sermon: name that tune

Today’s game show is: Name that Tune or rather - we are going to play, Name that Hymn.  I had a lot to debate with this one.  We could play, name that scripture.  Many of our hymns are based on scripture passeges.  It is truly amazing how inspired people have been throughout the generations to take scripture and compose lyrics and music to God’s word.  As we sing each Sunday, we are lifting up God’s scripture. 

            Name that Tune was first aired in the 50’s and had many variations to the game throughout the next several decades.  The goal of the game was either to be the first to identify a song correctly, when played with two contestants, or in the individual round, to identify a set number of songs correctly in 30 seconds.  So, today we are going to play our own variation – you, the congregation are the contestants – when you think you can Name that Hymn: yell out the name of the hymn.  Here we go:

Amazing Grace

Joy to the World

Thine is the Glory

I've Got Peace Like a River

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Music connects to people at every age of our life span.  When we are infants our parents sang to us lullabies as they rocked us to sleep.  We learned the alphabet through song.  And as we grow, we learn Bible Stories through song.  That is one part of Vacation Bible School that I just love, learning the new songs and having them become a part of me at least for the next month or so.  Do you ever get a song just stuck in your head?  Many couples have their song.  And sometimes when we hear a song it reminds us of a specific time of our lives or a special event.  Be Thou My Vision was my seminary class song for graduation.  My father had the lyrics framed for me and I have kept it in my office for years now.  I can’t remember much of what I learned in school academically from middle school but I still seem to know every word to every song. 

God desires for us to embrace God’s teaching into our very being the same way we do with song.  Psalm 98 – Sing a new song to the Lord.  The Lord has made salvation know to us, let us sing with Song – Joy to the World.  At one point in time, that was a new song.  I can’t imagine Christmas without it, but just a few hundred years ago, it was none existent written in 1719 by Isaac Watts.  Sing to the Lord a new song.  Name that Tune – each of us has a way to create music to our Lord. 

Psalm 98 lifts up that not just will God’s people sing a new song, but all of creation sings forth a song to God.  If we listen carefully, we can hear this new song on a daily basis.  From the Grand Canyon to the Grand Tetons to the Jersey Shore; from birds to crickets to dolphins and whales, God’s creation sings forth beauty and awesomeness.  Joy to the Word the Lord has come, let earth receive her king.  And heaven and nature sing.  Each of us, whether we are gifted with musical talents or not, can live our lives as a song to God. 

There was a children’s show called Jack’s Big Music Show – and there was an Orchestra episode showing all the different instruments that come together to make one song.  In a very real way, this congregation and all of its ministry teams are an orchestra to God.  Each ministry has a song to sing, sometimes one group has a solo, but most of the time, we are playing together in unity, lifting up our gifts and service to God.

Paul is trying to connect this idea of all parts working together for the whole when he writes to the church in Corinth.  People are identifying themselves with Apollos and with Paul, creating division.  Paul reiterates how important it is to remember human tasks versus God’s tasks.  Paul plants, Apollos waters, but God makes things grow.  No matter what song we sing, no matter what church we build, Paul reminds us that the foundation that we build upon is Jesus Christ.  In all ministries of our church, we seek ways to build people’s lives upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.  Whether we do this through Sunday School lessons, Bible songs, mission opportunities, each of these exists as an expression of creating community, fellowship, and a foundation for faith growth and development.   

Sing a new song to the Lord, we are so blessed in this place to have so many opportunities in which we can build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ.  Together, we are God’s orchestra and together we are building upon the love of God made known in Jesus Christ, and as we build and as we grow each of us is a holy temple to God.  When I think of a holy temple I think of a place of worship and when I think of a place of worship I think of music.  Name that Tune – name the song that your life sings to God.  Claim the new song that you will sing to our loving God, whether it be through singing in the choir, volunteering at the Habitat build, helping with fellowship time, or studying scripture, and remember that your song joins together with the entire orchestra of God’s people.  Amen.

Sermon: A Minute to Win it

            About nine years ago, a new game show aired called: A Minute to Win it.  As soon as I saw the first ad, I knew this show would produce fun ideas for youth group games.  I believe we even played a few at the church mission adventure a few weeks ago.  Basically, when the game show aired, it had sixty games, all using regular household items.  A contestant must complete ten of these games, each one within a minute, in order to win the million dollar prize.  For example, in a minute, the contestant has to pull all the Kleenex out of the box, one at a time, or use a pizza box to fan three eggs across the stage into a marked circle on the other side. 

            A minute to win it.  If we are going to look at possible scenarios within the Bible, the following would be the ten I would identify for the game. 

1.  Moses and the Hebrew people crossing the Red Sea.  A minute to win it for Moses to let the waters crash back in and drown the Egyptian army. 

2.  Queen Esther appearing before the king.  Queen Esther has not been summoned by the king, to summons the king herself could mean immediate death to her.  Esther stands strong and appears before the king and he grants her favor to listen to her request.  A minute to win it for Queen Esther.    

3.  Elijah replenishing the flour and oil.  This is a story of the prophet Elijah encountering a widow.  He asks her for a piece of bread and a cup of water.  She tells him she only has a small amount of flour left and she is returning home to make one more meal before she and her son die.   As this story continues, the widow’s son dies and Elijah brings him back to life.  A Minute it to win it for Elijah. 

4.  the walls of Jericho.  In this story, the people march around the city of Jericho for six days.  On the seventh day they give a loud blast of the trumpets and the city walls collapse.  A minute to win it for Joshua. 

5. Daniel in the lion’s den.  Daniel is thrown into the lion’s den for worshipping his one true God rather than worshipping the king.  Now, Daniel is in the lion’s den for more than one minute.  He is in there all night, but those found to have falsely accused Daniel are thrown in and devoured before their feet hit the ground.  A minute to win it for Daniel. 

6.  David and Goliath.  David is a young boy who takes five smooth stones and his sling shot and in less than a minute takes down the mighty warrior Goliath.  A minute to win it for David. 

7.  Jesus turning water into wine.  Jesus is at a wedding feast and the wine runs out.  In order to prevent shame and embarrassment for the host, he asks for the ritual water jugs to be filled with water.  When they are poured out they contain wine. 

8.  the fishermen pulling up so many fish the nets break.  The fishermen have not caught anything during their time out at sea.  Jesus sends them back out and tells them to throw out the nets which become so full of fish the nets begin to break. 

9.  the feeding of the 5,000.  This is the well known story of Jesus taking five loaves of bread and two fish and feeding the masses with baskets of food left over. 

10.  walking on water.  Jesus has gone off to pray and has sent the disciples ahead of him in a boat.  He walks on the water to catch up with them.  When Peter sees him coming he gets out of the boat and walks on the water towards him, until he gets scared and begins to sink.  Jesus reaches out his hand and pulls Peter to safety.    

            So, throughout the Bible we have numerous stories of God working through people in moments of quick action to win victory over enemies, moments to show how God’s power can transform normal everyday items into something new, or how God’s work can overcome human doubt.  And fortunately enough, we did not have to win any of these events, let alone all ten, in order to win God’s favor.  Like Peter, when we are in a situation where we begin to sink, when we fear, when we doubt, we have the hand of Christ reaching out to us to pull us back up.  As contestants, we do not play any of these games alone, we have God make known to us in Jesus Christ to assist us. 

            This past week, I was at a conference sponsored by Presbyterians for Earth Care.  Much of this conference focused on climate change, climate change not in something that is going to be happening in the future, but something that is already happening.  As I reflected on our passage today of David and Goliath, the modern day Goliath that is looming in front of us is climate change.  I wish it was as easy as picking up a smooth stone and that it could take just a minute to win it against the destructive impact we have had on our fragile earth.  It is going to take a whole lot more than a smooth stone and a minute, but we have to face the giant before us. 

            During the conference, we took time to move through lament, the grief many of us feel for parts of God’s good creation that we have already lost and will never get back, such as animals that have gone extinct, and the mass death of our coral reefs.  But we ended the conference with hope, with faith, with the promise that God reaches back into creation and offers healing. 

One group went on a walk: from death to life and visited places in the area that were poisoned, where the soil was contaminated, and then they visited places that had once been polluted and are now healed.  Although I did not do this walk, it made me think of the site down the road from here where the Habitat homes are being built.  It took a good two years to remediate that land, the soil was heavily contaminated, and now, it is healed and able to offer space for twelve families to live.  We need to pray for Lake Hopatcong, for the damage done to it this past year, another Goliath before us, needing a David to come forward to defeat the causes for why this lake had such a horrible algae bloom.  But, with the work of the people, with dedication and commitment, these damaged places can be healed. 

Other places of hope were lifted up as images of reforestation were shown, of cities being creative with urban landscaping and greening of buildings.  Churches around our country our using solar panels on their buildings, and are paying more attention to their carbon footprint.  But, if we don’t choose to use this minute, these minutes before us, to make healthier choices for the earth, each minute further down the line only creates a bigger and stronger Goliath.  Our time, our minutes are now, we may not have a minute to win it, but we do have a minute to create sustainability, a minute to slow things down, a minute to lean into God and discern what God is calling us to do.  David does not go forward to slay Goliath without spending time with God.  David has a deep faith, and a deep trust, and he takes God forward with him into battle.  We too need to take God forward with us as we engage all the choices we have each and every day, between what we eat, what we buy, what we throw away, and what energy we consume.