Summer Jams 2026 Part 3 | Jesus' Jailhouse Rock with Rudy

Hey guys, this is Tracy. If at any time you'd

like to connect with HCV, go to hcv .church forward

slash connect. If you feel called to give, go

to hcv .church forward slash give. And if at

any time you feel called to make a change in

your life, text change me to 970 -00. Enjoy the

message. Ladies and gentlemen, it's Elvis week.

You're about to see a young fellow who came out

of nowhere to become an overnight sensation.

And now to the HCV stage to meet Elvis Presley

as he brings you Jailhouse Rock. Good morning.

The war threw a party in the county jail. The

prison band was there and they began to wail.

The band was jumping and the drum began to swing.

Should have heard them knock down jailbirds sing,

let's rock. Everybody, let's rock. Everybody

in the old cell block was dancing to the jailhouse

rock. Spider -mother played the tenor saxophone.

Little Joey blowing on the slide trombone. section

was a purple y 'all so much. Appreciate it. Thank

you. Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the

building. But you need to stick around for God's

message. Thank you, Kevin Booth. Was that awesome

or what? So let me just start by saying good

morning. Thank you for joining us. I apologize

to some of you who expected me to be in a white

Elvis jumpsuit like last time. If it's your first

time, man, I don't want to say sorry, but you're

in for a treat, that's for sure. You've already

been experiencing it. Let's shift gears right

now, if you will. Let's just go ahead and pray

and invite the Holy Spirit in. Come Holy Spirit.

God, I just thank you for the blessings that

you give us each and every day. I thank you for

this awesome building that we get to come to

every Sunday and worship your name. I thank you

for Chris and Jess and their obedience 20 years

ago. to do a little church plant in a little

town of Hagerstown. And God, I just thank you

for each and every person that has walked through

the door since, that has been able to come and

just learn the name of Jesus. So God, I just

ask that you speak the message that you have

today. Allow your words to come out of my mouth,

but just penetrate the hearts of each and every

person here, God. Just allow us to... Put down

the things of earth and pick up all those majestical

kingdom items you have for us. I ask that in

the precious name of Jesus. Amen. Elvis Presley.

Elvis transformed the field of popular music,

but also had a huge effect on popular culture

in general. What if? We allow Jesus to have that

same effect in our lives. Little Richard said

of Elvis, he was an integrator. Elvis was a blessing.

What if we saw Jesus in that same light? President

Jimmy Carter would remark, his music and his

personality fusing the styles of white country

and black rhythm and views. blues permanently

changed the face of American popular culture.

What if we allowed Jesus to change the landscape

of our culture? An American composer and conductor,

Leonard Bernstein, said Elvis Presley is one

of the greatest cultural forces in the 20th century.

He introduced the beat to everything, and he

changed everything, music, language. What if

we truly allowed Jesus to be that cultural force

today? Jailhouse Rock. Jailhouse Rock was Elvis'

sixth song to hit number one on the Billboard

Top 40. It was the title song from Elvis' third

feature film called, of course, Jailhouse Rock.

It hit number one on multiple charts all around

the world and peaked in the top ten and many

other charts. Teenagers and young adults loved

it. Ladies swooned. And fathers hated it. Me,

personally, it's not my favorite Elvis song.

That would be Can't Help Falling In Love or how

great thou art, depending on the day. But Elvis

was a rocker, and so am I. So I love Jailhouse

Rock. Now, of course, I've become the Elvis guy

for some reason here at Hub City. People tend

to think I'm some kind of Elvis super fan. I'm

really not. But I want to pause right here for

a moment. And remind you that we are celebrating

20 years of Hub City Vineyard in 2026. Listen,

it's been a fun ride. And I'm happy and honored

to be just a small part of that. You see, this

series marks 11 years since Carrie Kingston and

I first started here. So I want to say thank

you. To Chris and Jess, for your obedience in

2006 to expand the kingdom by planting Hub City

Vineyard. A landmark in your lives that has led

to landmarks in countless, countless other lives.

Hallelujah. So, our first Sunday, me and my family.

Our first Sunday at the Vineyard was, in fact,

Elvis Week 2015. So we're celebrating 11 years

here at the Vineyard. Kelsey knew that we were

looking for a church. She also knew that Carrie

and I had an Elvis wedding in Las Vegas. So she

invited us. We weren't really interested in this

crazy tie -dyed church. that we heard about.

In fact, we weren't even sure if we were headed

to church or to a wine tasting event. But we

got here. Everyone, it was our first time because

I was wearing a shirt and tie. Maybe the last

time I wore a shirt and tie in the church. But

Kevin sang Elvis' Burning Love that day. And

God spoke about how God had a burning love for

each of us. And then we immediately became hippie

vineyarders, along with the rest of you crazies.

And you guys all helped Kelsey Palmer to thank

for that. Because that first Sunday was a landmark

in my life and the life of my family. So. I want

to say right now, don't be afraid to invite someone

crazy to church. They may just become the next

assistant to the lead pastor at Hub City Vineyard.

God bless you. So today, instead of a list of

points, I want to reflect on a list of questions.

So we're going to ask ourselves a couple questions.

The first question I want you to ask yourself

is, what are your positive landmarks? What are

those landmarks from your past that stick out

to you, that have such a positive influence on

your life? And jot them down. Journal it. But

I want to talk about a few famous Jewish landmarks

that we hear about in the Old Testament. Of course,

we all know the story. We read the story of Jacob

in Genesis. In chapter 33, we read the story

about Jacob returning home and reconciling with

his brother Esau. Then he sets up camp. Then

in verses 19 and 20, we read this. Jacob bought

the plot of land where he camped from the family

of Hamar, the father of Shechem, for 100 pieces

of silver. And there he built an altar and named

it El Elohe Israel. Now that phrase El Elohe

Israel literally translates to the mighty God

of Israel. So Jacob builds an altar to God. And

that represents a landmark in his life. Reminding

him of the grace and provision. provided by his

mighty God. Jacob also built or dug a well. I

say built. Gary says dug. Jacob also dug a well

on this land, on his land. And I just want to

let you guys in on a little fun fact. That land

that Jacob owned would later become Samaria.

And then that well, Jacob's well, would become

the same well that Jesus had an encounter with

the Samaritan woman. Of course, we know the story.

Jesus starts the conversation in John 4, verse

John 4:9

9, by asking her for a drink. And in verse 9,

we read her reaction. The woman was surprised.

For Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans.

She said to Jesus, you are a Jew and I am a Samaritan

woman. Why are you asking me for a drink? Now,

I think this tells us a little bit about what

Jesus thinks about racial division and reconciliation.

But continuing on in verse 10, Jesus replied,

if you only knew the gifts God has for you and

who you're speaking to, you would ask me and

I would give you living water. Now, do you think

that well became a landmark for the Samaritan

woman? I believe that she went back to that well

often to remember the day her life was changed

by a Jewish carpenter by the name of Jesus. See,

like Jacob's well and Jacob's altar, all of us

have these landmarks in our lives. So I ask you

today, what are your positive landmarks? Now,

I'm going to play school teacher. I want you

to turn to your neighbor and tell them one of

your positive landmarks. I will say that I had

to greatly encourage the first service like they

were my homeroom and didn't want to talk. So

thank you to second service for being wide awake

and ready to engage. Now, I also have other landmarks

in my life. The night I ate platefuls of shrimp

that almost died from anaphylactic shock. Three

months later, when I had the accident that almost

took off my right arm and ultimately almost took

my life. Those were life -changing events, but

those weren't positive landmarks. Which leads

me to my next question. Some of you already have

it filled in. What are your negative landmarks?

What are those things that you don't look back

on with such joy? Although, now I kind of do.

In Acts 16, we find Paul and Silas casting a

demon out of a slave girl. Her masters didn't

like this because the girl, or the demon, rather,

was making her master's money by telling people

their fortunes. In verse 22 of Acts 16, we read

this. A mob quickly formed against Paul and Silas,

and the city officials ordered them stripped

and beaten with wooden rods. Sounds fun. They

were severely beaten, and then they were thrown

into prison. The jailer was ordered to make sure

they didn't escape, so the jailer put them in

the inner dungeon and clamped their feet in the

stocks. You think this was a negative landmark

for Paul and Silas? Unjustly thrown in prison

with their feet strapped in a block of wood?

Probably. But unlike what you and I probably

would do, they decided to make the best of the

situation. Because what happens here? Luke records

the first jailhouse rock in history. Continuing

in verse 25, around midnight, Paul and Silas

were praying and singing, singing hymns to God.

And the other prisoners were listening. Suddenly,

there was a massive earthquake, and the prison

was shaken to its foundations. All the doors

immediately flew open and the chains of every

prisoner fell off. The jailer woke up to see

the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners

had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself.

But Paul shouted to him, Stop! Don't kill yourself.

We are all here. Not only did they sing, Hymns

of praise. Not only did they find freedom with

doors flying wide open, but Paul also saves a

man's life. And that man and his entire family

were subsequently given over to Jesus, securing

the jailer's place in eternity. Let's look at

the last stanza of Jailhouse Rock. Elvis, or

Kevin, just sang, Shifty Henry said to Bugs,

for heaven's sake, no one's looking. Now's our

chance to make a break. Bugsy turned to Shifty

and he said, nix nix, I want to stick around

and get my kicks. How many of those prisoners

in a jail in Act 16 that stuck around with Paul

and Silas? are now getting their kicks with Jesus

and eternity. But that wouldn't be the last time

Paul was in prison. More negative landmarks.

The prison epistles, there's four of them. Epistles

just means letters. The prison epistles are named

so because they were written by the Apostle Paul

while he was incarcerated. Ephesians, Philippians,

Colossians, and Philemon, all written while he

was incarcerated. Philemon was written to Paul's

friend and fellow laborer, yes, Philemon, as

a plea for forgiveness. This letter was encouraged.

to encourage Philemon to free his runaway slave,

Onesimus. The other three letters were written

to churches. Last time I spoke, I talked about

Philippians. Most of you can quote many things

from Philippians. Philippians is Paul's most

joyful letter. It references joy over and over

throughout its pages. Paul encouraged the Philippian

believers to rejoice in spite of suffering and

anxiety, to rejoice in service, and to continue

to look to Christ as the object of their faith

and hope. And in Philippians 4 .4, we read this

simple line. I used to sing it as a kid. Rejoice

in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

He wrote that. While chained to a guard. So I'll

ask again. What are your negative landmarks?

You don't have to turn and talk to your neighbor

about this one. But I do want you to write it

down. Because these negative landmarks also have

impact on our lives. Now. While we were on the

topic, let me ask you one more question. What

is your worst sin? Like I want you to really

think about this one. What is the worst thing

I've ever done? And then write it down. I have

been arrested twice in my life. That's still

not the worst thing I have ever done. In fact,

I'm not going to say it because you'll bring

me off the stage. You won't see me as your pastor.

You got yours? Write it down. Now, I want you

to consider this verse in Hebrews 8, 12. Once

you have it written down, now look up to the

screen and read this verse. And I will forgive

them of their wickedness. And I will remember

their sins no more. Whatever you just wrote down,

it's false. It's been forgiven. So now you just

take your pen or grab a magic marker and scratch

through it. Scratch through it so you can't see

it anymore. Because as scripture says, he will

remember it. no more. Now, that doesn't give

us license to do whatever we want to do in life,

but we are covered by the blood of Jesus, so

we don't have to worry because he paid for it.

Now, these landmarks, positive and negative,

our past sins, these experiences that anchor

our memories, These are moments in time that

shape our identity and provide a sense of being.

But these aren't our identity, right? There's

times I've spent in jail. There's near -life

experiences. All those bad choices and decisions

I made, they help shape us, but they don't define

us. My identity is not prisoner. My identity

isn't man in chains. My identity is in Jesus

Christ. Jesus is king. You're not wearing those

clothes anymore. I wear the mark of Jesus on

my chest. All those bad mistakes, they don't

define me. They help shape me, but my identity

is in Jesus. My OCD doesn't define me. Jesus

defines me. I am a son of God. So, in your bulletins,

you're going to find those affirmations that

Chris gave us last week. I ask them to leave

them in the bulletin because I want to reference

them this week. I want you to pick the one in

there that means the most to you. Maybe ask God

to highlight one for you. And then each day this

week, I want you to say it out loud every morning.

I am not a failure. No. There is no condemnation

in my relationship with Jesus. I'm a new creation

and the old one is gone and new life has just

begun. I am an addict. No. I am an overcomer.

The world can no longer control me. Addict isn't

your identity. It's part of your... Daughter

of God is your identity. Now, some time ago,

Tony Greeley and me were having a conversation.

And she shared this beautiful picture of what

God's grace looks like. And what the Holy Spirit's

guidance looks like. And I want to share it with

you. This is her. She wrote it. She sent it to

me. She gave me permission. Tony says, so often

we feel God calling us to be on fire for him

and share his love. But we let the shame of our

past suffocate that fire. We let the chains of

all of our mistakes get longer and longer. Each

mistake that we make adding just another link

to the chains that bind us. But God calls us

to let that fire burn and to throw those chains

into the fire. And that burning love of God,

he melts down each chain link into pure metal.

And then this is the beautiful part. God takes

those chains and reshapes it into the full. of

God. He takes those chains and makes it the breastplate

of righteousness. He takes those chains and reshapes

it into the sword of truth. God takes your shame

and chains and turns it into your armor. All

the experiences from our past shapes how God

uses us in his kingdom. So don't be ashamed of

them. Don't be ashamed of your past. Celebrate

that when you accepted Jesus as your savior,

you were redeemed. And all those past transgressions,

he remembers no more. Now, because I've already

touched on this, and I know that some of you

here are thinking, Yeah, that's cool, but I haven't

given my life to Jesus. We usually do this at

the end of the service. But I want to pause right

now to give any of you the opportunity to accept

Jesus as your Lord and Savior. If you've never

asked Jesus into your life, now is your time.

If you are sick of the chains that are weighing

you down, now is the time to allow God to melt

them away. So I want you to repeat these words

in your heart. In church, you know the drill.

As a family, nobody gets left out. We're going

to say this all together as a family. So please,

repeat after me. Jesus, without you I am lost.

I am in chains. With you I am found. I am free.

I believe. You are the Son of God. I believe

you died for my sins. I believe you are alive

and well today. Jesus, come into my heart. Transform

me. Make me new. Give me your Holy Spirit to

partner with me. Turn my chains into armor. In

Jesus' name, amen. Now, if you prayed that prayer

for the very first time, please know that there

are a multitude of angels in heaven that are

praising, rejoicing, and having a jailhouse rock

in your honor. And if that was you, I want you

to take out your cell phone and text the words

CHANGEME to 97000. And somebody, Chris, Jessica,

myself, somebody on staff will reach out to you

this week. to give you steps. You ready for the

action steps? Now that we've committed our lives

to Jesus, I have just two action steps for you

today on how you can build your armor. The first

one is another question. How can I get 1 % better

every day? What can I do in my life to get 1

% better? Every day. You don't have to be complete

tomorrow. You just need to be 1 % better. Please

know that it takes time to be formed into the

person that God wants to mold you into. Talk

to Rick Vance. He's a great mentor. He's 88 years

old. And I guarantee you, he will tell you that

God is still shaping him into the man he wants

him to become. See, Rick still strives to get

1 % better each day. Now, look back in the Old

Testament in Job, chapter 8, verse 7. Your beginnings

Job 8:7

will seem humble, but so prosperous will your

future be. Tony finishes her vision with this

sentence. When you daily surrender those chain

links into the fire, you're making that armor

a little bit thicker, a little bit stronger,

which creates a stronger defense against the

enemy. Now, last week, I stood back there and

listened to Chris speak, and like 90 % of what

he said I intended to say today. So, I didn't

really change anything. I just know that what

Chris told us last week... we don't have to feel

shame about, but we also can use those things,

okay? But he mentioned this kind of quote picture.

A number of years ago, I actually created this

meme, and I want to reiterate the point that

Chris made last week, okay? He talked about the

rearview mirror. The rearview mirror is like

6 to 12 inches, depending on what size car you

have, right? How big is the windshield? Huge.

Why? Because you need to see what's coming up.

But why do we have the rearview mirror? Because

we need to glance up every now and then. I will

share it on Facebook if you want to repost it

later. We need to look back every now and then

to see those storms that we've already been through.

One, so they don't sneak back up on us. And two,

because they are behind us. So, pick up every

once in a while. Look at the storm behind you.

But look at the beautiful blue skies in front

of you. What do you do? You take that affirmation

that you picked earlier. You study the verses

that go along with them. You pray for guidance.

You sing songs of worship. Start each day with

a worship song. You give thanks. You allow yourself

to get... 1 % better each day. And if tomorrow

you only get half a percent better, guess what?

Better. And then step two, this is the only point

of the day, the only bullet point that is not

a question. It's a commandment. Give yourself

grace. Back to 2 Corinthians 12, 9. You've heard

it in the email. You've heard it by autumn. I'm

going to say it one more time. Jesus said to

me, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power

is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore,

I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses

so that Christ's power may rest on me. The person

that I'm least likely to give grace to, If Jesus

extends that grace from that verse to you every

day, why can't you? Now, I want to show you this

growth chart. Aidan will put that up on the screen.

I know, I'm still a math teacher at heart. That

little point at the beginning, that's called

the origin of a graph. That's zero comma zero.

That's where you start. In fact, that may be

where you found Jesus. And once you start moving

forward, you're also moving up. You're moving

forward and you're moving up. The trajectory

of that whole thing is in what direction? Up.

Now, you'll notice along the way there's some

peaks and there's some valleys. Because you're

going to grow. And then you're going to backslide.

But then you're going to hit what you think is

rock bottom, and you're going to grow again.

But the trajectory of that whole thing is up,

right? But what happens is we pick a valley.

And we wallow in that valley. And we woe is me

in that valley. And then we compare that valley

to the mountain in front of it. And as we're

comparing it to that mountain, we say, man, how

far did I slide back? Man, I'm an idiot. Man,

I'm a knucklehead. What was I thinking? I was

doing so good. But what I want you to do is take

that valley, and instead of looking back to the

last peak, I want you to look back to where you

started. Because you may have backslid a little

bit, but you're still in a much better place

than where you started. In fact, that valley

is higher than those peaks. Don't compare yourself

to your last good decision or your last bad decision.

Get 1 % better each day. And even if you slide

back, you're still at least moving that way.

But remember, you need to give yourself grace.

Compare yourself to where you started. And then

one last question. I want you to think about

this week. I want you to meditate on this week.

God, how do you want me to use my talents to

further your kingdom? A man named Alex Romero

choreographed the dance moves for Jailhouse Rock.

He sat and he watched. of Elvis' performances.

He used Elvis' own moves to create the dance

sequences and to give Elvis direction. This is

what God does. He uses our own moves. He uses

our own experiences, the good, the bad, the ugly,

and he takes those and uses it to give us direction.

Are you getting 1 % better each and every day

this week? Let me just pray that over you. Come

Holy Spirit. God, I just ask that each of us

are able to wake up each and every morning asking

you, God, you have given me so many blessings.

You have given me so many talents and skills.

How, God, do you want me to use those experiences

for your kingdom today? And God, continue to

guide us and strengthen us. Do not allow us,

God, to live in the shame of our past, but to

remember that you're going to use all things

to the good of your glory. So comfort us, guide

us, direct us, bring us back safely so we can

do this all again. next week. In Jesus' name,

amen. Now, before we go, the worship team, or

sorry, the prayer team, maybe the worship team,

will be up here on each side. Here are the words

of knowledge. The first one, close, dear to my

heart, you've made a bad mistake in your relationship

and you can't get past it. If that's you, come

get prayer. Because He will forgive them their

wickedness and remember no more. I don't know

why everyone's leaving. I still got words of

knowledge that you might need prayed over. You

have muscle cramps in your calf. You have persistent

headaches. You have knee pain. You have left

joint pain. Possibly your hip needs replacement.

And the inner part of your right foot has a bone

fracture. If the inner part of your left foot

has a bone fracture, you should probably still

come up and get prayer. Just saying. Okay? If

any of these are you, please come forward and

get prayer. One more thing, this Saturday evening

we're going to host our next Hispanic get -together

here at the pavilion behind the church. Invite

someone. Starts at 5 o 'clock. You can see me

or Rick for details. I believe they have flyers

at the Welcome Hub. Next Sunday, are you ready

for this? I'm not telling you. You're just going

to have to have a little patience. Thank you.

Love you