Charles H. Mercer - "What Is the Cost" (June 21, 1981)
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Transcript
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(pipe organ music) | 0:07 | |
(pipe organ music) | 2:35 | |
(pipe organ music) | 5:16 | |
♪ Now we praise him ♪ | 8:02 | |
♪ Heaven above ♪ | 8:05 | |
♪ Praise him indeed for his great love ♪ | 8:08 | |
♪ Wherein all creatures live and move ♪ | 8:15 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 8:21 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 8:24 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 8:28 | |
(pipe organ music) | 8:34 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 9:11 | |
♪ Lord God Almighty ♪ | 9:15 | |
♪ Early in the morning ♪ | 9:20 | |
♪ Our song shall rise to thee ♪ | 9:24 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 9:29 | |
♪ Merciful and mighty ♪ | 9:34 | |
♪ God in three persons ♪ | 9:39 | |
♪ Blessed Trinity ♪ | 9:44 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 9:51 | |
♪ All the saints adore thee ♪ | 9:56 | |
♪ Casting down their golden crowns ♪ | 10:01 | |
♪ Around the glassy sea ♪ | 10:05 | |
♪ Cherubim and seraphim ♪ | 10:11 | |
♪ Falling down before thee ♪ | 10:15 | |
♪ Which wert and art ♪ | 10:20 | |
♪ And evermore shalt be ♪ | 10:24 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 10:32 | |
♪ Though the darkness hide thee ♪ | 10:37 | |
♪ Though the eye of sinful man ♪ | 10:42 | |
♪ Thy glory may not see ♪ | 10:46 | |
♪ Only thou art holy ♪ | 10:52 | |
♪ There is none beside thee ♪ | 10:57 | |
♪ Perfect in power ♪ | 11:02 | |
♪ In love and purity ♪ | 11:06 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 11:14 | |
♪ Lord God Almighty ♪ | 11:19 | |
♪ All thy works shall praise thy name ♪ | 11:25 | |
♪ In earth and sky and sea ♪ | 11:29 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 11:35 | |
♪ Merciful and mighty ♪ | 11:39 | |
♪ God in three persons ♪ | 11:45 | |
♪ Blessed Trinity ♪ | 11:50 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 11:56 | |
- | Grace to you and peace from God our Creator | 12:11 |
and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 12:15 | |
We welcome you to Duke University Chapel service of worship | 12:17 | |
this second Sunday of Pentecost. | 12:22 | |
We are glad that you have come to be with us | 12:25 | |
and we pray that your spirits will be enriched | 12:28 | |
in this hour together. | 12:31 | |
So that we may prepare ourselves | 12:36 | |
in heart and mind for worship, | 12:38 | |
let us now confess our sins against God | 12:41 | |
and against our neighbor. | 12:45 | |
Let us pray. | 12:47 | |
- | Almighty God, your presence prompts us | 13:00 |
to confession. | 13:03 | |
We are not embarrassed to be in the world | 13:05 | |
for it is your good gift to us. | 13:08 | |
But we are ashamed of the ways we let ourselves | 13:11 | |
be molded by the faithfulness of our time. | 13:14 | |
We have looked upon evil, and in siding with it, | 13:19 | |
our vision has become blurred. | 13:23 | |
Touch our eyes. | 13:25 | |
We have sensed misery and despair | 13:27 | |
and in turning away, our hearts have become hard. | 13:31 | |
Melt our hearts. | 13:35 | |
We have heard cries for help, | 13:37 | |
and in stopping our ears, have become deaf to you, too. | 13:40 | |
Open our ears. | 13:45 | |
We have known when a word could have witnessed | 13:47 | |
and encouraged, and our silence has made us dumb. | 13:50 | |
Loose our tongues. | 13:54 | |
We have made fists to strike with | 13:57 | |
from hands meant for benediction. | 14:00 | |
Forgive our violence. | 14:03 | |
Beholding you through Jesus Christ prompts us | 14:05 | |
to cast ourselves upon your mercy, | 14:09 | |
that in the Spirit's power, we may be your people | 14:12 | |
this day and always. | 14:16 | |
- | Wait for the Lord. | 14:44 |
Be strong and let your heart take courage. | 14:46 | |
Yea, wait for the Lord. | 14:49 | |
Amen. | 14:52 | |
Let us give thanks for God is good | 14:55 | |
and God's love is everlasting. | 14:58 | |
- | Thanks be to God whose love creates us. | 15:01 |
Thanks be to God whose mercy redeems us. | 15:06 | |
Thanks be to God whose grace leads us into the future. | 15:10 | |
- | We are very pleased today to have as our guest preacher | 15:18 |
the Reverend Dr. Charles H. Mercer, | 15:22 | |
District Superintendent of the Durham District, | 15:25 | |
the United Methodist Church. | 15:29 | |
Charles has been in ministry with us here | 15:31 | |
at the university on many occasions. | 15:34 | |
We welcome him as a colleague and as a community minister. | 15:37 | |
He has served a number of churches | 15:43 | |
in the North Carolina conference, | 15:45 | |
has had a very active presence and voice, a prophetic voice | 15:48 | |
in denominational and civic committees and boards. | 15:53 | |
He has twice served the United Methodist Church | 15:57 | |
as a district superintendent, | 16:01 | |
coming to the Durham district in 1973. | 16:03 | |
We are pleased to have Dr. Mercer with us today | 16:08 | |
and we look forward to the message | 16:12 | |
that he will proclaim for us by the spoken word. | 16:14 | |
- | Let us pray. | 16:30 |
Fulfill now, O Lord, we pray you, your gracious promise | 16:34 | |
that your Word shall not return to you empty, | 16:39 | |
but shall accomplish that which you purpose | 16:43 | |
and prosper toward the end for which you have sent it, | 16:46 | |
for your name's sake, amen. | 16:51 | |
The Epistle lesson this morning is from Romans chapter two, | 16:56 | |
verses 3 through 11. | 17:01 | |
"Do you suppose, O man, that when you judge | 17:06 | |
"those who do such things and yet do them yourself, | 17:10 | |
"you will escape the judgment of God? | 17:15 | |
"Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness | 17:19 | |
"and forbearance and patience? | 17:24 | |
"Do you not know that God's kindness is meant to lead you | 17:28 | |
"to repentance? | 17:33 | |
"But by your hard and impenitent heart, | 17:36 | |
"you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath | 17:39 | |
"when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. | 17:44 | |
"For he will render to every man according to his works, | 17:49 | |
"to those who by patience in well-doing | 17:54 | |
"seek for glory and honor and immortality, | 17:58 | |
"he will give eternal life. | 18:03 | |
"But for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, | 18:06 | |
"but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. | 18:11 | |
"There will be tribulation and distress | 18:18 | |
"for every human being who does evil, | 18:21 | |
"the Jew first and also the Greek, | 18:25 | |
"but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, | 18:30 | |
"the Jew first and also the Greek. | 18:38 | |
"For God shows no partiality." | 18:43 | |
Herein is the reading from the Epistle lesson, amen. | 18:50 | |
(pipe organ music) | 19:09 | |
♪ O Holy Spirit, Lord of grace ♪ | 19:21 | |
♪ Eternal source of love ♪ | 19:28 | |
♪ Inflame, we pray, our inmost hearts ♪ | 19:35 | |
♪ With fire from heaven above ♪ | 19:43 | |
♪ As thou dost join in holiest hearts ♪ | 19:51 | |
♪ The Father and the Son ♪ | 19:59 | |
♪ So fill us all ♪ | 20:04 | |
♪ So fill us all ♪ | 20:07 | |
♪ With mutual love ♪ | 20:11 | |
♪ With mutual love ♪ | 20:14 | |
♪ Fill our hearts with mutual love ♪ | 20:17 | |
♪ Fill our hearts with mutual love ♪ | 20:18 | |
♪ And knit our hearts in one ♪ | 20:21 | |
- | Will the congregation please stand for the reading | 20:39 |
of the Gospel? | 20:41 | |
The Gospel lesson is from Matthew chapter 16, | 20:48 | |
verses 24 through 28. | 20:53 | |
"Then Jesus told his disciples, | 20:57 | |
"'If any man would come after me, let him deny himself | 21:01 | |
"and take up his cross and follow me. | 21:06 | |
"For whoever would save his life will lose it, | 21:11 | |
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. | 21:16 | |
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world | 21:22 | |
"and forfeits his life? | 21:28 | |
"Or what shall a man give in return for his life? | 21:32 | |
"For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels | 21:38 | |
"in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay | 21:41 | |
"every man for what he has done. | 21:45 | |
"Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here | 21:49 | |
"who will not taste death | 21:56 | |
"before the Son of Man comes in his kingdom.'" | 21:58 | |
Here ends the reading from the Gospel lesson, amen. | 22:04 | |
(pipe organ music) | 22:09 | |
♪ Glory be to God Redeemer ♪ | 22:17 | |
(muffled choral music) | 22:23 | |
♪ Glory be to Christ the Savior ♪ | 22:30 | |
(muffled choral music) | 22:37 | |
- | I, too, greet you in the name of Christ. | 23:15 |
As I notice the dress style of many of you, | 23:20 | |
I observe that you have better judgment, I think, | 23:25 | |
than your ministers, at least in that arena. | 23:29 | |
On television, they tell me that | 23:35 | |
during the summertime, | 23:39 | |
they often have reruns. | 23:42 | |
I'm at least glad in the Duke chapel, | 23:45 | |
that practice is reversed | 23:49 | |
and that you don't have the reruns in the summer. | 23:51 | |
I'm delighted to be here. | 23:54 | |
As you were told, I am a district superintendent | 23:58 | |
and I must tell you at least one little story | 24:01 | |
that didn't happen to me, | 24:06 | |
but I'm told it did happen to one district superintendent | 24:07 | |
who was scheduled to be at a little country church | 24:11 | |
one Sunday morning. | 24:14 | |
He arrived and was seated in the pulpit | 24:16 | |
with the young pastor of the church | 24:19 | |
and noticed that the congregation was very poor, | 24:21 | |
whereupon he whispered to the young pastor and said, | 24:24 | |
"Did you tell the people | 24:28 | |
"I was going to be here this morning?" | 24:29 | |
The pastor replied, | 24:31 | |
"No, but they found out about it anyway." | 24:33 | |
I'm glad that you're here | 24:37 | |
and I'm delighted to be here also. | 24:40 | |
Our subject is, "What is the cost?" | 24:45 | |
and I want to introduce it with a personal confession. | 24:50 | |
Though my wife and I agree on most issues | 24:56 | |
related to family living, | 25:01 | |
our likes and our dislikes are sharply focused | 25:03 | |
at two points. | 25:07 | |
The first is concerning all those | 25:10 | |
ball games on television. | 25:13 | |
She really dislikes them. | 25:16 | |
Though I'm not the typical all-American outdoorsman, | 25:19 | |
I do watch my share of those games on television. | 25:23 | |
My wife tries to be tolerant. | 25:27 | |
In fact, she's not as bad as one wife, | 25:31 | |
who came in and her husband was glued to a ball game. | 25:34 | |
She tried to talk to him | 25:40 | |
and he responded with incoherent grunts, | 25:43 | |
and in disgust, she walked out of the house, saying, | 25:49 | |
"I'm going to my mother's." | 25:53 | |
She arrived at her parents home to find her father, | 25:56 | |
watching the same ball game, | 26:00 | |
and after she asked the question the third time, | 26:03 | |
"Where is mother?" | 26:06 | |
he interrupted long enough to say, "She's gone to mother's." | 26:08 | |
The second issue is shopping. | 26:14 | |
My wife loves to shop and I know I dislike shopping | 26:18 | |
more than she dislikes ball games. | 26:23 | |
But occasionally, we do go shopping together. | 26:26 | |
Of course, being married as long as we have, | 26:30 | |
I know her habits and her style. | 26:33 | |
There is something special she wants. | 26:37 | |
In time, she finds the item she likes. | 26:40 | |
She will look at others, | 26:45 | |
but she always returns to that special one. | 26:46 | |
At this point, I know I must get prepared. | 26:51 | |
So I look carefully at this item, | 26:55 | |
giving special attention to the price tag. | 26:59 | |
Then comes the question, | 27:03 | |
"Dear, which of these do you prefer?" | 27:05 | |
The price tag causes me to be prejudiced. | 27:10 | |
You understand that I am interested | 27:14 | |
in what it's going to cost. | 27:18 | |
Do you ever consider the cost? | 27:21 | |
It is a factor in many decisions. | 27:25 | |
I even read in the newspaper | 27:28 | |
that it sometimes becomes an issue | 27:30 | |
in the purchase of permits for an altar. | 27:33 | |
The question, "What will it cost?" compels us to consider | 27:38 | |
what we are getting as well as what we are giving. | 27:44 | |
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German theologian | 27:50 | |
whose works are known to many of you. | 27:54 | |
He opposed Hitler | 27:58 | |
and was put in the German concentration camp | 27:59 | |
during World War II. | 28:02 | |
In 1945, just before Germany surrendered, he was executed. | 28:04 | |
His writings have had great influence. | 28:10 | |
In one of his books entitled The Cost of Discipleship, | 28:13 | |
he speaks of cheap grace and costly grace. | 28:17 | |
Cheap grace, he says, is the deadly enemy of the church. | 28:22 | |
What does he mean? | 28:27 | |
Let me just suggest in my own words a few things. | 28:29 | |
Cheap grace is grace which is made too easy. | 28:34 | |
It is grace without price. | 28:40 | |
It is without cost. | 28:43 | |
Christ paid the price and all can have it for nothing. | 28:45 | |
How many times have you heard that? | 28:50 | |
It is grace only as a doctrine, a principle, a system. | 28:53 | |
If you can say the right Scripture verses | 28:59 | |
or know the correct doctrine, you have grace. | 29:01 | |
This is cheap grace because it accounts | 29:06 | |
to a denial | 29:10 | |
of the living Word of God, in effect a denial | 29:11 | |
of the incarnation of the Word of God. | 29:16 | |
Costly grace is love, God's love. | 29:19 | |
To know about God's love may be of significance, | 29:24 | |
but to know God's love, that is to experience it, | 29:29 | |
is essential. | 29:33 | |
Cheap grace is going to church without worshiping. | 29:35 | |
It is putting an offering or a gift in the offering plate | 29:40 | |
without putting your life on the altar. | 29:44 | |
It is saying our Father without any intention | 29:47 | |
of including certain people as our brothers or sisters. | 29:52 | |
These people may be different in lifestyle, dress style, | 29:56 | |
or color style. | 30:01 | |
In fact, if we looked up from prayer and saw them | 30:02 | |
in our congregation, we would be unhappy, | 30:07 | |
and the incarnate Christ might not be reflected | 30:11 | |
in our thoughts. | 30:15 | |
I agree with Bonhoeffer when he said, | 30:17 | |
"The only man who has the right to say | 30:20 | |
"he is justified by grace alone | 30:23 | |
is the man who has left all | 30:26 | |
"to follow Christ." | 30:29 | |
Discipleship is the life which springs from grace. | 30:31 | |
Jesus made very clear the fact that if anyone chooses | 30:36 | |
to follow him, that is to be his disciple, | 30:41 | |
it will cost, | 30:46 | |
and he must be willing to pay the price. | 30:47 | |
Said he, "If any man would come after me, | 30:50 | |
"he must deny himself, take up his cross, | 30:54 | |
and follow me." | 30:59 | |
First, he said, we must deny ourselves. | 31:01 | |
We are like Peter in the courtyard | 31:06 | |
the night Jesus was taken into custody. | 31:09 | |
He had to deny self or deny Christ. | 31:13 | |
The pressure was too great and he denied Christ. | 31:18 | |
You and I have the same choice. | 31:23 | |
We disregard ourselves or we disregard Christ. | 31:26 | |
The great struggle is to determine if our life will be | 31:31 | |
self-centered or God-centered. | 31:35 | |
One theologian described the basic conflict | 31:39 | |
in a rather simple manner. | 31:43 | |
Man's situation is much like a group of people | 31:45 | |
gathered around a campfire at night. | 31:50 | |
They turn their backs to the fire | 31:54 | |
and as you can imagine, they see their shadows. | 31:57 | |
Not understanding the shadows, they are frightened | 32:02 | |
and begin to move. | 32:06 | |
the more they move, the more those shadows move, | 32:08 | |
so they become more and more frantic. | 32:11 | |
The solution is to turn to the light, | 32:14 | |
which, of course, represents for us the light of Christ. | 32:18 | |
Being self-centered, it is difficult for us | 32:22 | |
to turn to Christ, which means for us self-surrender. | 32:25 | |
A Western rancher, newly arrived from the East, | 32:31 | |
noticed trout in the stream which flowed through his farm. | 32:37 | |
He was not only new, | 32:43 | |
but also ignorant of the nature of fish. | 32:44 | |
He hit upon the idea of placing fine mesh wire | 32:48 | |
across the stream at both | 32:52 | |
the upper and the lower property lines. | 32:55 | |
He just wanted to be sure to have his fish and his fishing. | 32:58 | |
Since trout go upstream to spawn, | 33:03 | |
none could enter from below. | 33:07 | |
Also, none could escape upstream | 33:10 | |
to increase the trout population. | 33:13 | |
So his fish became fewer and fewer in number. | 33:16 | |
We go on building our fences that we may know | 33:22 | |
the comfort and security of those | 33:26 | |
who are good and righteous like we are. | 33:30 | |
Yes, we will pay or pray for those out yonder, | 33:33 | |
but our fences are adequate to keep them out | 33:39 | |
so we won't have the unpleasant experience | 33:42 | |
of really becoming involved. | 33:45 | |
A poor family on welfare with several small children | 33:49 | |
got the attention of a church member. | 33:54 | |
It was indeed a pathetic and tragic situation. | 33:58 | |
In time, the children began to attend the church | 34:02 | |
of which I was pastor. | 34:07 | |
A fine and lovely lady, | 34:10 | |
in fact, the vice president of United Methodist Women, | 34:12 | |
came to my office early one Monday morning and said, | 34:16 | |
"Mr. Mercer, don't you think those children | 34:20 | |
"would be more comfortable in that little town | 34:24 | |
"on the north side, | 34:27 | |
"in that little church on the north side of town?" | 34:28 | |
My answer was, | 34:32 | |
"I think the children are very comfortable here. | 34:34 | |
"Would you be more comfortable if those children attended | 34:37 | |
"that little church on the north side of town?" | 34:41 | |
She was a fine Christian woman and got the implication | 34:45 | |
and became a great supporter of those little children. | 34:50 | |
The denial, the disregard, | 34:54 | |
the leaving of self behind has a purpose. | 34:57 | |
It is like the purpose of the merchant, | 35:01 | |
who found the pearl of great price | 35:04 | |
and went promptly and sold his entire stock of pearls | 35:07 | |
to buy it. | 35:12 | |
It is like the man who found the hidden treasure in a field | 35:13 | |
and with great excitement, he sold all that he owned | 35:17 | |
in order to buy that field. | 35:21 | |
The cost of discipleship is the disregarding of self. | 35:24 | |
The price is paid that Christ may live in us, | 35:29 | |
and that his will be done through us. | 35:33 | |
Now a second factor and a second part of the cost, | 35:37 | |
if you will, we could say the second installment, | 35:43 | |
is taking up our cross. | 35:46 | |
At this point, we need to clarify | 35:50 | |
our concept of our cross. | 35:53 | |
Jesus said take up your cross. | 35:56 | |
He didn't say to you and me at this point, | 36:00 | |
take up my cross, but take up your cross. | 36:04 | |
A very devout man | 36:10 | |
was incapacitated | 36:14 | |
with a severe arthritic condition. | 36:16 | |
At times, the pain seemed unbearable. | 36:20 | |
One day he said to me, "I don't understand why God | 36:23 | |
"has put this cross upon me." | 36:27 | |
This is not the concept of a cross, | 36:31 | |
as projected by Jesus when he said take up your cross. | 36:34 | |
We may be conscripted to carry a burden, | 36:42 | |
but we must volunteer to carry a cross. | 36:46 | |
Surely we know God will support | 36:51 | |
and sustain the man burdened with arthritis, | 36:55 | |
but he did not volunteer to carry it, | 36:59 | |
so it could not be his cross. | 37:03 | |
Jeremiah was one of the most exciting of the prophets. | 37:07 | |
His call as described in the first chapter | 37:12 | |
of the book which bears his name was very clear | 37:16 | |
and his response exacting. | 37:22 | |
But his prophecy wasn't pleasing to the leaders of his day | 37:26 | |
and got him in a great deal of trouble. | 37:31 | |
On one occasion, the Lord told him to go out | 37:34 | |
to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, | 37:38 | |
and gather with him some people | 37:42 | |
and to take a potter's earthen vessel. | 37:45 | |
And then he said, | 37:49 | |
"Proclaim what I tell you to say." | 37:51 | |
And then God told him to say, | 37:55 | |
"I am bringing such evil upon this place | 37:58 | |
"that the ears of everyone who hears it will tangle." | 38:02 | |
And then he continues to prophecy slaughter and famine | 38:07 | |
and the most horrible things you can imagine. | 38:12 | |
In fact, it's so horrible | 38:15 | |
that it makes me shudder even to read it in Scripture. | 38:18 | |
And then Jeremiah broke the flask in the presence | 38:23 | |
of those men and said, "Thus saith the Lord of hosts, | 38:28 | |
"so will I break the people in this city | 38:33 | |
"as one breaks a potter's vessel." | 38:37 | |
Then you remember Jeremiah went back to the temple | 38:40 | |
and there he continued to prophecy | 38:45 | |
the destruction of Judea. | 38:48 | |
Pashhur, who was the chief officer in the temple, | 38:51 | |
beat Jeremiah and had him put in the stocks. | 38:56 | |
In anguish, Jeremiah cried out, | 39:00 | |
"Why did I come forth from the womb to see toil and sorrow | 39:05 | |
"and spend my days in shame?" | 39:09 | |
However, he was faithful to his calling | 39:13 | |
and a loyal disciple. | 39:18 | |
In the Christian perspective, this was his cross. | 39:21 | |
He responded to God's calling without counting the cost | 39:26 | |
though it was great. | 39:31 | |
On Friday, one of our daily newspapers carried the story | 39:33 | |
of an event which happened in Chicago. | 39:39 | |
A young 18-year-old girl was waiting for her sister | 39:43 | |
when a young man, a person she knew, came along | 39:48 | |
with his friend. | 39:52 | |
They invited her to go with them and she responded. | 39:53 | |
They went into the hall of an apartment house | 39:58 | |
and then the person she knew said, | 40:01 | |
"If you don't submit to us, my friend here will kill you, | 40:04 | |
"and he is a killer." | 40:10 | |
In fright, the young girl began to run up the hall | 40:12 | |
and beat upon the doors of that apartment. | 40:16 | |
Finally, one door opened and a woman stood there, | 40:19 | |
and the young girl, in fright, said, | 40:24 | |
"Two people are trying to rape me." | 40:26 | |
Whereupon the woman closed the door in her face | 40:29 | |
and the girl was raped. | 40:33 | |
It is our cross and we don't have to carry it. | 40:36 | |
We can close the door, but God help us. | 40:40 | |
The final cost of discipleship as described by Jesus | 40:46 | |
and our text is to follow me. | 40:51 | |
In the beginning of his ministry | 40:55 | |
as he walked by the Sea of Galilee one day, | 40:57 | |
Jesus saw Peter and Andrew and said, "Follow me." | 41:00 | |
Immediately, they left what they were doing | 41:05 | |
and followed him. | 41:08 | |
As disciples, you and I are called to follow the trail | 41:10 | |
our Lord has pioneered. | 41:14 | |
This requires us to know his path, | 41:17 | |
to become acquainted with his teachings, | 41:20 | |
to examine our attitudes in the light of his love. | 41:23 | |
When Lord Macaulay went to India | 41:27 | |
as an official of the British government, | 41:30 | |
he had never seen paganism. | 41:33 | |
The sight made a difference in what had been | 41:36 | |
his narrow churchmanship. | 41:40 | |
He was shocked. | 41:43 | |
He asked, "What is the use of talking about closed communion | 41:44 | |
"to a man who has been in the habit of worshiping a cow?" | 41:49 | |
We must beware lest we become sidetracked | 41:55 | |
on a dead end trail of little significance | 41:59 | |
and miss completely the main line | 42:03 | |
of great Christian concern. | 42:06 | |
To follow Christ is costly grace, | 42:08 | |
made possible by his love, | 42:12 | |
which claims us and redeems us. | 42:14 | |
Some time ago, my daughter was given a bedroom suit | 42:18 | |
which belonged to her great, great grandmother. | 42:23 | |
It had been stored for years. | 42:28 | |
Old paint had peeled, showing yet older paint. | 42:31 | |
Recently, that furniture has been refinished | 42:36 | |
and it is truly beautiful. | 42:40 | |
God's grace can change a life, | 42:43 | |
which on the surface appears to be worthless, | 42:47 | |
and he can make the life beautiful. | 42:50 | |
That love is available for each of us, | 42:54 | |
but to receive it in the end is costly. | 42:57 | |
If we are to be disciples of Christ, | 43:02 | |
we must deny ourselves, take up our crosses, | 43:05 | |
and follow him. | 43:10 | |
Let's do it now. | 43:12 | |
And if you had been struggling to do it, | 43:15 | |
let's do it now with more zeal and enthusiasm | 43:18 | |
and God be praised, amen. | 43:22 | |
(pipe organ music) | 43:35 | |
♪ Take up thy cross, the Savior said ♪ | 44:04 | |
♪ If thou wouldst my disciple be ♪ | 44:11 | |
♪ Deny thyself, the world forsake ♪ | 44:19 | |
♪ And humbly follow after me ♪ | 44:27 | |
♪ Take up thy cross ♪ | 44:38 | |
♪ Let not its weight ♪ | 44:41 | |
♪ Fill thy weak spirit with alarm ♪ | 44:45 | |
♪ His strength shall bear thy spirit up ♪ | 44:53 | |
♪ And brace thy heart ♪ | 45:01 | |
♪ And nerve thine arm ♪ | 45:05 | |
♪ Take up thy cross ♪ | 45:12 | |
♪ Nor heed the shame ♪ | 45:15 | |
♪ Nor let thy foolish pride rebel ♪ | 45:19 | |
♪ Thy Lord for thee the cross endured ♪ | 45:28 | |
♪ To save thy soul from death and hell ♪ | 45:35 | |
♪ Take up thy cross ♪ | 45:47 | |
♪ And follow Christ ♪ | 45:51 | |
♪ Nor think till death to lay it down ♪ | 45:55 | |
♪ For only he who bears the cross ♪ | 46:03 | |
♪ May hope to wear the glorious crown ♪ | 46:12 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 46:23 | |
- | Let us affirm what we believe. | 46:33 |
- | We believe in God who has created and is creating, | 46:36 |
who has come in the truly human Jesus | 46:41 | |
to reconcile and make new, | 46:44 | |
who works in us and others by the Spirit. | 46:47 | |
We trust God who calls us to be the Church, | 46:51 | |
to celebrate life and its fullness, | 46:56 | |
to love and serve others, | 46:59 | |
to seek justice and resist evil, | 47:01 | |
to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen, | 47:05 | |
our Judge and our hope. | 47:08 | |
In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. | 47:11 | |
We are not alone. | 47:17 | |
Thanks be to God. | 47:19 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 47:22 |
- | And also with you. | 47:25 |
- | Let us pray. | 47:26 |
O God, eternal Spirit, grant us grace to worship you | 47:36 | |
in this hour in spirit and in truth. | 47:42 | |
You have so made us that the glory of our lives | 47:46 | |
is not in things below us, | 47:50 | |
but in the divine above that masters us. | 47:52 | |
Grant us now such an hour of spiritual wealth, | 47:56 | |
made aware of eternal realities, | 48:00 | |
captured by a vision of the Christ-like life, | 48:04 | |
lifted out of our littleness by dedication | 48:07 | |
to your abiding values and to your everlasting purpose. | 48:11 | |
Cleanse us from all our evil, our ugly egotism, | 48:18 | |
our indifferent apathy, our mean ambitions, | 48:23 | |
our sinful lust, that we may be ready | 48:28 | |
for this transforming experience. | 48:32 | |
Grant us now honesty in confronting | 48:35 | |
and confessing our sins, | 48:38 | |
sincerity in making restitution | 48:41 | |
where we have wronged others, | 48:43 | |
humility in seeking your forgiveness, | 48:46 | |
and resolution by your grace and help to amend our lives. | 48:49 | |
Minister to our intimate, personal needs. | 48:57 | |
O Spirit of the living God, walk through this place | 49:01 | |
and be the help and comfort, | 49:05 | |
be the inspiration and sustenance of our souls, | 49:08 | |
in temptation, in illness, in disappointment and depression, | 49:13 | |
in defeat when we are tempted to give up, | 49:19 | |
and in success when we are tempted to be proud. | 49:22 | |
O God, restore our souls. | 49:26 | |
May we hear your voice speaking to each of us, | 49:29 | |
reassuring us, challenging us, | 49:33 | |
summoning us to dedicated and victorious living. | 49:36 | |
O God, whom Jesus called Father, we thank you this day | 49:42 | |
for the fathers that you have provided for our family units. | 49:48 | |
We are grateful for our own fathers for the gift of life | 49:54 | |
and for all those men in our lives that have fathered us | 49:58 | |
along the way. | 50:03 | |
May we be inspired to see and know our fathers | 50:05 | |
as human beings who need our love and nurture | 50:09 | |
in very deep ways. | 50:13 | |
Hear now, O God, the unspoken prayers that rise in silence | 50:17 | |
from the deeps of our hearts, | 50:22 | |
and to those needs that can find no voice, | 50:24 | |
save for your ear alone, come and minister | 50:28 | |
according to the riches of your grace | 50:32 | |
in Christ Jesus our Lord, who came, lived among us, | 50:35 | |
and who taught us to pray, saying. | 50:41 | |
- | "Our Father, who art in heaven, | 50:44 |
"hallowed be thy name. | 50:48 | |
"Thy Kingdom come. | 50:50 | |
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | 50:52 | |
"Give us this day our daily bread, | 50:57 | |
"and forgive us our trespasses | 51:00 | |
"as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 51:02 | |
"And lead us not into temptation, | 51:06 | |
"but deliver us from evil. | 51:09 | |
"For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory | 51:11 | |
"forever, amen." | 51:16 | |
(pipe organ music) | 51:32 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah the Lord ♪ | 51:44 | |
♪ The heavens and the earth ♪ | 51:58 | |
♪ Proclaim his power ♪ | 52:04 | |
♪ And his might ♪ | 52:12 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah ♪ | 52:18 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah ♪ | 52:20 | |
♪ The heavens and the earth proclaim his power ♪ | 52:23 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah ♪ | 52:28 | |
♪ 'Tis heard in the crash of the storm ♪ | 52:33 | |
♪ In the wild torrents' loud impetuous roar ♪ | 52:39 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah the Lord ♪ | 52:48 | |
♪ 'Tis heard in the crash of the storm ♪ | 52:55 | |
♪ In the wild torrents' loud impetuous roar ♪ | 53:02 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah the Lord ♪ | 53:10 | |
♪ Wondrous is his power ♪ | 53:18 | |
♪ At his commandment trees put forth ♪ | 53:25 | |
♪ Their opening leaves ♪ | 53:30 | |
♪ And valleys wave bright with golden corn ♪ | 53:33 | |
♪ With lovely flowers the fields are decked ♪ | 53:42 | |
♪ And stars in splendor fill the vault of heaven ♪ | 53:49 | |
♪ In splendor fill the vault of heaven ♪ | 53:59 | |
♪ With lovely flowers the fields are decked ♪ | 54:11 | |
♪ And stars in splendor fill the vault of heaven ♪ | 54:18 | |
♪ In splendor fill the vault of heaven ♪ | 54:29 | |
♪ Heard with dread in the thunder's deep blast ♪ | 54:42 | |
♪ And seen in flames of lightning ♪ | 54:49 | |
♪ But chief in his great lovingkindness ♪ | 55:02 | |
♪ Shines forth Jehovah's boundless might ♪ | 55:08 | |
♪ In his lovingkindness ♪ | 55:14 | |
♪ Shines forth the boundless power of God ♪ | 55:18 | |
♪ The Everlasting God ♪ | 55:25 | |
♪ Raise your prayerful hearts on high ♪ | 55:42 | |
♪ And hope for mercy and trust in Him ♪ | 55:52 | |
♪ Raise your prayerful hearts on high ♪ | 56:04 | |
♪ And hope for mercy and trust in Him ♪ | 56:17 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah the Lord ♪ | 56:33 | |
♪ Great is Jehovah the Lord ♪ | 56:44 | |
(pipe organ music) | 57:22 | |
♪ All creatures of our God and King ♪ | 57:39 | |
♪ Lift up your voice and with us sing ♪ | 57:45 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 57:51 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 57:54 | |
♪ Thou burning sun with golden beam ♪ | 57:59 | |
♪ Thou silver moon with softer gleam ♪ | 58:05 | |
♪ O praise him ♪ | 58:11 | |
♪ O praise Him ♪ | 58:14 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 58:18 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 58:21 | |
♪ Alleluia ♪ | 58:25 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 58:33 | |
- | Giving us all things, will you now receive these gifts | 58:45 |
of your people? | 58:49 | |
Help us to render unto you all that we have | 58:50 | |
and all that we are, | 58:54 | |
that we may praise you with our whole lives, amen. | 58:56 | |
(pipe organ music) | 59:02 | |
(muffled congregational singing) | 59:23 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:01:26 | |
- | Dismiss us now, O Lord, with your blessing, | 1:01:35 |
and accompany us with your grace, | 1:01:39 | |
that from this very moment, | 1:01:41 | |
we may continue our journey through life | 1:01:44 | |
with love, peace, and justice, amen. | 1:01:47 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:01:58 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:02:04 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:02:11 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 1:02:19 | |
(pipe organ music) | 1:02:31 | |
(congregation chattering) | 1:03:05 | |
(faint speaking and laughing) | 1:09:48 |