William H. Willimon - "The Propriety of Praise" (August 24, 1986)

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	(slow baroque woodwind music)	6:14
	(fast paced baroque woodwind music)	8:33
	(peaceful baroque woodwind music)	10:00
	(fast paced baroque woodwind music)	11:58
-	Good morning, and welcome to Duke Chapel.	14:26
	For this service of worship, we welcome you	14:28
	and we welcome those who worship with us	14:31
	in the Duke hospitals and with the radio station, WDNC.	14:34
	If you're a singer, please note in the bulletin	14:39
	that the Duke Chapel choir will have an open rehearsal	14:42
	next weekend as the chapel choir begins a new season,	14:45
	and we invite you to join them.	14:50
	Blessed are those who dwell in your house,	14:53
	ever singing your praise.	14:55
	Let us rise and fill this great church	14:57
	with our praise to God.	15:00
	(organ music)	15:04
	(congregation singing)	15:34
-	When in the busyness and hurry of our days	18:32
	we stop and examine the shape and quality of our lives,	18:36
	we come face to face with our individual	18:40
	and our corporate sin.	18:42
	With humble and contrite hearts,	18:45
	let us now make our confession before our God.	18:47
	Almighty and most merciful God,	19:02
	who knows the thoughts of our hearts,	19:05
	we confess that we have sinned against thee	19:08
	and done evil in thy sight.	19:11
	We have transgressed thy holy laws,	19:14
	we have neglected thy word and ordinances.	19:18
	Forgive us, O Lord, we beseech thee,	19:21
	and give us grace and power to put away all hurtful things	19:25
	that being delivered from the bondage of sin	19:29
	we may bring forth fruit worthy of repentance,	19:33
	and henceforth may ever walk in thy holy ways	19:36
	through Jesus Christ our Lord.	19:40
	Amen.	19:43
	Hear the good news:	19:46
	Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.	19:48
	That is God's own proof of His love toward us.	19:52
	In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven.	19:57
Congregation	In the name of Jesus Christ,	20:02
	we are forgiven.	20:04
-	Let us pray.	20:13
	Open our hearts and minds, O God,	20:17
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	20:20
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	20:23
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	20:27
	Amen.	20:32
	Let us read responsively Psalm 84.	20:36
	Congregation, stand.	20:39
	How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of host.	20:48
	My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord.	20:52
	My heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.	20:57
Congregation	Blessed are those who dwell in your house.	21:03
	We shall sing your praise.	21:06
-	The sparrow has found her a house	21:09
	and the swallow a nest where she may lay her young	21:12
	by the side of your altars, O Lord of host,	21:16
	my King and my God.	21:19
Congregation	Blessed are those who dwell in your house.	21:22
	We shall sing your praise.	21:26
-	Happy are the people whose strength is in you,	21:30
	whose hearts are set on the pilgrims' way.	21:33
	Those who go through the desolate valley	21:37
	will find it a place of springs,	21:39
	for the early rains have covered it with pools of water.	21:41
	They will climb from height to height,	21:46
	and the God of gods will reveal himself in Zion.	21:49
Congregation	Blessed are those who dwell in your house.	21:54
	We shall sing your praise.	21:57
-	Lord God of host, hear my prayer,	22:01
	hearken, O God of Jacob.	22:04
	Behold our defender, O God,	22:07
	and look upon the face of your Anointed.	22:09
	For one day in your courts is better	22:12
	than a thousand in my own room,	22:15
	and to stand at the threshold of the house of my God	22:18
	than to dwell in the tents of the wicked.	22:22
	For the Lord God is both sun and shield,	22:25
	He will give grace and glory.	22:29
-	[Lector and Congregation] No good thing	22:33
	will the Lord withhold from those who walk with integrity.	22:33
	O Lord of hosts, happy are they who put their trust in you.	22:38
	(organ music)	22:44
	(congregation singing)	22:52
-	Please be seated.	23:43
	The epistle lesson is taken from the Letter to the Hebrews.	23:52
	For you have not come to what may be touched,	23:58
	a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest	24:02
	and the sound of a trumpet and a voice	24:07
	whose words made the hearers entreat	24:11
	that no further messages be spoken to them.	24:13
	For they could not endure the order spoken to them.	24:18
	For they could not endure the order that was given,	24:22
	"If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned."	24:26
	Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said,	24:32
	"I tremble with fear."	24:37
	But you have come to Mount Zion	24:40
	and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,	24:43
	and to innumerable angels in festal gathering.	24:48
	Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom	24:53
	that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God	24:57
	acceptable worship with reverence and awe,	25:01
	for our God is a consuming fire.	25:06
	The gospel lesson is taken from Luke.	25:13
	He went on his way through towns and villages,	25:18
	teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.	25:21
	And someone said to him,	25:26
	"Lord, will those who are saved be few?"	25:27
	And he said to them, "Strive to enter by the narrow door.	25:32
	"For many, I tell you, will seek to enter	25:37
	"and will not be able.	25:41
	"When once the householder has risen up and shut the door,	25:44
	"you will begin to stand outside and to knock at the door,	25:48
	"saying, 'Lord, open to us.'	25:53
	"He will answer you, 'I do not know where you come from.'	25:57
	"Then you will begin to say,	26:03
	"'We ate and drank in your presence,	26:05
	"'and you taught in our streets.'	26:08
	"But he will say, 'I tell you,	26:11
	"'I do not know where you come from.	26:13
	"'Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.'"	26:18
	"There you will weep and gnash your teeth,	26:23
	"when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob	26:26
	"and all the prophets in the kingdom of God	26:30
	"and you yourselves thrust out.	26:33
	"And men and women will come from east and west	26:37
	"and from north and south	26:41
	"and sit at the table in the kingdom of God.	26:43
	"And behold some are last who will be first,	26:47
	"and some are first who will be last."	26:53
	This ends the reading of the gospel.	26:58
	(slow baroque woodwind music)	27:11
-	A few months ago, I preached a sermon here in the chapel.	30:49
	I think the text was from the Book of Revelation.	30:54
	It all went well until I came to the last sentence	30:58
	of the sermon and after I ended,	31:01
	someone, someone seated I think somewhere over there,	31:03
	shouted out, "Amen, right on!"	31:08
	Probably a tourist, I thought.	31:14
	Probably someone from California.	31:17
	(congregation laughs)	31:19
	At first, I thought I would ignore this exuberant outburst,	31:22
	but upon further reflection, I asked the ushers	31:25
	to make a discreet search of the congregation	31:29
	during the offering and to warn this person	31:32
	that if he could not contain his enthusiasm,	31:34
	we might be forced to call campus security.	31:37
	After all, somebody comes in here, somebody from California,	31:42
	shouts out Amen, you don't know where it might lead.	31:45
	(congregation laughs)	31:48
	Now there are churches, there are places,	31:50
	when such exuberant behavior may be appropriate.	31:52
	I was reading in the Durham Morning Herald	31:56
	about a church here in Durham.	31:58
	It was honoring various people in the church	32:01
	who had performed various services throughout the year,	32:03
	and I noticed they were honoring the medical auxiliary.	32:05
	The medical auxiliary, I wondered, what is that?	32:10
	Maybe people who volunteer in the hospitals.	32:14
	Well no, as it turns out, the medical auxiliary	32:17
	at this church consists of those people	32:20
	who perform medical attention during the service,	32:23
	when people get so overcome during worship	32:26
	or heated up or something that they need medical attention.	32:28
	It turns out at this church	32:32
	that so many people get so worked up in worship	32:34
	that they need a whole team of volunteers to assist them.	32:37
	So you see, an amen shouted there,	32:42
	a praise God shouted here, the next thing you know	32:45
	we'll be running a shuttle service	32:47
	back and forth to the hospital.	32:49
	And besides, the most important thing is	32:54
	it's just not proper, it's not fitting	32:56
	in a formal gothic building like the chapel,	32:59
	it's just not proper.	33:03
	And I know of no more convincing argument	33:07
	in the Christian church, against some practice,	33:09
	than that it lacks propriety.	33:13
	"Guitars are fine," she said, "for dance halls,	33:19
	"but not in church!"	33:23
	"Oh, I don't mind a good joke as much as anybody,"	33:27
	he said, "but not, not in church, not in the sermon."	33:29
	Oh, when I was younger, during my angry young man	33:38
	prophetic, granola days, I did not always think this way.	33:42
	No, I said propriety rhymes with sobriety,	33:46
	which equals society.	33:50
	Little Lord Fauntleroy, with both feet planted on the floor,	33:52
	hold the cup and the fork just right,	33:56
	and let's all play church as if we were seated	33:59
	on the good ship Lollipop.	34:01
	What does that have to do with the greater things	34:03
	of the kingdom of God, with right and wrong	34:06
	and justice and injustice and good and evil?	34:08
	Let propriety go hang, I said!	34:12
	But as I got older,	34:16
	I learned that the devastation of a word	34:20
	or an action which was not evil	34:23
	but just simply out of place, inappropriate.	34:26
	A wonderful evening can be ruined by a word	34:33
	which is out of place.	34:37
	As a young preacher, I was invited to a dinner party.	34:43
	The host served appetizers and excused himself	34:47
	out in the kitchen to put the finishing touches on the meal,	34:50
	and while he was gone, one of my fellow guests	34:53
	said something about what a great man Richard Nixon was.	34:55
	And I, with all youthful tact,	34:59
	said that I thought he was a crook.	35:00
	With that, this man grabbed his hat, his coat, and his wife	35:04
	and walked right out the door.	35:07
	The host came back with his platter of roast beef	35:09
	and I had just decimated his dinner party by two.	35:12
	It was inappropriate.	35:16
	Just after I came here, at the end of the service,	35:21
	one of the choir members did a cartwheel out in the narthex.	35:24
	Now, I don't recall that anybody said	35:31
	that what he did was evil, but I'll tell you this,	35:33
	they were no less offended.	35:37
	It's just not the time and the place	35:40
	for such things, they said.	35:41
	It's inappropriate.	35:44
	A few months ago, we brought about 50 paintings	35:47
	and 30 pieces of sculpture into the chapel	35:50
	to have a Lenten art show.	35:53
	But not everybody was pleased.	35:57
	"I thought you said this was religious art,"	36:01
	he said on his way out the door.	36:03
	I said, "Well it is religious,	36:04
	"it's just that biblical people wore less clothes	36:06
	"than we do I guess!"	36:09
	Now this man is no philistine, he's not opposed to art.	36:12
	As he just said, modern art does not fit	36:17
	in a gothic building, it's not the place.	36:20
	And what is evil but something out of place?	36:25
	Over the counter, dispensed in the war	36:32
	against pain and disease, we call it medicine.	36:35
	But on a dark street corner,	36:43
	a quick exchange between strangers, it's called drugs.	36:45
	What is the difference	36:50
	except this matter of propriety?	36:52
	So the Bible says it's Satan,	36:56
	Satan is an angel of God that's out of place.	36:59
	And yet on the other hand, what can be more beautiful	37:05
	than that which is fitting, right, proper?	37:08
	Just the right card sent at just the right time?	37:14
	Just the right word spoken in the right place?	37:20
	That's what a minister prays for.	37:26
	As you enter a hospital room	37:28
	and confront the silence of somebody else's pain,	37:29
	you pray for just the right word	37:32
	to speak to that person's illness.	37:34
	If you recall, it was this matter of propriety	37:40
	that was at the heart of that disagreement	37:43
	between the father and the older brother	37:46
	as recorded in Luke 15, the story of the prodigal son.	37:48
	You remember, the father had two sons.	37:55
	The younger one returned home smelling of pigs	37:58
	and the cheap perfume of harlots.	38:03
	And now note how many verses Luke expends	38:08
	describing the extravagance,	38:13
	the exuberance of that homecoming reception.	38:15
	The father ran out to meet the boy.	38:18
	He said, "Bring me the best robe,	38:20
	"and bring me a ring and kill the fatted calf,	38:22
	"and hire some musicians, and we're gonna throw a party	38:25
	"such as this town has never seen.	38:29
	"My son is home!"	38:30
	But his older brother was working out in the field.	38:35
	He heard the music crank up, the merrymaking,	38:39
	the carousing, he could see it all the way out in the field.	38:43
	"Hey," the servant said.	38:47
	"Your younger brother that was lost has been found.	38:48
	"He's home, we're having a party."	38:50
	But the older brother refused to go in.	38:55
	His father came out and begged him to come in,	38:59
	but he refused.	39:01
	And his question is a good one.	39:05
	The older brother asked the father,	39:09
	"Is it proper to be having a party for a prodigal?"	39:13
	Well doesn't our faith say that you can be forgiven?	39:22
	Oh yes, yes.	39:26
	But only after you are sufficiently repentant.	39:27
	Forgiveness is just fine,	39:33
	but it needs to be dressed in sackcloth	39:34
	and not a fine robe.	39:38
	It needs to be wearing ashes and not jewels.	39:40
	It must be drinking bread and water, not fine wine.	39:42
	Kneeling in humble penitence, not dancing down the aisle.	39:53
	That's the way forgiveness comes.	39:57
	Now, nowhere does it say that the older brother	40:01
	resented the younger boy's coming back home.	40:04
	You can't charge him with that.	40:06
	After all, he was only back in his right place	40:09
	where the older brother said he should've been all along.	40:11
	No, the thing that gets him in Luke 15 is that party.	40:14
	Here is this sinner coming back home,	40:22
	and you can hardly see the sin or the sinner	40:24
	for all the confetti and the balloons,	40:26
	the musicians and the dancing.	40:30
	You've got to admit, there is a question of propriety	40:31
	in the whole activity.	40:36
	Now of course, there are some people	40:41
	who think that a party is never appropriate,	40:43
	regardless of the circumstances.	40:46
	I think they have some sort of personality problem.	40:50
	There are some people whose personalities	40:53
	always make you feel that you're out of place.	40:55
	They're the people who always volunteer	40:59
	to be on the cleanup committee.	41:03
	They don't go to parties,	41:06
	they don't have time for such foolishness.	41:06
	You oughta sell those expensive flutes and violins,	41:09
	and spend that money on hammers and hoes.	41:13
	Teach those young people to do something useful.	41:17
	Pull up those roses and plant turnips.	41:21
	For these poor souls, a forest is just wood,	41:25
	and a golden sunrise in the morning is simply a time	41:29
	to get up and go to work.	41:32
	And a party is a waste of good money	41:35
	and valuable time stolen from the clock.	41:37
	I've noted around on campus,	41:42
	most revolutionaries don't throw good parties.	41:45
	After all, with social injustice around	41:50
	and famine and oppression and political tyrants,	41:52
	and so many righteous causes and petitions to be signed	41:55
	and good to be done,	41:59
	what are you doing holding that confetti?	42:00
	When North Carolina executed Velma Barfield	42:04
	a couple of years ago,	42:07
	the woman who poisoned her boyfriend with arsenic,	42:09
	Ruth Graham, wife of Dr. Billy,	42:14
	was quoted in the press as saying,	42:19
	after she had corresponded with Velma	42:23
	over the past two years, she was quoted as saying,	42:25
	"Velma was a wonderful person.	42:28
	"She was very dear to Jesus.	42:31
	"Her life has given us much to celebrate."	42:35
	And I thought to myself, come on Ruth!	42:41
	There may be children listening.	42:44
	You say that kind of thing about a convicted murderer	42:46
	and somebody's gonna think it's just alright	42:49
	and then where you gonna be?	42:50
	For what is there to celebrate?	42:52
	For what is there to praise?	42:53
	"How can you glorify food and celebrate the Lord's supper,"	42:58
	a person asked after one Sunday's Eucharist here,	43:02
	"when there are hungry people in Africa?"	43:08
	And I put away the loaf of home baked bread	43:13
	and I hid the flagon of sweet wine	43:17
	and exchanged them for pressed wafers	43:19
	and diluted grape juice.	43:21
	She had her point.	43:25
	I'm sure that she was a lot like the older brother;	43:28
	she had nothing against parties per se,	43:31
	she was not like those people.	43:35
	It's just that she was for parties	43:36
	when it's the time and it's the place.	43:38
	But not now, this is 11 o'clock on Sunday morning	43:41
	is not the time, and a gothic church is not the place.	43:44
	It's not proper.	43:50
	Maybe after the revolution,	43:52
	once a new administration is in power	43:55
	and once we get a cure for cancer,	43:57
	once everybody's stomach is full.	44:00
	Maybe then you can uncork the wine, but not now.	44:03
	All parties, when you think about it,	44:09
	come a little too soon and in the wrong place.	44:11
	How do you know that that prodigal son	44:18
	is not gonna get a clean shirt and a shave	44:20
	and hit the road tomorrow?	44:22
	"Sure," Jesus says, "heaven goes wild	44:26
	"over just one sinner who repents."	44:30
	But Jesus, is this the time or the place for such a party?	44:36
	Do you think we oughta be holding this wedding banquet?	44:43
	I mean, you know, many marriages don't work out these days,	44:45
	how do you know this one will?	44:47
	A graduation ceremony when half of these people	44:52
	don't even have jobs yet?	44:55
	Don't you think it's a little soon?	44:57
	A birth in the family?	45:01
	You know, many children don't turn out all that well.	45:04
	So you got a good report from your doctor, so what?	45:09
	There are other diseases.	45:11
	(congregation laughs)	45:13
	The laughter, the music, are so insensitive.	45:15
	How can you be having a party,	45:21
	with your fatted calf and singing and dancing,	45:24
	when there is so much misery in the world?	45:26
	What do you mean celebrating the beauty of your garden	45:31
	when there're people on this earth	45:33
	who don't even have a square foot to call their own?	45:34
	How dare you celebrate with your friends	45:39
	when so many are so lonely?	45:42
	How can you bow your head today at Sunday dinner	45:48
	and praise God for your food	45:51
	when there're those who are starving?	45:52
	The Christian thing to do is to sigh deeply	45:55
	and to wring your hands and to think of the starving	46:00
	as you clean your plate.	46:06
	The Christian thing to do is to be miserable.	46:09
	They asked Jesus one day,	46:15
	how come your disciples eat and drink?	46:18
	The disciples of John the Baptist fast all the time,	46:23
	and they say long prayers.	46:25
	We can tell they're religious; they look so miserable!	46:29
	Your disciples are always partying.	46:33
	Could the same charge be leveled	46:38
	against Jesus' disciples today?	46:39
	Mary sits in Bethlehem singing a lullaby to baby Jesus,	46:46
	and we wonder how in the world could Mary be so insensitive?	46:54
	Doesn't she know that King Herod is out on the rampage?	46:59
	Five miles down the road in Ramah,	47:03
	you can hear Rachel screaming	47:05
	because of her slain, innocent ones.	47:08
	You can still hear Rachel weeping all over the world	47:15
	for her children, her slain, starving, innocent victims	47:18
	of violence and privation.	47:21
	Hush, Mary!	47:24
	You ought not to be singing.	47:26
	Can't you hear Rachel?	47:27
	A preacher stands up on Easter Sunday and says,	47:32
	"Christ the Lord is risen today!	47:36
	"God is alive, evil is defeated!"	47:38
	A child brought to church one Sunday that year says, "Amen!"	47:42
	The parents say, "Hush, this is church!	47:48
	"It's not right for you to be carrying on so in church."	47:51
	When will it be time for the child to shout?	47:58
	Someday, but not now.	48:02
	I've been checking the papers nearly every day,	48:06
	and today hardly seems the proper time.	48:09
	The child has been waiting a long time to shout.	48:15
	When will Mary be able to sing to her baby?	48:20
	Someday, but not now.	48:25
	Herod is still alive.	48:27
	Remember Rachel?	48:31
	Come back next week.	48:33
	But don't you find it interesting	48:38
	that one of the chief charges against Jesus	48:41
	was not that this man is too sober,	48:43
	not that this man has bad theology	48:46
	or that this man is a social revolutionary,	48:48
	but the charge against Jesus was	48:50
	this man eats and drinks with sinners.	48:52
	And we have turned his church into a place	49:02
	where you come on Sunday morning	49:06
	and you get your little moralistic checklist	49:07
	of dos and don'ts, the preacher's latest catalog	49:10
	of all the ways you fall short in life.	49:15
	As Thomas Aquinas said,	49:21
	sometimes we even sin against Sunday.	49:24
	But every now and then, every now and then,	49:32
	in spite of the best efforts of us preachers,	49:35
	the presence of God just gets hold of somebody.	49:41
	And I can't do anything about it.	49:44
	A Mary, a father of a prodigal, some man from California,	49:48
	praises God despite everything.	49:55
	Last Easter, a man left at the end of the service	50:01
	and shaking hands on the way out, he said to me,	50:04
	"You know, if I should die right now,	50:06
	"it's okay."	50:12
	In such rare and delicious moments,	50:18
	we know that God has created you and me	50:20
	for no better purpose in this life than praise.	50:24
	And if we can learn to praise on Sunday morning,	50:31
	we might be able to praise on Monday morning,	50:33
	and God would be pleased.	50:38
	"How lovely is your house, O Lord of host,"	50:42
	says the Psalmist.	50:45
	"One day in your house is better than a thousand	50:47
	"anywhere else."	50:51
	(organ music)	50:57
	(congregation singing)	51:24
Lector	The Lord be with you.	53:25
Congregation	And also with you.	53:27
-	Let us pray.	53:29
	O Lord our God, you hear our prayers before we speak	53:38
	and answer before we know our need.	53:43
	Though we cannot pray, may your Spirit pray in us,	53:47
	drawing us to you and toward our neighbors on earth.	53:50
	We pray for the whole creation,	53:56
	may all things work together for good	53:58
	and may we, your human creatures,	54:00
	honor and respect this world which you made.	54:02
	We pray for the Church of Jesus Christ,	54:07
	that, begun, maintained, and promoted by your Spirit,	54:10
	it may be faithful, lively, glad,	54:14
	and active doing your will.	54:18
	And for the men and women who serve the Church	54:20
	in special ways, preaching, ruling, showing charity,	54:23
	may they never lose heart but have all hope encouraged.	54:28
	We pray for peace in the world,	54:33
	disarm all weapons, silence all guns,	54:36
	and extinguish all ancient hate that smolders still,	54:39
	or flames in sudden conflict.	54:43
	Create goodwill among every race and nation.	54:45
	We pray for our enemies, as Christ commanded,	54:49
	for those who oppose us or who scheme against us,	54:53
	for they also are children of your love.	54:56
	We pray for poor people who are hungry	55:00
	or are housed in cramped places.	55:03
	Increase in us and in all who prosper	55:06
	concern for the disinherited.	55:08
	We pray for persons who suffer pain	55:11
	or struggle with demons of the mind,	55:13
	who silently cry out for healing.	55:17
	May they be patient, brave, and trusting.	55:20
	For those who are dying and facing the final mystery,	55:24
	may they enjoy light and life intensely,	55:28
	keep dignity, and greet death unafraid,	55:31
	believing in your love.	55:34
	We pray for those whose tears are not yet dry,	55:38
	who in their sorrow still listen for familiar voices	55:40
	and look for familiar faces, all to no avail.	55:44
	May they affirm all that you promise in Jesus,	55:48
	who prepares a place for us within your spacious love.	55:51
	We pray for people who are alone and lonely,	55:56
	who believe themselves friendless.	55:59
	May they be remembered, befriended,	56:03
	and know your care for them.	56:06
	We pray for the young and for the old.	56:09
	Give to impatient youth true vision	56:12
	and to experienced age openness to new things.	56:15
	May each honor the other and may both praise your name.	56:19
	We pray for people everywhere.	56:24
	May all come into their own as children of God	56:27
	and inherit the kingdom prepared in Jesus Christ,	56:30
	the Lord of all and Savior of the world.	56:33
	Hear all our prayers, almighty God,	56:37
	in the name of Jesus Christ, who prays with us and for us,	56:39
	to whom be praise forever.	56:44
	Amen.	56:47
	Let us now give signal to our praise of God	56:54
	by the giving of our tithes and offerings.	56:58
	(baroque woodwind music)	57:11

	(sacred orchestral woodwinds)	0:01
	(sacred organ music)	5:53
	(choir sings with organ)	6:18
-	Scripture bids us to give thanks to You, Oh God,	7:07
	and to praise You joyfully,	7:10
	and indeed we have much for which to be thiankful,	7:13
	for the good world,	7:16
	for things great and small,	7:17
	beautiful and awesome,	7:19
	for human life,	7:21
	for talking and moving and thinking together,	7:22
	for common hopes and shared hardships,	7:26
	for work to do and strength to accomplish life's task,	7:29
	for the companionship of labor	7:33
	and exchanges of humor and encouragement,	7:35
	for marriage and the mystery and joy of flesh made one,	7:38
	for children, their energy and curiosity	7:43
	and their sudden sympathies,	7:45
	for the young and their high hopes,	7:48
	for growing up and growing old,	7:51
	for Your help in times of doubt and sorrow,	7:54
	for preserving us in temptation and danger,	7:57
	for the Church into which we have been called	8:00
	and for our life together in You,	8:03
	for Your Holy Spirit,	8:06
	who guides our steps and brings us gifts of faith and love,	8:08
	and most especially, Oh God,	8:12
	for your Son, Jesus Christ,	8:14
	who lived and died and lives again for our salvation,	8:16
	and in whom we find much joy in serving.	8:20
	We thank and praise You, gracious God,	8:23
	for all Your goodness to us,	8:26
	and we pray as Christ taught us, saying,	8:28
	Our Father, who art in Heaven,	8:32
	hallowed be Thy name,	8:35
	Thy kingdome come,	8:37
	Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.	8:39
	Give us this day our daily bread,	8:44
	and forgive us our trespasses,	8:47
	as we forgive those who trespass against us,	8:49
	and lead us not into temptation,	8:53
	but deliver us from evil,	8:56
	for Thine is the Kingdom, and the Power,	8:58
	and the Glory forever.	9:00
	Amen.	9:03
	(sacred organ music plays)	9:06
	(choir sings with organ)	9:48
-	Now may the grace and love of our savior Jesus Christ	13:46
	go with you and be with you always.	13:50
	Amen.	13:53
	(sacred organ music)	13:57

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "The Propriety of Praise" (August 24, 1986)

Description:

Sermon start time: 30:49. Sermon end time: 50:54.
While many churches place restraints on the congregation, determining what is “appropriate” for the sake of propriety, the preacher argues that any form of praising God is acceptable at church. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r49p2wn0s

Date:

August 24, 1986

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 UMATIC-0002
ref8216_o4d
uachapelsermaud
duke:321543
dcrmv001004
ark:/87924/r49p2wn0s
83ceeadf-892d-4808-af5e-03485c9868f2

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Related Resources:

See below

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

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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William H. Willimon - "The Propriety of Praise" (August 24, 1986)

Transcript

Item Info

Related Item

Duke University Archives