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On Saturday July 24 our Praise Hymn worship team will once again be
singing “The Star Spangled Banner” at the Windy City Thunderbolts baseball game.
As you know the Star Spangled Banner, is our national anthem. You may not know, the lyrics come from a
poem written in 1814 by 35-year-old Francis Scott
Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal
Navy during the War of 1812. The tune is taken from a popular British drinking song of the day.
On Sunday July 4th, we will be singing “The Star Spangled Banner” in worship. We will also be
singing the 4th verse of the song, which says, “ may the heav'n rescued land Praise the Power
that hath made and preserved us (as) a nation.” The words of this verse also encourage us to adopt the
motto, “In God is our trust.” (The U.S. Congress did eventually adopt
this phrase as our national motto but not until 1931.) There is an interesting history related to the singing
of our national anthem. For example, “the first "pop" performance of the anthem was by guitarist Jose Feliciano who shocked some people when he strummed a slow, bluesy rendition before game five of the 1968 World Series. One week after Feliciano's performance, the anthem was in the news again when American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos lifted controversial raised-fists at the 1968 Olympics while the "Star-Spangled Banner" played at a medal ceremony. Whitney Houston gave a soulful rendition before Super Bowl XXV in 1991, which was released as a single that charted at number 20 in 1991 and number 6 in 2001 (the only times the anthem
has been on the Billboard Hot 100). Another famous instrumental interpretation is Jimi Hendrix's Woodstock version which incorporated sound effects to emphasize the "rockets' red glare", and "bombs bursting in air". Roseanne Barr gave a controversial performance of the anthem at a baseball game on July 25, 1990. The comedienne belted out a screechy
rendition of the song, and afterward offended the sensibilities of many Americans when she attempted her impression of baseball
players by spitting and grabbing her crotch as if adjusting a protective cup. In March 2005, a government-sponsored program,
the National Anthem Project, was launched after a Harris poll showed many adults knew neither the lyrics nor the history of the anthem.”* My favorite story about the national anthem took
place in 2006 when 13 year old Natalie Gilbert who had won the right to sing the song at the Blazer’s NBA play off game.
(By the way you can see this on www.youtube.com ) The eighth grader stepped up to the mike somewhat tenuously,
and began to sing. When she got to “at the twilight’s last gleaming,” her mind simply went blank, and she
stopped singing. The coach for the blazers, Mo Cheeks (a father of two who had grown up in the Robert Taylor Homes in the
inner city of Chicago) walked over to her, put his arm around her and began to sing. “at the twilight’s last gleaming.”
Mo could not carry a tune in a bucket, but as he sang, Natalie remembered the words, and the two of them sang a duet. Moved
by his unselfish gesture, the crowd of 20,000 did what the crowds at sporting events almost never do. They began to sing along.
When all had sung, “and the home of the brave.” the people stood as one and gave the two of them a standing ovation.
A reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, "Rarely
has the national anthem...been rendered with such heartfelt gusto.” “It was a glorious, redemptive moment."
Cheeks later told CNN, "I just started walking. I had no idea what I was going to do, what I was going to say. But as
I approached her, I just wanted to help her, and I didn't know if I even knew the words." It strikes me that this true story is a wonderful parable of the Christian
life. This kind of selfless risk taking is at the core of what it means to live a life of Christian discipleship. This month
as we remember the sacrifices made by so many for us, let us be inspired “to live
no longer just for ourselves, but for Him who for our sake died and rose again.” (II Cor. 5:15)
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Jay * From Wikkidpedia.com
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When I was 19 I was involved with a fellowship of Christians that had
a powerful impact on my life. They were firmly committed to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior in a way I had never seen
before in my church growing up. One of the things they believed was called, “the rapture.” Some
Christians (like Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, the authors of Left Behind), who call themselves “pre- millennialists”
believe that there will be a time of terrible persecution in the future, and to keep His children from suffering God will
rapture all true Christians out of the world into heaven, leaving only their clothes behind. Perhaps you’ve
seen the bumper stickers, “Here, there, or in the air.” Or “In case of rapture this car will be driverless.”
Or maybe you remember Larry Norman’s song from the 70s, “I Wish We’d All Been Ready.”
I remember particularly one night when I arrived at the door of a Christian
commune where I had previously arranged to stay for a week. I got there quite late and it was midnight
when I finally knocked on the door. No one answered so I pushed the door open, and walked in. The lights were all on, the
dinner was still on the table, but there was no one home, and my pulse started to beat wildly, because I knew intuitively
that Jesus had come and I had been, ….. “left behind.” No one was more relieved
than me when a house full of Jesus freaks returned from a late night prayer meeting.
On the other hand, there are Christians who believe that God never promised us that he would shield us from tribulation.
They say this passage about the rapture in I Thes. 4 where the believers are “caught up to meet the Lord in the
air” refers to what will happen at the end of time. (Some of these Christians call themselves “post-millennialists.”)
While some Christians get quite worked up and incensed over this issue, it seems to me to be a bit of a
tempest in a tea pot. I favor the advice of Amy Grant who once counseled, “Pray
for pre, and prepare for post.” There
are some things about the Christian faith and life that we must never compromise. The deity of Christ, His
exclusive claim to be the only way to God, salvation by grace through faith in Christ, the primacy and authority of the scriptures.
However, there are some things in the Christian faith and life which the reformers called “adeophora.” Non-essentials.
Do we dunk or do we sprinkle? Does the pastor wear a robe or a business suit? Do
we worship with traditional or contemporary music? Do we drink wine or grape juice? These and other issues
like them are non-essentials that Christ and His Word neither forbid nor command. In these things we have the freedom to use
our sanctified common sense in deciding what we will believe. I think it was Phillip Melancthon, a student of Martin Luther,
who summed it up best when he said wrote of the Christian life,
“In
essentials unity, in nonessentials liberty, in all things charity.” Your brother in Christ, Pastor Jay
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A GOOD QUESTION IS WORTH 100 SERMONS!!!
Questions have a way of engaging us on a deep level, stimulating our best thought and bothering us until
we were through them to an acceptable answer. Jesus knew this. In Matthew 16, Jesus asks his followers, "Who do people
say that I am?" easy, answers come fast and furious. "You are Elijah...Jeremiah...John the Baptist...Moses."
Then he asked the question that has challenged people for 2,000 years. "Who do you say that I am?" How we answer
that question will determine not only our eternal destiny, but also how, and why, we live in this world.
Another challenging question that comes to my mind is posed by church expert Kennon
Callahan in his book, "12 steps to an Effective Church." He says the watershed question for every church ought to
be this: "Are the best years of our church ahead of us, or behind us." This is a question that tends to be a self-fulfilling
prophecy. If you say your best days are behind you, You will probably be right. If your focus is on memories of some golden
age in the churches past, the life and growth of the church will tend to diminish. On the other hand, if you say the best
days are still to come, that hope will spur excitement, newness, and growth that will boost the church to future greatness.
Herbert Chilstrom, the former presiding Bishop of our national church body, poses
three thought provoking questions:
1. Do we live in a Christian nation?
2. Is your congregation a settled and well established organization?
3. Is your pastor called primarily to serve you and others in the congregation?
He writes, "If you answered yes to all three questions, I suggest your congregation is in deep trouble."
For starters, Chilstrom observes, "There is no such thing as as Christian nation, there are only Christians who live
in a nation and try to influence it's life." On the church he writes, "Unless it (the congregation) sees itself
as a mission outpost, no congregation will -or probably should-survive for long." He adds, "While we look to pastors
for guidance, instructions in the faith, inspiration, counsel, and administration, more than anything else, pastors are called
to empower us to witness in our daily life." He concludes his article with a challenge that I pass along to you. "Next
time you find yourself sitting in church with some moments for reflection, ask yourself:
Why? Why this congregation? What is our mission?
Your brother in Christ,
Pastor Jay
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