the wilderness to get to Thorofare Ranger Station. That makes Thorofare Ranger Station the most remote place in the country. Or is it? I think the most remote place in the world is the heart of a lonely person. That’s what I think about when I hear the next song in our Beatles series, “Eleanor Rigby.” All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong? Can you feel the melancholy in these lyrics? They remind me of a passage in Psalm 102. Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to you. 2 Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress. Incline your ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call. 3 For my days pass away like smoke, and my bones burn like a furnace. 4 My heart is stricken and withered like grass; I am too wasted to eat my bread. 5 Because of my loud groaning my bones cling to my skin. 6 I am like an owl of the wilderness, like a little owl of the waste places. 7 I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop. (Psalm 102: 1-7 NRSV) “I’m like a little owl of the waste places…I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.” Have you ever felt like that? This Sunday we are going to talk about the epidemic of loneliness that we see in our society. We are going to look at where “all the lonely people” come from. And finally, we are going to look at how we can rise above our loneliness. There is hope! Invite a lonely friend to join you this Sunday! See you Sunday, Pastor Sam
Ticket to Ride
July 14, 2019 • Sam Hayes
7-14-19 Sermon Notes “Ticket to Ride” Recently my mom told me about something that she would do when she was a little girl. She grew up on a farm during the Great Depression, and they grew and raised what they ate. They had a big garden, and pigs and milk cows…the whole nine yards. And they had lots of chickens. My mom said that one of her jobs was to listen, and anytime she heard the screech of a hawk flying around, she was to take the dish pan out in the yard and bang on it to drive the hawk away. She said that she can see clearly in her mind what the mother hens would do when they heard the cry of the hawk. They would gather their chicks underneath their wings and become a shield for them. Their instinct was to protect…even if it cost them their lives. In my mom’s story, the chicks always obediently came and sheltered under the mama hen’s wings. But what if there were “rogue” chicks… chicks who though they were smarter than mama hen… chicks who defiantly ran away from the shelter of the wings? Sounds funny, until you read the passage from Luke 13… 31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33 Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Luke 13: 31-35 NRSV) We will continue our Beatles series this Sunday with the song, “Ticket to Ride.” What’s the connection? Well…in the song, the lovestruck guy has the “girl that’s driving him wild” going away. “She’s got a ticket to ride…and she don’t care!” That’s what Jesus was saying as he wept over Jerusalem. “Jerusalem…you’ve got a ticket to ride…I would take you under my wings…if only you would…but you don’t care!” Join us this Sunday as we think about our ticket to ride, and what it means to be ticket ambassadors. See you Sunday! Pastor Sam
Yesterday
July 7, 2019 • Sam Hayes
7-7-19 Sermon Notes Yesterday” This coming Sunday, I will start a really “different” kind of sermon series. It’s called Rock-n-Roll Summer, and each week I will look at a different rock song and how it might tie in to a biblical passage. I’ll look theologically at the message of the song, and hopefully we all will learn and grow from the experience! Our focus for July will be the Beatles. Yep…the Beatles. You don’t have to be a Beatles fan to get something from this series! We will start with Paul McCartney’s haunting ballad, Yesterday. To say it has been a popular song would be an understatement. It was voted the best song of the 20th century in a 1999 BBC Radio poll, and was voted the number one pop song of all time by MTV and Rolling Stone magazine in the year 2000. In the song, you can feel the anguish of the man who longs for yesterday, when he and his sweetheart were together…before he “said something wrong” and she went away. If only he could go back to yesterday… Yesterday a lament, really. It reminds me an awful lot of the lament in Psalm 137… By the rivers of Babylon— there we sat down and there we wept when we remembered Zion. 2 On the willows there we hung up our harps. 3 For there our captors asked us for songs, and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4 How could we sing the LORD’s song in a foreign land? 5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand wither! 6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth, if I do not remember you, if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy. (Psalm 137: 1-6 NRSV) When your “today” is painful, it’s natural to look for and long for yesterday. Two problems come along with “yesterday” thinking. (1) We don’t always see “yesterday” clearly. (2) While we can learn from yesterday, we can’t go back there. We will talk more about that Sunday. See you in church! Pastor Sam