Debra K. Brazzel - "Leap or Stumble" (August 25, 1991)
Loading the media player...
Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(triumphant organ music) | 0:00 | |
(organ music becomes more subdued and quizzical) | 1:01 | |
- | Good morning, and welcome to this service of worship | 4:05 |
on the 14th Sunday after Pentecost, here in Duke Chapel. | 4:07 | |
Our preacher today is the Reverend Debra Brazzel. | 4:12 | |
She came to Duke Chapel this summer from Dallas, Texas | 4:16 | |
and has already endeared herself to many in our community. | 4:20 | |
She will be coordinating and leading | 4:25 | |
the religious activities here on the Duke campus | 4:27 | |
and we welcome her to the pulpit of Duke Chapel. | 4:31 | |
We also thank Donna Sparks and the Duke Chapel Summer Choir. | 4:35 | |
They have labored this summer and have blessed us richly | 4:41 | |
in the ministry of music, and we thank them | 4:44 | |
for the work that they have rendered | 4:47 | |
in our services of worship throughout the summer. | 4:49 | |
Now, let's stand and join together in the greeting. | 4:53 | |
Come to the one who grants us eternal life, | 4:59 | |
gathered in the name of Christ, who offers bread. | 5:02 | |
(congregation replies in unison) | 5:08 | |
Let us praise God and all people of faith, | 5:14 | |
for God has richly blessed us in all things. | 5:18 | |
(congregation replies in unison) | 5:22 | |
God dawns on us like morning light, | 5:28 | |
like sun flowing forth on a cloudless morning. | 5:31 | |
(congregation replies in unison) | 5:35 | |
(processional organ music plays) | 5:44 | |
(chorus singing joins in with organ music) | 6:23 | |
(choir stops as the organ music continues) | 8:34 | |
(choir rejoins the organ playing) | 9:26 | |
Grant, we beseech thee, merciful God, | 10:18 | |
that thy church, being gathered together | 10:21 | |
in the unity of the Holy Spirit | 10:24 | |
may manifest thy power among all peoples, | 10:27 | |
in the glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ, our Lord | 10:31 | |
who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit. | 10:35 | |
One God, now and forever. | 10:39 | |
Amen; be seated. | 10:42 | |
- | Let us pray. | 10:53 |
Prepare our hearts, O God, | 10:56 | |
(congregation joins in) | 10:58 | |
to accept your word, | ||
silence in us any voice but your own, | 11:00 | |
that hearing, we may also obey your will. | 11:04 | |
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. | 11:08 | |
The old testament reading is taken from | 11:14 | |
the second book of Samuel, the 23rd chapter, | 11:16 | |
beginning at the first verse. | 11:19 | |
Now, these are the last words of David. | 11:23 | |
The oracle of David, son of Jesse, | 11:28 | |
the oracle of the man whom God exalted, | 11:32 | |
the anointed of the God of Jacob, | 11:36 | |
the favorite of the strong one of Israel. | 11:39 | |
The Spirit of the Lord speaks through me; | 11:44 | |
God's word is upon my tongue. | 11:48 | |
The God of Israel has spoken, | 11:51 | |
the Rock of Israel said to me: | 11:53 | |
One who rules over people justly, | 11:57 | |
ruling in the fear of God, | 12:01 | |
is like the light of morning, | 12:03 | |
like the sun rising on a cloudless morning, | 12:06 | |
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land. | 12:11 | |
Is not my house like this with God? | 12:16 | |
For God has made with me an everlasting covenant, | 12:20 | |
ordered in all things and secure. | 12:25 | |
Will God not cause to prosper all my help and all my desire? | 12:31 | |
But the Godless are all like the thorns | 12:39 | |
that are thrown away, | 12:41 | |
for they cannot be picked up with the hand. | 12:44 | |
To touch them, one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear; | 12:46 | |
and they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot. | 12:52 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 12:57 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 13:00 |
- | Please stand and join in singing the psalter, | 13:12 |
Psalm 67, found on page 791 in the hymnal. | 13:14 | |
(organ music begins Psalm 67) | 13:21 | |
♪ O God, be gracious to us and bless us ♪ | 13:27 | |
♪ And make your face to shine upon us ♪ | 13:33 | |
♪ That your way may be known upon Earth ♪ | 13:38 | |
♪ Your saving power among all nations ♪ | 13:43 | |
♪ Let the peoples praise you, O God, ♪ | 13:50 | |
♪ Let all the peoples praise you. ♪ | 13:54 | |
♪ Let the nations be glad and sing for joy ♪ | 13:59 | |
♪ For You judge the peoples with equity ♪ | 14:04 | |
♪ And guide the nations upon Earth ♪ | 14:08 | |
♪ Let the peoples praise You, O God ♪ | 14:14 | |
♪ Let all the peoples praise you ♪ | 14:18 | |
♪ The earth has yielded its increase ♪ | 14:23 | |
♪ God, our God has blessed us ♪ | 14:27 | |
♪ God has blessed us ♪ | 14:34 | |
♪ Let all the ends of the Earth feel God ♪ | 14:37 | |
♪ O glory be to You, O God ♪ | 14:45 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ, our savior ♪ | 14:48 | |
♪ And to the Holy Spirit, resting in He ♪ | 14:52 | |
♪ As it was, since time began, ♪ | 14:59 | |
♪ Is now and will be forever more ♪ | 15:04 | |
You may be seated. | 15:12 | |
- | The epistle reading this morning | 15:22 |
is taken from Saint Paul's letter | 15:23 | |
to the Ephesians, the sixth chapter, | 15:25 | |
beginning at the first verse. | 15:28 | |
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. | 15:32 | |
Honor your father and mother. | 15:39 | |
This is the first commandment with a promise | 15:42 | |
so that it might be well with you | 15:46 | |
and you may live long on the Earth. | 15:49 | |
And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, | 15:53 | |
but bring them up in the discipline | 15:58 | |
and instruction of the Lord. | 16:00 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 16:03 | |
Thanks be to God. | 16:05 | |
(simple organ melody plays) | 16:11 | |
(choir begins singing in Latin) | 16:26 | |
- | The gospel text is taken from the sixth chapter | 18:10 |
of John, verses 55 through 69. | 18:13 | |
Listen now, for the word of God. | 18:16 | |
For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. | 18:19 | |
Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood | 18:24 | |
abide in me, and I in them. | 18:27 | |
Just as the living Father sent me | 18:30 | |
and I live because of the Father, | 18:32 | |
so whoever eats me will live because of me. | 18:35 | |
This is the bread that came down from heaven, | 18:39 | |
not like that which our ancestors ate, and they died. | 18:41 | |
But the one who eats this bread will live forever. | 18:45 | |
He was teaching these things while he was teaching | 18:49 | |
in the synagogue at Capernaum. | 18:51 | |
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, | 18:54 | |
this teaching is difficult, who can accept it? | 18:56 | |
But Jesus, being aware that his disciples | 19:00 | |
were complaining about it, said to them, | 19:03 | |
does this offend you? | 19:05 | |
Then what if you were to see | 19:07 | |
the son of man, ascending where he was before? | 19:09 | |
It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh avails nothing. | 19:13 | |
The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. | 19:17 | |
But among you, there are some who do not believe. | 19:22 | |
For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones | 19:26 | |
who did not believe him, and who | 19:28 | |
was the one who would betray him. | 19:30 | |
And he said, for this reason, I have told you | 19:33 | |
that no one can come to me, | 19:35 | |
unless it is granted by the Father. | 19:37 | |
Because of this, many of his disciples turned back, | 19:41 | |
and no longer went about with him. | 19:44 | |
So Jesus asked the 12, do you also wish to go away? | 19:47 | |
Simon Peter answered, Lord, to whom can we go? | 19:52 | |
You have the words of eternal life, | 19:57 | |
and we have believed and come to know | 20:00 | |
that you are the Holy One of God. | 20:03 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 20:06 | |
Congregation | Praise be to God. | 20:08 |
- | Those of you who've been here recently | 20:12 |
know that we've been studying the sixth chapter of John | 20:14 | |
for about the past five weeks. | 20:18 | |
In fact, last week I had someone say to me | 20:20 | |
that they were getting a little full of bread sermons. | 20:22 | |
The challenge that I face is being | 20:26 | |
the last person to preach on this chapter. | 20:27 | |
But the amazing thing I've found about scripture, | 20:31 | |
is that though we've heard the stories so many times | 20:34 | |
and sometimes we're tempted to tune them out, | 20:37 | |
and though we've heard endless sermons preached on them, | 20:40 | |
there is always something new, | 20:43 | |
and God continues to speak to us through them. | 20:46 | |
It is my prayer that each of us | 20:49 | |
will receive something new this day, | 20:51 | |
and will hear the word of God that we need to receive. | 20:53 | |
Let me set the scene for you, once again. | 20:57 | |
For to be understood, the sixth chapter of John | 21:00 | |
needs to be heard as a whole. | 21:02 | |
Jesus has speaking to crowds around the sea of Galilee | 21:06 | |
for the past several days. | 21:10 | |
Over five thousand have been abundantly fed | 21:12 | |
with a few loaves and fishes. | 21:15 | |
Jesus has walked on water to join his disciples on the sea | 21:17 | |
as they crossed to Capernaum, baffling the crowd | 21:22 | |
when they later found him, because they had seen | 21:24 | |
his disciples leave without him. | 21:27 | |
There begins, in Capernaum, a long dialogue | 21:30 | |
between Jesus and the crowd about eating | 21:33 | |
and drinking and the demands of faith. | 21:36 | |
Our scripture passage today picks up | 21:38 | |
on the end of that dialogue. | 21:41 | |
The crowd had sought Jesus because they had been fed. | 21:44 | |
But Jesus was challenging them to look beyond | 21:48 | |
temporal food, which parishes, to spiritual food, | 21:51 | |
which nourishes one to eternal life. | 21:54 | |
Jesus confronted his listeners with the demand | 21:58 | |
to live for God rather than self, | 22:01 | |
to put things of the spirit before things of the flesh, | 22:04 | |
to make a choice between the bread of life | 22:07 | |
and the manna, which parishes. | 22:10 | |
And finally, Jesus has asked them | 22:13 | |
to make a decision of faith. | 22:15 | |
Will you believe and accept the | 22:18 | |
demands of faith, or turn away? | 22:20 | |
Will you leap or stumble? | 22:23 | |
The crowd had been following Jesus for days | 22:26 | |
yet when he confronted them with the demand | 22:29 | |
to make a decision of faith, most of them turned away. | 22:31 | |
They could not, or would not make the leap of faith. | 22:36 | |
What caused them to stumble when they | 22:40 | |
had sought Jesus so eagerly? | 22:41 | |
Some of them couldn't get past their history, | 22:44 | |
you see they knew Jesus as the son of Joseph and Mary. | 22:47 | |
How could one whom they knew claim to speak for God? | 22:52 | |
How could a carpenter, a Jew, a common man | 22:56 | |
claim to hold the key to eternal life? | 23:01 | |
At best, Jesus had to be a bit off his rocker | 23:04 | |
and not realize what he was saying, | 23:07 | |
and at worst, he knew full well what he was saying | 23:09 | |
and was intentionally speaking blasphemy against God. | 23:12 | |
Their own history, as well as Jesus' human history | 23:16 | |
was a stumbling block they couldn't | 23:20 | |
get beyond, so they turned away. | 23:22 | |
The fact of Jesus' humanity, or incarnation, | 23:25 | |
was also one of the major conflicts | 23:29 | |
in the early Christian church. | 23:31 | |
Gnosticism and Docetism were two movements | 23:33 | |
in Christianity, which believe | 23:37 | |
that matter is inherently evil, | 23:38 | |
therefore God, who is purely spirit and purely good, | 23:41 | |
could not become human, because flesh is evil. | 23:45 | |
They believed that God might appear | 23:48 | |
to take on human form, but that God would not, | 23:50 | |
in actuality, take on human form. | 23:54 | |
Therefore, they denied the incarnation of God in Christ. | 23:56 | |
John wrote his gospel specifically to counter | 24:01 | |
these heresies in the early Christian church, | 24:04 | |
and he strongly emphasized the language | 24:07 | |
of the incarnation throughout his gospel, | 24:09 | |
with such language as, the word became flesh; | 24:11 | |
my bread, the bread that I will give for the life | 24:15 | |
of the world is my flesh, and my flesh | 24:18 | |
is true food, and my blood is true drink. | 24:21 | |
John believed that the reality of God's | 24:24 | |
incarnation in Christ was critical. | 24:27 | |
God must have become fully human | 24:30 | |
in order for us to be fully redeemed | 24:32 | |
by his death and resurrection. | 24:35 | |
John saw Jesus' human history as | 24:38 | |
essential for our salvation, but it was a stumbling block | 24:41 | |
to many of those who heard Jesus speak, | 24:44 | |
and to many in the early church. | 24:47 | |
On the other hand, some of those who followed Christ | 24:50 | |
turned away in anger and disappointment | 24:52 | |
because their expectations were not met. | 24:55 | |
The Jews expected a messiah of the line of David | 24:58 | |
who would restore Jewish lands | 25:01 | |
and consolidate Jewish power. | 25:03 | |
They expected a messiah who would lead them, | 25:06 | |
once again, into a land flowing with milk and honey. | 25:08 | |
When Jesus healed the sick, and fed the five thousand, | 25:12 | |
they saw in him a man with tremendous | 25:15 | |
personal and spiritual power. | 25:18 | |
They hoped that he would be for them | 25:20 | |
the worldly leader, who could galvanize | 25:23 | |
Jewish resistance to the Roman empire | 25:25 | |
and restore the glory of Israel. | 25:28 | |
In fact, they planned to take him by force, | 25:31 | |
to make him their king after he fed the five thousand, | 25:33 | |
but he knew of their intentions | 25:37 | |
and was able to get away from the crowd. | 25:38 | |
Jesus tells them, the next day, in Capernaum | 25:41 | |
that they were seeking him for the wrong reason. | 25:43 | |
They were concerned with the material kingdom | 25:46 | |
and political power, but he was confronting them | 25:49 | |
with the demands of the in-breaking | 25:52 | |
of God's kingdom and God's reign. | 25:54 | |
Their expectations were not met, | 25:58 | |
so they turned away in disappointment. | 26:00 | |
Some who stumbled were swept up in the mob mentality. | 26:04 | |
As long as the crowds were excited | 26:08 | |
about what they were seeing and hearing, | 26:10 | |
they went along to be part of the action. | 26:12 | |
But when public sentiment turned against Jesus, | 26:15 | |
they also turned away. | 26:18 | |
Some of them may have even wanted to believe, | 26:20 | |
but they didn't have the courage | 26:23 | |
to go against the tide of public opinion. | 26:25 | |
Many in the crowd in our story | 26:29 | |
also stumbled because of language. | 26:31 | |
They took Jesus literally when he said, | 26:34 | |
I am the bread of life, and my flesh | 26:37 | |
is true food, and my blood is true drink, | 26:40 | |
and they were highly offended by his language. | 26:44 | |
Jewish law states that one shall eat no unclean food, | 26:47 | |
and a good Jew followed very stringent food guidelines, | 26:51 | |
and kept themselves separate from persons of other cultures | 26:55 | |
that they considered unclean. | 26:58 | |
They saw only the surface value | 27:01 | |
of Jesus' words and actions, and turned away | 27:03 | |
from what they considered cannibalistic demands. | 27:06 | |
But Jesus also said, I am the door. | 27:10 | |
I am the light of the world. | 27:14 | |
I am the true vine, I am the good shepard. | 27:17 | |
Jesus often used parables and metaphors | 27:21 | |
to point to deep spiritual truths, | 27:25 | |
but many in the crowd couldn't get past the language, | 27:28 | |
so they turned away in frustration. | 27:31 | |
Some of those listening heard Jesus | 27:35 | |
and understood his message all too well. | 27:37 | |
They knew that their whole world was threatened. | 27:41 | |
If Jesus was believed and followed, | 27:44 | |
then it would cost them their worldly power, | 27:47 | |
their comfortable existence, and their | 27:50 | |
convenient, familiar God. | 27:53 | |
And they weren't willing to pay that price. | 27:56 | |
They turned away because the demands | 27:59 | |
of faith were too great. | 28:01 | |
When the crowd had drifted away, | 28:04 | |
Jesus turned to the 12, looked them in the eyes | 28:06 | |
and said, do you also wish to go away? | 28:10 | |
They were being given one more opportunity | 28:15 | |
to make this ultimate decision. | 28:17 | |
Peter was the first to take the leap of faith, | 28:21 | |
responding, Lord to whom shall we go? | 28:24 | |
We have believed and come to know | 28:27 | |
that you are the Holy One of God. | 28:30 | |
Peter had felt the gracious leading of God | 28:33 | |
confirming that Jesus spoke the truth. | 28:36 | |
And though most of the crowd turned away | 28:40 | |
and a promising movement seemed to be dying before his eyes, | 28:42 | |
Peter could not turn away because God had hold of his heart. | 28:47 | |
To turn away from Jesus would mean to turn away from God. | 28:51 | |
The seeds of belief had been planted, | 28:55 | |
and the knowledge that Jesus revealed | 28:57 | |
God's presence, and God's will, and God's word | 28:59 | |
were growing within him. | 29:04 | |
When faced with the decision about | 29:06 | |
whether to commit to Jesus all the way | 29:08 | |
or turn away once and for all, | 29:11 | |
Peter made the only response he could make, | 29:14 | |
we have believed and come to know | 29:17 | |
that you are the Holy One of God, | 29:19 | |
there is no other place we can go. | 29:22 | |
God also confronts each of us | 29:27 | |
with the demand to make a decision of faith. | 29:30 | |
What will our response be when Christ asks, | 29:33 | |
do you also wish to go away? | 29:37 | |
It is so easy for us to turn away from Christ | 29:40 | |
and there are so many reasons that we stumble. | 29:43 | |
For some of us, as for those in Jesus' day, | 29:47 | |
history is a stumbling block. | 29:50 | |
We aren't really sure what to make of Jesus' human history, | 29:52 | |
of the miracles and the story of the incarnation. | 29:57 | |
It challenges our 20th century world view. | 30:01 | |
We find it difficult sometimes to believe | 30:04 | |
that Christ actually was born of a virgin, | 30:07 | |
died and was resurrected after three days. | 30:10 | |
Surely these are myths, meant to point to spiritual truths | 30:13 | |
but with no actual basis in historical fact, | 30:16 | |
or so some of the theologians tell us. | 30:20 | |
And then there's been endless theological debate | 30:22 | |
over the past 20 centuries as to the meaning | 30:24 | |
of the stories about Jesus Christ. | 30:27 | |
If the experts can't agree, | 30:30 | |
then how are we expected to know the truth? | 30:31 | |
So we take the stories of scripture | 30:35 | |
with a grain of faith, and our faith | 30:37 | |
is hindered by our reservation and skepticism. | 30:40 | |
Others of us stumble because of our personal experiences. | 30:45 | |
Perhaps we've been raised in families | 30:49 | |
that didn't place much importance on faith, | 30:51 | |
and therefore it's been peripheral in our own lives. | 30:53 | |
On the other hand, some of us have lived | 30:57 | |
in situations where the faith or religion | 30:59 | |
of a family member was crammed down our throats | 31:01 | |
at every opportunity, and we now find it hard to swallow. | 31:04 | |
We've experienced religion as a weapon of manipulation, | 31:09 | |
to control people and get them to obey | 31:13 | |
whatever authority happens to be using it. | 31:16 | |
And we turn away from belief for fear | 31:19 | |
of being controlled by others. | 31:21 | |
And many of us have been hurt by people | 31:24 | |
who claim to be following Jesus' will. | 31:27 | |
We've seen good Christians do monstrous things | 31:30 | |
and scandals of religious leaders | 31:34 | |
have repeatedly been splashed across our headlines. | 31:36 | |
History is filled with accounts of horrendous deeds | 31:40 | |
that have been done in the name of Christ. | 31:43 | |
Many of us have stumbled because | 31:46 | |
of a believer's sin or hypocrisy. | 31:48 | |
And some of us, as the biblical hearers | 31:52 | |
have stumbled over the language. | 31:54 | |
We read scripture, but it has no meaning for us. | 31:57 | |
We can't get beyond the linguistic, cultural | 32:00 | |
and historic differences of the biblical writers. | 32:02 | |
We are blocked, like many in the crowd, | 32:06 | |
by a literal interpretation of Jesus' words | 32:08 | |
and the inability to translate them into terms | 32:12 | |
that make sense in the 20th century. | 32:14 | |
Others of us have stumbled because | 32:18 | |
our expectations haven't been met. | 32:21 | |
We've prayed again and again, | 32:23 | |
for a job, for health, for peace of mind, | 32:26 | |
for healing in our relationships, | 32:30 | |
for directions in our lives. | 32:32 | |
And many times it has seemed | 32:34 | |
that we've prayed to a deaf God | 32:36 | |
and the help that we've asked for | 32:38 | |
has not been forthcoming, so we've turned away | 32:40 | |
in anger and disappointment. | 32:43 | |
Some of us have turned our backs on Christ | 32:46 | |
because it's the popular, 20th century thing to do. | 32:48 | |
Sure, we think churches are nice, | 32:52 | |
social institutions, though somewhat antiquated. | 32:53 | |
They're a nice place to have a sense of belonging, | 32:58 | |
they help instill morals in our children, | 33:01 | |
they make us feel better about doing | 33:04 | |
a little something for others less fortunate than ourselves, | 33:06 | |
but they're not really central to our lives. | 33:09 | |
We tolerate faith and religion as long as it doesn't | 33:12 | |
threaten the status quo or demand too much of us, | 33:15 | |
as long as it doesn't interfere | 33:18 | |
with the things we really want in life. | 33:20 | |
We've been swept up in the mob mentality, | 33:23 | |
and today's mob places materialistic values above all else. | 33:26 | |
Some of us have understood Jesus' words | 33:32 | |
and his call to a commitment of faith all too well. | 33:34 | |
We know what is demanded but just can't | 33:38 | |
make the commitment he asks for. | 33:41 | |
If we take Jesus seriously, we know | 33:44 | |
that our worldly power and our comfortable existence | 33:46 | |
and our convenient and familiar God will be threatened. | 33:49 | |
We've turned away because we're afraid | 33:54 | |
of what an absolute commitment of faith will cost us. | 33:57 | |
There are so many reasons why we stumble | 34:01 | |
and turn away from Christ, it makes us wonder | 34:04 | |
how anyone ever makes a decision of faith. | 34:08 | |
But Jesus says, in the sixth chapter of John, | 34:11 | |
all that the Father gives to me will come to me | 34:15 | |
and whoever comes to me, I will not cast out. | 34:18 | |
And later in the text he says, | 34:22 | |
no one can come to me unless the Father draws them to me. | 34:24 | |
And again, no one can come to me | 34:28 | |
unless it is granted by the Father. | 34:30 | |
Faith, it seems, is not something | 34:33 | |
we can accomplish on our own, but a gift given to us by God. | 34:36 | |
It is God's will that each of us be drawn to Christ and take | 34:41 | |
the leap of faith and believe, but it's not something | 34:46 | |
that we have to accomplish on our own. | 34:49 | |
God has taken the initiative to reach out to us | 34:52 | |
again and again and again. | 34:55 | |
Peter felt God's gracious leading, | 34:59 | |
confirming within him that Jesus spoke the truth, | 35:01 | |
that Jesus was indeed the son of God, | 35:04 | |
who had the power to reveal to God | 35:07 | |
and the power to overcome every stumbling block. | 35:10 | |
God desires to draw us to Christ, | 35:14 | |
if we would but allow ourselves to be led. | 35:17 | |
As we turn toward Christ, the seeds of faith | 35:21 | |
can be planted in our hearts, and grow there | 35:24 | |
until we are enabled, by God's grace | 35:27 | |
to make the leap of faith. | 35:30 | |
Once the seeds of faith are planted, | 35:32 | |
God can overcome our doubts, our past experiences, | 35:34 | |
our fears, our disappointment, our hurt, our anger. | 35:38 | |
Every stumbling block to faith can be overcome by God, | 35:42 | |
and God plants within us the sure knowledge | 35:47 | |
and the leading of God's direction. | 35:50 | |
It is God's will that we come to know Jesus | 35:53 | |
as the Holy One of God, for once we know this, | 35:56 | |
then we become open to divine instruction. | 35:59 | |
Then we are enabled to feed on Christ in our heart | 36:02 | |
and to feed on Christ is to absorb his teaching, | 36:06 | |
his mind, his ways, his life, his character, | 36:09 | |
so that his mind becomes our mind, | 36:13 | |
and his ways become our ways. | 36:15 | |
His power passes to us and becomes our power | 36:18 | |
and every stumbling block to faith is overcome. | 36:22 | |
God draws us to Christ and gives us faith | 36:27 | |
so that we might abide in Christ, and he in us. | 36:30 | |
We are given a hunger and a thirst | 36:34 | |
for what Christ has to offer, and it is God's will | 36:36 | |
to give us to Christ so that we might inherit | 36:39 | |
and appropriate everything that Christ is, | 36:42 | |
both what he is and what he teaches. | 36:46 | |
What Jesus offers keeps and sustains us in life, | 36:49 | |
enabling us to do and be all that we are meant to do and be, | 36:54 | |
enabling us to enjoy eternal life, both now and forever. | 36:59 | |
What will we say when we are asked | 37:05 | |
to make the ultimate decision of faith? | 37:06 | |
What will we say when Jesus asks us, | 37:09 | |
do you also wish to go away? | 37:13 | |
Let us be drawn with Peter by God's gracious leading, | 37:16 | |
to take the leap of faith as we respond, | 37:20 | |
Lord, to whom shall we go? | 37:23 | |
We have believed and have come to know | 37:26 | |
that you are the Holy One of God. | 37:29 | |
Thanks be to God, amen. | 37:31 | |
(uplifting organ music plays) | 37:36 | |
(congregation and choir begin singing) | 38:08 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 39:55 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 39:56 |
- | Let us pray, be seated. | 39:58 |
O, loving God, in whom we live and move and have our being, | 40:09 | |
where would we go for the words of life, if not to you? | 40:17 | |
What hope would there be but assuaging our deepest hungers, | 40:25 | |
soothing our greatest pain, were it not for you? | 40:31 | |
Therefore we pray, for brothers and sisters across the world | 40:37 | |
who, this day, find themselves in circumstances of fear, | 40:43 | |
uncertainties, civil unrest, or war. | 40:48 | |
Particularly do we pray for the peoples of the Soviet Union. | 40:52 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 40:59 | |
We pray for the Church, spread across the world, | 41:05 | |
gathering this day in a million different places, | 41:10 | |
praising and praying in a multitude of voices. | 41:14 | |
Your body, offered for the world. | 41:20 | |
Strengthen your church, O Lord. | 41:24 | |
Give her a bold voice, active hands, | 41:26 | |
and a warm and open heart. | 41:32 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 41:35 | |
We pray for families beset today with new challenges, | 41:41 | |
terrible difficulties, great joys and simple gifts. | 41:47 | |
For all who tried to be good parents and faithful children. | 41:53 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 42:00 | |
We pray for students returning to school, | 42:05 | |
full of bright, fresh hope and fear and anxiety. | 42:08 | |
Give them grace to overcome their fears | 42:15 | |
and to use their gifts. | 42:17 | |
Encourage them, we pray, on the path of wisdom. | 42:21 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 42:25 | |
We pray for any who have come to this service today | 42:31 | |
burdened by some secret need, which only you can know, | 42:35 | |
or those who are looking for the courage | 42:40 | |
to believe your difficult words, | 42:43 | |
or for those who are listening for their name | 42:48 | |
to be called by a loving God, | 42:52 | |
or those who are yearning for a healing touch. | 42:55 | |
Lord, giver of life and bread, | 43:01 | |
in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 43:05 | |
These, and other spoken and unspoken requests, | 43:10 | |
we lay before your merciful grace, amen. | 43:14 | |
As a forgiven and reconciled people, | 43:21 | |
let us now offer ourselves and our gifts | 43:24 | |
to the God who has offered so much. | 43:27 | |
(organ music plays) | 43:33 | |
(choir singing) | 44:55 | |
Gracious Lord, we thank you for the gift of your word, | 53:19 | |
which at times challenges us, | 53:24 | |
and at other times comforts us. | 53:27 | |
We thank you for your grace | 53:30 | |
that enables even unfaithful people to be faithful, | 53:33 | |
enables even those of us who lack courage, | 53:40 | |
to have courage to follow your way. | 53:43 | |
We thank you for the blessings of summer days, | 53:46 | |
and families, and music well sung, | 53:50 | |
and all the other gifts by which | 53:53 | |
you strengthen our faith and enrich our lives. | 53:55 | |
We acknowledge all of this as a gift from thee, | 53:59 | |
and therefore we offer our gifts back to you for you work. | 54:03 | |
Praying as our Lord has taught us, | 54:08 | |
(congregation joins in prayer) | 54:10 | |
our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 54:11 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 54:15 | |
on Earth as it is in heaven. | 54:19 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 54:22 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 54:24 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 54:27 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 54:31 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 54:33 | |
For thine is the kingdom, the power, the glory. | 54:36 | |
Forever and ever, amen. | 54:40 | |
Now, may the grace of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ | 54:43 | |
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 54:46 | |
be with you now and always. | 54:49 | |
(choir begins singing) | 54:56 | |
(organ music begins) | 55:08 | |
(congregation singing, 'Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee') | 55:44 |