Joseph B. Bethea - "God's Demand and Our Desire" (August 30, 1981)

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	(slow organ music)	0:01
	(flowing organ music)	0:02
	(organ music)	1:49
	(upbeat organ music)	2:52
	(upbeat organ music)	3:55
	(triumphant organ music)	4:59
	(soft organ music)	7:01
	(upbeat guitar music)	7:29
	♪ If we only have love ♪	7:38
	♪ Then tomorrow will dawn ♪	7:43
	♪ And the days of our years ♪	7:48
	♪ Will rise on that morn ♪	7:53
	♪ If we only have love ♪	7:58
	♪ To embrace without fears ♪	8:02
	♪ We can kiss with our eyes ♪	8:07
	♪ We will sleep without tears ♪	8:12
	♪ If we only have love ♪	8:17
	♪ With our arms open wide ♪	8:21
	♪ Then the young and the old ♪	8:26
	♪ Will stand at our side ♪	8:30
	♪ If we only have love ♪	8:35
	♪ Love that's falling like rain ♪	8:39
	♪ Then the parched desert earth ♪	8:45
	♪ Will grow green again ♪	8:49
	♪ If we only have love ♪	8:54
	♪ For the hymn that we shout ♪	8:58
	♪ For the song that we sing ♪	9:02
	♪ Then we'll have a way out ♪	9:07
	(upbeat guitar music)	9:14
	♪ If we only have love ♪	9:24
	♪ We can reach those in pain ♪	9:28
	♪ We can heal all the wounds ♪	9:33
	♪ We can use our own names ♪	9:38
	♪ If we only have love ♪	9:42
	♪ We can melt all the guns ♪	9:47
	♪ And then give the new world ♪	9:51
	♪ To our daughters and sons ♪	9:56
	♪ If we only have love ♪	10:01
	♪ Then Jerusalem stands ♪	10:06
	♪ And then death has no shadow ♪	10:09
	♪ There are no foreign lands ♪	10:14
	♪ If we only have love ♪	10:19
	♪ We will never bow down ♪	10:23
	♪ We'll be tall as the pines ♪	10:28
	♪ Neither heroes nor clowns ♪	10:32
	♪ If we only have love ♪	10:37
	♪ Then we'll only be men ♪	10:41
	♪ And we'll drink from the Grail ♪	10:45
	♪ To be born once again ♪	10:50
	♪ Then with nothing at all ♪	10:56
	♪ But the little we are ♪	11:01
	♪ We'll have conquered all time ♪	11:06
	♪ All space, the sun, ♪	11:09
	♪ and the stars ♪	11:13
	♪ The stars ♪	11:18
	♪ The stars ♪	11:22
	(triumphant organ music)	11:39
	(congregation singing indistinctly)	12:17
	(triumphant organ music)	12:41
	(organ music)	13:21
	(triumphant organ music)	13:36
	(bright organ music)	14:18
-	This is the day which the Lord has made.	15:10
	Come let us rejoice in it.	15:13
	We welcome you to this university service of worship	15:16
	this morning on this, the 12th Sunday after Pentecost.	15:19
	We are glad that you have come to be with us.	15:24
	Our hope is that your spirit will be enriched	15:27
	and that your needs will be met on this day.	15:31
	We have been, at times, unwilling to be faithful.	15:37
	We have failed to take seriously	15:41
	our responsibility to persons.	15:44
	We have ignored the tragedy of our separation	15:47
	from one another and from God.	15:50
	Hear then, oh God, our prayer for forgiveness.	15:53
	Let us pray.	15:58
	Oh gracious God, help us now to see our lives	16:08
	illuminated by your presence.	16:12
	Shine upon our sins.	16:15
	Too easily we deceive ourselves concerning them	16:17
	and with vain excuses cover them.	16:21
	Help us to see clearly how our tempers	16:24
	and selfishness, our cherished grudges and vindictiveness,	16:28
	our mean ambitions and smallness hurt the lives of others.	16:32
	Set us against the clear background of the cross	16:39
	that we may be ashamed of the things that are shameful	16:42
	and may love the things that are lovely	16:46
	through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, amen.	16:49
	(slow organ music)	16:59
	May Almighty God, who caused light to shine out of darkness,	17:30
	shine in our hearts, cleansing us from all our sins	17:35
	and restoring us to the light of the knowledge	17:40
	of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	17:43
	Let us give thanks, for God is good and God's	17:51
	love is everlasting.	17:54
	Thanks be to God, whose love creates us.	17:57
	Thanks be to God, whose mercy redeems us.	18:01
	Thanks be to God, whose grace leads us into the future.	18:06
	We are pleased to have with us here in the chapel	18:12
	this morning the folk group from the Immaculate Conception	18:15
	Church here in Durham.	18:19
	We are grateful for their gift of music to us	18:21
	and their presence with us this morning.	18:24
	We give a special word of thanks to Father Albert Todd,	18:27
	pastor of Immaculate Conception Church,	18:31
	and to Mr. Edmond Tomkins, Director of Music,	18:35
	who have worked to make it possible	18:38
	for the folk group to be with us today.	18:40
	Our guest preacher this morning is the Reverend	18:46
	Doctor Joseph B. Bithay,	18:48
	presently the District Superintendent, Rockingham District,	18:52
	North Carolina conference	18:56
	of the United Methodist Church.	18:58
	Dr. Bithay was born in Dillon, South Carolina.	19:00
	He has received the BA degree from Claflin College	19:06
	and the MDiv degree from Gammon Theological	19:11
	Seminary in Atlanta.	19:14
	You will note in 1974, he received the Doctor of Divinity	19:16
	degree from the Gammon Theological Seminary	19:21
	in the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta.	19:25
	He has served Duke University well	19:31
	coming to the Divinity School and serving for five years	19:34
	as the Director of Black Church Studies	19:39
	at the Divinity School.	19:42
	Since that time, he has served in a number of conference	19:46
	appointments throughout the Southeastern jurisdiction.	19:49
	In 1980, he was elected to serve as delegate	19:54
	to the General Conference of the United Methodist Church.	19:58
	He is married to the former Shirley Ann Cundeth.	20:02
	They have one daughter.	20:06
	We are pleased that both of them are here with us today.	20:08
	We are glad to welcome back the Bithay family	20:12
	to Durham, to Duke University, and to the chapel	20:15
	and we look forward to the message	20:19
	and the word that Dr. Bithay will share	20:21
	with us this morning.	20:24
-	Let us pray.	20:36
	Oh Lord, and lover of us all,	20:39
	cause the pure light of your divine knowledge	20:43
	to shine forth in our hearts and open the eyes	20:47
	of our understanding that we may comprehend the ways	20:53
	of your gospel through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.	20:58
	The Old Testament lesson is from Isaiah	21:08
	chapter 24 verses one through nine.	21:11
	Behold, the Lord will lay waste the earth	21:17
	and make it desolate	21:21
	and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants	21:23
	and it shall be as with the people, so with the priest,	21:31
	as with the slave, so with his master,	21:37
	as with the maid, so with her mistress,	21:42
	as with the buyer, so with the seller,	21:47
	and as the lender, so with the borrower,	21:52
	as with the creditor, so with the debtor.	21:57
	The earth shall be utterly laid waste	22:04
	and utterly destroyed for the Lord has spoken this word.	22:08
	The earth mourns and withers.	22:15
	The world languishes and withers.	22:20
	The heavens languish together with the earth.	22:24
	The world lies polluted under its inhabitants	22:29
	for they have transgressed the laws,	22:35
	violated the statutes, and broken the everlasting covenant.	22:38
	Therefore a curse devours the earth and its inhabitants	22:46
	suffer for their guilt.	22:51
	Therefore, the inhabitants of the earth are scorched	22:55
	and few men are left.	23:00
	The wine mourns.	23:04
	The vine languishes.	23:07
	All the merry-hearted sigh.	23:10
	The mirth of the tendrils is still.	23:15
	The noise of the jubilant has ceased.	23:20
	The mirth of the liar is still.	23:23
	No more do they drink wine with singing.	23:30
	Strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.	23:35
	Here ends the reading from the Old Testament, amen.	23:41
	(flowing guitar music)	24:20
	♪ You shall cross the barren desert ♪	24:27
	♪ But you shall not die of thirst ♪	24:31
	♪ You shall wander far in safety ♪	24:35
	♪ Though you do not know the way ♪	24:41
	♪ You shall speak your words ♪	24:45
	♪ in foreign lands ♪	24:47
	♪ and they will understand. ♪	24:49
	♪ You shall see the face of God and live. ♪	24:54
	♪ Be not afraid. ♪	25:03
	♪ I go before you always. ♪	25:09
	♪ Come follow me, ♪	25:13
	♪ And I will give you rest. ♪	25:17
	♪ If you pass through raging waters ♪	25:24
	♪ in the sea, you shall not drown. ♪	25:28
	♪ If you walk amid the burning flames, ♪	25:32
	♪ you shall not be harmed. ♪	25:37
	♪ If you stand before the power of hell ♪	25:42
	♪ and death is at your side, ♪	25:46
	♪ know that I am with you through it all. ♪	25:51
	♪ Be not afraid. ♪	26:00
	♪ I go before you always. ♪	26:05
	♪ Come follow me, ♪	26:09
	♪ And I will give you rest. ♪	26:13
	♪ Blessed are your poor, ♪	26:20
	♪ for the kingdom shall be theirs. ♪	26:24
	♪ Blest are you that weep and mourn, ♪	26:29
	♪ for one day you shall laugh. ♪	26:34
	♪ And if wicked men insult and hate you ♪	26:38
	♪ all because of me, ♪	26:43
	♪ blessed, blessed are you! ♪	26:47
	♪ Be not afraid. ♪	26:56
	♪ I go before you always. ♪	27:01
	♪ Come follow me, ♪	27:05
	♪ And I will give you rest. ♪	27:09
-	Will the congregation please stand	27:40
	for the reading of the gospel lesson?	27:42
	The gospel lesson is from Matthew,	27:50
	chapter five verses one through 12.	27:53
	Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain	27:58
	and when he sat down, his disciples came to him	28:04
	and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,	28:09
	blessed are the poor in spirit	28:15
	for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.	28:19
	Blessed are those who mourn	28:26
	for they shall be comforted.	28:29
	Blessed are the meek	28:33
	for they shall inherit the earth.	28:36
	Blessed are those who hunger and thirst	28:43
	for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.	28:46
	Blessed are the merciful	28:54
	for they shall obtain mercy.	28:56
	Blessed are the pure in heart	29:00
	for they shall see God.	29:04
	Blessed are the peacemakers	29:09
	for they shall be called the sons of God.	29:12
	Blessed are those who are persecuted	29:17
	for righteousness' sake	29:21
	for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.	29:23
	Blessed are you, when men revile you	29:29
	and persecute you and say all kinds	29:34
	of evil against you falsely on my account.	29:38
	Rejoice and be glad	29:44
	for your reward is great in heaven	29:49
	for so men persecuted the prophets	29:54
	who were before you.	29:56
	Here ends the reading from the gospel lesson, amen.	30:00
	(lively organ music)	30:05
	(congregation singing indistinctly)	30:13
	(lively organ music)	30:48
	How good and pleasant it is	31:08
	to come to this place again.	31:13
	This hallowed place,	31:18
	sitting at the apex, as it were,	31:28
	of a great university.	31:31
	It's a pleasure to be a part of this worshiping congregation	31:37
	and to come now, proclaim a word from the Lord.	31:44
	Please let us pray.	31:51
	Oh Lord,	31:58
	oh Lord,	32:01
	be accepted in thy sight, oh Lord.	32:05
	May the words of my mouth,	32:12
	the meditations of our hearts	32:14
	be accepted in thy sight, oh Lord.	32:16
	Amen.	32:22
	God demands righteousness.	32:29
	God demands righteousness.	32:35
	And nothing less than righteousness	32:41
	meets the expectations	32:49
	or the requirement which God places upon his people.	32:52
	Righteousness is the subject of the Sermon on the Mount.	33:03
	It is the theme of the whole biblical witness.	33:09
	It is the description of Christians.	33:18
	Those who are in the process	33:26
	of becoming citizens of the kingdom of God,	33:32
	those who give preeminence and priority	33:41
	to their God-relationship and will be	33:48
	citizens of the kingdom which was announced	33:53
	and introduced in history	33:58
	by the life and work of Jesus Christ.	34:01
	And he said,	34:07
	Christians have a passionate desire	34:10
	for righteousness.	34:16
	The gospel of Matthew, the fifth chapter,	34:21
	the sixth verse,	34:22
	"Blessed are those who hunger	34:25
	"and thirst for righteousness,	34:28
	"for they shall be satisfied."	34:33
	God demands righteousness.	34:37
	Now I suppose that most of us, if not all of us,	34:44
	are tempted at one time or another	34:49
	to take pride in any level of righteousness	34:55
	or goodness that we have achieved.	34:59
	All of the Pharisees thanked God that	35:04
	they are better than other people.	35:10
	I'm tempted,	35:16
	I'm tempted to congratulate myself this morning,	35:19
	congratulate myself that I'm not as bad,	35:24
	not quite as bad as some people I know.	35:30
	That's because for most of us,	35:39
	righteousness is a kind of a social virtue.	35:42
	Righteousness is measured in terms of relationships,	35:50
	with some bit of religious background, possibly.	35:57
	But we consider ourselves righteous and good	36:04
	if our conduct is good, especially in public,	36:10
	and if we treat our brothers and sisters right	36:17
	or at least fair.	36:24
	But righteousness, in the biblical sense of the word,	36:29
	is more than a social virtue.	36:35
	It is good conduct in public and in private.	36:40
	For those who do not know us as well as those who know us,	36:47
	it is good conduct but it is more than good conduct.	36:50
	Righteousness is treating everybody fair and right	36:58
	as possible but it is more	37:02
	than treating everybody right or fair.	37:04
	We look at it in the Old Testament -	37:12
	righteousness is grounded in that covenant relationship	37:17
	between God and his people.	37:20
	A person, a people is righteous	37:27
	as he or she or they are obedient -	37:31
	obedient to the terms of the covenant.	37:37
	He or she keeps the law and has	37:43
	proper reverence and respect for God.	37:47
	That's Old Testament righteousness.	37:55
	And in the New Testament, righteousness, again,	37:57
	is behavior that is well-pleasing to God -	38:01
	active obedience to God	38:06
	and life in keeping and conformity	38:12
	with the will and purpose of God as was	38:17
	the life of Jesus.	38:22
	Righteousness, then, in the biblical sense,	38:29
	is goodness and holiness, the standard of which is God.	38:33
	Estimated and measured not according to the standards	38:42
	of the world, not according to the standards of people,	38:47
	but according to the standard of God.	38:52
	The bible also declares	39:00
	and those who have been born again, Christians,	39:07
	know that the righteousness which God demands	39:10
	cannot be achieved by human endeavor,	39:15
	by human endeavor alone.	39:19
	Try, try, try as much as we will.	39:22
	Martin Luther was right.	39:29
	If we, in our own strength confide,	39:33
	our striving would be losing.	39:36
	Can we fulfill the terms of the covenant?	39:40
	Can we meet the regulations of the law?	39:42
	Can we achieve?	39:50
	We cannot.	39:56
	And yet, God demands it.	39:59
	God demands righteousness.	40:03
	Of people of institutions,	40:10
	God demands righteousness.	40:12
	The good news is	40:21
	God gives what he demands.	40:26
	God gives the righteousness he requires	40:36
	to those who make it their greatest desire,	40:40
	who make it their passionate desire,	40:45
	who hunger and thirst for it.	40:49
	God blesses us with his spirit.	40:56
	God blesses us with his power	41:02
	and his spirit will dwell in our lives.	41:07
	His spirit will nurture our souls.	41:13
	His spirit will change our lives	41:17
	and shape our lives and shape our institutions	41:21
	and make us what we ought to be	41:26
	if, if we want him to.	41:35
	If we want him to.	41:44
	Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.	41:52
	Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God's gift,	41:58
	who hunger and thirst for God's spirit,	42:02
	God's gift of his spirit.	42:07
	When God's spirit comes upon us,	42:12
	change takes place in our lives.	42:18
	Change takes place in institutions	42:21
	when God's spirit comes upon us.	42:28
	Blessed are those whose greatest desire	42:35
	is to do and to achieve what God requires.	42:41
	They humbly and gratefully receive	42:46
	the gift of God's spirit.	42:51
	They follow after God's righteousness.	42:53
	They want to see right prevail	42:58
	and goodness win.	43:01
	They are hungry.	43:09
	They are thirsty.	43:12
	These are strong words.	43:13
	Hunger and thirst are strong words.	43:17
	They speak of wholehearted submission	43:19
	and passionate desire and unqualified committment.	43:23
	Poor people who heard Jesus	43:35
	knew what it meant to be hungry.	43:38
	So many people in our world today also know.	43:44
	As the provision of bread was a constant struggle	43:50
	for the poor in his day and in our day,	43:56
	and many were never more than a meal away	44:02
	from utter starvation.	44:08
	Have you ever been hungry?	44:15
	Have you ever been hungry?	44:23
	Have you ever been hungry?	44:31
	Jesus told the crowd that their desire for righteousness	44:38
	and holiness and goodness must be as intense	44:41
	as a hungry person's desire for food.	44:46
	Some of them knew what he was talking about.	44:51
	I have some sense of what he was talking about.	44:57
	For you see, I've been there myself.	45:04
	In that Palestinian climate,	45:14
	many of them knew what it meant to be thirsty.	45:21
	Why are we no better than we are?	45:28
	Why have we not seen goodness	45:35
	and right prevail in our world?	45:41
	Why?	45:48
	Why?	45:52
	One answer is this.	45:58
	We don't wanna be any better than we are.	46:01
	We don't want to see right and goodness prevail	46:08
	and win in our world.	46:11
	Can't easily give food to people	46:19
	who think they are full,	46:25
	Water to people who think they are not thirsty.	46:30
	It's hard for God to give the bread of life	46:35
	and the water of life to those who have	46:38
	no spiritual hunger and spiritual thirst.	46:43
	And yet,	46:48
	our life is dominant hunger.	46:53
	Our experience is dominant thirst.	46:57

	Something missing -	0:02
	the urge to completeness, the urge to wholeness.	0:05
	The world is vexed -	0:16
	discontent,	0:22
	incompleteness,	0:26
	fragmented,	0:29
	broken.	0:31
	Jesus saw people.	0:35
	And he sees people now,	0:39
	hungering and thirsting for something,	0:42
	something that satisfies.	0:47
	Look - Look about you.	0:51
	Look on the faces of those	0:56
	sitting with you in this place.	0:58
	Think of many, many, many of your	1:04
	relationships, many that you know and	1:07
	come in contact with day by day and	1:12
	reflect upon the hunger and thirst,	1:16
	the urge to completeness, the urge to wholeness,	1:22
	that's seen upon the countenance of almost	1:28
	every one of us.	1:33
	And when you have looked at those	1:38
	who are sitting next to you	1:41
	and when you have thought about those	1:43
	whom you know, then	1:47
	think about your own experience.	1:50
	Think about your own experience -	1:53
	our life is dominant hunger,	1:55
	our life is dominant thirst.	2:00
	It is for good,	2:06
	and for God	2:10
	that we desire.	2:14
	Augustine was right when he confessed,	2:18
	"You have made us for yourself,	2:20
	"and our hearts are restless	2:25
	"and cannot find rest	2:27
	"until they find their rest in thee, O God."	2:31
	A more contemporary soul couldn't say it like	2:39
	Augustine, but the same hunger is expressed.	2:42
	"I prayed and I prayed,	2:45
	"I prayed all night long.	2:48
	"I prayed and I prayed until I found the Lord.	2:51
	"My soul could not be contented,	2:56
	"My soul could not be contented,	3:00
	"until I found the Lord."	3:05
	Jesus says that when we realize that our hunger	3:12
	and our thirst	3:18
	is for God and his righteousness,	3:20
	when we humbly and gratefully receive	3:25
	the gift of his Spirit,	3:29
	we shall be satisfied.	3:32
	It's been observed that	3:37
	blessedness and happiness and joy and	3:40
	inner peace is pronounced	3:44
	in this instance,	3:47
	on unfulfilled,	3:50
	but passionate aspiration.	3:54
	The deep intent,	4:00
	the noble aim of our lives -	4:05
	What do you want to be?	4:10
	Do you want to be whole?	4:14
	Do you want to be complete?	4:16
	Do you hunger and thirst?	4:21
	Do you desire it passionately?	4:25
	Robert Louis Stevenson said,	4:30
	"To travel hopefully	4:34
	"is a better thing than to arrive."	4:36
	"To travel hopefully	4:42
	is a better thing than to arrive."	4:45
	And those of us who hunger	4:51
	and thirst	4:53
	for God's demand,	4:56
	both travel hopefully	4:58
	and we arrive.	5:03
	Travel hopefully, we travel hopefully	5:07
	in this world,	5:10
	moving towards some bright tomorrow.	5:13
	And we arrive.	5:21
	We shall be satisfied.	5:25
	We shall see the victory of God and goodness	5:30
	and righteousness,	5:35
	a taste of which we have seen	5:38
	in the life and death and resurrection	5:41
	of Jesus Christ.	5:44
	We have a measure of satisfaction now	5:49
	in this world	5:54
	and in that bright tomorrow	5:58
	when the kingdom of God is fully come,	6:02
	we shall be fully satisfied.	6:08
	Righteousness and holiness and goodness	6:13
	will be at home in God's kingdom,	6:17
	and we will hunger	6:22
	and thirst no more.	6:24
	Blessed,	6:29
	blessed	6:33
	are every one of you	6:36
	right now	6:41
	who hunger and thirst for righteousness.	6:43
	You will be satisfied.	6:50
	In the name of the Father,	6:56
	and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,	6:59
	Amen.	7:02
	(organ music)	7:10
	(congregation singing)	7:39
-	Let us affirm what we believe.	10:23
	We believe in God, who has created and is creating.	10:26
	Who is come in the truly human Jesus	10:31
	to reconcile and make new.	10:35
	Who works in us and others by the Spirit.	10:38
	We trust God, who calls us to be the Church,	10:42
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	10:46
	to love and serve others,	10:49
	to seek justice and resist evil.	10:52
	To proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	10:55
	our judge and our hope,	10:59
	in life, in death,	11:02
	in life beyond death,	11:04
	God is with us.	11:07
	We are not alone.	11:08
	Thanks be to God.	11:10
	The Lord be with you.	11:13
-	And with your Spirit.	11:14
-	Let us pray.	11:17
	O Lord, our God,	11:27
	giver of every perfect gift,	11:29
	you who created sunshine and rain,	11:32
	planting and harvest,	11:36
	even life and death.	11:39
	We come into your presence with	11:41
	praise and thanksgiving for your	11:44
	great and mighty deeds	11:47
	that have come to us through history	11:49
	and have come to us in our own	11:52
	day and time.	11:54
	We come as your people this day to worship	11:57
	in your presence,	12:01
	to sing praises to your holy name.	12:02
	To ask forgiveness of our sins,	12:06
	to hear your word,	12:09
	to be confronted with righteousness.	12:12
	To receive your blessings.	12:16
	O God, comfort us now in our daily struggles.	12:20
	Heal us in our sicknesses and our weaknesses.	12:24
	Lift us out of gloom and despair	12:29
	to the light of your love and truth.	12:32
	Help us to follow the footsteps	12:36
	of your Son, our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ.	12:39
	Open our ears this day	12:45
	that we might listen and hear	12:47
	your stirring in our hearts and lives.	12:50
	Grant us your peace as we pick up our lives	12:54
	made new by your powerful presence	12:59
	every day.	13:02
	And let us not be ashamed to speak your name	13:05
	or to witness to our faith.	13:08
	Give us strength and courage	13:12
	to meet all our tomorrows	13:15
	that you have promised unto us.	13:17
	For we pray and ask in the name of the Christ,	13:20
	who taught us how to truly live.	13:25
	And in whose name we pray,	13:29
	Our Father,	13:32
	who art in heaven,	13:33
	hallowed be Thy name.	13:35
	Thy kingdom come,	13:38
	Thy will be done	13:40
	on earth as it is in heaven.	13:41
	Give us this day our daily bread	13:44
	and forgive us our trespasses	13:47
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	13:49
	And lead us not into temptation,	13:53
	but deliver us from evil.	13:56
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	13:58
	and the glory for ever.	14:01
	Amen.	14:03
	(organ music)	14:13
	(guitar music)	15:04
	♪ We hold a treasure ♪	15:10
	♪ not made of gold. ♪	15:14
	♪ In earthen vessels, wealth untold. ♪	15:19
	♪ One treasure only, ♪	15:28
	♪ the Lord, the Christ. ♪	15:31
	♪ In earthen vessels. ♪	15:36
	♪ Light has shown in our darkness. ♪	15:45
	♪ God has shown in our hearts. ♪	15:49
	♪ With the light of the glory ♪	15:53
	♪ of Jesus the Lord. ♪	15:56
	♪ We hold a treasure, ♪	16:04
	♪ not made of gold. ♪	16:09
	♪ In earthen vessels wealth untold. ♪	16:13
	♪ One treasure only, ♪	16:21
	♪ the Lord, the Christ. ♪	16:25
	♪ In earthen vessels. ♪	16:30
	♪ He has chosen the lowly ♪	16:38
	♪ who are small in this world. ♪	16:43
	♪ In his weakness is glory ♪	16:47
	♪ in Jesus the Lord. ♪	16:50
	♪ We hold a treasure ♪	16:58
	♪ not made of gold. ♪	17:02
	♪ In earthen vessels wealth untold. ♪	17:06
	♪ One treasure only ♪	17:15
	♪ the Lord, the Christ. ♪	17:18
	♪ In earthen vessels. ♪	17:23
	(organ music)	17:38
	(congregational singing)	20:13
-	Eternal God, giver of every good and perfect gift,	21:18
	who seeks above all to give yourself to us,	21:23
	grant that with these token gifts of our hands	21:27
	we may more fully give ourselves in	21:31
	joyous obedience and service,	21:33
	through Jesus Christ, our Lord.	21:36
	Amen.	21:39
	(organ music)	21:47
	(congregational singing)	22:12
-	The Lord bless you and keep you.	24:10
	May the Lord's face shine upon you	24:13
	and be gracious to you.	24:15
	The Lord's countenance be upon you,	24:18
	and give you peace.	24:21
	Amen.	24:23
	(guitar music)	24:29
	♪ Amen. ♪	24:32
	♪ Alleluia. ♪	24:37
	♪ For ever and ever. ♪	24:42
	♪ For ever Alleluia ♪	24:48
	♪ for ever, and ever ♪	24:54
	♪ Amen. ♪	24:59
	(organ music)	25:13
	(crowd talking)	29:02

Item Info

Title:

Joseph B. Bethea - "God's Demand and Our Desire" (August 30, 1981)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1) 31:08. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 07:03.
God demands righteousness that we cannot fulfill on our own. But the good news is that God gives what God demands and blesses those who desire, who hunger and thirst for that righteousness. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: "When God's spirit comes upon us, change takes place in our lives. Change takes place in institutions when God's spirit comes upon us. Blessed are those whose greatest desire is to do and achieve what God requires."

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r45q4s186

Date:

August 30, 1981

Speaker:

Bethea, Joseph B.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0021
ref7564_snu
uachapelsermaud
duke:321210
dcrau001020
ark:/87924/r45q4s186
87d558d5-ce04-4bc5-9aa2-804d6830aff1

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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