Charlene P. Kammerer - "Walking through the Valley of the Shadow" (February 22, 1981)
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- | Duke University Chapel, Service of Worship, | 0:09 |
February 22nd, 1981. | 0:13 | |
(church organ music) | 0:18 | |
♪ And When he cometh, when he cometh ♪ | 11:11 | |
♪ To make up his jewels ♪ | 11:15 | |
♪ For He is now here, rejoice in the nation ♪ | 11:20 | |
♪ He has loved me ♪ | 11:26 | |
♪ Like the stars of the morning ♪ | 11:29 | |
♪ His bright crown adorning ♪ | 11:33 | |
♪ They shall shine in their beauty ♪ | 11:36 | |
♪ He is crowning my life with the jewels of love ♪ | 11:40 | |
♪ With the jewels, with her jewels ♪ | 11:47 | |
♪ On the throne everlasting my Father is King ♪ | 11:54 | |
♪ And His word shall the nations control ♪ | 11:59 | |
♪ To that throne, every need, ev'ey care I may bring ♪ | 12:04 | |
♪ So, the Lord saw, the Lord with God ♪ | 12:10 | |
♪ Bless the Lord, bless and praise, O my soul ♪ | 12:14 | |
♪ So, whatever the trials that fall to my lot ♪ | 12:19 | |
♪ As I press toward the bright, shining goal ♪ | 12:24 | |
♪ Let His goodness and mercy be never forgot chance ♪ | 12:30 | |
(church organ music) | 12:41 | |
(people murmuring) | ||
(church choir murmuring hymns) | 13:12 | |
♪ America, America, America the saved ♪ | 16:51 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 17:02 | |
- | Psalmist writes, | 17:12 |
"I was glad when they said unto me, | 17:13 | |
"'Let us go into the house of the Lord.'" | 17:16 | |
O Lord, send out your light and your truth, | 17:19 | |
that they may lead us and bring us unto your holy hill, | 17:22 | |
and to your dwelling place. | 17:27 | |
Grace be unto you and peace, from the Lord our God, | 17:30 | |
and from blessed savior even Jesus the Christ. | 17:36 | |
Let us together now, confess our sins. | 17:40 | |
Let us pray. | 17:45 | |
O Lord, our God, you have built into our personalities | 17:55 | |
a yearning, for both adventure, and security, | 18:00 | |
that have sought the safety of things, | 18:03 | |
rather than security of your love, | 18:06 | |
instead of getting involved in the service of your kingdom, | 18:09 | |
we reserved our limited time and energy for ourselves. | 18:13 | |
We have tried to satisfy our life-seeking spirits, | 18:18 | |
by pursuing outmarks of outward success, | 18:23 | |
by striving to attain the status symbols of our day, | 18:27 | |
by experimenting with sex without love, | 18:31 | |
by getting our thrills through the loss, | 18:34 | |
or misfortune of others. | 18:37 | |
O Lord, we are tired and bored of doing what we want to do, | 18:39 | |
rather than what our souls and spirits need us to do. | 18:45 | |
Gracious God, forgive us. | 18:49 | |
Let us taste and know your amazing grace, | 18:52 | |
in the depths of our hearts. | 18:55 | |
O God, we want to grow. | 18:58 | |
We know in our hearts that we should accept the challenge | 19:01 | |
of total allegiance to Christ and the kingdom of God. | 19:04 | |
So jar is loose from the tight security of little Lord self, | 19:09 | |
out into abundant adventure on the way of your cross. | 19:14 | |
O Lord, give us the strength and the courage | 19:19 | |
to believe and to trust in you and your mercy, | 19:23 | |
through Jesus Christ we pray. | 19:27 | |
(church organ music) | 19:31 | |
Our Lord Jesus has said, | 20:13 | |
"Come into me, all you who labor, and are heavy laden, | 20:14 | |
"and I will give you rest. | 20:19 | |
Take your burdens to the Lord, | 20:23 | |
and you will find rest for your souls. | 20:25 | |
If We confess our sins, God is faithful and just, | 20:30 | |
and will forgive our sins and cleanse us | 20:34 | |
from all unrighteousness. | 20:37 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ, I declare unto you, | 20:41 | |
our sins are forgiven, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 20:45 | |
Amen. | 20:53 | |
Let us give thanks, for God is good, | 20:56 | |
and God's love is everlasting. | 21:00 | |
(congregation murmuring prayers) | 21:04 | |
Amen. | 21:20 | |
May I welcome you to this Service of Worship. | 21:22 | |
If this is your first time to be in Duke Chapel, | 21:25 | |
or if you are a visitor here, | 21:29 | |
we say a special word of welcome to you. | 21:31 | |
If you worship here regularly, | 21:35 | |
it is good to have share in this blessed hour, | 21:37 | |
and in this holy service with us. | 21:39 | |
May I remind you, that this afternoon at five o'clock, | 21:44 | |
in the Chapel here, there will be a organ concert, | 21:46 | |
given by Professor Harold Andrews, | 21:49 | |
with the faculty of Greensboro College in Greensboro. | 21:52 | |
You are invited and are asked to encourage others to come, | 21:57 | |
and share in that very special service. | 21:59 | |
On Thursday afternoon of this week, | 22:04 | |
the university community will serve a very special | 22:06 | |
service here in the chapel, | 22:09 | |
as the new dean of the Duke Divinity School | 22:11 | |
will be installed. | 22:15 | |
He is Dr. Jamison Jones, | 22:18 | |
who has previously served as president | 22:19 | |
of Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. | 22:22 | |
Members of this congregation of the Duke community, | 22:27 | |
and the community at large are invited to come and share | 22:30 | |
in that very special service. | 22:33 | |
The preacher for today, is the Reverend Charlene Camer, | 22:37 | |
the sys-administer, preaching of the subject, | 22:41 | |
walking through the valley of the shadow. | 22:45 | |
Charlene, we pray God's blessing on you, | 22:49 | |
as you speak to us and bring the word to us today. | 22:51 | |
- | Let us pray. | 23:03 |
Almighty and most merciful God, | 23:07 | |
you have given the Bible to be the revelation | 23:09 | |
of your great love to us, | 23:12 | |
and of your power and will to save us. | 23:15 | |
Grant that our study of it may not be in vain, | 23:19 | |
by the callousness or carelessness of our hearts, | 23:22 | |
but that by it, we may be confirmed in penitence. | 23:26 | |
Lift into hope, make strong for service, | 23:30 | |
and above all, filled with the true knowledge of you, | 23:34 | |
and with your son, Jesus Christ. | 23:38 | |
Amen. | 23:41 | |
The Old Testament lesson is Isaiah 40:27-31. | 23:44 | |
"Why do you say, O Jacob, | 23:52 | |
"and speak, O Israel, | 23:56 | |
"'My way is hidden from the Lord, | 23:58 | |
"'and my right is disregarded by my God?' | 24:01 | |
"Have you not known? | 24:05 | |
"Have you not heard? | 24:07 | |
"The Lord is the everlasting God, | 24:09 | |
"the Creator of the ends of the earth. | 24:12 | |
"He does not faint or grow weary; | 24:16 | |
"his understanding is unsearchable. | 24:19 | |
"He gives power to the faint, | 24:23 | |
"and to him who has no might he increases strength. | 24:25 | |
"Even youths shall faint and be weary, | 24:31 | |
"and young men shall fall exhausted; | 24:35 | |
"but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; | 24:38 | |
"they shall mount up with wings like eagles; | 24:44 | |
"they shall run and not be weary; | 24:49 | |
"they shall walk and not faint." | 24:52 | |
Here ends the reading from the Old Testament. | 24:56 | |
Amen. | 25:00 | |
The epical lesson, is from Romans 8:31-39. | 25:02 | |
"What then shall we say to these this? | 25:12 | |
"If God is for us, who is against us? | 25:15 | |
"He who did not spare his own Son, | 25:19 | |
"but gave him up for us all, | 25:23 | |
"will he not also give us all things with him? | 25:26 | |
"Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? | 25:31 | |
"It is God who justifies. | 25:35 | |
"Who is to condemn? | 25:39 | |
"Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, | 25:41 | |
"who was raised from the dead, | 25:46 | |
"who is at the right hand of God, | 25:48 | |
"who indeed intercedes for us. | 25:51 | |
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? | 25:55 | |
"Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, | 26:01 | |
"or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? | 26:06 | |
"As it is written, | 26:14 | |
"'For thy sake we are being killed all the day long; | 26:16 | |
"'we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' | 26:20 | |
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors | 26:25 | |
"through him who loved us. | 26:32 | |
"For I am sure that neither death nor life, | 26:34 | |
"nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, | 26:38 | |
"nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, | 26:44 | |
"nor anything else in all creation, | 26:51 | |
"will be able to separate us from the love of God | 26:54 | |
in Christ Jesus, our Lord. | 26:58 | |
Here ends the reading from the epical lesson. | 27:01 | |
(church organ music) | 27:11 | |
(church choir murmuring hymns) | 27:22 | |
Will the congregation please stand | 32:14 | |
for the reading of the gospel lesson? | 32:16 | |
The gospel lesson is from John 14:1-7. | 32:23 | |
"'Let not your hearts be troubled. | 32:33 | |
"'Believe in God; believe also in me. | 32:36 | |
"'In my Father's house are many rooms. | 32:41 | |
"'If it were not so, would I have told you | 32:46 | |
"'that I go to prepare a place for you? | 32:50 | |
"'And when I go and prepare a place for you, | 32:53 | |
"'I will come again and will take you to myself, | 32:57 | |
"'that where I am you may be also. | 33:01 | |
"'And you know the way to where I am going.' | 33:05 | |
"'Thomas said to him, | 33:10 | |
"'Lord, we do not know where you are going. | 33:12 | |
"'How can we know the way?' | 33:16 | |
"'Jesus said to him, | 33:18 | |
"'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. | 33:20 | |
"'No one comes to the Father but by me. | 33:25 | |
"'If you had known me, | 33:30 | |
"'you would have known my Father also. | 33:33 | |
"'Henceforth, you know him and have seen him.'" | 33:36 | |
Here ends the reading from the gospel lesson. | 33:41 | |
Amen. | 33:45 | |
(church organ music) | 33:46 | |
(church choir murmuring hymns) | 33:53 | |
- | There are times in our lives when we actually live | 34:57 |
the drama of the Christian year. | 35:01 | |
This epiphany season has been one of those times for me, | 35:05 | |
and painfully so. | 35:10 | |
As Christians, we are given the promise | 35:14 | |
in the season of epiphany, | 35:16 | |
that out of darkness, a great light will shine. | 35:19 | |
The gospel message is that signs of darkness in the world, | 35:24 | |
and all the evil, will be overcome, | 35:30 | |
with the great light of hope, | 35:35 | |
ushered into our world by the advents | 35:38 | |
of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ. | 35:41 | |
In times of personal darkness, | 35:47 | |
when sorrow and grief fill our lives and our hearts, | 35:50 | |
it is hard to claim that promise of faith. | 35:55 | |
But, perhaps it is enough to that cling to that belief, | 36:04 | |
that promise of faith. | 36:10 | |
And perhaps, it is enough to simply stand, | 36:14 | |
and walk through the darkness, | 36:19 | |
the darkness that is the valley of the shadow. | 36:26 | |
As some of you here already know, | 36:31 | |
these last two month have been a stretch of darkness | 36:35 | |
for my family and for me. | 36:38 | |
My younger brother Al, committed suicide, | 36:41 | |
last stood in this pulpit. | 36:48 | |
For that reason alone, | 36:55 | |
I'm no longer the same person I was then. | 36:57 | |
My life, and the life of many others, has been changed. | 37:04 | |
In fact, my own life has been called into question | 37:11 | |
by this death. | 37:16 | |
An appropriate question for you, right now, | 37:22 | |
might well be, | 37:27 | |
why should one young man's death | 37:30 | |
lay claim to anyone of us? | 37:34 | |
Particularly, since some of us are already overtaxed | 37:38 | |
with sorrow of our own. | 37:43 | |
There is no reason at all, except that this story, | 37:47 | |
his story, is the one that I know as his sister, | 37:51 | |
and his death raises again, for me, and I believe | 37:56 | |
for all of us, the ageless questions about meaning, | 38:01 | |
with which sooner or later, everyone must deal. | 38:07 | |
Further, I really believe | 38:13 | |
that we in the church are a family | 38:16 | |
bound together as brothers and sisters, in Jesus Christ. | 38:20 | |
Therefore, what happens to anyone of us, | 38:27 | |
does make a difference to all of us. | 38:31 | |
As one of very close friends recently wrote | 38:36 | |
in a letter of sympathy, | 38:40 | |
"A wasted human life is great tragedy for all of us." | 38:42 | |
Of late, I have found great comfort | 38:49 | |
in John Claypool's book of sermons, | 38:53 | |
entitled, "Tracks of a Fellow Struggler". | 38:56 | |
For here, is a preacher who was bold enough, | 39:00 | |
and humble enough to share with his congregation, | 39:06 | |
a time of darkness in his own family, | 39:11 | |
when his small daughter fought | 39:15 | |
a losing battle with leukemia. | 39:17 | |
My compelling need to share out of this personal experience | 39:22 | |
with death, I believe is reflected in his words, | 39:26 | |
to his church. | 39:30 | |
I certainly do not want to exploit | 39:33 | |
this very personal situation, | 39:35 | |
neither do I want to unburned you on doing, | 39:39 | |
but I have to try to tell you what I am learning | 39:43 | |
in the darkness. | 39:48 | |
It is my strong conviction that God speaks to us | 39:51 | |
in times of darkness and deep despair. | 39:56 | |
Part of the problem with suicide deaths, | 40:02 | |
is that no one wants to talk about it, | 40:06 | |
and especially to name it. | 40:10 | |
The fact that a person makes the decision | 40:14 | |
to end his own life, is somehow extremely threatening | 40:17 | |
to all of us. | 40:22 | |
There have been some moments since my brother's death, | 40:27 | |
that seems from the film "Ordinary People", | 40:31 | |
have crowded themselves across my mind. | 40:35 | |
You remember Conrad, the Chicago North Shore teenager? | 40:40 | |
He has become a very real person to me. | 40:45 | |
This main character has spent some time | 40:49 | |
in a mental institution for attempting suicide. | 40:52 | |
This happened after a boating accident, | 40:59 | |
in which he survived, and his older brother drowned. | 41:01 | |
We see him returning to high school for his senior year, | 41:06 | |
and finding out that he cannot do anything right. | 41:10 | |
He perpetually has nightmares about the accident. | 41:15 | |
And, we discover Calvin, his father, | 41:20 | |
who denies that anything is wrong. | 41:24 | |
The suicide attempt is never discussed in that house. | 41:29 | |
The father assumes that something | 41:34 | |
will change for the better, given time. | 41:37 | |
We discover that the mother, who cannot communicate at all, | 41:42 | |
any feelings that she has with her family, | 41:48 | |
and yet, when you place her in a party, | 41:51 | |
she always says just the right things. | 41:54 | |
Ordinary people, their world is very orderly, | 41:59 | |
but signs of breakdown are present. | 42:04 | |
To me, on one level, this film is about the modern family, | 42:09 | |
as it tries to muster its resources to deal with tragedy. | 42:14 | |
On another level, this film has an answer to the question, | 42:20 | |
what must I do to be saved, for the person of Conrad, | 42:26 | |
and for him, the beginning of salvation | 42:32 | |
lies in the process of psychoanalysis. | 42:36 | |
For we see that Conrad is able, in time, | 42:41 | |
to examine his feelings about his dead brother, | 42:45 | |
about his mother and father, and to tell his mother, | 42:50 | |
that he loves her, | 42:55 | |
thus effectively forgiving her, | 42:57 | |
for the fact that she is incapable of loving him. | 43:02 | |
In religious terms, Conrad has encountered grace | 43:07 | |
in his life. | 43:12 | |
It's seems to me that all of us, in some sense, | 43:16 | |
are these ordinary people. | 43:20 | |
We do come unglued when confronted with a tragedy, | 43:24 | |
and a tragedy like suicide. | 43:29 | |
I'm aware that we even try to express our discomfort | 43:33 | |
in a humorous way. | 43:38 | |
Every time now, that I hear the T.V. program, "M*A*S*H", | 43:41 | |
and the theme song, "Suicide is Painless", | 43:46 | |
is played over and over again. | 43:50 | |
But my friends, the fact is, | 43:55 | |
it is very painful to be aware of another person's pain, | 43:58 | |
and not be able to do anything about it. | 44:03 | |
It is to step into life's darkness, | 44:09 | |
recognizing that the suicide victim | 44:13 | |
has given up on life. | 44:16 | |
According Hugh Prather, a counselor, | 44:21 | |
the suicidal person thinks that he has been treated unfairly | 44:26 | |
and even attacked by others, | 44:30 | |
attacked by his own body and by life itself. | 44:34 | |
Somehow, by taking into his own hands, | 44:40 | |
the power of attack, and using it against himself, | 44:43 | |
he can put an end to the misery, | 44:48 | |
that otherwise seems endless. | 44:51 | |
This rational explanation of suicide | 44:56 | |
is only helpful up to a point. | 45:01 | |
For there are at times, for all of us, | 45:05 | |
who are left behind to deal with the questions of life, | 45:09 | |
the repeated questions of why's and what if's. | 45:14 | |
What could I have done that might have made a difference? | 45:20 | |
The potential for guilt for all of us, | 45:27 | |
in the case of suicide, is immense. | 45:30 | |
It would be easy to place blame on ourselves, | 45:34 | |
but isn't it the case, if anyone of us is responsible | 45:38 | |
for a person's decision to take his own life, | 45:44 | |
are we not all responsible for that, | 45:48 | |
as part of a human family? | 45:51 | |
One of the profound mysteries of suicide death to me, | 45:57 | |
is that its meaning is known and determined | 46:02 | |
by the one who dies, and not ever to any of the onlookers. | 46:06 | |
For me, the final truth, is that no one of us | 46:12 | |
can interpret the meaning of another person's death. | 46:17 | |
I am very aware that my situation of grief is not unique. | 46:23 | |
Many people have shared with me similar times of darkness, | 46:29 | |
and groping for the light of God's presence | 46:34 | |
in there lives. | 46:38 | |
And, I sense that the Old Testament scripture lesson | 46:40 | |
reminds us this morning, that God's people | 46:44 | |
have always known pain and sorrow | 46:48 | |
as a genuine part of life. | 46:51 | |
The passage in Isaiah is addressed to exiled people of God. | 46:55 | |
They too, had fallen on hard times, | 47:01 | |
and they were separated from all their dreams and hopes. | 47:05 | |
The prophet bids them to remember, | 47:10 | |
what they have learned of God in better times. | 47:14 | |
Have you not known? | 47:18 | |
Have you not heard what God is like? | 47:21 | |
God is the everlasting Lord, | 47:25 | |
creator of the ends of the earth. | 47:29 | |
"God is mysterious", Isaiah proclaimed. | 47:32 | |
Our God is a God of life and death. | 47:37 | |
God's understanding about life and death is insearchable. | 47:42 | |
God does not grow weary or faint. | 47:48 | |
Best of all, God gives power to the faint, | 47:53 | |
and to those who have no might, | 47:59 | |
those who have no strength and no answers. | 48:02 | |
God increases strength. | 48:07 | |
It was this vision of God, | 48:12 | |
already made known in their history, | 48:15 | |
that the exiles were called to remember and apply, | 48:18 | |
to their situation. | 48:22 | |
I believe it is the same with us. | 48:25 | |
God calls us to remember who God is, | 48:29 | |
and God will renew our strength. | 48:33 | |
And so, in times of death's darkness, | 48:38 | |
what do we do? | 48:43 | |
I believe that we have to face the darkness honestly, | 48:46 | |
and we have to name it. | 48:52 | |
We have to grief, to mourn, to cry out, | 48:55 | |
before we are ever able to let go of life. | 49:01 | |
I've come to know again, | 49:07 | |
that the most powerful kind of caring | 49:10 | |
for people in a situation like this, | 49:14 | |
is simply to be there, to be present, | 49:16 | |
to be close by, to be with someone. | 49:21 | |
We do not have to be strong. | 49:26 | |
We do not have to be courageous, | 49:29 | |
we only have to be human in our fear and our loss. | 49:32 | |
For I believe that it is God, who can gather all of our | 49:38 | |
hurt and pain, and sadness, and carry it for us. | 49:43 | |
We are not alone, | 49:49 | |
that is God's inexpressible gift to us. | 49:51 | |
I believe by the grace of God, | 49:57 | |
we are able to bear darkness until we are ready | 50:01 | |
to see glimmers of light in life. | 50:06 | |
This I know, we can stand and walk, | 50:12 | |
and even be comforted in the midst | 50:18 | |
of the valley of the shadow of death. | 50:23 | |
And I say, thanks to be God | 50:26 | |
for this great mystery, | 50:31 | |
and this great hope. | 50:34 | |
Amen. | 50:38 | |
(church organ music) | 50:43 | |
(church choir murmuring hymns) | 51:10 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 53:04 | |
- | Lord, give me such a faith as this, | 53:13 |
and then what there may come. | 53:15 | |
I'll taste Thee now, the hallowed bliss of an eternal home. | 53:19 | |
Having heard the word for (murmurs), | 53:25 | |
let us now affirm what we believe. | 53:28 | |
We believe in God, | 53:33 | |
who has created and is creating, | 53:35 | |
who has come in the truly human Jesus, | 53:38 | |
to reconcile and make new, | 53:42 | |
who works in us and others by the Spirit. | 53:45 | |
We trust God, | 53:48 | |
who calls us to be the church, | 53:50 | |
to celebrate life in its fullness, | 53:53 | |
to love and serve others, | 53:57 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 53:59 | |
to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, | 54:02 | |
our judge and our hope. | 54:06 | |
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. | 54:09 | |
We are not alone. | 54:16 | |
Thanks be to God. | 54:18 | |
I don't know about you, but I believe, | 54:22 | |
and more so now I think then ever before in my life, | 54:24 | |
in the power of intercessory prayer. | 54:29 | |
For months now, we have seen the news, | 54:35 | |
and read the newspapers about the tragedies in Atlanta. | 54:40 | |
We individually, may have expressed our concern, | 54:49 | |
but this morning during the time of prayer, | 54:52 | |
I would like for us to express | 54:56 | |
our corporate communal concern. | 54:59 | |
Last evening, you have seen or heard, | 55:04 | |
that the 20th child has now been found dead. | 55:06 | |
That troubles me, 'cause I know it troubles you, | 55:14 | |
not only for the 20 children who have died, | 55:19 | |
and for their families, | 55:24 | |
but can you imagine with me, | 55:26 | |
the terror, and the fear, in the hearts and souls | 55:28 | |
of the children who are still alive, and of their families? | 55:32 | |
So, believing in God my friends, | 55:39 | |
and believing very deeply in the power of prayer, | 55:42 | |
that God can do something | 55:46 | |
if we pray earnestly and faithfully for that to happen | 55:47 | |
during the time of prayer in just a moment. | 55:53 | |
Let us pray for these children and for something to happen, | 55:59 | |
that will be in keeping with God's will. | 56:04 | |
The lord be with you. | 56:10 | |
(congregation murmuring) | ||
Let us pray. | 56:13 | |
Almighty Lord, and our blessed God, | 56:21 | |
we pause these moments to give you thanks | 56:25 | |
for the simple things of life, for rest and sleep, | 56:27 | |
for renewal and for good health, | 56:30 | |
for work and tasks to do, | 56:34 | |
for goals to seek, | 56:37 | |
and for the strength and the will to do them, | 56:39 | |
for all the beautiful and good, and exciting surroundings | 56:42 | |
of our lives, | 56:45 | |
for all that we know that makes life | 56:48 | |
both desirable and enjoyable. | 56:51 | |
We pray, O Lord, that through your spirit, | 56:55 | |
you will raise our thoughts and purify our longings. | 56:59 | |
Strengthen our wills, we beg you, | 57:04 | |
to put us on the side of what is good and holy, | 57:06 | |
and to help us to stand against | 57:10 | |
all that is destructive and evil. | 57:12 | |
Throw us now Lord, as we reflect | 57:18 | |
upon your word proclaimed to us, close to you. | 57:21 | |
Help us to know you as our God, | 57:27 | |
the God of our mothers and our fathers, | 57:29 | |
the God of all of our brothers and sisters, | 57:32 | |
to know you as the one who turns | 57:36 | |
the shadow of death into morning, | 57:38 | |
the one who gives who light to the face of this earth, | 57:42 | |
the one who overcomes our darkness with light, | 57:46 | |
the one banishes night and brings back the day, | 57:49 | |
the one who lights our lives that we sleep not in death. | 57:54 | |
Indeed, the one who carries us through | 58:00 | |
the valley of the shadow of death, | 58:02 | |
to the light that is everlasting. | 58:05 | |
The one will who support each of us and all of us | 58:09 | |
in tough, and heavy, and wearying moments. | 58:12 | |
Yes, thanks be to you, O Lord, our God. | 58:15 | |
The light and the life of our | 58:19 | |
every day and our every moment, | 58:22 | |
who God has one people and one voice now. | 58:29 | |
Feel the yearnings and the powers of our hearts and souls. | 58:36 | |
Feel the deep desires which we bring to you now, | 58:42 | |
as one people banded together. | 58:45 | |
To author a special prayer of intercession | 58:50 | |
for the children of Atlanta. | 58:53 | |
Especially, O Lord, we pray for the 20 children | 58:57 | |
who have been murdered. | 59:00 | |
May the light of your presence have drawn them, | 59:05 | |
and be keeping them peacefully | 59:07 | |
in your heavenly kingdom just now. | 59:10 | |
Comfort and support their mothers and fathers, | 59:17 | |
and brothers, and sisters, and friends. | 59:20 | |
Be calm and reassuring presence | 59:26 | |
to all of the other children of Atlanta, | 59:31 | |
filled with fear and terror. | 59:34 | |
And especially now, O God, we pray Thee | 59:39 | |
work diligently through every means possible, | 59:42 | |
to bring horror time to an end, | 59:47 | |
to find and capture those who have destroyed | 59:50 | |
and threatened the lives of others. | 59:54 | |
May they, O God, know your grace, | 59:58 | |
and cease their ways of madness. | 1:00:01 | |
For all who suffer in loss and fear, | 1:00:09 | |
we pray this day. | 1:00:14 | |
O Lord, our God, you have brought us to this, | 1:00:18 | |
the beginning of this new day, and of this new week. | 1:00:23 | |
Help us to live this day and this week, | 1:00:28 | |
in the company of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, | 1:00:30 | |
and in harmony and love with one another, | 1:00:34 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 1:00:39 | |
who taught us to pray as we together. | 1:00:41 | |
Our Father, who art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy name. | 1:00:45 | |
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, | 1:00:50 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 1:00:54 | |
Give us this day, our daily bread. | 1:00:57 | |
And forgive us our trespasses, | 1:01:00 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:01:03 | |
And lead us not into temptation, deliver us from evil. | 1:01:07 | |
For Thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever. | 1:01:12 | |
Amen. | 1:01:19 | |
(church organ music) | 1:01:23 | |
(church choir murmuring hymns) | 1:03:41 | |
(upbeat church organ music) | 1:13:35 |