Debra K. Brazzel - "Where Is Your Confidence" (October 3, 1993)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(slow organ music) | 0:00 | |
- | Good morning and welcome to Duke Chapel. | 0:18 |
We'd like to welcome Jamie Balboa this morning | 0:21 | |
who is substituting as the lector for Kelly Sprinkle. | 0:24 | |
Also the Reverend Nancy Ferree-Clark | 0:28 | |
will be presiding in the service. | 0:30 | |
She is the pastor to the congregation at Duke Chapel | 0:32 | |
and the congregation is sponsoring a reception | 0:35 | |
immediately after the service under the south arcade | 0:38 | |
just to the right as you exit the building. | 0:42 | |
I'd also like to call to your attention | 0:45 | |
a couple of announcements this afternoon, | 0:47 | |
the annual blessing of the animals service is held | 0:50 | |
at 2 pm. today on the chapel steps and if you've never had | 0:53 | |
the opportunity to experience that, | 0:58 | |
it is truly one of the most unique but also special services | 1:00 | |
that we hold at Duke Chapel. | 1:04 | |
We are promised to have geese and goats and cows | 1:06 | |
and horses and all kinds of God's creatures | 1:09 | |
there this afternoon and we hope you'll be able | 1:12 | |
to come back to join us for that. | 1:15 | |
We've also received word that the Russian choir | 1:17 | |
that were expected to be here this week had | 1:20 | |
to cancel their trip because of the recent developments | 1:23 | |
in Russia and our prayers are with them at this time. | 1:27 | |
Would you please stand as we join together in the greeting? | 1:31 | |
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 1:40 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 1:43 |
- | The risen Christ is with us. | 1:45 |
Congregation | Amen. | 1:48 |
(organ music) | 1:50 | |
♪ Lift every voice and sing ♪ | 2:57 | |
♪ Till earth and heaven ring ♪ | 3:01 | |
♪ Ring with the harmonies of Liberty ♪ | 3:05 | |
♪ Let our rejoicing rise ♪ | 3:13 | |
♪ High as the listening skies ♪ | 3:17 | |
♪ Let it resound loud as the roaring sea ♪ | 3:21 | |
♪ Sing a song full of the faith that ♪ | 3:31 | |
♪ the dark past has taught us ♪ | 3:35 | |
♪ Sing a song full of the hope ♪ | 3:39 | |
♪ that the present has brought us ♪ | 3:43 | |
♪ Facing the rising sun of our new day begun ♪ | 3:50 | |
♪ Let us march on till victory is won ♪ | 3:58 | |
♪ Stony the road we trod ♪ | 4:07 | |
♪ Bitter the chastening rod ♪ | 4:11 | |
♪ Felt in the days when hope ♪ | 4:15 | |
♪ unborn had died ♪ | 4:19 | |
♪ Yet with a steady beat ♪ | 4:24 | |
♪ Have not our weary feet ♪ | 4:27 | |
♪ Come to the place for which our fathers sighed ♪ | 4:32 | |
♪ We have come over a way that with tears has been watered ♪ | 4:41 | |
♪ We have come ♪ | 4:50 | |
♪ treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered ♪ | 4:53 | |
♪ Out from the gloomy past ♪ | 5:01 | |
♪ Till now we stand at last ♪ | 5:05 | |
♪ Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast ♪ | 5:09 | |
♪ God of our weary years ♪ | 5:18 | |
♪ God of our silent tears ♪ | 5:22 | |
♪ Thou who has brought us thus far on the way ♪ | 5:26 | |
♪ Thou who has by Thy might Led us into the light ♪ | 5:34 | |
♪ Keep us forever in the path, we pray ♪ | 5:43 | |
♪ Lest our feet stray from the places ♪ | 5:52 | |
♪ our God where we met Thee ♪ | 5:56 | |
♪ Lest, our hearts drunk with ♪ | 6:00 | |
♪ the wine of the world ♪ | 6:03 | |
♪ we forget Thee ♪ | 6:05 | |
♪ Shadowed beneath Thy hand ♪ | 6:11 | |
♪ May we forever stand ♪ | 6:14 | |
♪ True to our God ♪ | 6:19 | |
♪ True to our native land ♪ | 6:21 | |
- | The apostle Paul calls us in the letter to the Phillipians | 6:52 |
to press on in our pilgrimage of faith, | 6:55 | |
until we reach we heavenly prize. | 6:58 | |
Yet when we gather to praise God we recognize | 7:01 | |
that we have failed to be the kind | 7:04 | |
of people we are called to be. | 7:06 | |
Therefore let us confess our sins | 7:09 | |
before God and one another, | 7:11 | |
confident that our God will not forsake us. | 7:13 | |
- | Most merciful God, | 7:21 |
we confess that we have sinned against you | 7:23 | |
in thought, word and deed, | 7:26 | |
by what we have done, | 7:28 | |
and by what we have left undone, | 7:30 | |
we have not loved you with our whole heart; | 7:33 | |
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. | 7:36 | |
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent | 7:39 | |
for the sake of your son Jesus Christ, | 7:43 | |
have mercy on us and forgive us, | 7:46 | |
that we may delight in your will | 7:49 | |
and walk in your ways to the glory of your name, Amen. | 7:51 | |
All mighty God have mercy on you. | 8:07 | |
Forgive all your sins through our Lord Jesus Christ. | 8:10 | |
Strengthen you in all goodness, | 8:15 | |
and by the power of the Holy Spirit, | 8:17 | |
keep you in eternal life, Amen. | 8:20 | |
- | Will you please join with me in the prayer | 8:35 |
for illumination found in the worship bulletin? | 8:37 | |
Open our hearts and minds oh God, | 8:43 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 8:46 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 8:49 | |
we may hear your message with joy this day Amen. | 8:52 | |
- | A reading from the Holy Gospel of Matthew. | 9:00 |
Chapter 21. | 9:04 | |
Starting with the 33rd verse. | 9:05 | |
Listen to another parable. | 9:09 | |
There was a land owner who planted a vineyard, | 9:12 | |
put a fence around it, | 9:15 | |
dug a wine press in it, | 9:18 | |
and built a watchtower. | 9:20 | |
Then he leased it to tenants and went to another country. | 9:23 | |
When the harvest time had come, | 9:27 | |
he sent his slaves to the tenants to collect his produce | 9:29 | |
but the tenants seized the slaves | 9:34 | |
and beat one, | 9:36 | |
killed another and stoned another. | 9:38 | |
Again he sent other slaves, | 9:42 | |
more than the first, | 9:44 | |
and they treated them in the same way. | 9:46 | |
Finally he sent his son to them, | 9:49 | |
saying they will respect my son. | 9:52 | |
But when the tenants saw the son | 9:57 | |
they said to themselves, | 10:00 | |
this is the heir. | 10:02 | |
Come let us kill him and get his inheritance. | 10:03 | |
So they seized him, | 10:08 | |
threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. | 10:10 | |
Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, | 10:14 | |
what will he do to those tenants? | 10:17 | |
They said to him, | 10:20 | |
he will put those retches to a miserable death | 10:22 | |
and lease the vineyard to other tenants | 10:25 | |
who will give him the produce at harvest time. | 10:27 | |
Jesus said to them, | 10:32 | |
have you never read in the scriptures | 10:33 | |
the stone that the builders rejected | 10:36 | |
has become the cornerstone. | 10:38 | |
This was the Lord's doing | 10:41 | |
and it is amazing in our eyes. | 10:44 | |
Therefore I tell you, | 10:47 | |
the kingdom of God will be taken away from you | 10:49 | |
and given to a people that produces | 10:52 | |
the fruits of the kingdom. | 10:55 | |
The one who falls on the stone will be broken | 10:57 | |
to pieces and it will crush anyone on whom it falls. | 10:59 | |
When the chief priests and pharisees heard his parables, | 11:05 | |
they realized that he was speaking about them. | 11:09 | |
They wanted to arrest him, | 11:13 | |
but they feared the crowds | 11:15 | |
because they regarded him as a prophet. | 11:17 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 11:21 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 11:23 |
- | This reading is taken from the book of Philippians. | 11:36 |
Chapter three beginning with the second verse. | 11:39 | |
Beware of the dogs. | 11:44 | |
Beware of the evil workers. | 11:47 | |
Beware of those who mutilate the flesh. | 11:49 | |
For it is we who are the circumcision | 11:54 | |
who worship in the spirit of God | 11:56 | |
and boast in Christ Jesus | 11:59 | |
and have no confidence in the flesh. | 12:02 | |
Even though I too have reason for confidence in the flesh. | 12:05 | |
If anyone else has reason to be confident | 12:10 | |
in the flesh I have more circumcised on the eighth day. | 12:13 | |
A member of the people of Israel of the tribe of Benjamin, | 12:19 | |
a Hebrew born of Hebrews as to the law, | 12:23 | |
a pharisee, | 12:27 | |
as to zeal a persecutor of the church, | 12:28 | |
as to righteousness under the law, blameless. | 12:32 | |
Yet whatever gains I had, | 12:36 | |
these I have come to regard as loss, | 12:39 | |
because of Christ. | 12:42 | |
More than that, | 12:45 | |
I regard everything as loss, | 12:46 | |
because of the surpassing value | 12:49 | |
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. | 12:51 | |
For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things | 12:54 | |
and I regard them as rubbish | 12:58 | |
in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, | 13:01 | |
not having a righteousness of my own | 13:06 | |
that comes from the law, | 13:08 | |
but one that comes through faith in Christ. | 13:10 | |
The righteousness from God, based on faith. | 13:14 | |
I want to know Christ | 13:18 | |
and the power of his resurrection, | 13:20 | |
and the sharing of his sufferings | 13:22 | |
by becoming like him in his death. | 13:24 | |
If somehow I may attain resurrection from the dead, | 13:28 | |
not that I have already attained this, | 13:33 | |
or have already reached the goal. | 13:35 | |
But I press on to make it my own, | 13:38 | |
because Christ Jesus has made me his own. | 13:40 | |
Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own, | 13:45 | |
but this one thing I do, | 13:49 | |
forgetting what lies behind, | 13:52 | |
and straining forward to what lies ahead. | 13:54 | |
I press on toward the goal, | 13:58 | |
for the prize of the heavenly call, | 14:00 | |
in God, in Jesus. | 14:03 | |
This is the word of the lord. | 14:06 | |
Thanks be to God. | 14:08 | |
My sermon text this morning is taken | 14:12 | |
from this passage in Philippians, | 14:15 | |
and you may have noticed that I extended the reading | 14:18 | |
to include a couple of verses at the beginning | 14:21 | |
that were not listed in your bulletin. | 14:23 | |
The verses that I added warn the church at Philippi | 14:26 | |
to beware of the dogs, the evil workers, | 14:30 | |
and those who mutilate the flesh. | 14:34 | |
Not a pleasant way to begin a sermon. | 14:38 | |
Beware of the dogs, the evil workers, the mutilators. | 14:42 | |
Perhaps the lectionary wanted to spare us | 14:48 | |
from having to deal with such an unpleasant text. | 14:51 | |
But in this instance if I had read that text as | 14:55 | |
it was printed we would be at great risk | 14:57 | |
of failing to understand the message | 15:00 | |
that Paul intended to convey, | 15:03 | |
in this letter. | 15:05 | |
The church at Phillipi, | 15:08 | |
was especially important to Paul. | 15:10 | |
It was the first gentile congregation | 15:12 | |
that was established in Europe, | 15:15 | |
and they were one of the few churches | 15:17 | |
that had provided regular financial support for Paul | 15:19 | |
that enabled him to continue his missionary work | 15:23 | |
throughout the world. | 15:26 | |
The tone of the letter to the Philippians | 15:28 | |
was one with great affection and love and optimism, | 15:31 | |
even though Paul was writing to them from prison. | 15:36 | |
But suddenly in this part of the letter, | 15:41 | |
the mood changes. | 15:44 | |
The tone is so different, | 15:46 | |
that some scholars have suggested that | 15:48 | |
this was actually part of another letter written | 15:51 | |
to the Philippians at a different occasion. | 15:54 | |
But whether originally one letter | 15:58 | |
or a collection of letters, | 16:00 | |
this passage from Philippians clearly marks | 16:02 | |
a change a difference in the tone | 16:05 | |
and pulls address to the Philippians. | 16:08 | |
Beware of the dogs, | 16:11 | |
the evil workers and mutilators. | 16:14 | |
What could have prompted such a strong warning, | 16:18 | |
such a cry of danger? | 16:21 | |
After Paul left the church at Philippi, | 16:25 | |
it seems that there were some outsiders | 16:28 | |
who were proselytizing among them. | 16:31 | |
These Judaizers as they were called, | 16:34 | |
claimed that in order to be saved | 16:37 | |
it was necessary to be circumcised | 16:39 | |
and to obey certain requirements of Jewish law. | 16:42 | |
Now this wasn't the first time that Paul | 16:46 | |
had encountered the Judaizers. | 16:48 | |
Why was his reaction to them so harsh? | 16:51 | |
Paul believed that nothing less was at stake, | 16:57 | |
than the truth of the gospel. | 17:02 | |
Either we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, | 17:04 | |
or we are not. | 17:09 | |
Nothing that we can do in life can earn | 17:12 | |
the salvation which is offered as a gift of God's grace. | 17:15 | |
Nothing that we can do can add one bit | 17:20 | |
to the righteousness of God that is given to us | 17:23 | |
as a gift through Christ. | 17:27 | |
This was no minor matter to Paul. | 17:31 | |
Those who claim that additional external criteria | 17:34 | |
were essentials for salvation, | 17:38 | |
were seen as mutilators who distorted | 17:40 | |
the truth of the gospel | 17:43 | |
and denied the power of God in Christ to save us. | 17:44 | |
It essentially came down to a matter of control. | 17:50 | |
Who is in control of salvation? | 17:55 | |
Is it something that can be earned? | 17:58 | |
Won through hard and diligent effort | 18:00 | |
or meeting certain requirements? | 18:03 | |
Is it possible to put God in one's debt | 18:05 | |
so that salvation is owed as a payment | 18:09 | |
for righteousness or right living? | 18:12 | |
Or is it a gift? | 18:17 | |
Not dependent upon external requirements | 18:19 | |
or criteria or merit | 18:21 | |
and totally outside of the realm of human control? | 18:24 | |
Paul was clear that salvation was only possible | 18:30 | |
as God's free act of self giving love through Jesus Christ. | 18:33 | |
It is totally outside human control | 18:39 | |
and can't be earned or won. | 18:42 | |
It can only be accepted as a free unmerited gift. | 18:45 | |
He reminded the Philippians that they are | 18:51 | |
the circumcision who worship in the spirit of God | 18:54 | |
and boast in Christ having no confidence in the flesh. | 18:58 | |
They who have accepted and trusted | 19:03 | |
in God's gift of grace in Jesus Christ | 19:05 | |
are those that are in right relationship, | 19:09 | |
are those that are counted as righteous before God, | 19:12 | |
are those that are seen as acceptable | 19:15 | |
and pleasing in God's eyes. | 19:18 | |
Now this is where our lectionary passage begins. | 19:22 | |
Even though I too have reason for confidence in the flesh, | 19:27 | |
if anyone has reason to be confident | 19:32 | |
in the flesh I have more. | 19:34 | |
Without the preceding versus it would appear | 19:37 | |
that Paul is boasting about his accomplishments | 19:41 | |
instead of warning the Philippians to boast only in Christ | 19:46 | |
rather than in their own spiritual | 19:50 | |
achievements and efforts. | 19:53 | |
It is always dangerous to take scripture out of context. | 19:57 | |
His point is that if anyone of the Judaizers | 20:03 | |
who were boasting about their religious qualifications | 20:06 | |
and setting up the criteria for salvation, | 20:10 | |
if any one of them could boast, | 20:13 | |
then he could boast more, | 20:15 | |
for as to his religious background, | 20:17 | |
Paul was a Jew's Jew. | 20:19 | |
Not a convert, | 20:22 | |
but someone who was born into the faith, | 20:23 | |
circumcised on the eighth day as it was required in the law. | 20:26 | |
As to lineage he was a member of the Isreali aristocracy, | 20:30 | |
born of the tribe of Benjamin, | 20:34 | |
the same tribe of Saul and David. | 20:36 | |
Paul had impeccable advantages of birth | 20:40 | |
and as to religious attainment, | 20:45 | |
he was a Hebrew born of Hebrews, | 20:46 | |
one of the few Jews who as they were spread throughout | 20:49 | |
the world at that time were able | 20:54 | |
to maintain through diligent effort and study | 20:56 | |
the original language of their people. | 20:59 | |
As to the law, | 21:03 | |
Paul was a pharisee, | 21:04 | |
a separated one, | 21:06 | |
who observed the most stringent requirements of Judaic law. | 21:08 | |
As to zeal, | 21:13 | |
Paul was so committed to the church | 21:14 | |
that he dedicated himself to searching out | 21:17 | |
all those that were considered enemies of the faith, | 21:20 | |
and as to righteousness, | 21:24 | |
he met every requirement under the law, | 21:26 | |
down to the tiniest detail. | 21:29 | |
He was blameless under the law. | 21:31 | |
Paul had realized the highest attainments of education, | 21:35 | |
religion and personal piety. | 21:39 | |
Those who set up the external criteria | 21:42 | |
as requirements for the faithful at Philippi | 21:45 | |
could not begin to match Paul's advantages of birth | 21:48 | |
or his religious and personal accomplishments. | 21:52 | |
But he goes on in the letter to say | 21:56 | |
that he has come to regard whatever gains he had | 21:59 | |
in the privileges of birth | 22:03 | |
and in the accomplishments and attainments of his life | 22:05 | |
as loss because of Christ. | 22:09 | |
Whatever gains I had, | 22:13 | |
these I have come to regard as loss, because of Christ. | 22:15 | |
This is a difficult scripture for us to hear I believe. | 22:23 | |
Especially in a setting like Duke University. | 22:27 | |
I mean the whole point of higher education, | 22:31 | |
is to help you attain something | 22:34 | |
that you didn't have when you came here. | 22:36 | |
Higher intellect, | 22:39 | |
higher knowledge, | 22:40 | |
higher morals. | 22:42 | |
We hope you leave here a better person than when you came. | 22:43 | |
So what does this text say to us? | 22:50 | |
Whatever gains I had, | 22:53 | |
these I have come to regard as loss, because of Christ. | 22:55 | |
Gains and losses. | 23:02 | |
This is language we're used | 23:04 | |
to seeing in the financial pages. | 23:05 | |
It calls to mind a spreadsheet used | 23:08 | |
to tally our income and expenses, profits and losses. | 23:11 | |
We're taught at the earliest possible age | 23:16 | |
that profits are good, losses are bad. | 23:18 | |
Profits are to be sought, | 23:21 | |
losses are to be avoided. | 23:22 | |
And beyond the spreadsheet, | 23:25 | |
think about the things in your life that you count as gains. | 23:27 | |
Some of you like Paul have an excellent pedigree. | 23:32 | |
You have wonderful advantages of birth. | 23:37 | |
Others of you have worked hard | 23:41 | |
for the advantages that you've been able to attain. | 23:43 | |
What are the things that you most value? | 23:47 | |
Your degree? | 23:51 | |
Your so-called ticket to the future? | 23:52 | |
Your tenure? | 23:55 | |
Your skills as a surgeon or a mother? | 23:56 | |
Your career, your friends, your family? | 24:01 | |
What would you put on the advantage column in your life? | 24:05 | |
Could you count it all as loss because of Christ? | 24:11 | |
I must admit that I have been struggling | 24:17 | |
with this text for some time. | 24:19 | |
I have to tell you that it's been | 24:22 | |
a difficult passage for me to work through. | 24:23 | |
I've worked hard to gain an education | 24:27 | |
and advantages that my parents never had. | 24:30 | |
I value my role here as Assistant Dean of the Chapel | 24:33 | |
and I work hard to be an effective minister. | 24:36 | |
Could I count these things as loss? | 24:40 | |
Because of Christ. | 24:44 | |
Paul goes on in the text, | 24:47 | |
more than that, | 24:50 | |
I regard everything as loss, | 24:51 | |
because of the surpassing value | 24:54 | |
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. | 24:56 | |
As I reflected on this scripture, | 25:00 | |
I think this verse holds the key. | 25:03 | |
I regard everything as loss | 25:07 | |
because of the surpassing value | 25:10 | |
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. | 25:12 | |
Paul doesn't speak as one who has learned about Christ | 25:18 | |
but as one who knows Christ | 25:22 | |
and in this personal intimate relationship, | 25:24 | |
nothing else matters. | 25:28 | |
Everything in his life gets redefined. | 25:30 | |
What he values gets reordered. | 25:34 | |
His priorities get rearranged. | 25:37 | |
And as dedication to Christ, | 25:42 | |
Paul suffered the loss of everything | 25:44 | |
he had previously valued. | 25:46 | |
It wasn't the waste from his life | 25:48 | |
that he gave up, | 25:51 | |
it was the most important things in life. | 25:52 | |
But his past life, his accomplishments, | 25:55 | |
everything he used to work for or worry about | 25:57 | |
were as rubbish to him, | 26:01 | |
compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ, | 26:03 | |
and of being known by Christ in a personal and intimate way. | 26:09 | |
It is so like God to take human concepts | 26:15 | |
and human reality and to turn them upside down. | 26:20 | |
Loss and gain. | 26:24 | |
Death and life. | 26:26 | |
For Paul what was once gain became loss, | 26:28 | |
and what was loss became gain. | 26:32 | |
For those who want to save their life will lose it | 26:37 | |
and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. | 26:43 | |
This is a mysterious God | 26:50 | |
who refuses to be bound by human categories | 26:52 | |
of privilege and disadvantage, | 26:56 | |
credit and debt, gain and loss. | 26:59 | |
It comes down again to the issue of control. | 27:04 | |
Who is in control of salvation? | 27:08 | |
You or God? | 27:11 | |
Do you put your confidence in the things | 27:14 | |
you can do or gain or accomplish | 27:16 | |
to become righteous in the eyes of God? | 27:19 | |
Or do you accept the righteousness given | 27:23 | |
by God's grace through faith in Christ? | 27:25 | |
Where is your confidence? | 27:29 | |
There was a great shift for Paul between these two | 27:32 | |
essentially different conceptions of righteousness. | 27:36 | |
Because of his encounter with Christ, | 27:40 | |
he became aware that everything he had ever done | 27:42 | |
to try to earn the approval of God, | 27:45 | |
or put God in his debt, was rubbish. | 27:48 | |
It was a shift between righteousness construed | 27:52 | |
as human achievement and righteousness experienced | 27:55 | |
as divine gift. | 28:00 | |
Between righteousness that finds | 28:02 | |
confidence in past performance | 28:04 | |
and righteousness that finds confidence | 28:07 | |
in future possibility opened through Christ. | 28:10 | |
It isn't a matter of not being good enough, | 28:16 | |
of never making more than a 99, | 28:20 | |
for a God who demands nothing less than 100%. | 28:23 | |
No. | 28:28 | |
What is at stake, | 28:30 | |
is whether we can trust God | 28:33 | |
or our own efforts. | 28:36 | |
Whether we can trust in our own efforts | 28:38 | |
or whether we trust in the gift of righteousness, | 28:41 | |
a right relatedness given to us in Christ. | 28:45 | |
It is a fundamental shift in the paradigm. | 28:50 | |
The model for right living. | 28:54 | |
From human achievement, | 28:57 | |
to the gift of right relatedness through Christ. | 28:59 | |
And in the light of that relationship, | 29:03 | |
everything else in life gets redefined, | 29:05 | |
reshaped, born anew. | 29:09 | |
This is what can move us to count our previous gains as loss | 29:14 | |
and to cherish loss as gain. | 29:20 | |
We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. | 29:25 | |
This is the essence of the gospel. | 29:30 | |
It was a radical idea in Paul's day. | 29:33 | |
It is just as radical today. | 29:37 | |
We also live in a world where the Judaizers | 29:41 | |
try to define the criteria for right living. | 29:44 | |
In the secular world we are judged by our economic success, | 29:49 | |
prestige and personal accomplishments. | 29:54 | |
In the church sometimes we're even judged by | 29:58 | |
the quantity of our personal acts of piety. | 30:00 | |
But in Jesus Christ, | 30:05 | |
God has forever shifted the ground of judgment | 30:07 | |
and rewritten the criteria for right living. | 30:11 | |
In Christ God takes our whole | 30:15 | |
distorted mutilated reality | 30:18 | |
and reshapes it in the image of Christ. | 30:22 | |
Through Christ, whenever God looks at you or me, | 30:26 | |
God sees Christ in us, | 30:30 | |
and we are named beloved, righteous children. | 30:35 | |
All that is required is that we accept the gift in faith. | 30:41 | |
God's love for us made so evident through Jesus Christ, | 30:47 | |
doesn't need to be coaxed and could never be earned | 30:52 | |
as if God owed us anything, | 30:55 | |
but it is freely offered. | 30:58 | |
The value Paul discovered in that unsurpassed, | 31:01 | |
experience of Christ in his life changed the way | 31:05 | |
he viewed the rest of his life, | 31:08 | |
and left him with a hunger to know Christ ever more fully, | 31:11 | |
until finally there could be a total identification | 31:15 | |
between him and Christ in life and in death. | 31:19 | |
You and I will have the opportunity in a few minutes, | 31:25 | |
to receive anew, | 31:30 | |
God's gift of love and salvation through Jesus Christ, | 31:32 | |
and as we come forward to receive the body | 31:36 | |
and the blood of Christ, | 31:39 | |
we must decide if we will trust the power | 31:41 | |
of God's gracious gift, | 31:45 | |
to make us righteous, | 31:47 | |
to restore us, | 31:49 | |
to right relationship with God. | 31:50 | |
Or, whether we'll hold out for something more. | 31:54 | |
Something that we must contribute, | 31:58 | |
or earn, or control. | 32:01 | |
A leap of faith, | 32:06 | |
to accept God's gift of grace through Jesus Christ | 32:07 | |
is essentially an act of trust. | 32:11 | |
It means letting go of all that you have clung to | 32:15 | |
for the hope of the surpassing value | 32:20 | |
of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. | 32:23 | |
The choice is yours. | 32:28 | |
Where is your confidence? | 32:30 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 32:43 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 32:44 |
- | Let us pray. | 32:46 |
Our kind and gracious God, | 32:52 | |
the hope of all who seek you | 32:55 | |
and the joy of all who find. | 32:56 | |
You have called us to believe in your word, | 33:00 | |
that we may serve you with one accord. | 33:03 | |
Having heard the call to be confident | 33:07 | |
in the power of your saving grace, | 33:09 | |
we forsake all that would divert us, | 33:12 | |
from living a faithful life. | 33:15 | |
In it's place we offer now these prayers, | 33:17 | |
for our sisters and brothers around the world. | 33:21 | |
Let us pray for all those in times of trouble or distress, | 33:25 | |
for the sick and the dying, | 33:29 | |
the hungry, the unemployed, | 33:32 | |
for victims of violence. | 33:34 | |
Especially we pray for the people of India, | 33:37 | |
as they seek to recover from the tragedy | 33:40 | |
of this week's devastating earthquake. | 33:43 | |
Grant them strength and consolation to carry on | 33:46 | |
in the face of unspeakable human suffering. | 33:48 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 33:52 | |
hear our prayer. | 33:54 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
Let us pray for all who live in the midst | 33:57 | |
of political and economic change. | 33:59 | |
For leaders of government, | 34:02 | |
for all who speak out for the truth, | 34:04 | |
and for those who suffer persecution, | 34:07 | |
especially we pray for the people of Russia | 34:10 | |
as they seek to create a stable and just government | 34:13 | |
in times of instability. | 34:16 | |
May we all be inspired with a renewed vision | 34:19 | |
of what it means truly to live in peace | 34:22 | |
and harmony with one another. | 34:24 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 34:27 | |
hear our prayer. | 34:28 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
Let us pray for those who seek to let go | 34:31 | |
but are imprisoned by fear and anxiety, | 34:34 | |
for those who have suffered the loss of a loved one, | 34:37 | |
or a lifelong dream, | 34:41 | |
for those seeking to overcome unhealthy addictions, | 34:43 | |
for those confronting physical changes, | 34:47 | |
which require new ways of daily functioning. | 34:49 | |
Empower them with your confidence | 34:53 | |
to look with hope toward the future. | 34:55 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 34:59 | |
hear our prayer. | 35:00 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted, | 35:03 | |
for those who seek to harm themselves or others, | 35:08 | |
for those who have no one to turn to in time of need, | 35:12 | |
for those who live within institutions, | 35:16 | |
surrounded by people yet lonely beyond words. | 35:19 | |
May your love for the entire creation | 35:23 | |
convince them of their inestimable worth in your holy eyes. | 35:26 | |
Lord in your mercy, | 35:30 | |
hear our prayer. | 35:32 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
Let us pray for all who hunger and thirst for your grace | 35:35 | |
as they wander through a spiritual desert, | 35:38 | |
for all who are searching | 35:41 | |
for a place of rest and restoration, | 35:43 | |
for all who are unwilling to seek forgiveness, | 35:46 | |
believing that they cannot be forgiven. | 35:49 | |
Enable them and each of us, | 35:52 | |
to trust in the transforming power of your healing word. | 35:54 | |
Lord in your mercy | 35:59 | |
hear our prayer. | 36:00 | |
- | Hear our prayer. | |
Oh redeeming God, | 36:04 | |
as we and millions of other Christians gather | 36:06 | |
in joyful fellowship around your communion table, | 36:09 | |
this world communion Sunday, | 36:12 | |
we celebrate the bounty of your goodness. | 36:15 | |
Strengthen us your church as we feast | 36:17 | |
at your Holy table, | 36:20 | |
never to despair but to keep your commandments to the end, | 36:21 | |
that we may find eternal rest | 36:25 | |
and peace in your heavenly kingdom. | 36:27 | |
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. | 36:30 | |
Christ invites to his table all who love him | 36:38 | |
and who desire to live in peace with him and one another. | 36:41 | |
Therefore let us exchange signs of peace | 36:45 | |
and reconciliation one with another. | 36:48 | |
Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, | 37:10 | |
in offering and sacrifice to God. | 37:15 | |
At this time let us present the offerings of our life | 37:18 | |
and our labor to the Lord with thanksgiving. | 37:21 | |
You may be seated. | 37:24 | |
(organ music) | 37:26 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 38:25 | |
(organ music) | 42:29 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 43:19 | |
♪ Praise God all creatures here below ♪ | 43:24 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 43:30 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 43:34 | |
♪ Praise God above ye heav'nly host ♪ | 43:38 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 43:44 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 43:51 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 43:54 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 43:57 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 44:00 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 44:03 | |
- | The lord be with you. | 44:15 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 44:17 |
- | Lift up your hearts. | 44:19 |
Congregation | We lift them up unto the Lord. | 44:21 |
- | Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. | 44:23 |
Congregation | It is right to give Him thanks and praise. | 44:25 |
- | It is right and a good and joyful thing, | 44:28 |
always and everywhere to give thanks to you almighty God, | 44:31 | |
creator of heaven and Earth. | 44:36 | |
In the beginning your spirit moved over | 44:38 | |
the face of the waters. | 44:40 | |
You formed us in your image | 44:42 | |
and breathed into us the breath of life. | 44:44 | |
When we turned away and our love failed, | 44:47 | |
your love remained steadfast, | 44:50 | |
your spirit came upon prophets and teachers, | 44:53 | |
anointing them to speak your word, | 44:56 | |
and so with your people on Earth | 44:58 | |
and all the company of heaven, | 45:00 | |
we praise your name and join their unending hymn. | 45:02 | |
(organ music) | 45:06 | |
♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪ | 45:15 | |
♪ God of power and might ♪ | 45:20 | |
♪ Heaven and earth are filled with your glory ♪ | 45:25 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 45:29 | |
♪ Blessed is he who come to the name of the Lord ♪ | 45:34 | |
♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪ | 45:41 | |
- | Holy are you and blessed is your son Jesus Christ. | 45:54 |
At his baptism in the Jordan your spirit descended upon him | 45:58 | |
and declared him your beloved son. | 46:01 | |
With your spirit upon him he turned away | 46:04 | |
the temptation of sin. | 46:07 | |
Your spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor, | 46:09 | |
to proclaim release to the captives | 46:12 | |
and recovering of sight to the blind. | 46:14 | |
To set at liberty those who are oppressed, | 46:17 | |
and to announce that the time had come | 46:20 | |
when you would save your people. | 46:23 | |
He healed the sick, | 46:25 | |
fed the hungry, | 46:27 | |
and ate with sinners. | 46:28 | |
By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection | 46:30 | |
you gave birth to your Church, | 46:33 | |
delivered us from slavery to sin and death, | 46:35 | |
and made with us a new covenant | 46:38 | |
by water and the Spirit. | 46:40 | |
When the Lord Jesus ascended, | 46:43 | |
he promised to be with us always, | 46:45 | |
baptizing us with the Holy Spirit and with fire. | 46:47 | |
On the night in which he gave himself up for us, | 46:52 | |
he took bread, gave thanks to you, | 46:55 | |
broke the bread, gave it to his disciples, and said: | 46:58 | |
Take, eat; this is my body which is given for you. | 47:02 | |
Do this in remembrance of me. | 47:07 | |
And when the supper was over, | 47:09 | |
he took the cup, offered it to you, | 47:11 | |
and gave thanks, gave it to his disciples, and said: | 47:15 | |
Drink from this, all of you; | 47:18 | |
for this is the blood of the new covenant, | 47:21 | |
poured out for you and for many | 47:23 | |
for the forgiveness of sins. | 47:25 | |
Do this as often as you drink it, | 47:28 | |
in remembrance of me. | 47:30 | |
And so, in remembrance of these your | 47:32 | |
mighty acts in Jesus Christ, | 47:34 | |
we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving | 47:37 | |
as a holy and living sacrifice, | 47:39 | |
in union with Christ's offering for us, | 47:42 | |
as we proclaim the mystery of faith. | 47:45 | |
(organ music) | 47:48 | |
♪ Christ had died ♪ | 47:52 | |
♪ Christ has risen ♪ | 47:54 | |
♪ Christ will come again ♪ | 47:57 | |
- | Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, | 48:05 |
and on these gifts of bread and wine. | 48:08 | |
Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, | 48:11 | |
that we may be for the world the body of Christ, | 48:15 | |
redeemed by his blood. | 48:17 | |
By your Spirit make us one with Christ, | 48:20 | |
one with each other, | 48:22 | |
and one in ministry to all the world, | 48:23 | |
until Christ comes in final victory | 48:26 | |
and we feast at his heavenly banquet. | 48:29 | |
Through your Son Jesus Christ, | 48:31 | |
with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church, | 48:34 | |
all honor and glory is yours, | 48:36 | |
almighty God, now and forever. | 48:39 | |
(organ music) | 48:42 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 48:48 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 48:49 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 48:52 | |
- | Our Father who art in heaven, | 49:01 |
hallowed be thy name, | 49:04 | |
thy kingdom come, | 49:06 | |
thy will be done, | 49:07 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 49:09 | |
Give us this day our daily bread. | 49:12 | |
And forgive us our trespasses | 49:14 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 49:16 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 49:20 | |
but deliver us from sin. | 49:22 | |
For thine is the kingdom, | 49:25 | |
and the power, | 49:26 | |
and the glory forever, Amen. | 49:27 | |
When we break the bread, | 49:32 | |
is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? | 49:35 | |
When we give thanks over the cup, | 49:40 | |
is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? | 49:43 | |
The cup of salvation. | 49:46 | |
The body of Christ, given for you. | 49:55 | |
The blood of Christ, the cup of salvation. | 50:01 | |
- | Amen. | 50:03 |
- | The body of Christ. | 50:10 |
- | Amen. | 50:11 |
- | The blood of Christ. | 50:14 |
- | Amen. | 50:16 |
As the ushers go into position | 50:30 | |
and the communion servers move out among you, | 50:31 | |
you're invited to come and feast at Christ's holy banquet. | 50:34 | |
(organ music) | 50:46 | |
♪ In Christ there is no east or west ♪ | 51:09 | |
♪ In him no south or north ♪ | 51:16 | |
♪ But one great fellowship of love ♪ | 51:22 | |
♪ Throughout the whole wide earth ♪ | 51:28 | |
♪ In Christ shall true hearts everywhere ♪ | 51:34 | |
♪ Their high communion find ♪ | 51:41 | |
♪ His service is the golden cord ♪ | 51:47 | |
♪ Close-binding humankind ♪ | 51:53 | |
(muffled choir singing) | 51:59 | |
♪ In Christ now meet both east and west ♪ | 52:26 | |
♪ In him meet south and north ♪ | 52:31 | |
♪ All Christly souls are one in him ♪ | 52:37 | |
♪ Throughout the whole wide earth ♪ | 52:44 | |
(organ music) | 52:49 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 58:12 | |
♪ Jesus, Lord, we look to thee ♪ | 1:00:30 | |
♪ Let us in thy name agree ♪ | 1:00:36 | |
♪ Show thyself the Prince of peace ♪ | 1:00:42 | |
♪ Bid all strife forever cease ♪ | 1:00:49 | |
♪ By thy reconciling love ♪ | 1:00:57 | |
♪ Every stumbling block remove ♪ | 1:01:04 | |
♪ Each to each unite, endear ♪ | 1:01:10 | |
♪ Come and spread thy banner here ♪ | 1:01:17 | |
♪ Make us of one heart and mind ♪ | 1:01:26 | |
♪ Gentle, courteous, and kind ♪ | 1:01:32 | |
♪ Lowly, meek, in thought and word, ♪ | 1:01:39 | |
♪ Altogether like our Lord ♪ | 1:01:46 | |
♪ Let us for each other care ♪ | 1:01:55 | |
♪ Each the other's burdens bear ♪ | 1:02:01 | |
♪ To thy church the pattern give ♪ | 1:02:08 | |
♪ Show how true believers live ♪ | 1:02:15 | |
♪ Free from anger and from pride ♪ | 1:02:23 | |
♪ Let us thus in God abide ♪ | 1:02:30 | |
♪ All the depths of love express ♪ | 1:02:37 | |
♪ All the heights of holiness ♪ | 1:02:44 | |
- | Please stand for the closing prayer. | 1:02:57 |
Eternal God, | 1:03:04 | |
we give you thanks for this holy mystery | 1:03:06 | |
in which you have given yourself to us. | 1:03:09 | |
Grant that we may go into the world | 1:03:12 | |
in the strength of your Spirit, | 1:03:14 | |
to give ourselves for others, | 1:03:16 | |
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. | 1:03:19 | |
Amen. | 1:03:21 | |
(organ music) | 1:03:23 | |
(muffled singing) | 1:04:08 |