First Community Church 06.22.25 Glen Miles -Sermon Part 1 I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

I'm looking forward to sharing this new sermon series, You Too - The Search for Something More, with all of you this Sunday. For well over 40 years, U2 has been one of the world's most popular bands. Their songs explore topics such as love and grace, hope and fear, faith and doubt. Lead singer Bono (Paul David Hewson) sings and speaks openly about his Christian faith. One of my favorite quotes from his book Surrender says this about prayer, "Someone has likened prayer to being on a rough sea in a small boat with no oars. All you have is a rope that, somewhere in the distance, is attached to the port. With that rope, you can pull yourself closer to God. Songs are my prayers." Their beloved song, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," is, in my view, a beautiful example of a prayer. The first sermon in the series will focus on this line from the huge hit: I believe in the Kingdom Come Then all the colours will bleed into one Bleed into one But yes, I'm still runnin' When I listen to the song, I hear an echo of a lament found in Psalm 42, As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God. The Hebrew poet is poignantly looking for God, for a sense of the sacred, for something holier than himself. He feels abandoned, forgotten, left behind. I've heard themes like this in many of the pastoral care conversations I've had over the years. Despite the sense of loss, the author of Psalm 42, like this week's U2 song, finds the courage to name a fleeting yet still real sense of hope, Hope in God, for I shall again praise the Lord, my help and my God. I've had a great time working on these sermons, and I cannot wait to share this first one with you. Plus, I know you're going to be inspired by the First Community musicians who will perform this U2 song! At the 9 am service in Wing Grace Hall at FC North, it'll be the Common Grace Band leading us. In the 10 am service in the sanctuary at FC South, tenor Nick Denino will sing "I Still Haven't Found..." Nick is a member of the Cambridge Choir. At 11 am in the sanctuary at FC North, members of the Common Grace Band will make a guest appearance to perform the song.