Cowboy Church #181

 Hello my friends and welcome back for another service of Cowboy Church. 

Today's musical selection begins with The Sons of the Pioneers with Suddenly There's a Valley. This song was written by Chuck Meyer and Biff Jones in 1955. Over the years it has been recorded by many artists including Bing Crosby, The Mills Brothers, The Drifters, Glen Campbell, Andy Williams, Reba McEntire and many more. This version of the song comes from the Sons' 1963 gospel album, Hymns of the Cowboy.

This is followed by Glen Campbell with Softly and Tenderly. The song was written by an Ohio businessman named Will Thompson in 1880.  As well as writing gospel songs Thompson also wrote quite a few secular songs and parotic songs. When the songs he wrote were rejected by publishers he created his own company, Will L. Thompson & Company. This company would not only publish music by sell musical instruments. Softly and Tenderly first appeared in 1880's Sparkling Gems, Nos. 1 and 2, a collection of songs from the company. When evangelist Dwight L. Moody was on his death bed he told the songwriter, "Will, I would rather have written ‘Softly and Tenderly Jesus Is Calling’ than anything I have been able to do in my whole life." This was appropriate as Will decided to make songwriting his career while at a meeting held by Moody.

Next is Bill Anderson with Deck of Cards. This song reminds us that we can see God in anything even a deck of cards. 

Now we join The Petersens with Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior.  This hymn was written by Fanny Crosby (Blessed Assurance, Near the Cross, Take the World, But Give Me Jesus). The song first appeared in Christian Associations' Songs of Devotion in 1870.  Hymnologist, William J. Reynolds told the story how this song was written during Fanny's visit to a prison in 1868 with fellow gospel songwriters, William Bradbury, William Doane, Robert Lowry and Ira Sankey, “After she had spoken and some of her hymns had been sung, she heard one of the prisoners cry out in a pleading voice, ‘Good Lord, do not pass me by’; Following [William] Doane’s suggestion, she wrote a hymn that evening incorporating the line, “Pass me not, O gentle Savior.” Pass Me Not is said to be her first hymn to reach this level of fame.

Now we join Roy Rogers and Dale Evans with a wonderful version of the classic hymn, How Great Thou Art. In the book, Happy Trails: Our Life Story, Roy tells of a story that had to do with this song. "I'll tell you about one time we nearly got into a real war with the promoters: at the World Championship Rodeo at Madison Square Garden in 1952. During the first rehearsal I started to practice 'How Great Thou Art,' a religious song I wanted to make the centerpiece of our musical act. There's a line in that song that goes, 'Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee...' Someone in the front office heard the rehersal and came to me that night to tell me I wasn't allowed to mention Christ at the rodeo. 'It might work for the kids in Houston, Texas' he told me, 'But this is New York. You can't preach to kids here.' I told him I wasn't preaching but that the Savior was a part of the song and I fully intended to sing that song in New York or anywhere else we performed. They suggested that I could change the words of the song so it didn't mention Him. I'm not one for grandstand plays but I told those fellas that if I couldn't sing 'How Great thou Art' just how it was written, Dale and I would pack up and leave town. The song stayed in the show. That year we did forty-three performances over twenty-six days and broke all Madison Square Garden attendance records."

It is hard to believe that a song like The Man Comes Around was so late in Johnny Cash's career. Most of the time singer/songwriters don't release and certainly don't write their best music in their sixth decade, but as all music fans know Johnny was one of the rare artists with such a long career, who left this world at the top of his game musically.  At this time John was on fire for the lord. No longer was he the wild crazy man he had been in the 1950's and 60's, instead by this time he had become a true man of God, and wanted to do all he could for the lord before he passed away. He knew he had wasted too much of his life being controlled by sin and finally wanted to be a servant to God instead of to his own fleshly desires. At this time he was also seeing a musically resurgence, where he was more popular than ever and young audiences were embracing his new music just as much as they did any younger artist of their generation. What he wanted to do was to create a modern day gospel song that would speak directly to this younger audience and The Man Comes Around more than fit that bill. Because this song was so near and dear to him he spent more time writing it than any other song he had composed. In his book, Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon, Pastor Greg Laurie wrote "Personally I think it is the strongest song Johnny ever wrote. It is both biblical and personal, powerful and poetic." 

We Continue with Gene Autry singing God Must Have Loved America. This version comes from an episode of Gene Autry's radio show that aired July 26, 1942. This is the famous episode where Gene got sworn into the United States Army Air Forces live on the radio. 

Today's musical selection ends with The Carter Family's 1935 recording of Gospel Ship. 

Today's movie trailer is for John Wayne's final film, The Shootist (1976). This movie was directed by Don Seigal who had previous directed Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry (1971) and the Elvis Presley western, Flaming Star (1960). Though James Stewart had not appeared in a movie for five years, he agreed to be in this film at the request of John Wayne. 

Silver Screen, 1940

Next is a message from the Rev. Billy Graham.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. James 3:17

The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 8:6

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 1 Timothy 6:17

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 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 have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised. Song of Solomon 8:7

 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Thanks for joining me. Come back next week for another service of Cowboy Church. Happy trails to you until we meet again. 

Resources Used

Happy Trails: Our Life Story by Roy Rogers and Dale Evans

Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon by Greg Laurie

https://mediahistoryproject.org/

https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-softly-and-tenderly-jesus-is-calling