Paula E. Gilbert - Sermon Untitled (July 2, 1989)

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	(organ music)	0:00
	(congregation singing)	0:26
-	Grant, we beseech thee, merciful God,	3:15
	that thy church being gathered together	3:18
	in unity by thy Holy Spirit	3:21
	may manifest thy power among all peoples	3:24
	to the glory of thy name,	3:28
	through Jesus Christ our Lord	3:29
	to liveth and reigneth with thee	3:32
	and the same spirit,	3:34
	one God,	3:36
	world without end.	3:37
	Amen.	3:40
	Be seated.	3:42
-	Let us pray.	3:51
	Open our hearts and minds O God,	3:53
	by the power of your holy spirit	3:56
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed	3:59
	we might heal with joy	4:02
	what you say to us this day.	4:04
	Amen.	4:08
	The first lesson comes from first Kings.	4:11
	God said to Elijah, "Go, return on your way	4:15
	"to the wilderness of Damascus,	4:18
	"and when you arrive,	4:21
	"you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria	4:22
	"and Jehu the son of Nimshi,	4:27
	"you shall anoint to be king over Israel.	4:30
	"And, Elisha, the son of Shaphat	4:34
	"of Abel-meholah you shall anoint	4:36
	"to be prophet in your place.	4:39
	"And, whoever escapes from the sword of Hazael	4:41
	"shall Jehu slay	4:45
	"and whoever escapes from the sword of Jehu	4:47
	"shall Elisha slay.	4:51
	"Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel,	4:53
	"all the knees that have not bowed to Baal	4:57
	"and every mouth that has not kissed Baal."	5:00
	So, Elijah departed from there	5:05
	and found Elisha, the son of Shephat,	5:08
	who was plowing with 12 yoke of oxen before him	5:11
	and he was with the 12.	5:15
	Elijah passed by Elisha and cast his mantel upon him.	5:19
	And Elisha left the oxen and ran after Elijah	5:25
	and said, "Let me kiss my father	5:28
	"and my mother,	5:31
	"and then I will follow you."	5:32
	and Elijah said to him, "Go back again	5:36
	for what have I done to you?"	5:39
	And Elisha returned from following Elijah	5:41
	and took the yoke of oxen and slew them	5:45
	and boiled their flesh	5:49
	with the yokes of the oxen	5:50
	and gave it to the people and they ate.	5:52
	Then he arose and went after Elijah	5:56
	and ministered to him.	5:58
-	Let us stand for the psalm.	6:06
	Psalm is Psalm 44.	6:09
	We have heard from our ears O God,	6:14
	our ancestors have told us	6:17
	what deeds you performed in their days,	6:20
	in the days of old.	6:23
	You with your own hand drove out the nations	6:25
	but them you planted.	6:28
	You afflicted the peoples,	6:31
	but them you set free.	6:33
	For not by their own sword did they win the land,	6:36
	nor did their own arm give them victory,	6:39
	but by your right hand,	6:42
	and your arm	6:44
	and the light of your countenance.	6:45
	For you delighted in them.	6:48
	You are my king and my God,	6:51
	who ordains victories for Jacob.	6:54
	Through you we push down our foes,	6:56
	through your name we tread down our assailants.	6:59
	For not in my bow do I trust,	7:04
	nor can my my sword save me.	7:07
	But, you have saved us from our foes	7:10
	and have put to confusion	7:12
	those who hate us.	7:13
	In God we have boasted continually,	7:16
	and we will give thanks to your name, forever.	7:19
	(organ music)	7:23
	(congregation singing)	7:32
-	The second lesson is taken from the Epistle	8:29
	to the Galatians.	8:32
	For freedom, Christ has set us free.	8:35
	Stand fast, therefore,	8:39
	and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.	8:41
	For you were called to freedom,	8:45
	my dear people.	8:48
	Only do not use your freedom	8:50
	as an opportunity for the flesh.	8:51
	But, through love be servants to one another.	8:54
	For the whole law is fulfilled in one word,	8:59
	you shall love your neighbor as yourself.	9:03
	But if you bite and devour one another,	9:08
	take heed that you are not consumed by one another.	9:11
	But I say walk by the spirit	9:15
	and do not gratify the desires of the flesh.	9:19
	For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit.	9:23
	And the desires of the spirit are against the flesh.	9:27
	For these are opposed to each other,	9:32
	to prevent you from doing what you would.	9:35
	But, if you are lead by the spirit,	9:38
	you are not under the law.	9:41
	Now the works of the flesh are plain,	9:42
	fornication, impurity, licentiousness,	9:45
	idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,	9:48
	anger, selfishness, dissension,	9:53
	party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing	9:56
	and the like.	9:59
	I warn you as I've warned you before,	10:01
	that those who do such things	10:04
	shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.	10:07
	But the fruit of the spirit is love,	10:09
	joy, peace,	10:13
	patience, kindness,	10:15
	goodness, faithfulness,	10:17
	gentleness, self control	10:20
	against such there is no law,	10:23
	and those that belong to Christ Jesus	10:27
	have crucified the flesh	10:29
	with it's passions and desires.	10:31
	If we live by the spirit,	10:35
	let us also walk by the spirit.	10:38
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	10:42
	(regal brass instrument music)	10:53
-	Will you please stand for the reading of the Gospel?	14:45
	From the ninth chapter of the Gospel	14:55
	according to Saint Luke.	14:57
	As the time approached when he was to be	15:01
	taken up to heaven,	15:03
	he set his face resolutely towards Jerusalem	15:05
	and sent messengers ahead.	15:08
	They set out and went into a Samaritan village	15:11
	to make arrangements for him,	15:13
	but the villagers would not have him	15:16
	because he was making for Jerusalem.	15:18
	When the disciples James and John saw this they said,	15:21
	"Lord,	15:25
	"may we call down fire	15:26
	"from heaven to burn them up?"	15:28
	But Jesus turned and rebuked them,	15:31
	and they went on to another village.	15:34
	As they were going along the road,	15:38
	a man said to him, "I will follow you	15:39
	"wherever you will go."	15:42
	and Jesus answered, "Foxes have their holes,	15:45
	"the birds their roost,	15:49
	"but the Son of Man has nowhere	15:52
	"to lay his head."	15:53
	To another he said, "Follow me."	15:57
	But that one replied,	16:00
	"Let me go and bury my father first."	16:02
	But Jesus said,	16:06
	"Leave the dead to bury their dead.	16:08
	"You must go and announce the Kingdom of God."	16:11
	Yet another said, "I will follow you sir,	16:16
	"but let me first say goodbye to my people at home."	16:19
	And to that individual,	16:23
	Jesus said, "No one who sets his hand to the plow	16:24
	"and then keeps looking back	16:28
	"is fit for the Kingdom of God."	16:31
	This ends the reading from the Gospel.	16:35
	You may be seated.	16:37
	Let us pray.	16:49
	O Lord God,	16:52
	help us to hear your word of truth	16:54
	and may your truth	16:58
	set us free to be disciples of Jesus Christ our Lord,	17:00
	Amen.	17:06
	Turning point.	17:12
	A precise moment in time	17:14
	that stands out from all that has gone before.	17:16
	Turning point.	17:21
	The occasion when a new direction is chosen	17:23
	and new road is followed.	17:26
	Turning point.	17:30
	The moment when a decisive change occurs,	17:32
	when a crisis is finally reached.	17:35
	Turning point.	17:40
	The place from which the whole of the future	17:41
	opens.	17:45
	The weeks just past and prior to this scene	17:49
	that we read this morning from the Gospel	17:52
	had been wearing ones.	17:54
	And Jesus and his band of followers	17:57
	are tired and foot sore	17:59
	from their wanderings across the countryside of Palestine.	18:01
	As they had passed through Capernaum earlier	18:06
	the master had healed	18:08
	a Roman officer's servant	18:10
	and then it had been in the town of Nain,	18:13
	where Jesus coming upon a funeral procession	18:16
	took pity upon the grief of a widow	18:19
	and raised her only son from the dead.	18:22
	Still later they had come Bethsaida,	18:26
	and the feeding of the 5,000 from with five loaves	18:28
	and two fish,	18:33
	and later still, the occasion when Jesus heals	18:35
	the man with the demons.	18:39
	But the wanderings hither and yon	18:43
	over the countryside now come to a close.	18:45
	"Hence forth," announces Jesus.	18:48
	"I must make my way to Jerusalem,	18:51
	"here, I make my turning point."	18:54
	And what Jesus does not say	18:59
	but what he knows	19:01
	is that his turning point	19:03
	will prove to be the turning point	19:06
	for all of those who would call themselves	19:08
	his disciples.	19:11
	"Go ahead of us," Jesus says.	19:16
	"For such a large party as we have	19:19
	"travels slowly."	19:21
	and to his messengers,	19:23
	Jesus says, "Go into the land	19:24
	"of Samaria and when you come upon a village,	19:26
	"stop there and make preparation for us	19:29
	"that we may lodge there and have a rest."	19:33
	And so the messengers traveled	19:38
	with great haste toward to land of Samaria	19:39
	and seeing ahead of them a small village,	19:42
	they enter the village	19:44
	and begin making inquiries	19:45
	about food and lodging for the evening.	19:48
	"What is your destination?" the villagers ask.	19:53
	"Do you desire to make preparations for many	19:57
	"or for a few?"	20:00
	And the messengers respond, "As for our company,	20:02
	"we are about 15 or 20,	20:07
	"our destination our master says	20:10
	"is the city of Jerusalem."	20:12
	And the villagers say, "If your destination	20:16
	"is Jerusalem, then you must leave this place at once.	20:19
	"We offer no hospitality to anyone	20:24
	"who travels to Jerusalem.	20:27
	"For Jerusalem has been no friend to us.	20:29
	"Leave quickly and do not return,	20:33
	"you have no place here."	20:37
	So the messengers retraced their steps	20:40
	until they rejoined Jesus	20:42
	and the traveling band of disciples.	20:43
	"Good master, sir," they say,	20:47
	"we went ahead as you commanded	20:49
	"but we are forced to report	20:52
	"that the village just ahead	20:54
	"refuses to receive us.	20:55
	"The townspeople have made it quite plain,	20:58
	"that we are not welcome there."	21:01
	And then those fiery disciples,	21:05
	those known as the Sons of Thunder,	21:08
	James and John,	21:10
	pushed their way forward	21:11
	in the company of the disciples	21:12
	until they stand alongside Jesus.	21:14
	"Lord," they say indignantly,	21:17
	"Shall we call down fire from heaven	21:19
	"to rebuke these people	21:22
	"and destroy their village?	21:23
	"What right have they to turn us away?"	21:25
	"Calm down James,	21:31
	"do not be so ready to punish, John", says Jesus,	21:33
	"it is their choice whether or not	21:37
	"they will receive us.	21:39
	"They have chosen not to welcome us	21:41
	"and that is unfortunate.	21:44
	"But, it is still my will	21:46
	"that we press toward Jerusalem.	21:48
	"Let us continue on our way."	21:51
	Turning point.	21:57
	A lesson about the conditions of discipleship.	21:59
	An episode that serves to correct	22:03
	a mistaken idea about what is means to follow Jesus.	22:06
	Jesus is not another Elijah calling down fire from heaven	22:10
	and issuing all manner of curses upon his enemies.	22:14
	Jesus is not the avenger,	22:18
	taking up arms against those who would reject him.	22:20
	Jesus is the Christ,	22:26
	the one who walks resolutely toward Jerusalem.	22:28
	The journey continues.	22:35
	The dusty and uneven road stretches before Jesus	22:37
	and his band of followers.	22:40
	And from time to time	22:43
	as they draw near a village or town,	22:44
	persons who have heard of this teacher,	22:47
	this teacher who instructs not as the scribes do	22:49
	but as one with authority.	22:52
	This healer who makes the blind to see	22:54
	and the lame to walk.	22:57
	A variety of persons	22:59
	join up with Jesus's company of disciples.	23:01
	Some are simply curious.	23:06
	Some come seeking to dispute with him	23:09
	about sensitive points of the law.	23:11
	And, some come to see for themselves	23:14
	whether this Jesus	23:16
	could possibly be the hoped for,	23:18
	the longed for Messiah.	23:21
	And then sometimes,	23:25
	one comes forward offering himself or herself	23:27
	to join up with Jesus.	23:31
	And at those moments,	23:33
	Jesus warns the impetuous	23:35
	and the half hearted	23:39
	saying, "You must count the cost,	23:41
	"you must reckon with a conflict of loyalties,	23:45
	"you must be willing to take great risk,	23:48
	"you must offer total and unreserved commitment	23:51
	"if you would follow me."	23:56
	"I would follow wherever you go,"	24:01
	alleges the first would-be follower	24:04
	in our story this morning,	24:06
	"you have captured my imagination,	24:08
	"you have stirred my heart,	24:11
	"you have won over my soul.	24:12
	"I am yours and I will follow you	24:15
	"wherever you choose to go."	24:18
	"Will you?" asked Jesus.	24:22
	"Will you truly follow me anywhere,	24:25
	"I am on a journey,	24:29
	"and my life, which you seem so eager to share	24:31
	"is anything but regular.	24:35
	"At night, do you go home and have a	24:38
	"satisfying meal, play with your children,	24:41
	"relax with your spouse	24:44
	"and finally climb into a soft bed	24:46
	"for restful sleep?	24:50
	"None of these things are mine,	24:53
	"nor are they possessions of my disciples	24:55
	"for I have no family,	24:58
	"no spouse or children to welcome me	24:59
	"at the end of the day,	25:01
	"no home to return to	25:03
	"when darkness begins to pale the sky.	25:05
	"Foxes have holes	25:09
	"and the birds of the air have nest,	25:11
	"but the Son of Man has nowhere	25:14
	"to lay his head.	25:16
	"Are you willing to make this sacrifice?"	25:18
	On several occasions now,	25:26
	Jesus has seen the same individual	25:27
	sometimes sitting at the edge of the crowd	25:29
	when he stops to teach.	25:32
	Sometimes, walking along with him	25:33
	listening to exchanges between the disciples	25:35
	or between the disciples and Jesus.	25:38
	But, whether sitting or walking,	25:41
	always on the face of this individual,	25:44
	a look of genuine interest,	25:47
	of excitement, of fascination,	25:50
	of yearning.	25:53
	As the band makes its meandering way down the road	25:56
	that is a little more than a path at this point,	25:58
	Jesus positions himself so that his line of walking	26:01
	will intercept with strangers.	26:03
	When they have drawn alongside one another,	26:06
	Jesus turns toward the stranger,	26:08
	his eyes seeking those of the other	26:11
	and issues the invitation.	26:14
	"I have seen you with us now on several occasions,	26:17
	"I have noted your interest.	26:21
	"Come,	26:23
	"follow me."	26:24
	"I want to Lord, and I will,	26:28
	"even now I shape my days	26:31
	"so as to spend as much time as I can with you,	26:33
	"but my father's very ill	26:37
	"and is likely to die within a few more days.	26:40
	"Let me first go and bury my father	26:43
	"and then I will follow you unreservedly."	26:46
	But, gently shaking his head,	26:50
	Jesus answers, "I invite you to join me	26:52
	"to become one of my followers	26:55
	"but my invitation is extended this moment	26:58
	"and not another.	27:00
	"To delay even for an hour,	27:02
	"even for reason of a sacred family duty	27:04
	"is to turn away.	27:08
	"For you this is a moment of crisis	27:11
	"which can never be repeated	27:13
	"and which demands your decision now.	27:15
	"Either reject the world,	27:18
	"with all of it's conventions	27:19
	"and all of it's ceremonies,	27:21
	"all of it's demands for conformity	27:23
	"to the rules of what is proper, or reject me.	27:25
	"Leave the dead to bury the dead,	27:30
	"rather you go and announce	27:33
	"the Kingdom of God.	27:35
	"This may seem a hard choice.	27:38
	"But what I seek and what I invite you to join me in	27:40
	"is nothing less than the proclamation	27:45
	"of the kingship	27:49
	"of God."	27:50
	Still later, there comes a third encounter.	27:55
	Not unique in itself,	27:58
	and bearing resemblance to the others	28:00
	which have preceded it.	28:01
	"I will follow you sir,	28:04
	"you speak and teach the truth	28:07
	"and surely you have the words of life.	28:08
	"I am ready to follow you and give myself in your service.	28:11
	"Your disciples have told me	28:16
	"that you travel toward Jerusalem,	28:17
	"I have a pretty good idea of the road	28:20
	"you must take	28:22
	"and I will follow just as soon as I can.	28:23
	"But, when I left home this morning to come hear you,	28:26
	"I told my family and friends that I would return	28:30
	"before the sun had set.	28:33
	"Let me go back to them,	28:35
	"gather a few of my belongings and say my goodbyes."	28:38
	"What you ask," says Jesus,	28:44
	"others would grant	28:47
	"even Elijah permitted Elisha	28:49
	"to return to his family	28:53
	"and say goodbye to his father and mother,	28:55
	"but, following me does not allow for compromise	28:59
	"or distraction.	29:02
	"Surely you love those who love you	29:04
	"and desire not to cause them worry,	29:06
	"but it is wrong to look behind.	29:09
	"For when you look behind,	29:12
	"you are not looking ahead.	29:13
	"When you look behind,	29:16
	"you are likely to become entangled	29:17
	"in the complexity of family duties,	29:19
	"or you will come up against the rocks	29:22
	"of community pressure	29:24
	"and when you look behind,	29:26
	"you are likely to turn aside from your goal	29:28
	"whether you intend to or not.	29:30
	"I say to you, no one who puts the hand to the plow	29:33
	"and keeps looking back	29:38
	"is fit for the Kingdom of God."	29:40
	Turning points.	29:48
	Precise moments in time	29:50
	that stand out from all that has gone before.	29:52
	Turning points.	29:56
	Occasions when a new direction is chosen,	29:58
	a new road followed,	30:00
	or when once in a lifetime opportunities	30:03
	are forever lost.	30:06
	Turning points.	30:08
	Moments when change occurs.	30:11
	When decisive crises are reached that must be resolved.	30:13
	Turning points.	30:18
	The places from which the whole of the future unfolds.	30:20
	One turning point.	30:27
	A noted German pastor safe in America	30:29
	leaves personal security behind	30:33
	in order to return to his beloved Germany,	30:36
	now ruled by the Nazis.	30:39
	In order to offer what protest he can	30:41
	to the totalitarian regime	30:44
	that decrees death to the gypsies	30:46
	and death to the Jews	30:49
	and death to anyone not like themselves.	30:51
	In his own mind and heart,	30:55
	Dietrich Bonhoeffer knows and is clear	30:58
	about the cost of discipleship.	31:01
	Because he writes,	31:04
	"For faith is only faith,	31:07
	"and only real when there is obedience,	31:09
	"never without it,	31:13
	"and faith only becomes faith	31:15
	"in the act of obedience.	31:18
	"Not only do those who believe obey,	31:21
	"but only those who obey,	31:25
	"believe."	31:29
	Turning point.	31:33
	A nation in which thousands are daily hungry	31:35
	and millions live in hopeless, crushing poverty.	31:37
	A nation in which the few who are rich,	31:41
	become richer,	31:44
	and the thousands upon thousands who are poor,	31:46
	become poorer.	31:48
	A nation in which inflation climbs and soars	31:50
	to unprecedented levels	31:54
	to 200 and 300 per cent.	31:55
	Turning point.	31:59
	A small group of Peruvian Christians	32:01
	say that the moment is now	32:04
	and make plans to visit dairy farmers	32:06
	and collect unsold milk	32:08
	in order to distribute cups of milk	32:11
	to malnourished children.	32:13
	Turning point.	32:18
	A nation which is rigidly structured	32:20
	and rigidly divided	32:22
	between the privileged world of whites	32:24
	and the servitude world of blacks.	32:26
	A nation of prejudice,	32:29
	of discrimination,	32:31
	a nation of hatred and fear.	32:34
	An Anglican priest named Desmond Tutu	32:39
	arises to challenge the apartheid government	32:42
	of South Africa	32:44
	with the ringing words of the Gospel of Jesus Christ	32:45
	and to offer words of hope and comfort	32:49
	from that same Gospel to his people.	32:52
	Turning point.	33:00
	A prosperous Alabama businessman and lawyer	33:02
	sells his business and gives up his lucrative law practice	33:05
	and goes to live with Clarence Jordan	33:09
	at Koinonia Farm in Americus, Georgia.	33:11
	Hearing the call of discipleship,	33:15
	this former businessman believes	33:18
	that Christians can make a difference	33:20
	in the shape of the world.	33:22
	That Christians can feed and clothe	33:24
	and can house one another	33:27
	without waiting for the intervention	33:29
	of some government agency.	33:31
	Turning point.	33:34
	Millard Fuller founds Habitat for Humanity.	33:36
	Turning point.	33:42
	An office worker hears her pastor	33:43
	plead one Sunday for the hungry of their community.	33:45
	Realizing that grocery stores	33:49
	and restaurants destroy great amounts	33:51
	of unsold and unused food,	33:54
	she borrows a truck	33:57
	and goes and picks up the unsold and unused food	33:59
	and starts a community kitchen where all who come	34:03
	receive a hot,	34:07
	home-cooked meal.	34:08
	Turning points.	34:13
	As varied as the diversity of backgrounds	34:15
	from which they and we derive as a community of faith,	34:18
	but moments all of us share	34:22
	who name ourselves as disciples of Jesus Christ.	34:25
	Turning points are those moments	34:31
	sometimes big but much more often small,	34:34
	when we hear the call of Christ	34:38
	to take up our cross	34:39
	and follow the one who hung upon a cross	34:42
	outside the gates of Jerusalem	34:44
	that we might know the full measure of God's love	34:47
	and in knowing that love, be led to love others.	34:52
	Precise moments in time,	34:59
	occasions never to be repeated,	35:02
	invitations never to be reissued.	35:04
	These are the turning points in our lives.	35:08
	Sometimes anticipated,	35:13
	sometimes unforeseen.	35:15
	Sometimes sought,	35:18
	sometimes denied.	35:20
	Sometimes welcomed,	35:23
	sometimes not.	35:26
	But, always there.	35:28
	These turning points in our lives.	35:30
	The call of Christ,	35:35
	the one who walks resolutely toward Jerusalem,	35:37
	is direct,	35:41
	and personal.	35:43
	The call is insistent, and unequivocal,	35:46
	"Follow me."	35:50
	And the one who calls,	35:53
	goes before us	35:56
	lighting the dark places,	35:58
	and showing us the way.	36:00
	And the one who calls and goes before us,	36:03
	also provides us with sustenance for the journey.	36:06
	With bread and cup,	36:10
	his holy word,	36:13
	and the strength, and power,	36:16
	and wisdom of the Holy Spirit.	36:18
	Listen,	36:24
	do you hear the call?	36:27
	Come.	36:31
	Follow him.	36:33
	Amen.	36:36
	(organ music)	36:41
	(congregation singing)	37:15
-	The Lord be with you.	39:41
Congregation	And also with you.	39:42
-	Let us pray. Be seated.	39:44
	Precious God,	39:55
	on this pleasant summer morning,	39:59
	we thank you	40:02
	for our land,	40:04
	so fair and free.	40:06
	And for the heritage,	40:08
	which we celebrate during this week of independence.	40:10
	Make us brave to seek your will	40:15
	in the land which you have given to us.	40:17
	Less by our political actions,	40:21
	we neglect those things which belong to your glory.	40:25
	Take away our foolish pride	40:30
	which acts as if	40:35
	all this and all that we have	40:36
	were of our own creation.	40:40
	Instill in us an appropriate and Godly gratitude.	40:44
	O God, your justice is like rock.	40:51
	Your mercy like pure, flowing water.	40:54
	When we turn away from you, judge us.	40:58
	And when we return to you, forgive us.	41:03
	For without you we are a lost people.	41:07
	Deliver us O God,	41:13
	from arrogant, chauvinistic patriotism	41:15
	and blind trust in power.	41:20
	Deliver us from public	41:24
	deception,	41:27
	that weaken public trust	41:29
	and from self seeking in high places.	41:32
	Stir up in us again a zeal for justice.	41:36
	Particularly, to do justice among the various races	41:41
	which compose our land.	41:45
	Give us eyes to see others	41:48
	not as competitors or adversaries	41:52
	but as your children,	41:54
	and our sisters and brothers.	41:56
	Shock us out of our complacency,	42:00
	which tolerates racism,	42:04
	injustice	42:07
	or so much poverty amidst a society which has so much.	42:09
	Kindle in us warm concern for other lands and peoples.	42:17
	Kindle within us empathy for those	42:23
	who live in conditions of abject poverty	42:25
	and political oppression.	42:28
	Particularly do we pray	42:32
	for the suffering peoples of southern Africa,	42:35
	for victims of political injustice in China,	42:39
	for religious dissension in northern Ireland,	42:44
	for political chaos in Lebanon,	42:49
	for need in Palestinian refugee camps,	42:52
	and for those who suffer injustice	42:57
	in El Salvador and Central America.	43:00
	We pray for your church,	43:06
	in this country	43:08
	and around the world.	43:09
	Help us to see that your church has no boundaries,	43:12
	and recognizes	43:15
	no national	43:17
	or racial limits.	43:19
	Above all, keep your church fiercely loyal to your word.	43:22
	So that it may be a safeguard	43:28
	against the presumptuous claims of any nation.	43:30
	May the cross mean more to us even than our flag.	43:35
	May your commands be more fearful to us	43:39
	even in public disapproval.	43:43
	May your way be more determinative of our ways	43:47
	that even our American way.	43:52
	For we know that we are your people,	43:57
	and the sheep of your pasture.	44:01
	And that in your light, is our life.	44:04
	This we pray.	44:10
	Amen.	44:13
	Let us offer ourselves and our gifts	44:15
	to God who has offered so much to us.	44:17
	(regal brass instrument music)	44:27
	(organ music)	50:12
	(congregation singing)	50:29
-	O God, most merciful and gracious,	51:30
	of whose bounty we have all received,	51:33
	accept this offering of thy people,	51:37
	remember in thy love	51:40
	those who have brought it	51:41
	and those for whom it is given.	51:43
	And so follow it with thy blessing	51:46
	that it may promote peace and goodwill	51:48
	among all people,	51:50
	and advance the Kingdom of our Lord and Savior,	51:52
	Jesus Christ.	51:55
	Our Father,	51:57
	who art in heaven,	51:59
	hallowed be thy name,	52:00
	thy kingdom come,	52:02
	they will be done on earth	52:03
	as it is in heaven	52:05
	Give us this day,	52:08
	our daily bread,	52:09
	and forgive us our trespasses	52:10
	as we forgive those who trespass against us,	52:13
	and lead us not into temptation,	52:16
	but deliver us from evil.	52:18
	For thine is the kingdom,	52:21
	and the power, and the glory forever.	52:22
	Amen.	52:26
	(organ music)	52:30
	(congregation singing)	53:09
-	Now may the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,	56:50
	the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	56:53
	be with you now and always.	56:57
	Amen.	57:00
	(lively brass instrument music)	57:04
	(audience applauds)	59:11

Item Info

Title:

Paula E. Gilbert - Sermon Untitled (July 2, 1989)

Description:

Christ's call for us to come follow him on the path to Jerusalem marks a turning point in our lives. Like the three potential followers from the Gospel lesson, we are faced with the decision to leave all comforts and societal demands behind and simply follow. Thankfully God has provided us with the sustenance of God's body and blood, God's word, and God's Spirit to nourish us along that difficult road. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 17:12. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 36:36.
Key quotation: “Turning points are those moments, sometimes big but much more often small, when we hear the call of Christ to take up our cross and follow the one who hung upon a cross outside the gates of Jerusalem that we might know the full measure of God’s love and, in knowing that love, be led to love others.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4pr7n86v

Date:

July 2, 1989

Speaker:

Gilbert, Paula E., 1952-

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0138
ref8640_lpx
uachapelsermaud
duke:321593
dcrmv001134
ark:/87924/r4pr7n86v
45438de3-0098-46ca-8548-d727177be423

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

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

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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