Hammock Funeral

Mr. Jackie Ralph Hammock, a resident of Wetumpka, Alabama, passed away on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the age of 78. Jackie was born and raised in Tallassee, AL, which was a place near and dear to his heart. He attended Auburn University, and received a Bachelors degree in Business Finance. He then completed a Masters degree in Education from the University of Montevallo. He taught at Elmore County High School and Wetumpka High School. Jackie then worked as an Education Specialist with the State Department of Education’s Driver and Traffic Safety division. He took pride in teaching young drivers the rules of the road and taught local private courses until his health began to decline. Jackie had many favorite pastimes, such as restoring antique cars and quail hunting. He found much joy in fishing with friends on the Tallapoosa River and Lake Martin, and was an avid outdoorsman. He never passed up an opportunity to visit with friends, old and new, and family members. He genuinely loved people, never hesitating to lend a helping hand, and truly never met a stranger. Jackie accepted Jesus into his heart at the age of 6 and dedicated his life to serving His Savior, his church and spreading the good news of the Gospel. He was a member of First Baptist Church of Wetumpka for 45 years and proudly served as a deacon during most of that time. He loved his wife and daughters and was the epitome of a girl dad, attending ballgames, competitions, and performances. He felt grateful and blessed to have 4 granddaughters and 1 grandson, and took every opportunity to be an active, godly example to them. Jackie was preceded in death by his father and mother, Ralph and Florence Hammock, and his brothers Leon Hammock and Morrell Hammock. He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Janice Montgomery Hammock, children Christina Hammock Burroughs (Beau), and Lucy Hammock Townsend (Turner), and grandchildren Virginia, Mary Austin, and Alice Townsend, and Grace and Rafe Burroughs.

How I first got to know Jackie- seeing him in the Baracca Room teaching Senior Adults

I. Men Filled with Compassion v.1

The story of deacon ministry begins with a significant problem in the life of the church

There were widows who were being overlooked in the distribution of food, as the church cared for those in need

It would seem that part of this was related to the fact that they were Greek

In the middle of this difficult situation, God raised up men who would meet the need of these hurting widows

This was so much the heart of Jackie! He had compassion on our widows and widowers, shut-ins, and the folks in the nursing home

Whether he was teaching his Sunday School class, attending a funeral, or reaching out to make a visit, Jackie genuinely cared about others!

-Talk about Chris’s Hotdogs and the men’s group- relationships mattered to Jackie. He loved people and he wanted you to love them too.

II. Men who are Ready to Serve v.2

Next, we see that the church’s response is to raise up a new group of men who take on the role of servant

Deacons fill a number of different roles in the life of the church today

They are leaders, but they lead through serving

At the forefront of the ministry is the kind of care that we see in this chapter

Deacon ministry may be more than caring for the widows, but it can never be less than that!

Deacon ministry is often difficult, sometimes rewarding, and filled with a thousand hidden acts of service; the best deacons are not known for how they have lead, but how they have served!

In 1878, when William Booth’s Salvation Army was beginning to make its mark, men and women from all over the world began to enlist. One man, who had once dreamed of becoming a bishop, crossed the Atlantic from America to England to enlist. Samuel Brengle left a fine pastorate to join Booth’s Army. But at first General Booth accepted his services reluctantly and grudgingly. Booth said to Brengle, “You’ve been your own boss too long.” And in order to instill humility in Brengle, he set him to work cleaning the boots of other trainees. Discouraged, Brengle said to himself, “Have I followed my own fancy across the Atlantic in order to black boots?” And then, as in a vision, he saw Jesus bending over the feet of rough, unlettered fishermen. “Lord,” he whispered, “you washed their feet; I will black their shoes.”

III. Men who are Filled with the Holy Spirit v. 3

When the Church sets aside men to serve, they specifically look for men who are noted for their character!

Men of good reputation

Men who were filled with the Holy Spirit

Men filled with wisdom

When I think about Jackie, this is what I think about: spiritual sensitivity, prayer, and genuine care for others that flows from a life filled with the Holy Spirit

-Talk about men’s prayer group during Covid

James 5:13–16

[13] Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. [14] Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. [15] And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. [16] Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (ESV)

IV. Men who Help the Word Grow v. 7

All of this comes to a conclusion with a note: the priests have become obedient to the faith and the number of the disciples has multiplied.

While there is not a direct line between the ministry of the deacons to this fruitfulness, the note is not accidental

The Church is richer and deeper because of men like Jackie who serve!

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun. It sent its last signal in January of 2003 from a distance of 7.6 billion miles away.

And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff, "those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.'" The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.