Granddad’s Sermons

The box of manuscript scraps Mom left me

My grandfather, G.M.C. Massey, left behind a number of short sermons among the manuscript pages of his memoirs. A deeply religious man, he served as lay preacher and Sunday school teacher in the Pentecostal church. I’ve shared several portions of his memoirs previously that reference his religious beliefs, including the time he set aside his gun for God.

I have stayed away from transcribing or posting his sermons, however. As an archivist, my duty to preserve these is clear. But as a blogger, I exercise editorial control over what I publish here. Not to delve too deeply into my personal beliefs — I believe in pantheism — let’s just say I find Granddad’s sermons a bit strident. My brother, when he read them decades ago, simply described them as “full of fire & brimstone” and there are certainly elements of that throughout.

As a compromise between an archivist’s responsibility and a blogger’s editorial choices, I am going to post some of Granddad’s sermons on the blog as downloadable PDF files. That way, you certainly can open them up and explore them at your leisure, dear readers, but I will not engage in quoting them extensively. I feel that publishing the full contents is practically tantamount to endorsing his views — which I do not.

Anyway, here are a trio of his sermons — complete with typos and unusual punctuation and capitalization:

Posterity

I believe that I have an open mind; And for you to believe the truth that I am trying to bring to you; You must have an open mind, too: For this truth that is written in GOD’s Bible was written By holy men of old as they were moved upon by the HOLY GHOST: Then it was divinely written: then it is not just Paul’s JOHN”s ESTER’S, MATTHEW’s, MARK”S, LUKE’s, Or as to that fact any one of the OTHERS that has written. It is divinely the WORDS of the LIVING GOD.

Perilous Times

This also know, That in the last days perilous times shall come: For men shall be lovers of their own selves, Covetous, Proud, Boasters, Blasphemers, Disobedient to parents, Unthankful, Unholy, without natural affections, Truce brakers (sic), False accusers, Fierce,  despisers of those that are good, Traitors, Heady, High minded, Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of GOD; Having a form of godliness, But denying the power there of: From such turn away.

Erroneous Doctrines

From the name, You can see that we mean a doctrine that is not sustained by the scriptures.
Now this doctrine: that you do not have to do anything to obtain ETERNAL LIFE. If that was true, then we would have to deny the fact that the New Testament Church was set up on the day of PENTECOST: For upon that day some 3,000 people asked men and Brethren what shall we do?…
When people wants to know what they must do, then they are in a position to accept teaching: Then was when Peter rose up and told them what they must do: And he told them they must repent and be baptized in the name of JESUS Christ for the remission of sins, and they shall receive the GIFT of the HOLY GHOST: There was told them of two things they must do: And then one thing that GOD would do. And if that doesn’t prove that there is something we must do to obtain the Pearl of great Price, I just simply can’t understand.

I will share more of these sermons, along with more excerpts from Grandad’s full memoirs, in the future.