Charlene P. Kammerer - "Come and See" (December 28, 1980)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(organ music) | 0:05 | |
(organ music) | 2:22 | |
(organ music) | 4:32 | |
(organ music) | 6:20 | |
(organ music) | 7:40 | |
- | Behold, the dwelling of God is with mankind. | 12:44 |
He will dwell with them. | 12:47 | |
They shall be his people | 12:49 | |
and God himself will be with them and be their God. | 12:52 | |
Seek him that made the Pleiades and Orion, | 12:58 | |
that turneth deep darkness into the morning, | 13:02 | |
and darkeneth the day into night, | 13:07 | |
that calleth for the waters of the sea | 13:11 | |
and poureth them o'er upon the face of the earth. | 13:14 | |
The Lord is his name. | 13:18 | |
("Angels From the Realms of Glory") | 13:22 | |
Let us humbly confess our sins unto almighty God. | 16:03 | |
O God, Lord of us all, help us to acknowledge | 16:11 | |
our own weaknesses. | 16:15 | |
Our minds are darkened and by ourselves we cannot find | 16:17 | |
and know the truth. | 16:22 | |
Our wills are weak and by ourselves, | 16:24 | |
we cannot resist temptation | 16:27 | |
or bring to its completion that which we resolve to do. | 16:30 | |
Our hearts are fickle and by ourselves we cannot give to you | 16:35 | |
the loyalty which is your due. | 16:40 | |
Our steps are faltering and by ourselves we cannot walk | 16:43 | |
in your straight way. | 16:48 | |
So this day we ask you to enlighten us, | 16:50 | |
to strengthen us, to guide us, | 16:55 | |
that we may know you and love you and follow you | 16:59 | |
all the days of our life. | 17:04 | |
Through Jesus Christ our redeemer, Amen. | 17:06 | |
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, | 17:35 | |
who appears great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins | 17:37 | |
to all those who with hearty repentance and true faith | 17:41 | |
turn unto Him, | 17:45 | |
have mercy upon you, | 17:47 | |
pardon and deliver you from all your sins, | 17:50 | |
confirm and strengthen you in all goodness | 17:54 | |
and bring you to everlasting life. | 17:59 | |
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 18:02 | |
Amen. | 18:05 | |
Let us give thanks, for God is good, | 18:07 | |
and God's love is everlasting. | 18:10 | |
(parishioners praying aloud) | 18:14 | |
- | Thanks be to God, his love, | 18:21 |
Thanks be to God. | 18:24 | |
- | I would like to welcome all of you very brave souls | 18:40 |
for coming to worship with us here at Duke University Chapel | 18:43 | |
this morning. | 18:48 | |
The morning after our first winter storm of the year. | 18:49 | |
It is good to be with you, | 18:53 | |
to come together to worship in the presence of God | 18:55 | |
three days after Christmas, this season of Christmas tide. | 18:58 | |
We are very sorry that we have to announce | 19:05 | |
the bell ringers from Henderson were not able to be | 19:08 | |
with us today to share their special music, | 19:11 | |
because of the weather conditions. | 19:15 | |
They were not able to travel. | 19:17 | |
We will invite them to come again | 19:19 | |
and participate and share with us | 19:21 | |
in another worship setting. | 19:23 | |
Let me call to your attention the announcement | 19:27 | |
in the Bulletin concerning the need for host families | 19:30 | |
for some incoming January freshman students. | 19:34 | |
Please read that announcement | 19:39 | |
and if you are interesting in participating, | 19:40 | |
we would like to hear from you by calling the chapel office. | 19:43 | |
After the printing of the Bulletin | 19:50 | |
for this order of worship, | 19:53 | |
there has been a change in the sermon title. | 19:55 | |
The sermon title for this Sunday is Come and See. | 19:58 | |
The changes in the scripture lessons will be announced | 20:04 | |
as read. | 20:07 | |
- | Let us pray. | 20:16 |
Speak to us, O God, | 20:22 | |
through the noise both within and without, | 20:25 | |
that the reading from thy word may establish | 20:30 | |
and edify us before thee. | 20:34 | |
Amen. | 20:38 | |
The reading from the Hebrew bible is taken from Isaiah. | 20:42 | |
"But there will be no gloom for her that was in anguish. | 20:50 | |
"In the former time, he brought into contempt | 20:55 | |
"the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, | 20:58 | |
"but in the latter time, | 21:02 | |
"he will make glorious way of the sea, | 21:03 | |
"the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. | 21:07 | |
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. | 21:12 | |
"Those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness on them | 21:17 | |
"has the light shined. | 21:21 | |
"Thou hast multiplied the nation, | 21:24 | |
"thou hast increased its joy, | 21:26 | |
"they rejoice before thee as with joy at the harvest, | 21:28 | |
"as men rejoice when they divide the spoil, | 21:33 | |
"for the yoke of his burden and the staff for his shoulder, | 21:37 | |
"the rod of his oppressor, thou hast broken, | 21:40 | |
"as on the day of Midian. | 21:44 | |
"For every boot of the tramping warrior in battle tumult | 21:46 | |
"and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel | 21:51 | |
"for the fire. | 21:56 | |
"For to us a child is born, | 21:58 | |
"to us a son is given, | 22:01 | |
"and the government shall be upon his shoulder, | 22:04 | |
"and his name will be called wonderful counselor, | 22:07 | |
"mighty God, everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. | 22:11 | |
"Of the increase of his government and of peace, | 22:18 | |
"there will be no end. | 22:21 | |
"Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, | 22:24 | |
"to establish it and to uphold it with justice | 22:28 | |
"and righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. | 22:34 | |
"The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this." | 22:41 | |
Here ends the reading from the Hebrew scripture. | 22:47 | |
The epistle is written in Paul's letter to Titus. | 22:59 | |
"For the grace of God has appeared | 23:07 | |
"for the salvation of man, | 23:09 | |
"training us to renounce irreligion and worldly passions, | 23:12 | |
"and to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world, | 23:19 | |
"awaiting our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory | 23:26 | |
"of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, | 23:30 | |
"who gave himself for us, to redeem us from all iniquity, | 23:34 | |
"and to purify for himself a people of his own, | 23:40 | |
"who are zealous for good deeds. | 23:45 | |
"Declare these things, | 23:49 | |
"exhort and reprove with all authority. | 23:51 | |
"Let no one disregard you." | 23:56 | |
Here ends the reading of the epistle. | 24:01 | |
Would you stand, please? | 24:06 | |
The Holy Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ, | 24:14 | |
according to St. Luke. | 24:18 | |
"In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, | 24:22 | |
"that all the world should be enrolled. | 24:27 | |
"This was the first enrollment when Cyrenius was governor | 24:30 | |
"of Syria, | 24:34 | |
"and all went to be enrolled, each to his own city, | 24:35 | |
"and Joseph also went up from Galilee | 24:40 | |
"from the city of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, | 24:42 | |
"which is called Bethlehem, | 24:46 | |
"because he was of the house and lineage of David, | 24:49 | |
"to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, | 24:52 | |
"who was with child, | 24:55 | |
"and while they were there, | 24:58 | |
"the time came for her to be delivered, | 24:59 | |
"and she gave birth to her first-born | 25:03 | |
"and wrapped him in swaddling clothes | 25:06 | |
"and laid him in a manger, | 25:09 | |
"because there was no place for them in the inn, | 25:11 | |
"and in that region, there were shepherds out in the field, | 25:15 | |
"keeping watch over their flock by night, | 25:19 | |
"and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, | 25:23 | |
"and the glory of the Lord shown round about them, | 25:25 | |
"and they were filled with fear, | 25:29 | |
"and the angel said to them, be not afraid, | 25:32 | |
"for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, | 25:36 | |
"which shall come to all the people. | 25:40 | |
"For to you is born this day in the city of David, | 25:43 | |
"a savior, who is Christ the Lord, | 25:47 | |
"and this will be a sign for you. | 25:51 | |
"You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, | 25:54 | |
"and lying in a manger. | 25:57 | |
"And suddenly there was with the angel | 26:00 | |
"a multitude of the heavenly host, | 26:03 | |
"praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, | 26:05 | |
"and on earth, peace among men, with whom He is pleased. | 26:10 | |
"When the angels went away from them into Heaven, | 26:18 | |
"the shepherds said to one another, | 26:21 | |
"'Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing | 26:24 | |
"that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us,' | 26:27 | |
"and they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph | 26:32 | |
"and the babe lying in a manger, | 26:35 | |
"and when they saw it, they made known the saying | 26:39 | |
"which had been told them concerning the child, | 26:42 | |
"and all who heard it wondered | 26:45 | |
"at what the shepherds told them, | 26:48 | |
"but Mary kept all these things, | 26:51 | |
"pondering them in her heart, | 26:54 | |
"and the shepherds returned, | 26:57 | |
"glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen | 27:00 | |
"as it had been told to them." | 27:06 | |
The Gospel of the Lord. | 27:09 | |
(organ music) | 27:12 | |
- | One of my Christmas gifts, a few years back, | 28:15 |
was a book called The Hungering Dark. | 28:18 | |
It is a book of meditations by Frederick Buechner, | 28:23 | |
and I have found that it's been a profound impact | 28:27 | |
on my own life as I read it and re-read it. | 28:31 | |
It is through some of this author's insights | 28:35 | |
and my own response to this book | 28:38 | |
that this sermon has been born. | 28:41 | |
I think that this metaphor of Isaiah that we read | 28:45 | |
is a relevant one for us, | 28:49 | |
because we are also, as God knows, | 28:51 | |
a people who walk in darkness. | 28:56 | |
If darkness is meant to suggest a world | 29:00 | |
where nobody can see very well, | 29:03 | |
either themselves or each other, | 29:07 | |
or where they are heading. | 29:10 | |
If darkness is meant to convey a sense of uncertainty, | 29:12 | |
of being lost, of being afraid. | 29:17 | |
If darkness suggests conflict between races, | 29:21 | |
between churches, between nations, between individuals | 29:25 | |
pretty much out for themselves, | 29:30 | |
then indeed we do live in a world that knows much | 29:33 | |
about darkness. | 29:38 | |
Darkness is what our newspapers are about. | 29:40 | |
Darkness is what most of our contemporary literature | 29:45 | |
is about. | 29:49 | |
It is the darkness of pollution that fills the skies | 29:51 | |
over our city, | 29:55 | |
and I believe in our own private lives, | 29:57 | |
we know much about darkness, too. | 30:00 | |
If we are people who pray, | 30:04 | |
darkness is apt to be what we pray about, | 30:07 | |
and if we are people who do not pray, | 30:11 | |
it is apt to be some kind of darkness | 30:15 | |
that has stopped our efforts, | 30:18 | |
but the prophecy of Isaiah is that into this kind | 30:21 | |
of darkness, a great light will shine, | 30:26 | |
and of course, the proclamation of the Gospel | 30:30 | |
is that into this darkness has already shown a light. | 30:34 | |
A light to dazzle the world with its glory | 30:39 | |
and its terror. | 30:43 | |
The first thing that I remember that the angel said | 30:46 | |
to the shepherds was, "Be not afraid," | 30:49 | |
as the glory of the great light and the Lord | 30:54 | |
shone upon them. | 30:58 | |
It is into the darkness of that night, | 31:00 | |
in the midst of nowhere, | 31:04 | |
to parents who seemed to be nobody, | 31:07 | |
that the child was born, | 31:10 | |
and cried out at the very shock and strangeness | 31:13 | |
of being born into the darkness of the world, | 31:17 | |
and then, as the Gospels picture it, | 31:21 | |
is when all Heaven broke loose. | 31:24 | |
The darkness was shattered, the glory flooded through | 31:28 | |
with amazing light. | 31:32 | |
A new star burst forth where | 31:35 | |
there had never been a star before, | 31:37 | |
and we are told the air was filled | 31:40 | |
with bright wings of angels. | 31:43 | |
The night sky came alive | 31:46 | |
and a great hymn of victory rose up from those shepherds. | 31:48 | |
Glory to God in the highest, | 31:53 | |
and strange kings arrived out of the East | 31:56 | |
to lay gifts at the feet of this even stranger | 32:01 | |
and yet more kingly child. | 32:04 | |
This is how we are told, after centuries of weary waiting, | 32:08 | |
the light is said finally to have come into the world | 32:14 | |
as Luke proclaims it with his familiar story. | 32:18 | |
Now we live in an age that assumes that nothing | 32:24 | |
can be real unless it is verifiable by science, | 32:28 | |
and so I believe that we have great reason to be skeptical | 32:32 | |
about this Christmas story that we hear in Luke. | 32:36 | |
In the letters of St. Paul, which are the earliest | 32:41 | |
New Testament writings, | 32:45 | |
there is no suggestion that the birth of Jesus | 32:47 | |
was accompanied by any miracle, | 32:51 | |
and in the Gospel of Mark, which is probably the earliest | 32:54 | |
of the Gospels, | 32:58 | |
the birth is not even mentioned. | 32:59 | |
So a great many biblical scholars would agree | 33:02 | |
with the skeptics of our age that the Nativity stories | 33:05 | |
of Luke and Matthew are simply the legends, | 33:09 | |
the poetry of a later generation | 33:14 | |
and that were we to have been present, | 33:17 | |
we would have witnessed a birth no more or no less marvelous | 33:19 | |
than any other birth. | 33:25 | |
Well, if this is the case, | 33:27 | |
what do we do about the legends | 33:30 | |
of the wise men and the star, | 33:32 | |
the shepherds and the angels? | 33:35 | |
Do we dismiss them as fairytales? | 33:38 | |
I believe only if we are fools do we do that, | 33:42 | |
although I know there are many in our age | 33:47 | |
who have done it, | 33:52 | |
and there are moments of darkness in our own lives | 33:54 | |
when we are tempted to do it as well. | 33:57 | |
None of us knows the facts of Jesus' birth. | 34:02 | |
If we believe in miracles, | 34:06 | |
the more we can suspect that had we been there at the birth, | 34:08 | |
we might well have seen and heard some things | 34:13 | |
that would be hard to reconcile with modern science, | 34:17 | |
but that is still not the point. | 34:21 | |
The Gospel writers, Matthew and Luke, | 34:25 | |
are not primarily interested in the facts of the birth, | 34:28 | |
but rather the meaning and the significance of it. | 34:32 | |
I believe it is the same as when we were born, | 34:37 | |
what that meant to our parents, | 34:41 | |
and how, for them, the world was never to be the same again | 34:44 | |
how their whole lives were charged with new significance. | 34:49 | |
It is a fact that whether there were a million angels there | 34:55 | |
or just the woman herself and her husband, | 34:59 | |
that when that child was born, | 35:03 | |
the whole course of history was changed. | 35:06 | |
This is evident in our art, in music, in literature, | 35:11 | |
in our culture itself, our political institutions, | 35:17 | |
and I believe, our whole understandings of ourselves | 35:21 | |
and our world, | 35:25 | |
and in terms of faith, much more can be said, | 35:27 | |
because for faith, the birth of the child | 35:31 | |
into the darkness of the world, | 35:34 | |
was made possible, not just a new way of understanding life, | 35:37 | |
for ourselves, but indeed new ways of living life. | 35:42 | |
All the way through the 20 centuries since that child | 35:50 | |
was born, | 35:53 | |
there have been countless different kinds of people | 35:54 | |
who in different ways have been filled with his spirit, | 35:58 | |
who have found themselves in deep and private ways | 36:02 | |
healed and transformed by their relationships with him, | 36:06 | |
so much so that they have no choice | 36:11 | |
but to go on proclaiming what the writers of the Gospels | 36:14 | |
first proclaimed, | 36:19 | |
that he was indeed the long-expected one, The Christ, | 36:21 | |
wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, | 36:27 | |
Prince of Peace. | 36:33 | |
It is our continual way of trying to express | 36:36 | |
that in this child, in the man he grew up to be, | 36:40 | |
there is the power of God to bring light | 36:44 | |
into our darkness, | 36:48 | |
to make us whole, | 36:50 | |
to give us a new kind of life to anyone who turns to Him | 36:52 | |
in faith, even to you and to me. | 36:57 | |
Rabbi David Polish recalls an inscription | 37:03 | |
found on a concentration camp wall. | 37:08 | |
It reads like this. | 37:12 | |
"I believe in the sun even when it does not shine. | 37:14 | |
"I believe in love even when it is denied to me. | 37:19 | |
"I believe in God even when he hides from me." | 37:24 | |
That kind of powerful witness to the light of God | 37:29 | |
helps us to build the future it proclaims and believes in. | 37:34 | |
I believe this is what Matthew and Luke were trying to say | 37:40 | |
in their stories about how the child was born, | 37:44 | |
and this is the only truth that matters, | 37:48 | |
and the wise men, the shepherds, and the star are important | 37:51 | |
only as ways of pointing toward this truth. | 37:56 | |
The great question for us then, | 38:01 | |
how do we know whether or not this truth is true? | 38:04 | |
How do we find out for ourselves that this child, | 38:09 | |
born so long ago, really has the power to give us | 38:14 | |
a new kind of life in which both suffering and joy | 38:18 | |
are immeasurably deepened? | 38:23 | |
A new kind of life | 38:26 | |
in which we begin to love our friends, | 38:28 | |
our enemies, maybe at last | 38:32 | |
even ourselves, and even God. | 38:36 | |
Adeste fideles, come all you faithful. | 38:42 | |
That is the only answer that we have for people | 38:48 | |
who want to find out whether or not this is true | 38:52 | |
about this child. | 38:56 | |
Come all you faithful and all ye who would like | 38:58 | |
to be faithful, if only you could, | 39:03 | |
all you who walk in darkness and hunger for light, | 39:06 | |
have faith enough, hope enough, | 39:12 | |
at least to draw near and to see for yourselves. | 39:14 | |
Jesus said to ask and it will be given you, | 39:21 | |
to seek and you will find. | 39:25 | |
In other words, if you pray for his presence, | 39:28 | |
he will come to you. | 39:31 | |
There is only one way to find out whether that is true | 39:34 | |
and that is to try it. | 39:38 | |
Pray for him and see if he comes, | 39:41 | |
and perhaps he will come in ways | 39:45 | |
that only you will recognize. | 39:47 | |
So come and see, come and behold him, | 39:50 | |
born the king of angels. | 39:55 | |
Come and speak to him or be silent before him, | 39:59 | |
in whatever way seems right to you, | 40:04 | |
and at whatever time, come to him, | 40:07 | |
for the great promise for us is that to come to him | 40:11 | |
who was born at Bethlehem is to find somehow | 40:15 | |
coming to birth within ourselves | 40:19 | |
something stronger and braver, | 40:22 | |
something gladder and kinder and holier | 40:26 | |
than ever we knew before | 40:30 | |
or than ever we could've known | 40:33 | |
without him. | 40:36 | |
Come and see. | 40:38 | |
Let us pray. | 40:42 | |
O Lord, give us now the faith | 40:48 | |
with eyes and ears to hear, | 40:51 | |
to listen, to perceive the song of the angels, | 40:55 | |
to see the babe in the stall, | 41:00 | |
to hear your promise and to feel the burst of light | 41:03 | |
which is your new hope in our world. | 41:08 | |
Bless us as we become your people anew, | 41:11 | |
who hunger to walk in the bright light, | 41:15 | |
for we ask in the name of the word that was made flesh, | 41:19 | |
and came to dwell among us, amen. | 41:23 | |
("Go Tell It On the Mountain") | 41:30 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 41:53 | |
♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪ | 41:58 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 42:03 | |
♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪ | 42:08 | |
♪ While shepherds kept their watching ♪ | 42:15 | |
♪ Over silent flocks by night ♪ | 42:20 | |
♪ Behold throughout the heavens ♪ | 42:25 | |
♪ There shown a holy light ♪ | 42:31 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 42:37 | |
♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪ | 42:43 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 42:48 | |
♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪ | 42:53 | |
♪ The shepherds feared and trembled ♪ | 42:59 | |
♪ When low above the earth ♪ | 43:05 | |
♪ Rang out the angel chorus ♪ | 43:09 | |
♪ That hailed the Savior's birth ♪ | 43:15 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 43:23 | |
♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪ | 43:28 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 43:34 | |
♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪ | 43:39 | |
♪ Down in a lowly manger ♪ | 43:45 | |
♪ That humble Christ was born ♪ | 43:50 | |
♪ And God send us salvation ♪ | 43:56 | |
♪ That blessed Christmas morn ♪ | 44:01 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 44:08 | |
♪ Over the hills and everywhere ♪ | 44:14 | |
♪ Go tell it on the mountain ♪ | 44:19 | |
♪ That Jesus Christ is born ♪ | 44:25 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 44:38 |
In God, who has created and is creating, | 44:42 | |
who has come in the truly human Jesus | 44:46 | |
to reconcile and make new the works in us and others | 44:49 | |
by the spirit. | 44:54 | |
We trust God, who calls us to be the church, | 44:56 | |
to celebrate life in its fullness, | 45:00 | |
to love and serve others, | 45:03 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 45:05 | |
to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, | 45:09 | |
our judge and our hope, | 45:12 | |
in life, in death, and life beyond death, | 45:15 | |
God is with us, we are not alone. | 45:19 | |
Thanks be to God. | 45:23 | |
The Lord be with you. | 45:25 | |
Let us pray. | 45:29 | |
Almighty and ever-living God, | 45:48 | |
who in thou holy word has taught us to make prayers | 45:51 | |
and supplications and to give thanks for all people, | 45:55 | |
receive these, our prayers, | 45:59 | |
which we offer unto thy divine majesty, | 46:01 | |
beseeching thee to inspire continually the universal church | 46:05 | |
with the spirit of truth, unity, and concord, | 46:10 | |
and grant that all those that do confess thy holy name | 46:14 | |
may agree in the truth of thy holy word, | 46:18 | |
and live in unity and godly love. | 46:21 | |
Give grace, O heavenly Father, to all clergy, | 46:26 | |
that they may both by their life and doctrine | 46:30 | |
set forth thy true and lively word | 46:34 | |
and rightly and duly administer thy holy sacraments, | 46:37 | |
and to all thy people, give thy heavenly grace, | 46:43 | |
and especially to this congregation here present, | 46:47 | |
that with meek heart and due reverence, | 46:51 | |
they may hear and receive thy holy word, | 46:54 | |
truly serving thee in holiness and righteousness | 46:58 | |
all the days of their life. | 47:01 | |
We beseech thee also so to rule the hearts of those | 47:05 | |
who bear the authority of government in this and every land, | 47:09 | |
that they may be led to wise decisions | 47:15 | |
and right actions for the welfare and peace of the world. | 47:19 | |
Open, O Lord, the eyes of all people to behold | 47:26 | |
thy gracious hand in all thy works, | 47:30 | |
that rejoicing in thy whole creation, | 47:34 | |
they may honor thee with their substance | 47:38 | |
and be faithful stewards of thy bounty, | 47:41 | |
and we most humbly beseech thee of thy goodness, O Lord, | 47:47 | |
to comfort and succor all those | 47:52 | |
who in this transitory life are in trouble, | 47:55 | |
sorrow, need, sickness, | 48:01 | |
or any other adversity, | 48:10 | |
and we also bless thy holy name for all thy servants | 48:15 | |
that parted this life in thy faith and fear, | 48:19 | |
beseeching thee to grant them continual growth | 48:23 | |
in thy love and service, | 48:26 | |
and to grant us grace so to follow their good examples, | 48:29 | |
that with them we may be partakers of thy heavenly kingdom. | 48:34 | |
Grant these our prayers, O Father, | 48:40 | |
for Jesus Christ's sake, our only mediator and advocate. | 48:43 | |
Amen. | 48:48 | |
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 48:51 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 48:56 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 48:59 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 49:02 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 49:05 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us, | 49:07 | |
and lead us not into temptation, | 49:11 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 49:14 | |
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 49:16 | |
and the glory forever, amen. | 49:19 | |
(organ music) | 49:29 | |
- | O God, as we present these symbols of ourselves, | 54:18 |
we ask that we are also able to present unto you, | 54:21 | |
our souls, minds, and bodies, as acceptable holy | 54:25 | |
and lively sacrifices unto you, | 54:30 | |
in the name of Christ we pray, amen. | 54:33 | |
("O Little Town of Bethlehem") | 54:41 | |
♪ O little town of Bethlehem ♪ | 55:24 | |
♪ How still we see thee lie ♪ | 55:29 | |
♪ Above thy deep and dreamless sleep ♪ | 55:34 | |
♪ The silent stars go by ♪ | 55:39 | |
♪ But in the dark street shineth ♪ | 55:45 | |
♪ The everlasting light ♪ | 55:50 | |
♪ The hopes and fears of all the years ♪ | 55:55 | |
♪ Are met with thee tonight ♪ | 56:01 | |
♪ For Christ is born of Mary ♪ | 56:08 | |
♪ And gathered all above ♪ | 56:13 | |
♪ While mortals sleep the angels keep ♪ | 56:19 | |
♪ Their watch of wondering love ♪ | 56:24 | |
♪ O morning stars together ♪ | 56:30 | |
♪ Proclaim thy holy birth ♪ | 56:34 | |
♪ And praises sing to God the king ♪ | 56:39 | |
♪ And peace to men on earth ♪ | 56:45 | |
♪ How silently how silently ♪ | 56:54 | |
♪ The wond'rous gift is given ♪ | 56:59 | |
♪ So God imparts to human hearts ♪ | 57:04 | |
♪ The blessings of his heaven ♪ | 57:10 | |
♪ No ear may hear his coming ♪ | 57:16 | |
♪ But in his world of sin ♪ | 57:21 | |
♪ Where meek souls will receive him still ♪ | 57:26 | |
♪ The dear Christ enters in ♪ | 57:32 | |
♪ O holy child of Bethlehem ♪ | 57:40 | |
♪ Descend to us we pray ♪ | 57:45 | |
♪ Cast out our sin and enter in ♪ | 57:51 | |
♪ Be born to us today ♪ | 57:56 | |
♪ We hear the Christmas angels ♪ | 58:02 | |
♪ The great glad tidings tell ♪ | 58:07 | |
♪ O come to us abide with us ♪ | 58:13 | |
♪ Our Lord Emmanuel ♪ | 58:19 | |
And now may the God of hope and the Father of our Lord | 58:34 | |
Jesus Christ fill you with all joy and peace in believing | 58:38 | |
so that you may abound in hope by the power | 58:43 | |
of the Holy Spirit. | 58:46 | |
Amen. | 58:48 | |
(organ music) | 58:51 |