Sermon Illustrations
Dad Given Ticket for Singing 1990 Dance Hit "Everybody Dance Now" While Driving
There are some songs that are just so good that it's hard not to sing along when they come on in the car. That was the case for Montreal native Taoufik Moalla when C+C Music Factory's 1990 hit "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" came on while he was driving. Moalla began to sing along (presumably with some enthusiasm, if you are familiar with the song), but quickly noticed police lights behind him. "I was thinking they wanted to pass, but they called on the speaker, 'Please go to the right side,'" he told reporters. "I stopped and four police came, two on each side, and checked the inside of the car. Then they asked me if I screamed. I said, 'No, I was just singing.'"
Montreal has varying bylaws depending on the neighborhood, but police apparently felt that this case fell under the category of "Noise resulting from cries, clamors, singing, altercations or cursing and any other form of uproar" prohibited in that part of the city. It earned the poor 38-year-old father of two a $118 ticket. "I don't know if my voice was very bad and that's why I got the ticket, but I was very shocked," he said. An NPR article recounting the story concluded with an amused question for the Montreal police: "How do you not sing to this song?"
Potential Preaching Angles: Just as our favorite songs seem to tug at us to sing along whenever they come on, so ought God's glory pull at our hearts to cry out in worship whenever we catch glimpses of his goodness and faithfulness. As Jesus said to the Pharisees about the cries of "Hosanna!" during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem: "If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." (Luke 19)