Dennis M. Campbell - "A Thief in the Night" (November 14, 1993)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(choir singing) | 1:29 | |
- | Good morning. | 8:21 |
Welcome to this service of worship here | 8:23 | |
at Duke University Chapel. | 8:25 | |
Our guest preacher today | 8:27 | |
is Dean Dennis M. Campbell, | 8:29 | |
Dean of our divinity school. | 8:31 | |
Our lector is Mark Lamb, a junior in Trinity College. | 8:35 | |
We are pleased to welcome | 8:40 | |
our guest choir this morning, | 8:44 | |
the Kostroma Choir. | 8:47 | |
And their director is Ms. Safronova. | 8:56 | |
They are on a 10-day tour of the United States, | 9:04 | |
and they will be singing here in Duke Chapel | 9:13 | |
at five this afternoon. | 9:15 | |
Last summer, Dr. Wynkoop and Ms. Sparks | 9:22 | |
led a group from Durham, and they visited Kostroma | 9:26 | |
with the choir. | 9:31 | |
Kostroma is Durham's sister city, | 9:45 | |
and they're part of the Sister Cities program. | 9:48 | |
Welcome. | 9:58 | |
Let us stand for the greeting. | 10:01 | |
The grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, be with you. | 10:07 | |
Congregation | And also with you. | 10:10 |
- | The risen Christ is with us. | 10:11 |
Congregation | Praise the Lord. | 10:14 |
(organ plays) | 10:16 | |
(congregation sings) | 11:02 | |
(congregation sings) | 14:51 | |
- | Let us pray. | 15:42 |
Oh creator, giver of life, you are always more ready | 15:45 | |
to bestow your good gifts on us, | 15:51 | |
than we are to seek them. | 15:54 | |
You are always more willing to give | 15:57 | |
than we desire or deserve. | 15:59 | |
Help us so to seek, that we may truly find, | 16:03 | |
so to ask, that we may joyfully receive, | 16:06 | |
so to knock, that the door of your mercy | 16:11 | |
may be opened to us. | 16:14 | |
Through Jesus Christ, our savior, amen. | 16:17 | |
You may be seated. | 16:21 | |
- | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. | 16:31 |
Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 16:35 | |
by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 16:38 | |
so that, as the word is read and proclaimed, | 16:40 | |
we may hear your message with joy this day. | 16:44 | |
Amen. | 16:47 | |
This reading is taken from chapter five | 16:49 | |
of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, | 16:51 | |
starting with verse one. | 16:53 | |
"Now concerning the times and the seasons, | 16:56 | |
"brothers and sisters, you do not need | 16:58 | |
"to have anything written to you. | 17:00 | |
"For you yourselves know very well | 17:02 | |
"that the Day of the Lord will come | 17:04 | |
"like a thief in the night. | 17:05 | |
"When they say there is peace and security, | 17:07 | |
"then sudden destruction will come upon them, | 17:10 | |
"as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, | 17:12 | |
"and there will be no escape. | 17:15 | |
"But you beloved are not in darkness | 17:17 | |
"for that day to surprise you like a thief, | 17:19 | |
"for you are all children of light, | 17:21 | |
"and children of the day. | 17:23 | |
"We are not of the night or of darkness. | 17:24 | |
"So then let us not fall asleep as other do, | 17:27 | |
"but let us keep awake and be sober. | 17:30 | |
"For those who sleep, sleep at night, | 17:32 | |
"and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. | 17:35 | |
"But since we belong to the day, | 17:38 | |
"let us be sober, and put on the breastplate | 17:40 | |
"of faith and love, and for a helmet, | 17:42 | |
"the hope of salvation. | 17:45 | |
"For God has destined us not for wrath, | 17:47 | |
"but for obtaining salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ, | 17:49 | |
"who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, | 17:52 | |
"we may live with Him. | 17:56 | |
"Therefore, encourage one another, and build up each other, | 17:58 | |
"as indeed you are doing." | 18:01 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 18:03 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 18:05 |
(If We Believe That Jesus Died) | 18:22 | |
- | Let us sing responsively Psalm 76 on page 797. | 21:36 |
Please stand for the song and Gloria. | 21:44 | |
(organ plays) | 21:48 | |
♪ In Judah, God is known ♪ | 21:54 | |
♪ Whose name is great in Israel ♪ | 21:58 | |
♪ Whose abode has been established in Salem ♪ | 22:03 | |
♪ Whose dwelling place is in Zion ♪ | 22:09 | |
♪ There he broke the flashing arrows ♪ | 22:14 | |
♪ The shields and the swords, the weapons of war ♪ | 22:19 | |
♪ You are glorious, more majestic ♪ | 22:26 | |
♪ Than the everlasting mountains ♪ | 22:29 | |
(background noise drowns out other sounds) | 22:34 | |
♪ All the soldiers were unable to use their hands ♪ | 22:44 | |
♪ At your rebuke, oh God of Jacob ♪ | 22:51 | |
(background noise drowns out other sounds) | 22:57 | |
♪ You who indeed are to be feared ♪ | 23:02 | |
♪ Who can stand before you ♪ | 23:07 | |
(background noise drowns out other sounds) | 23:10 | |
♪ From the heavens you uttered judgment ♪ | 23:15 | |
♪ The earth feared and was still ♪ | 23:20 | |
♪ When God arose to establish judgment ♪ | 23:24 | |
♪ To save all the oppressed of the earth ♪ | 23:29 | |
(background noise drowns out other sounds) | 23:34 | |
♪ Make vows to the Lord your God and keep them ♪ | 23:46 | |
♪ Let all the neighboring lands ♪ | 23:52 | |
♪ Bring gifts to the One to be feared ♪ | 23:55 | |
♪ Who cuts off the spirit of monarchs ♪ | 24:00 | |
♪ And makes the rulers of the earth afraid ♪ | 24:06 | |
♪ All the glory be to you, creator ♪ | 24:13 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ our savior ♪ | 24:17 | |
(background noise drowns out other sounds) | 24:21 | |
♪ As it was ere time began ♪ | 24:27 | |
♪ It shall be forever more ♪ | 24:32 | |
(choir sings) | 25:29 | |
- | Thank you. | 29:38 |
Thank you. | 29:41 | |
Hear now this lesson from the Holy Gospel | 29:44 | |
as recorded in Saint Matthew, | 29:48 | |
the 25th chapter, beginning at verse 14. | 29:50 | |
"For it is as if a man going on a journey | 29:56 | |
"summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them. | 30:00 | |
"To one he gave five talents, | 30:04 | |
"to another two, to another one, | 30:07 | |
"to each according to his ability. | 30:09 | |
"Then he went away. | 30:12 | |
"The one who had received the five talents | 30:14 | |
"went off at once and traded with them, | 30:16 | |
"and made five more talents. | 30:19 | |
"In the same way the one who had the two talents | 30:21 | |
"made two more talents. | 30:25 | |
"But the one who had received the one talent | 30:27 | |
"went off and dug a hole in the ground | 30:29 | |
"and hid his master's money. | 30:33 | |
"After a long time, the master of those slaves | 30:35 | |
"came and settled accounts with them. | 30:39 | |
"Then the one who had received the five talents | 30:43 | |
"came forward bringing five more talents saying, | 30:46 | |
"'Master, you handed over to me five talents; | 30:50 | |
"'see, I have made five more talents.' | 30:54 | |
"His master said to him, 'well done, | 30:57 | |
"'good and trustworthy slave. | 31:01 | |
"'You have been trustworthy in few things. | 31:04 | |
"'I will put you in charge of many things. | 31:07 | |
"'Enter into the joy of your master.' | 31:11 | |
"And the one with the two talents also came forward saying, | 31:14 | |
"'Master, you have handed over to me two talents; | 31:17 | |
"'see, I have made two more talents.' | 31:21 | |
"His master said to him, 'well done, | 31:24 | |
"'good and trustworthy slave. | 31:26 | |
"'You have been trustworthy in a few things. | 31:29 | |
"'I will put you in charge of many things. | 31:32 | |
"'Enter into the joy of your master.' | 31:35 | |
"Then the one who had received the one talent | 31:39 | |
"also came forward saying, 'Master, | 31:41 | |
"'I knew that you were a harsh man, | 31:44 | |
"'reaping where you did not sow | 31:46 | |
"'and gathering where you did not scatter seed. | 31:48 | |
"'So I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent | 31:51 | |
"'in the ground. | 31:54 | |
"'Here, you have what is yours.' | 31:56 | |
"But his master replied, 'you wicked and lazy slave. | 31:59 | |
"'You knew, did you, that I reap | 32:04 | |
"'where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter? | 32:06 | |
"'Then you ought to have invested my money | 32:12 | |
"'with the bankers, and on my return | 32:14 | |
"'I would have received what was my own with interest. | 32:17 | |
"'So take the talent from him, and give it to the one | 32:20 | |
"'with the ten talents. | 32:24 | |
"'For to all those who have more will be given, | 32:26 | |
"'and they that have will have an abundance. | 32:30 | |
"'But from those who have nothing, even what they have | 32:33 | |
"'will be taken away. | 32:36 | |
"'As for this worthless slave, | 32:39 | |
"'throw him into the outer darkness | 32:41 | |
"'where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'" | 32:44 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 32:51 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 32:54 |
- | Several years ago, our family came home | 33:01 |
from a business and pleasure trip | 33:04 | |
to the coast of North Carolina. | 33:07 | |
Tired and hungry from the long drive, | 33:10 | |
we pulled into our driveway late | 33:12 | |
on a Sunday afternoon and entered the house. | 33:14 | |
The minute the door was opened, | 33:18 | |
we experienced the sinking feeling | 33:20 | |
that someone had been in our house. | 33:23 | |
The silver chest was sitting open on a kitchen counter, | 33:26 | |
and there was a note from our neighbor to call him. | 33:30 | |
A thief had come in the night, | 33:34 | |
entered from our deck, gone all over the house, | 33:36 | |
stolen silver and jewelry, left the door open, | 33:40 | |
and abandoned the silver chest in the yard | 33:44 | |
where our neighbor found it the next morning. | 33:47 | |
The same thief hit seven other houses | 33:51 | |
in our area that night. | 33:53 | |
We were devastated. | 33:56 | |
Knowing that a thief had been in our house | 33:58 | |
made us feel violated and vulnerable. | 34:00 | |
For weeks, every time one of us came home, | 34:04 | |
we got a sinking feeling in our stomach. | 34:06 | |
Probably many of you here this morning | 34:11 | |
have had this experience. | 34:14 | |
Yours might have been worse. | 34:16 | |
We experienced no bodily harm, | 34:19 | |
and no serious vandalism. | 34:22 | |
Nevertheless, it was a terrible experience. | 34:25 | |
We live in a society in which, increasingly, | 34:30 | |
we all fear thieves in the night. | 34:33 | |
Yesterday morning while I was working at home | 34:37 | |
on this sermon, the telephone rang. | 34:39 | |
I answered. | 34:41 | |
"Good morning, Mr. Campbell, how are you today?" | 34:42 | |
Recognizing the beginning of the script, I interrupted | 34:46 | |
and asked politely, "what are you selling?" | 34:49 | |
She said, "this is AT&T. | 34:53 | |
"I want to talk with you about our home security service." | 34:56 | |
Home security is a rapidly growing, | 35:01 | |
billion dollar a year business. | 35:04 | |
We accept the fact that there are certain places | 35:07 | |
that we do not go in the darkness of night. | 35:10 | |
We caution visitors to our cities. | 35:15 | |
Here at Duke and on other campuses, | 35:17 | |
we have Take Back the Night marches. | 35:20 | |
I get the weekly safety report here at Duke, | 35:24 | |
and even here, students, faculty, staff, and visitors | 35:27 | |
regularly experience theft of their possessions | 35:31 | |
from cars, offices, and dorm rooms. | 35:35 | |
Our family has talked many times about our own visit | 35:39 | |
from a thief in the night. | 35:43 | |
We had a number of reactions. | 35:45 | |
The first was surprise. | 35:47 | |
Arriving home happy after a time at the beach, | 35:50 | |
we never dreamed of a burglary. | 35:53 | |
After the shock of surprise wore off, | 35:57 | |
we were thankful. | 35:59 | |
We began to think about what was really important. | 36:01 | |
We had many losses; | 36:06 | |
the thief even stole my Duke undergraduate class ring, | 36:08 | |
and Lisa's Wellesley ring. | 36:13 | |
When the appraisal report came back for the insurance, | 36:16 | |
we were shocked at how valuable they were. | 36:19 | |
25 years ago, those rings were made of heavier gold | 36:22 | |
than the ones you can buy now. | 36:26 | |
But our losses were relatively unimportant. | 36:30 | |
Most could be replaced. | 36:34 | |
More significantly, we were safe, as was our house. | 36:36 | |
In a funny way, the thief in the night | 36:41 | |
had relativized our possessions. | 36:44 | |
Another result of our conversations | 36:48 | |
was that we resolved not to live in fear. | 36:50 | |
Caution is wise, but fear can be paralyzing. | 36:55 | |
Now here we are this morning in the closing days | 37:02 | |
of the Christian year. | 37:05 | |
Now the Christian year does not conform | 37:07 | |
to the civil calendar. | 37:10 | |
It begins instead with the first Sunday in Advent, | 37:12 | |
four weeks before Christmas, | 37:15 | |
during which the Church prepares to celebrate | 37:17 | |
the birth of the Messiah. | 37:20 | |
The first Sunday in Advent this year comes on November 28th. | 37:22 | |
Even though I was in Chicago a month ago, | 37:28 | |
and the first week of October, | 37:31 | |
Marshall Field & Company | 37:33 | |
was putting up its in-store Christmas trees | 37:35 | |
on North Michigan Avenue. | 37:37 | |
Always in the last weeks of the Church year, | 37:40 | |
the scripture lessons call our attention | 37:44 | |
to themes having to do with end times. | 37:47 | |
The end of the cycle reminds us of God's promised future, | 37:52 | |
and the fulfillment of faith. | 37:57 | |
What happens to us when we die? | 37:59 | |
What about the end of the world? | 38:02 | |
We talk about the Parousia, or the Day of the Lord, | 38:05 | |
or Judgment Day. | 38:10 | |
The theological word for consideration | 38:12 | |
of ultimate future is eschatology. | 38:15 | |
You will hear that frequently. | 38:18 | |
Now, some popular preachers approach these topics | 38:21 | |
in terms of Heaven or Hell. | 38:25 | |
Charles Spurgeon, the great 19th century preacher | 38:28 | |
and teacher of preaching, | 38:32 | |
was concerned, among other things, | 38:34 | |
about the style of the preacher. | 38:36 | |
How the preacher looks and speaks. | 38:39 | |
He once remarked, "when you talk about Heaven, | 38:42 | |
"put a smile on your face. | 38:45 | |
"Make sure your countenance and expression | 38:48 | |
"are appropriate conveyors of the Heavenly bliss, | 38:50 | |
"and maybe elevate your eyes." | 38:54 | |
On the other hand, he said, | 38:56 | |
"when you talk about Hell, your normal looks with do." | 38:57 | |
(laughter) | 39:02 | |
Now, both scripture lessons this morning that we've read | 39:05 | |
point to this eschatological reality of Christian faith. | 39:09 | |
The gospel I just read from Matthew | 39:14 | |
is known as "the Parable of the Talents." | 39:16 | |
It tells the story of a man who goes away | 39:19 | |
and leaves his servants in charge of his property. | 39:21 | |
After a long time, the master returns and settles accounts. | 39:25 | |
Judgment is rendered. | 39:30 | |
The parable is rich, and like most of Jesus' parables, | 39:33 | |
can be interpreted in a number of ways. | 39:36 | |
One of the things the gospel writer clearly wants us | 39:39 | |
to understand is that there will be a Judgment Day. | 39:43 | |
On the Day of the Lord, we will be held accountable | 39:48 | |
for what we have done. | 39:51 | |
God gives us lives and opportunities, | 39:54 | |
and we are responsible for what we do | 39:57 | |
with what we are given. | 40:01 | |
The passage from First Thessalonians that Mark read | 40:04 | |
deals with questions the Christian community | 40:08 | |
and Thessaloniki was asking about the Day of the Lord. | 40:11 | |
Some of its members were dying, | 40:15 | |
and the Church wondered what would happen to those who died | 40:18 | |
before Christ returned. | 40:21 | |
They also wondered why the end times had not yet come. | 40:25 | |
These same questions are asked by Christians | 40:31 | |
in our own time. | 40:34 | |
Maybe a preacher has tried to scare you into being good | 40:36 | |
by talking about Judgment Day and Hell. | 40:40 | |
Millions of books are sold every year in this country | 40:44 | |
that purport to predict the Day of the Lord, | 40:48 | |
or when the Parousia will occur. | 40:51 | |
And numerous sects have developed followings | 40:55 | |
on the basis of a leader's convictions | 40:58 | |
about the end times. | 41:01 | |
We need only think of the tragic case of David Koresh | 41:04 | |
and the Branch Davidians of Waco Texas | 41:07 | |
to realize how serious and contemporary these questions are. | 41:11 | |
At times, we all ponder the question of the future, | 41:17 | |
and what these passages of scripture really mean | 41:22 | |
that have to do with judgment and the end times. | 41:26 | |
In his letter to the Thessalonians, | 41:31 | |
Paul offers pastoral guidance to his young church | 41:33 | |
on this difficult problem. | 41:38 | |
In the fourth chapter, he assures them that | 41:40 | |
the Day of the Lord will unite all Christians, | 41:42 | |
and that it will be the fulfillment of faith | 41:46 | |
for believers in union with Jesus Christ. | 41:49 | |
Now some in the Church were speculating on | 41:54 | |
how this would happen, and when it would happen, | 41:57 | |
just like Christians do today. | 42:01 | |
But Paul rejects this kind of speculation. | 42:05 | |
He writes, "now concerning the times and seasons, | 42:10 | |
"brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything | 42:14 | |
"written to you, for you yourselves know very well | 42:18 | |
"that the Day of the Lord will come | 42:22 | |
"like a thief in the night." | 42:25 | |
As my family and I discovered, | 42:30 | |
a thief in the night comes without warning, | 42:32 | |
and leaves us surprised. | 42:36 | |
We are taught by the scriptures | 42:40 | |
that we are not to speculate on when | 42:42 | |
the Day of the Lord will come. | 42:45 | |
No one can know. | 42:47 | |
We are to live in anticipation, ready at any and all times. | 42:49 | |
But debate and calculation are a waste of time. | 42:56 | |
In fact, they distract us from getting on | 43:01 | |
with our Christian lives in this world. | 43:05 | |
Thomas Wolfe in his novel "Look Homeward Angel" | 43:09 | |
tells the story of a family waiting for a difficult, | 43:12 | |
sick, old grandfather, Gant, to die. | 43:16 | |
His protracted illness seems endless. | 43:20 | |
Meanwhile, the favorite young son, Ben, | 43:24 | |
the pride and joy of the family, | 43:30 | |
contracts a deadly viral pneumonia and dies instantly. | 43:32 | |
The novelist observes, while they watched and waited | 43:39 | |
at the front window, death crept in the cellar door. | 43:43 | |
Like a thief in the night, the Day of the Lord | 43:50 | |
will come as a surprise. | 43:53 | |
The Day of the Lord will also bring judgment. | 43:58 | |
I told you that after our robbery, we made some judgments. | 44:02 | |
We judged that it was most important | 44:06 | |
that we still had each other. | 44:09 | |
We judged that what we lost was unimportant | 44:11 | |
in comparison to many things we take for granted. | 44:16 | |
Paul Mineer, a former teacher of mine at Yale, | 44:21 | |
once suggested that Jesus Christ | 44:25 | |
is himself the greatest thief of all time. | 44:28 | |
Remembering the two thieves crucified | 44:34 | |
on either side of Jesus, he asserted that, in fact, | 44:37 | |
there were three thieves crucified on Golgotha | 44:41 | |
that awful Good Friday afternoon. | 44:45 | |
At first, his statement shocked me. | 44:49 | |
But if you think about it, you will have new insight. | 44:54 | |
Jesus Christ brings judgment | 44:58 | |
on all our earthly goods and possessions. | 45:01 | |
Judgment on all our assumptions about what is valuable. | 45:05 | |
Judgment on all our pretense about position and privilege. | 45:10 | |
Christ steals from us the treasure in which we have trusted. | 45:16 | |
Other theologians have used the image of Christ as thief. | 45:23 | |
The Danish theologian, Søren Kierkegaard, | 45:27 | |
suggests that Christ is a far more terrible robber | 45:30 | |
than those who assault travelers along a highway. | 45:35 | |
Jesus assaulted the whole human race | 45:39 | |
at the point where that race is most sensitive: | 45:42 | |
it's desire for security, and superiority. | 45:45 | |
Christ steals from us our self-satisfied assumptions | 45:52 | |
about who and what is important. | 45:57 | |
He steals from us our estimations of ourselves. | 46:00 | |
He steals our sense of what security means. | 46:05 | |
The Day of the Lord will bring judgment | 46:10 | |
when our hidden secrets and motives are exposed. | 46:13 | |
Our real values will be weighed and certified. | 46:17 | |
What we have will be assessed for what it really is. | 46:23 | |
We will be seen for what we really are. | 46:28 | |
On his death bed, Martin Luther looked up and said, | 46:33 | |
"in the end, we are all beggars; that's the truth." | 46:38 | |
Now this may not sit well in this university congregation. | 46:46 | |
We like to think that here at Duke, | 46:51 | |
we know what is valuable, and what it is to be successful. | 46:54 | |
And it certainly does not include the idea | 46:59 | |
that you end up a beggar. | 47:02 | |
Unless, of course, you end up a beggar | 47:04 | |
because you've given everything you have to Duke. | 47:06 | |
(laughter) | 47:10 | |
These scripture passages should cause us to think | 47:12 | |
about what we really value, and what it is | 47:16 | |
that really endures, and cannot be taken away. | 47:20 | |
For those of you who are students, your education here | 47:26 | |
is something that can never be taken from you. | 47:29 | |
The more you put into it, the more you will have | 47:32 | |
that can never be lost. | 47:36 | |
Two years ago, I was in Denver, at Trinity Methodist Church. | 47:40 | |
It is in the middle of downtown, | 47:44 | |
and directly across the street from the Brown Palace Hotel. | 47:47 | |
The building is magnificent. | 47:51 | |
When it was built in 1887, its sanctuary | 47:55 | |
was the largest auditorium in the state. | 47:59 | |
It housed the important civic meetings, | 48:03 | |
and was the place the symphony played. | 48:05 | |
The organ, which is still in use, | 48:08 | |
was built by the Roosevelt Organ Company of New York. | 48:11 | |
And at the time it was completed, it was declared | 48:14 | |
the greatest organ in America, and one of the greatest | 48:17 | |
in the world. | 48:21 | |
The papers declared that its amazing power and volume | 48:22 | |
will be the pride and delight of Denver | 48:27 | |
for many years to come. | 48:30 | |
The organ was the gift of a man named Isaac Elder Blake, | 48:34 | |
who also gave a great deal of money toward | 48:38 | |
the rest of the building. | 48:41 | |
Blake was the son of a Methodist minister | 48:43 | |
who became fabulously wealthy as founder and president | 48:45 | |
of Continental Oil and Transportation Company. | 48:50 | |
As well as being a major benefactor of the Church, | 48:55 | |
he was a musician who directed the choir | 48:58 | |
without any salary. | 49:01 | |
(laughter) | 49:04 | |
His gifts to build the church and organ | 49:08 | |
would be equal to more than a million dollars today. | 49:11 | |
Later in the mid-1890s, Blake lost his entire fortune | 49:15 | |
when the Silver Act led | 49:21 | |
to one of Denver's worst depressions. | 49:22 | |
He died in relative poverty, a harsh example | 49:26 | |
of the fleeting nature of worldly success | 49:30 | |
and material possessions. | 49:33 | |
He loved to point out that his gifts to Trinity Church | 49:35 | |
proved a lasting investment, | 49:39 | |
long after his other investments were lost, | 49:42 | |
and his achievements were forgotten. | 49:45 | |
He said, "what I gave, I still have, | 49:48 | |
"but what I kept, I lost." | 49:52 | |
Our works of love, what we give away, | 49:58 | |
what we do for others, cannot be taken from us. | 50:01 | |
Encounter with Christ robs us | 50:06 | |
of all our earthly security and reminds us | 50:10 | |
that it is in God alone that there is real security. | 50:14 | |
Paul tells us that Christians, therefore, | 50:22 | |
need not fear the coming of the Day of the Lord. | 50:25 | |
This is so because we are children of light, and of the day. | 50:29 | |
He means that Christians have already experienced | 50:34 | |
the coming of the Lord, even as we wait | 50:38 | |
for his coming again. | 50:41 | |
We stand between the times. | 50:44 | |
But because we've already experienced his coming, | 50:47 | |
his life, death, and resurrection, | 50:52 | |
we know the nature of God, | 50:55 | |
and we know that therefore we need not fear the future. | 50:59 | |
We are given our lives and opportunities by God, | 51:05 | |
and what we do with them is our responsibility. | 51:10 | |
To do that which will endure and which can never | 51:15 | |
be taken away. | 51:20 | |
We have a charge to keep. | 51:24 | |
The Day of the Lord will come | 51:30 | |
like a thief in the night. | 51:32 | |
There will be surprise. | 51:34 | |
We know not what a day or an hour may bring. | 51:36 | |
There will be judgment. | 51:40 | |
All our earthly assumptions and values | 51:42 | |
are evaluated for what they really are worth. | 51:45 | |
And there is no need to fear. | 51:49 | |
God has destined us not for wrath, | 51:52 | |
but for obtaining salvation through our Lord, Jesus Christ. | 51:56 | |
Therefore, let us live as children of light, | 52:01 | |
and of the day. | 52:08 | |
We have a charge to keep. | 52:10 | |
Amen. | 52:14 | |
(organ plays) | 52:19 | |
(congregation sings) | 52:42 | |
Man | The Lord be with you. | 54:17 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 54:19 |
- | Let us pray. | 54:20 |
You may be seated. | 54:21 | |
Loving, gracious God, | 54:30 | |
time and again you reach out to us. | 54:35 | |
You knock at our door. | 54:39 | |
You offer yourself to us, | 54:43 | |
giving unto us, holding nothing back. | 54:44 | |
We are hesitant to respond in kind. | 54:49 | |
Clutching our lives as if they were our possessions. | 54:53 | |
Gripping our houses, our cars, our goods, | 54:59 | |
as if we could hold onto them forever. | 55:04 | |
We are unable to return your embrace, fearful. | 55:08 | |
Lord, teach us how fragile are our lives, | 55:16 | |
how finite our age. | 55:20 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 55:24 | |
Lord, we pray for brothers and sisters around the world | 55:30 | |
separated from us by language, culture, nationality, | 55:35 | |
but not separated from you. | 55:42 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 55:48 | |
We pray especially for our sisters and brothers | 55:55 | |
in Kostroma, Russia. | 55:58 | |
We pray for them during this time | 56:02 | |
of difficult national transition. | 56:04 | |
We pray for their leaders, for their families | 56:09 | |
and loved ones, that this hopeful, difficult, | 56:12 | |
expectant time, may lead them | 56:17 | |
into brighter and better future. | 56:22 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 56:26 | |
We pray for those in great need, this day. | 56:32 | |
We pray for families under stress. | 56:37 | |
We pray for children in poverty. | 56:41 | |
We pray for the sick and infirm in body and in soul. | 56:46 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 56:53 | |
Oh God, we pray for victims of crime, | 56:59 | |
those who are victimized in body or in goods, | 57:05 | |
those whose lives have been violated by criminals. | 57:09 | |
And Lord we pray for the perpetrators of criminal activity. | 57:17 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 57:25 | |
Everything that we have and hold dear, oh Lord, | 57:31 | |
has come from you. | 57:33 | |
Help us wisely to discern the times in which we live. | 57:36 | |
Give us grace not to put our trust | 57:42 | |
in things which pass away, | 57:44 | |
but to trust in you, | 57:47 | |
both in your love for us and in your will for our lives. | 57:50 | |
And all these things we pray, | 57:56 | |
knowing that you will for us | 57:58 | |
what is good, and just, and lasting. | 58:01 | |
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 58:05 | |
Amen. | 58:10 | |
As a forgiven and reconciled people | 58:12 | |
to whom much has been given, | 58:15 | |
let us offer ourselves and our gifts to God. | 58:17 | |
(organ plays) | 58:22 | |
(Hallelujah) | 59:26 | |
(organ plays) | 1:03:20 | |
(congregation sings) | 1:03:43 | |
- | Let us pray | 1:04:42 |
Accept our sacrifices of praise, oh God, | 1:04:45 | |
for we bring them with great joy. | 1:04:49 | |
Receive our thanks for all the mercies granted us | 1:04:52 | |
buy your divine majesty. | 1:04:55 | |
May you be glorified by these gifts, | 1:04:58 | |
even as they encourage us and our work together. | 1:05:01 | |
May the ministries they enable carry good news | 1:05:05 | |
to many we will never know, | 1:05:08 | |
and may our lives bear witness to the love of God | 1:05:10 | |
through Jesus Christ to all the world. | 1:05:13 | |
Amen. | 1:05:16 | |
Our Father, who art in Heaven, | 1:05:19 | |
hallowed be thy name. | 1:05:22 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:05:24 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:05:27 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 1:05:29 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 1:05:32 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:05:34 | |
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, | 1:05:38 | |
for thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 1:05:42 | |
and the glory forever. | 1:05:45 | |
Amen. | 1:05:47 | |
(organ plays) | 1:05:50 | |
(congregation sings) | 1:06:24 | |
- | And now may the grace of our Lord and savior, | 1:08:47 |
Jesus Christ, the love of God, | 1:08:49 | |
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 1:08:51 | |
be with you now and always. | 1:08:53 | |
Amen. | 1:08:55 | |
(choir sings) | 1:09:06 |