Paula E. Gilbert - Sermon Untitled (July 12, 1987)
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Transcript
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(woman vocalizing) | 0:00 | |
- | Grace and peace to you | 0:55 |
in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. | 0:56 | |
We welcome you to this service of worship | 0:59 | |
at Duke University Chapel | 1:01 | |
on this fifth Sunday after Pentecost. | 1:02 | |
We also extend greetings to those | 1:05 | |
in our radio and television audiences. | 1:07 | |
Realizing that many of you are visiting | 1:10 | |
the Duke campus for the first time | 1:11 | |
as a part of the Olympic festival this summer, | 1:13 | |
we issue a special welcome to you and offer | 1:16 | |
our assistance to you here at the chapel | 1:18 | |
in any way that we may be helpful. | 1:20 | |
Our guest preacher for this morning | 1:23 | |
is the Reverend Dr. Paula E. Gilbert. | 1:25 | |
Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Life | 1:27 | |
at Duke Divinity School. | 1:30 | |
Dr. Gilbert is a familiar face to those | 1:32 | |
of you who worship here, | 1:34 | |
having preached and presided at services on many occasions. | 1:36 | |
In addition to her teaching responsibilities | 1:40 | |
in American Church History, | 1:42 | |
Dr. Gilbert is currently director of the | 1:44 | |
Ministerial Course of Studies School. | 1:46 | |
We welcome Dr. Gilbert to our pulpit today. | 1:49 | |
The Chapel Tower which is normally open | 1:53 | |
for visitors immediately following service | 1:55 | |
each Sunday will not be open today, | 1:57 | |
it is closed for repairs. | 1:59 | |
Please note the remaining announcements | 2:02 | |
as they are printed in your bulletins. | 2:04 | |
And now here these words of Scripture. | 2:06 | |
The wind blows where it will, | 2:09 | |
and you hear the sound of it, | 2:11 | |
but you do not know whence it comes or whither it goes. | 2:13 | |
So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. | 2:18 | |
(triumphant organ music) | 2:24 | |
(choral singing) | 2:57 | |
- | Oh, Lord, mercifully receive the prayers | 5:52 |
of Your people who call upon You | 5:55 | |
and grant that they may know and understand | 5:59 | |
what things they ought to do, | 6:01 | |
and also may have grace and power | 6:03 | |
faithfully to accomplish them | 6:06 | |
through Jesus Christ our Lord | 6:09 | |
who lives and reigns with You | 6:11 | |
and the Holy Spirit. | 6:12 | |
One God, now and forever. | 6:14 | |
Amen. | 6:17 | |
- | Let us pray. | 6:31 |
Open our hearts and minds oh God, | 6:34 | |
by the power of Your Holy Spirit, | 6:37 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 6:40 | |
we might hear with joy what You say to us this day. | 6:44 | |
Amen. | 6:48 | |
The first lesson is taken from the Book of Exodus. | 6:54 | |
One day, when Moses had grown up | 7:00 | |
he went out to his people and looked on their burdens. | 7:04 | |
And he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, | 7:08 | |
one of his people. | 7:11 | |
He looked this way and that, | 7:14 | |
and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian | 7:16 | |
and hid him in the sand. | 7:19 | |
When he went out the next day, | 7:22 | |
behold, two Hebrews were struggling together. | 7:23 | |
And he said to the man that did wrong, | 7:28 | |
Why did you strike your fellow? | 7:30 | |
He answered, who made you a prince | 7:34 | |
and a judge over us? | 7:37 | |
Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? | 7:39 | |
Then Moses was afraid and thought, | 7:43 | |
Surely, the thing is known. | 7:46 | |
When Pharaoh heard of it he sought to kill Moses. | 7:49 | |
But Moses fled from Pharaoh | 7:55 | |
and stayed in the land of Midian, | 7:57 | |
and he sat down by a well. | 7:59 | |
Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters | 8:02 | |
and they came and drew water | 8:05 | |
and filled the troughs to water their father's flock. | 8:07 | |
The shepherds came and drove them away. | 8:11 | |
But Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock. | 8:14 | |
When they came to their father, Reuel, he said, | 8:19 | |
How is it that you have come so soon today? | 8:23 | |
They said, an Egyptian delivered us | 8:27 | |
out of the hand of the shepherds, | 8:30 | |
and even drew for us water and watered the flock. | 8:32 | |
He said to his daughters, | 8:37 | |
And where is he? | 8:40 | |
Why have you left the man? | 8:41 | |
Call him that he may eat bread. | 8:43 | |
And Moses was content to dwell with the man | 8:46 | |
and he gave Moses his daughter, Zipporah. | 8:49 | |
She bore a son and called his name Gershom, | 8:54 | |
for he said I have been a sojourner in a foreign land. | 8:58 | |
This ends the reading of the first lesson. | 9:04 | |
- | Let us read responsibly, Psalm 121. | 9:13 |
I will lift up my eyes to the hills | 9:26 | |
My help comes from the Lord. | 9:32 | |
He will not let your foot be moved. | 9:37 | |
Behold, He who keeps Israel. | 9:43 | |
The Lord is your keeper. | 9:49 | |
The sun shall not smite you by day. | 9:55 | |
The Lord will keep you from all evil. | 10:00 | |
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in. | 10:06 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 10:15 | |
(choral singing) | 10:25 | |
- | The second lesson is taken | 11:25 |
from Paul's letter to the Romans. | 11:27 | |
But you are not in the flesh, you are in the spirit. | 11:31 | |
If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you, | 11:36 | |
anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ | 11:40 | |
does not belong to Him, | 11:43 | |
but if Christ is in you, | 11:45 | |
although your bodies are dead because of sin, | 11:47 | |
your spirits are alive because of righteousness. | 11:51 | |
If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus | 11:55 | |
from the dead dwells in you, | 11:57 | |
He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead | 12:00 | |
would give life to your mortal bodies, | 12:03 | |
also through His Spirit which dwells in you. | 12:06 | |
So then brethren we are debtors not to the flesh | 12:10 | |
to live according to the flesh, | 12:14 | |
for if you live according to the flesh you will die, | 12:17 | |
but if by the Spirit you put to death | 12:20 | |
the deeds of the body, you will live. | 12:23 | |
For all who are lead by the Spirit of God are sons of God. | 12:26 | |
For you do not receive the Spirit of slavery | 12:31 | |
to fall back into fear, | 12:34 | |
but you have received the Spirit of Sonship. | 12:37 | |
When we cry Abba, Father | 12:41 | |
it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness | 12:43 | |
with our spirit that we are children of God, | 12:47 | |
and if children, then heirs. | 12:50 | |
Heirs of God and fellow heirs of Christ, | 12:53 | |
provided we suffer with Him | 12:57 | |
in order that we may also be glorified with Him. | 13:00 | |
This ends the reading of the second lesson. | 13:05 | |
(uplifting organ music) | 13:18 | |
(woman vocalizing) | 13:24 | |
- | The Gospel is taken from Matthew. | 16:09 |
That same day Jesus went out of the house | 16:14 | |
and sat beside the sea | 16:17 | |
and great crowds gathered about Him. | 16:20 | |
So that He got into a boat and sat there. | 16:23 | |
And the whole crowd stood on the beach. | 16:27 | |
And he told them many things and parables saying | 16:30 | |
a sower went out to sow | 16:34 | |
and as he sowed some seeds fell along the path. | 16:37 | |
And the birds came and devoured them. | 16:42 | |
Other seeds fell on rocky ground | 16:45 | |
where they had not much soil | 16:48 | |
and immediately they sprang up | 16:51 | |
since they had no depth of soil. | 16:53 | |
But when the sun rose they were scorched, | 16:57 | |
and since they had no root they withered away. | 17:00 | |
Other seeds fell upon thorns | 17:05 | |
and the thorns grew up and choked them. | 17:07 | |
Other seeds fell on good soil | 17:11 | |
and brought forth grain. | 17:14 | |
Some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. | 17:16 | |
He who has ears let him hear. | 17:22 | |
This ends the reading of the Gospel lesson. | 17:26 | |
- | Let us pray. | 17:47 |
Let the words of my mouth | 17:52 | |
and the meditations of our hearts | 17:55 | |
be acceptable in Your sight oh Lord. | 17:59 | |
Our strength and our redeemer. | 18:03 | |
Amen. | 18:07 | |
For the past several months, | 18:15 | |
you and I willingly or unwillingly | 18:17 | |
have been drawn into the unfolding saga | 18:21 | |
of the PTL ministry and the personal lives | 18:23 | |
of Jim and Tammy Bakker and Jerry Falwell. | 18:27 | |
PTL and the improbability you do not know | 18:31 | |
is an acronym variously said to stand for | 18:35 | |
Praise The Lord | 18:38 | |
or People That Love. | 18:40 | |
PTL is the name attached to the ministry founded | 18:43 | |
by Jim and Tammy Bakker just outside of Charlotte. | 18:46 | |
From whence it is carried | 18:50 | |
by satellite across the country and beyond. | 18:51 | |
Up until this week when the questioning | 18:57 | |
of Colonel Oliver North | 18:59 | |
by the Congressional Investigation Panel | 19:01 | |
began to take up the headlines, | 19:04 | |
until this week, you and I have been subjected | 19:06 | |
to daily reports concerning PTL. | 19:09 | |
Radio, television, newspapers, | 19:13 | |
magazines. | 19:18 | |
From dawn to dusk all of these | 19:20 | |
have been full of the religious battle | 19:22 | |
being waged between the Bakkers and Falwell. | 19:24 | |
Over the course of the weeks, day by day, | 19:28 | |
we have learned about sexual misconduct, | 19:31 | |
spousal alienation, captivity to prescription drugs, | 19:34 | |
and financial mismanagement. | 19:39 | |
We've watched these popular religious leaders trade insults | 19:42 | |
and exchange allegations of wrongdoing | 19:46 | |
and impropriety of all kinds. | 19:49 | |
And just when we think we have heard it all, | 19:52 | |
and decide that nothing else could possibly come forward, | 19:55 | |
there comes yet another shocking revelation, | 19:59 | |
and we are proven wrong. | 20:02 | |
In an otherwise dull and hot summer, | 20:05 | |
the continuing soap opera of PTL | 20:09 | |
has proven to be captivating and fascinating | 20:12 | |
public recreation. | 20:15 | |
Among the many things that have been put on public display | 20:19 | |
during the PTL saga | 20:22 | |
has been a particular interpretation of Christianity. | 20:24 | |
Crass as it appears in the PTL guise, | 20:29 | |
the interpretation suggest an association | 20:33 | |
between Christianity and worldly success. | 20:36 | |
An air conditioned dog house | 20:41 | |
the size of a large storage shed | 20:44 | |
and 14 caret gold bathroom fixtures | 20:47 | |
jar our sensibilities and exceed all boundaries | 20:50 | |
of what is commonly understood to be in good taste. | 20:53 | |
And yet beneath the lavish homes of the Bakkers, | 20:57 | |
beneath the air conditioned dog house | 21:01 | |
and the gold plated bathroom fixtures, | 21:03 | |
beneath all of this lies a popular belief | 21:05 | |
that material goods and worldly success | 21:08 | |
somehow figure in what it means to be a Christian | 21:12 | |
in 20th century America. | 21:16 | |
Beneath the words about Jesus | 21:19 | |
beneath the words about saving souls | 21:21 | |
is an implicit message: | 21:24 | |
Good Christians make it in this world. | 21:27 | |
Equating Christianity with success | 21:32 | |
is not the message solely of the Bakkers. | 21:34 | |
They may be currently the most blatant | 21:37 | |
and the most ostentatious | 21:39 | |
in their skewed understanding of the Gospel, | 21:40 | |
but they are certainly not alone. | 21:43 | |
Other big name evangelist and popular religious leaders, | 21:46 | |
as well as religious individuals | 21:50 | |
with names not so well known | 21:52 | |
proclaim a similar message. | 21:55 | |
Material goods, a comfortable lifestyle | 21:58 | |
happiness and personal success | 22:01 | |
all become so called evidence | 22:04 | |
of God's blessing and pleasure with us. | 22:06 | |
It is a seductive message | 22:09 | |
that falls upon eager and attentive 20th century ears. | 22:12 | |
In His own day, Jesus was aware | 22:18 | |
that the yearning for success | 22:20 | |
was a powerful temptation for His disciples. | 22:22 | |
And the parable of the sower | 22:26 | |
the Gospel text for this morning, | 22:28 | |
the establishment of God's kingdom though | 22:30 | |
is depicted as challenging and defying | 22:35 | |
all our common notions of what constitutes success. | 22:38 | |
Instead of being ushered in by glorious achievements | 22:44 | |
and resounding victories | 22:47 | |
one falling upon another, | 22:49 | |
the kingdom Jesus proclaims grows mysteriously. | 22:51 | |
It grows almost erratically, | 22:55 | |
and it grows in the midst of many failures. | 22:58 | |
Much of the seed as the parable points out | 23:02 | |
never produces a harvest. | 23:06 | |
It falls on ground too hard, | 23:09 | |
sometimes too shallow, | 23:12 | |
sometimes too infested with weeds. | 23:14 | |
It does not take root | 23:17 | |
or it is implanted where it cannot develop deep roots, | 23:19 | |
or it's growth is choked out by competing vegetation. | 23:23 | |
God's kingdom in this world, Jesus says to the disciples | 23:28 | |
is like unto the sower who goes out to sow. | 23:32 | |
Your scattering of the seed | 23:36 | |
and the proclamation of God's kingdom | 23:38 | |
will be far more difficult | 23:41 | |
and fraught with hardships | 23:43 | |
then you can possibly know. | 23:45 | |
Your ministry will be filled with frequent frustrations. | 23:48 | |
With seen and unseen dangers, | 23:51 | |
and with numerous failures. | 23:54 | |
You will not meet with instant success, | 23:57 | |
and much of your effort will be fruitless, | 24:00 | |
without results. | 24:03 | |
If you expect quick and easy success, | 24:05 | |
you will be sorely disappointed. | 24:09 | |
God's word and worldly success, | 24:12 | |
however that may be interpreted | 24:15 | |
have little to do with one another. | 24:17 | |
Alongside this description | 24:23 | |
of the enigmatic growth of the kingdom, | 24:24 | |
Jesus also says something in this parable | 24:27 | |
about how we are to hear and to receive God's word. | 24:30 | |
Hearing, the Gospel says | 24:35 | |
hearing is critical business. | 24:37 | |
It is an urgent matter demanding our full attention. | 24:40 | |
You have ears to hear, hear warns Jesus. | 24:44 | |
God's word is scattered even | 24:51 | |
as the sower scatters seed upon the ground. | 24:52 | |
How you receive God's word demonstrates | 24:56 | |
whether you are hard, stony ground | 24:59 | |
or shallow soil, | 25:02 | |
or weed-infested earth, | 25:04 | |
or soil rich enough for the seed to take root | 25:07 | |
and to grow and one day to bear fruit. | 25:11 | |
Too often, I suspect the word of God that we hear | 25:18 | |
is the word we want to hear. | 25:22 | |
Or to put it another way we tend | 25:25 | |
to make our faith a cut and paste affair. | 25:26 | |
Cutting out the parts that trouble us | 25:31 | |
or make us uncomfortable | 25:33 | |
and pasting together the parts that are comforting | 25:35 | |
to our egos and personal desires. | 25:38 | |
When we know times of trouble, | 25:42 | |
of disappointment | 25:44 | |
of setbacks | 25:46 | |
of pain. | 25:48 | |
In these times we cling to God's promises of deliverance, | 25:50 | |
and to God's offer of mercy. | 25:54 | |
When we experience broken or estranged relationships | 25:58 | |
with friends or loved ones, | 26:02 | |
when we let pass by opportunities to express Christian love | 26:04 | |
in our daily lives, | 26:08 | |
we gladly hear the message of God's gracious forgiveness | 26:09 | |
and God's boundless love. | 26:13 | |
But when we hear Christ invitation | 26:18 | |
to be baptized with the baptism | 26:20 | |
with which He is baptized | 26:22 | |
and to drink from the cup from which He drinks, | 26:24 | |
our hearing becomes less acute. | 26:28 | |
When we hear the call to discipleship, | 26:31 | |
the call to take up our cross, | 26:34 | |
the call to witness boldly, | 26:37 | |
and to serve humbly. | 26:39 | |
When we hear the call to work for justice, | 26:42 | |
to give of ourselves for the sake of others, | 26:44 | |
we become suddenly deaf. | 26:48 | |
The exacting call of discipleship | 26:52 | |
is the call we would just as soon have pass us by | 26:54 | |
because the call to discipleship is not a call to success. | 26:58 | |
Either in terms of material goods | 27:02 | |
or in terms of an easy, comfortable, happy life. | 27:05 | |
The call to discipleship is the call to faithfulness. | 27:11 | |
And faithfulness may well mean | 27:16 | |
estrangement and unpopularity. | 27:18 | |
Loneliness and living with failure in the eyes of the world. | 27:22 | |
If we need proof of this truth, | 27:29 | |
we have only to look at Jesus' own life | 27:31 | |
for ample evidence. | 27:35 | |
For the one who would be a disciple of Christ, | 27:39 | |
for the one who would be fertile soil | 27:42 | |
in which the seed of God's word might take root | 27:44 | |
and grow and bear fruit, | 27:47 | |
hearing is more than simply taking out of God's word | 27:50 | |
what makes us feel good or makes us happy. | 27:53 | |
Being Christ's disciple means receiving | 27:57 | |
the whole of God's word, | 28:00 | |
and our hearing is not simply to be passive, | 28:02 | |
it is meant to be active in that we receive God's word | 28:06 | |
and make it the centerpiece of our lives. | 28:10 | |
We become hearers of the word | 28:14 | |
and fertile soil when we incorporate love of God | 28:17 | |
and love of neighbor in all that we think | 28:22 | |
and say and do. | 28:26 | |
We become seed-bearing fruit | 28:28 | |
when this love of God and love of neighbor | 28:30 | |
determines little decisions as well as big ones. | 28:33 | |
When it guides how we relate to strangers | 28:37 | |
as well as to friends and family. | 28:40 | |
When it leads us out of our comfortable pews | 28:43 | |
and into a hurting and troubled world | 28:46 | |
to hurt and to be troubled too. | 28:49 | |
If this parable is a warning to us, | 28:56 | |
not to equate the Gospel with success, | 28:58 | |
and not to believe that our efforts | 29:02 | |
will always meet with success. | 29:03 | |
If this parable calls us to hear God's word rightly, | 29:06 | |
by the doing of God's will in all the areas of our lives, | 29:10 | |
this parable of the sower reminds us | 29:15 | |
of at least one other truth | 29:17 | |
which we ought never to forget. | 29:19 | |
The harvest of God's kingdom is a sure reality. | 29:22 | |
The scattered seeds of the gospel will bear fruit. | 29:28 | |
The harvest will come. | 29:32 | |
God has promised it, | 29:35 | |
and that promise we can rely upon. | 29:37 | |
Christ calls each of us as his disciples | 29:43 | |
simply to sow the word. | 29:46 | |
To sow the seed. | 29:49 | |
To sow the seed of the Gospel | 29:51 | |
out of love and gladness for the grace we have received. | 29:53 | |
He calls us to be disciples, | 29:58 | |
to be bearers in our age of God's word. | 30:01 | |
To witness. | 30:05 | |
To serve our neighbor in love. | 30:06 | |
To labor in patience and the cause of justice. | 30:09 | |
To do our best to help those who are in need. | 30:12 | |
He calls us to do whatever we can | 30:16 | |
with the abilities we have been a-given. | 30:19 | |
And when we have done our part, | 30:23 | |
Christ promises that our labors will not be in vain. | 30:24 | |
There will be results. | 30:29 | |
Some of the seed will fall into good soil and produce fruit. | 30:31 | |
It is not for us to worry about the size of the harvest. | 30:37 | |
It is not for us to be concerned | 30:42 | |
with how long it might take. | 30:44 | |
It is not for us to be concerned | 30:48 | |
even that we mightst live to see the end | 30:49 | |
of the work that we have begun. | 30:52 | |
We can leave the results to God | 30:55 | |
and look beyond all the frustrations. | 30:58 | |
All the discouragement. | 31:01 | |
All the seeming failures. | 31:03 | |
The promise of Jesus in this parable of the sower | 31:06 | |
is the same promise uttered by God | 31:09 | |
through the prophecy of Isaiah centuries earlier. | 31:12 | |
So shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth. | 31:16 | |
It shall not return to me empty, | 31:20 | |
but it shall accomplish that for which I purpose | 31:23 | |
and will prosper in the thing for which I sent it. | 31:27 | |
In the end then, | 31:34 | |
this parable is about success. | 31:36 | |
Not our success but God's. | 31:39 | |
It is God who gives the seed | 31:44 | |
and it is God who will bring the harvest. | 31:46 | |
Not perhaps as you and I would imagine it | 31:49 | |
or even desire it, | 31:51 | |
with victory falling upon victory, | 31:53 | |
but in the midst of disappointments, | 31:57 | |
in the midst of losses, | 32:00 | |
in the midst of failures, | 32:02 | |
the kingdom will surely come. | 32:05 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 32:09 | |
A word authenticated by the one | 32:11 | |
who taught us by means of this parable of the sower. | 32:13 | |
And who hung upon the cross in proof of it. | 32:17 | |
Not for us a call to victory, | 32:22 | |
not for us a call to success, | 32:25 | |
either in the eyes of the world | 32:28 | |
or in terms of bringing the harvest, | 32:30 | |
but for us by the grace of God. | 32:34 | |
A call to a life of faithfulness | 32:38 | |
by which we in our own day and age | 32:42 | |
are right-hearers of the word, | 32:45 | |
and sowers of God's seed. | 32:49 | |
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, | 32:55 | |
and of the Holy Spirit. | 32:59 | |
Amen. | 33:02 | |
(triumphant organ music) | 33:21 | |
(choral singing) | 33:44 | |
Rev. Clark | The Lord be with you. | 35:52 |
Let us pray. | 35:56 | |
Oh eternal God from everlasting to everlasting | 36:08 | |
the Alpha and the Omega of this vast universe | 36:11 | |
we worship thee. | 36:16 | |
Thou hast created each of us a unique stripe | 36:18 | |
in the fabric of humanity, | 36:21 | |
yet we remember the bond which unites us | 36:24 | |
with our sisters and brothers around the world, | 36:26 | |
even in our diversity. | 36:29 | |
Hear now these prayers offered for the entire human family, | 36:32 | |
as we acknowledge our oneness with Thee. | 36:37 | |
Let us pray for all poor and neglected persons. | 36:41 | |
Unimpressive in the eyes of the world | 36:46 | |
yet beautiful in Thy sight. | 36:48 | |
The homeless and the destitute, | 36:51 | |
the old and the sick, | 36:53 | |
the hungry and the forlorn. | 36:55 | |
Nourish their souls | 36:59 | |
and comfort them with Thy healing presence. | 37:00 | |
Inspire in each of us the manner | 37:04 | |
of Christ's own ministry to those who suffer. | 37:06 | |
Let us pray for all who live in the midst of injustice, | 37:11 | |
terror, disease and death. | 37:15 | |
Look on them with compassion, merciful God | 37:20 | |
and strengthen their faith. | 37:23 | |
Inspire us all to continue | 37:26 | |
in our struggles for justice and truth. | 37:28 | |
Teach us to confront one another | 37:31 | |
without hatred or bitterness, | 37:33 | |
but to work together | 37:35 | |
with mutual forbearance and respect. | 37:36 | |
May we become a truly reconciled people, | 37:40 | |
even with those we call our enemies. | 37:44 | |
Let us pray for all those charged | 37:49 | |
with the responsibilities of governance. | 37:51 | |
Grant all those in authority the wisdom and strength | 37:55 | |
to know and to do Thy will. | 37:59 | |
Fill them with the love of truth and righteousness, | 38:02 | |
and make them mindful of their calling | 38:06 | |
to serve with integrity. | 38:08 | |
Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted. | 38:11 | |
For those who seek to harm themselves or others. | 38:17 | |
For those who indulge in material excess | 38:21 | |
attempting to fill an interior void. | 38:24 | |
For those who live within institutions | 38:28 | |
surrounded by people yet lonely beyond words. | 38:30 | |
Heal these Thy children, oh God, | 38:35 | |
that they may know the unique worth | 38:38 | |
Thou hast bestowed upon them. | 38:40 | |
These prayers we lift unto Thee Almighty God, | 38:44 | |
trusting in Thy mysterious ways. | 38:48 | |
Grateful for Thy eternal goodness. | 38:51 | |
In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. | 38:55 | |
Amen. | 38:59 | |
In the spirit of thanksgiving, | 39:02 | |
for the mighty acts of God, | 39:04 | |
let us offer our gifts and ourselves unto God. | 39:06 | |
(somber organ music) | 39:19 | |
(woman vocalizing) | 41:23 | |
(triumphant organ music) | 46:52 | |
(choral singing) | 47:12 | |
- | Oh Lord, our God | 48:12 |
to the Author and Giver of all good things, | 48:14 | |
we thank Thee for all Thy mercies | 48:17 | |
and for Thy loving care over all Thy creatures. | 48:20 | |
We bless Thee for the gift of life, | 48:24 | |
for Thy protection roundabout us. | 48:26 | |
For Thy guiding hand upon us, | 48:29 | |
and for the tokens of Thy love within us. | 48:31 | |
We thank Thee for friendship and duty | 48:34 | |
for good hopes and precious memories. | 48:37 | |
For the joys that cheer us | 48:40 | |
and the trials that teach us to trust in Thee. | 48:42 | |
Most of all, we thank Thee | 48:46 | |
for the saving knowledge of Thy Son, our savior. | 48:47 | |
For the living presence of Thy Spirit, the comforter. | 48:51 | |
For Thy church, the body of Christ. | 48:54 | |
For the ministry of word and sacrament | 48:57 | |
and all the means of grace. | 48:59 | |
In all these things oh Heavenly Father, | 49:02 | |
make us wise into a right use of Thy benefits | 49:05 | |
that we may render an acceptable thanksgiving unto Thee | 49:08 | |
all the days of our life. | 49:12 | |
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ | 49:14 | |
who taught us boldly to pray. | 49:17 | |
Our Father | 49:19 | |
who art in Heaven | 49:20 | |
hallowed be thy name. | 49:22 | |
Thy kingdom come, | 49:24 | |
Thy will be done | 49:25 | |
on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 49:27 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 49:30 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 49:32 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 49:34 | |
And lead us not into temptation | 49:38 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 49:40 | |
For Thine is the kingdom | 49:42 | |
the power | 49:44 | |
and the glory forever. | 49:45 | |
Amen. | 49:47 | |
(somber organ music) | 49:51 | |
(choral singing) | 50:39 | |
- | And now go forth in peace | 53:10 |
and be of good courage. | 53:11 | |
Holdfast to that which is good, | 53:14 | |
rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit, | 53:16 | |
and may the blessing of God, | 53:19 | |
Creator, Christ and Holy Spirit | 53:21 | |
be with you all now and forevermore. | 53:23 | |
Amen. | 53:27 | |
(triumphant organ music) | 53:30 |