Debra K. Brazzel - Sermon Untitled (June 12, 1994)

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	(organ music)	0:01
-	[Debra K. Brazzel] Good morning.	0:36
	We'd like to welcome you to Duke Chapel.	0:37
	We are especially grateful this morning	0:38
	to the Reverend Sue Fricks,	0:41
	who is the Presbyterian campus minister at Duke	0:42
	for her worship leadership as presiding minister.	0:45
	I'd like to call to your attention today at five o'clock PM,	0:49
	there will be an anniversary organ recital	0:53
	presented by Dr. David Auckus,	0:56
	and we hope you'll be able to join us for that.	0:58
	At the end of the service,	1:01
	the directory for the congregation members at the chapel	1:03
	will be available at the back on the table	1:06
	just on the right hand side of the chapel.	1:09
	Please stand as we continue our worship with the greeting.	1:12
	The earth, and all that is in it, belongs to God.	1:21
	(congregation responding)	1:25
-	[Debra K. Brazzel] So let us rejoice in God	1:33
	and in all creation.	1:35
	(congregation responding)	1:37
-	[Debra K. Brazzel And Congregation] Lift up your heads	1:42
	oh gates, lift them high oh everlasting doors.	1:44
	For the God of glory shall enter and reign over us all.	1:48
	(organ music)	1:58
	(congregation singing)	2:39
Rev. Sue Fricks	Let us pray.	6:18
	Awesome, holy God, we gather to praise and worship you.	6:20
	To acclaim your mighty deeds throughout all time.	6:27
	To acknowledge the mystery of your ways and will,	6:31
	and to confess our failure to live as you have taught us.	6:36
	Sharpen our awareness of your presence here with us.	6:40
	Arouse us from our apathy and self satisfaction.	6:45
	Kindle compassion and a thirst for righteousness	6:50
	and justice in our hearts.	6:53
	In Jesus name we pray, amen.	6:56
Jamie Balboa	Let us pray together	7:11
	the Prayer for Illumination.	7:13
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	7:17
	by the power of your Holy Spirit,	7:20
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed	7:22
	we may hear your message with joy this day.	7:26
	Amen.	7:30
	The first lesson comes from the first book of Samuel,	7:32
	chapters 15 and 16.	7:36
	"Then Samuel went to Ramah,	7:39
	"and Saul went up to his house in Gibeah of Saul.	7:41
	"Samuel did not see Saul again until the day of his death,	7:46
	"but Samuel grieved over Saul.	7:50
	"And the Lord was sorry	7:53
	"that he had made Saul king over Israel.	7:55
	"The Lord said to Samuel,	7:58
	"'How long will you grieve over Saul?	8:00
	"I have rejected him from being king over Israel.	8:03
	"Fill your horn with oil and set out.	8:06
	"I will send you to Jesse, the Bethlehemite,	8:10
	"for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.'	8:15
	"Samuel said, 'How can I go?	8:19
	"If Saul hears of it, he will kill me.'	8:22
	"And the Lord said, 'Take a heifer with you and say,	8:27
	"'I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.'	8:30
	"Invite Jesse to the sacrifice and I will show you	8:34
	"what you shall do.	8:38
	"And you shall anoint for me the one whom I name to you.'	8:40
	"Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.	8:45
	"The elders of the city came to meet him,	8:50
	"trembling and said, 'Do you come peaceably?'	8:52
	"He said, 'Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.	8:56
	"Sanctify yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.'	9:00
	"And he sanctified Jesse and his sons,	9:04
	"and invited them to the sacrifice.	9:07
	"When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought,	9:10
	"'Surely the Lord's anointed is now before the Lord.'	9:15
	"But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance	9:20
	"or on the height of his stature,	9:23
	"because I have rejected him.	9:25
	"For the Lord does not see as mortal sees.	9:27
	"They look on the outward appearance,	9:31
	"but the Lord looks on the heart.'	9:33
	"And Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel.	9:35
	"He said, 'Neither has the Lord chosen this one.'	9:42
	"Then Jesse made Shammah pass by,	9:46
	"and he said, 'Neither has the Lord chosen this one.'	9:48
	"Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel,	9:52
	"and Samuel said to Jesse,	9:56
	"'The Lord has not chosen any of these.'	9:57
	"Samuel said to Jesse, 'Are all your sons here?'	10:01
	"And he said, 'There remains yet the youngest,	10:04
	"but he is keeping the sheep.'	10:07
	"And Samuel said to Jesse, 'Send and bring him,	10:10
	"for we will not sit down until he comes here.'	10:13
	"He sent and brought him in.	10:17
	"Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome.	10:19
	"The Lord said, 'Rise and anoint him, for this is the one.'	10:25
	"Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him	10:29
	"in the presence of his brothers.	10:32
	"And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David	10:34
	"from that day forward.	10:38
	"Samuel then set out and went to Rammah."	10:39
	This is the word of the Lord.	10:43
	(congregation responding in unison)	10:46
Male Singer	Today's Psalm is number 72,	10:56
	found on page 795 in the hymnal.	10:58
	Please join in singing the Psalm and Gloria responsively.	11:01
	(organ music)	11:07
	♪ Give the King your justice, oh God. ♪	11:15
	(congregation singing)	11:19
	♪ May he judge your people with righteousness. ♪	11:26
	(congregation singing)	11:31
	♪ Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people ♪	11:37
	♪ and the hills in righteousness. ♪	11:42
	(congregation singing)	11:46
	♪ May he live while the sun endures ♪	12:01
	♪ and as long as the moon throughout all generations. ♪	12:05
	(congregation singing)	12:12
	♪ In his days, may righteousness flourish, ♪	12:24
	♪ and peace abound til the moon be no more. ♪	12:29
	(congregation singing)	12:35
	♪ May his foes bow down before him ♪	12:47
	♪ and his enemies lick the dust. ♪	12:51
	♪ May the kings of Tarshish and the isles ♪	12:56
	♪ Render him tribute. ♪	12:59
	♪ May the kings and Sheba and Seba bring gifts. ♪	13:02
	(congregation singing)	13:08
	♪ For he delivers the needy when they call. ♪	13:18
	♪ The poor and those who have no helper. ♪	13:23
	(congregation singing)	13:28
	♪ And saves the lives of the needy. ♪	13:34
	(congregation singing)	13:38
	♪ Long may he live! ♪	13:52
	♪ May gold of Sheba be given to him. ♪	13:54
	♪ May prayer be made for him continually, ♪	13:58
	♪ And blessings invoked for him all the day. ♪	14:02
	(congregation singing)	14:07
	♪ And may the blossom forth in the cities, ♪	14:23
	♪ Like the grass of the field. ♪	14:27
	(congregation singing)	14:31
	♪ All glory be to you, Creator, ♪	14:55
	♪ And to Jesus Christ our Savior. ♪	14:57
	(congregation singing)	15:02
	♪ As it was when time began. ♪	15:08
	(congregation singing)	15:13
Jamie Balboa	A reading from the second book	15:32
	of Corinthians, the fifth chapter.	15:34
	"So we are always confident, even though we know that	15:40
	"while we are at home in the body,	15:43
	"we are away from the Lord.	15:46
	"For we walk by faith, not by sight.	15:48
	"Yes, we do have confidence,	15:52
	"and we would rather be away from the body	15:54
	"and at home with the Lord.	15:57
	"So whether we are at home or away,	15:59
	"we make it our aim to please him.	16:03
	"For all of us must appear before	16:06
	"the judgment seat of Christ.	16:08
	"So, that each may receive recompense	16:11
	"for what has been done in the body,	16:15
	"whether good or evil.	16:18
	"For the love of Christ urges us on,	16:20
	"because we are convinced that one has died for all.	16:22
	"Therefore, all have died.	16:27
	"And he died for all so that those who live	16:30
	"might live no longer for themselves,	16:34
	"but for him who died and was raised for them.	16:36
	"From now on, therefore,	16:41
	"regard no one from a human point of view,	16:43
	"even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view.	16:46
	"We know him no longer in that way.	16:52
	"So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation.	16:56
	"Everything old has passed away.	16:59
	"See, everything has become new."	17:02
	This is the word of the Lord.	17:05
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	17:08
	(organ music)	17:12
	(choir singing)	18:00
Jamie Balboa	The Gospel reading is taken from the fourth	22:10
	chapter of Mark verses 26 through 34.	22:12
	"He also said, 'The kingdom of God is as if someone	22:17
	"would scatter seed on the ground and would sleep	22:22
	"and rise, night and day.	22:25
	"And the seed would sprout and grow.	22:27
	"He does not know how.	22:30
	"The earth produces of itself first the stalk,	22:33
	then the head, then the full grain in the head.	22:38
	"But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in	22:41
	"with his sickle because the harvest time has come.'	22:44
	"He also said, 'With what can we compare	22:49
	"the kingdom of God?	22:52
	"Or what parable will we use for it?	22:54
	"It is like the mustard seed, which,	22:57
	"when sown upon the ground is the smallest of the seeds	22:59
	"on the earth.	23:04
	"Yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes	23:05
	"the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches	23:08
	"so that the birds of the air	23:14
	"can make their nests in its shade.'	23:16
	"With many such parables, he spoke the word to them,	23:19
	"as they were able to hear it.	23:23
	"He did not speak to them except in parables,	23:25
	"but he explained everything in private to his disciples."	23:28
	This is the Word of the Lord.	23:32
Congregation	Thanks be to God.	23:34
-	[Debra K. Brazzel] In Jesus's day, a mustard seed was	23:47
	proverbial for the smallest conceivable thing.	23:50
	Had he told this parable today,	23:55
	he might have used a different image,	23:56
	perhaps a subatomic particle.	23:58
	But in the time that the parable was first told,	24:01
	his audience would have understood that this was small,	24:04
	very small.	24:09
	The smallest possible thing.	24:10
	The kingdom of God was like this,	24:14
	like starting out with the smallest possible thing,	24:17
	the tiniest seed that you can imagine,	24:22
	and planting it and watching in wonder as it becomes	24:25
	the biggest possible shrub.	24:29
	It looks insignificant and trivial to begin with.	24:33
	There's no way that anyone would expect great things	24:36
	from such a small beginning.	24:40
	But it grows to be big, very big.	24:42
	More than eight feet tall	24:45
	so that it towers over all other shrubs.	24:47
	It grows so much that it spreads out with big branches	24:51
	and birds come and make their nests in its shade.	24:55
	In fact, birds love the little black seeds	24:59
	that cover it so much	25:02
	that they often hover over it as a cloud,	25:03
	finding nourishment and protection in its branches.	25:06
	There's nothing else quite like it.	25:11
	It starts with one tiny seed.	25:14
	But it holds within it the promise of greatness.	25:17
	That's what the kingdom of God is like.	25:21
	This parable was somewhat confusing	25:26
	for Jesus's Jewish listeners,	25:28
	for it was traditional in Judaism to compare	25:31
	the kingdom to a tree, not a shrub.	25:33
	Ezekial and Daniel described the powerful restoration	25:38
	of David's kingdom as a mighty cedar of Lebanon.	25:41
	Now anyone knows that a cedar is much greater than a shrub,	25:46
	even if it is the greatest shrub.	25:50
	In fact, when Luke told the same story in his gospel,	25:53
	he said the mustard seed grew up to become a tree.	25:58
	Matthew hedged a bit,	26:02
	and said it's a shrub that becomes a tree.	26:03
	But in Mark, Jesus said the kingdom of God is like	26:06
	a tiny seed, a mustard seed,	26:10
	that becomes a shrub,	26:14
	the greatest shrub, but a shrub nonetheless.	26:16
	He thereby confronted his listeners with their expectations	26:21
	about the kingdom of God.	26:25
	He distinguished between God's kingdom and the kingdom	26:27
	that Israel was looking for.	26:31
	They expected power and demonstration of God's might,	26:35
	but Jesus told them that the kingdom of God	26:38
	god planted through the lowly and the insignificant.	26:41
	It grew big enough and strong enough to do the important	26:46
	work of nurturing and sheltering others,	26:49
	but without a lot of fan fare and show.	26:52
	For the lowly and insignificant,	26:57
	this parable became a great parable of hope	26:59
	and encouragement about what God was doing in the world	27:02
	and in their lives.	27:06
	This parable about the mustard seed,	27:08
	the tiniest thing imaginable,	27:10
	becoming a mighty shrub capable of sheltering many	27:13
	reassured the disciples that even though Jesus	27:18
	hadn't used his power as they had expected	27:20
	to establish a political reign,	27:24
	that the kingdom of God would come through him	27:27
	and that their small, seemingly insignificant movement	27:31
	would have a role in that kingdom.	27:36
	It was also an encouraging parable to early Christians	27:40
	who were persecuted for their beliefs.	27:42
	Even though it might appear that they were defeated,	27:45
	these tiny seeds of faith, even through their deaths,	27:49
	scattered throughout the world to become mighty	27:54
	signs of God's kingdom,	27:57
	capable of nurturing many in the faith.	27:59
	The history of the Christian church is a testimony	28:03
	to the courage of this tiny band of believers	28:06
	and the mighty church that God	28:09
	was able to grow through them.	28:11
	And it is an encouraging parable for us individually	28:14
	and as a community of faith.	28:18
	It tells us that God is at work in the world,	28:21
	taking small, insignificant people and things	28:24
	and growing them up to become productive,	28:28
	important instruments of God's kingdom.	28:32
	It reminds us that maybe it's the small things	28:36
	and the insignificant beginnings that matter most,	28:39
	for the outcomes belong to God.	28:43
	It makes us wonder what small seeds of the kingdom of God	28:46
	are being planted in our lives?	28:51
	Perhaps the seed of faith is growing within us.	28:56
	Some of us attended church as a child,	29:00
	but drifted away in adulthood.	29:02
	Others never had a religious upbringing,	29:05
	but find ourselves searching for something greater	29:07
	than self to believe in.	29:10
	Dan Wakefield talks about this in his book,	29:14
	"Returning: A Spiritual Journey."	29:17
	Though he had been raised a Christian	29:20
	and had a strong spirituality as a child,	29:22
	he drifted away from the church and from any relationship	29:25
	to God as a young adult.	29:28
	Then through the trials of his adult life,	29:30
	he discovered within himself a growing desperation,	29:33
	a need to find something outside of himself to hang onto.	29:37
	In faltering, unsure steps, he made his way back to church.	29:43
	His occasional attendance grew to regular participation,	29:49
	and then to a hungering for a deeper relationship with God.	29:53
	This led him to Sunday School, and then to Bible Study,	29:57
	and then to a prayer group, and daily prayer,	30:01
	and finally to a Spiritual Director and spiritual retreats,	30:04
	and a genuine engagement with the life of the spirit.	30:09
	The seed of faith had been dormant within him for years,	30:13
	but as he became aware that he needed more from life	30:17
	than career and self,	30:21
	the seed began to take root and grow.	30:23
	The seed of faith can start very small,	30:28
	but it is nourished when we discover from within	30:32
	a hunger for God.	30:35
	We may be unsure how to proceed	30:37
	or even what it means to have faith,	30:40
	but the desire to know and be known by God	30:42
	is all that it takes.	30:46
	God can take this small beginning and nourish it	30:48
	and grow it until we have faith beyond measure.	30:52
	There are other seeds that get sown in God's kingdom,	30:58
	like the seed of forgiveness.	31:02
	I worked with a woman in counseling who was going through	31:06
	an extremely painful divorce.	31:08
	Her husband left her for a younger woman,	31:11
	and she felt bitter and angry about all the years	31:14
	that she had given to the marriage.	31:17
	She felt that she had given everything she had to give,	31:19
	and that there was nothing left for herself or anyone else.	31:22
	She couldn't think about starting over because she was	31:26
	in so much pain about the marriage.	31:30
	She relived scenes from her life together	31:32
	over and over until it began to disrupt her sleep.	31:36
	Her anger was legitimate,	31:41
	but it was hurting her more than anyone else.	31:44
	We discussed the need for her to begin to forgive	31:47
	her husband so that she could start the process	31:50
	of healing in her own life.	31:53
	He was moving on with his life,	31:56
	but hers was stuck in resentment and bitterness.	31:57
	Each time we met, we would pray for the gift of forgiveness	32:02
	to lift the veil of anger.	32:06
	In the beginning, the anger was all that she felt,	32:09
	but slowly she started to feel less bitter.	32:12
	She would forget her hurt for hours at a time,	32:15
	and then days at a time.	32:18
	And then one day the anger was gone.	32:21
	There was sadness about the divorce	32:24
	and the loss of the relationship,	32:27
	but there was no more anger, no more bitterness.	32:29
	The mustard seed had grown and forgiveness had blossomed.	32:33
	Perhaps God has sown the seed of forgiveness in us.	32:40
	We may know that we've been harboring a hurt	32:44
	for much too long,	32:46
	or we may be racked with guilt about some pain	32:48
	that we've caused someone else.	32:51
	God can nurture the smallest desire	32:54
	to give or receive forgiveness	32:57
	until it blooms in full force.	33:00
	Another seed that is sewn in the kingdom	33:05
	is the seed of love.	33:07
	When asked about the greatest commandment,	33:09
	Jesus responded, "Love the Lord your God	33:11
	"with all your heart, and all your mind,	33:14
	"and all your soul, and your neighbor as yourself."	33:15
	Love is at the heart of the kingdom of God.	33:20
	Our ability and desire to love may begin very small.	33:23
	We might start out by putting a few dollars	33:28
	in the collection plate.	33:30
	Then signing up for Habitat for Humanity work day.	33:32
	Then making a monthly pledge to the church.	33:37
	Then volunteering twice a month at the soup kitchen.	33:40
	The point is, the seed of love, once planted,	33:44
	moves us to ever greater acts of loving service.	33:47
	Giving our money can no longer take the place	33:51
	of our self giving.	33:54
	Occasional service projects no longer feel like enough.	33:55
	We start to look at people differently.	33:59
	We start to think about our role in the world differently.	34:02
	The seed of love can be dangerous to our	34:07
	well-laid plans and ambitions.	34:10
	I know a student who went on a couple of mission projects	34:14
	who's now living in the L'Arche Community	34:18
	for mentally handicapped,	34:20
	and another student who deferred a medical career	34:23
	to work at a community center in Washington D.C.,	34:25
	and a doctor who agreed to lead a medical mission team	34:29
	one time, but who is now coordinating a course	34:32
	on medical missions and a much larger	34:36
	medical center initiative.	34:39
	They didn't start out looking for big ways to love,	34:41
	but the seed of love got planted and it grew	34:44
	and they became lovers in the kingdom of God.	34:48
	Another seed that starts small but grows great	34:54
	in the kingdom is the seed of courage.	34:57
	Throughout the centuries, ordinary men and women	35:00
	of faith have shown extraordinary courage	35:03
	in the face of adversity.	35:06
	But none of them ever set out to be extraordinary.	35:08
	Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the great Christian witnesses	35:12
	during World War II didn't want to become a martyr.	35:15
	But he left the safety of exile in the United States	35:20
	to return to Germany because he said,	35:23
	"I shall have no right to participation in the	35:25
	"reconstruction of Christian life in Germany	35:28
	"after the war if I don't share in the trials	35:31
	"of my people now.	35:34
	"Christians in Germany will face the alternative of	35:36
	"either willing the defeat of their nation in order	35:39
	"that Christian civilization might survive,	35:42
	"or willing the destroying of our civilization.	35:45
	"I know which of those two alternatives I must choose,	35:52
	"but I can't make that choice in safety."	35:56
	Bonhoeffer never regretted his decision to return,	36:02
	not even in prison where he wrote prior to his death,	36:06
	"I'm sure of God's hand and guidance.	36:09
	"You must never doubt that I am thankful	36:13
	"and glad to go the way that I am being led."	36:16
	His courage was an inspiration to all with whom	36:20
	he came in contact,	36:22
	and continues to be a great witness to the world.	36:24
	Another woman of courage, Elvia Alvarado, was unlikely.	36:29
	She is an illiterate Honduran who would have been	36:34
	content to raise her children and tend the fields	36:36
	to provide food for her family,	36:39
	but the living conditions in Honduras were so difficult	36:41
	that she found herself pulled into the role of leadership.	36:44
	She was first recruited by the Catholic Church	36:48
	to organize women's groups to improve health and sanitation	36:51
	in the villages,	36:55
	but after many years, she and others began to ask questions	36:56
	about why their living conditions were so poor	36:59
	and never got any better.	37:03
	They began to seek ways to find comprehensive solutions	37:05
	to their problems.	37:09
	She became active organizing communities to work	37:10
	for land reform.	37:13
	She was disowned by the church,	37:15
	and persecuted by government authorities.	37:17
	She has been frequently arrested and sometimes tortured,	37:19
	and her life has often been threatened.	37:23
	And yet, she continues her work.	37:27
	In her book, "Don't Be Afraid Gringo",	37:29
	written from oral transcripts, she says,	37:32
	"I don't think God says go to church and pray all day	37:35
	"and everything will be fine.	37:38
	No, for me, God says go out and make the changes that	37:41
	need to be made, and I'll be there to help you."	37:46
	The seed of courage in Elvia has grown very strong indeed.	37:51
	Sometimes, we are called to take a stand	37:57
	on a difficult issue,	37:59
	and maybe something we would rather avoid.	38:01
	We don't have to start out doing anything heroic.	38:05
	One small act of faithfulness is all that is necessary,	38:09
	for as the seed of courage is planted in us,	38:13
	we will be strengthened, first to know what we ought to do,	38:16
	and second to have the courage to do it.	38:21
	As the seed of courage grows to fruition,	38:25
	then we become ever greater witnesses to God's kingdom.	38:28
	I've talked about just four small seeds that God plants	38:35
	to grow the kingdom within us:	38:39
	faith, forgiveness, love, and courage.	38:42
	Each of them may start small,	38:47
	a nagging thought, a desire, a tiny step.	38:50
	But God can use the smallest seed to grow us up	38:55
	into mighty witnesses to the kingdom of God.	38:59
	Perhaps other seeds not mentioned are being planted in you,	39:03
	like hope or healing or trust or obedience.	39:07
	The good news is that God does great things	39:12
	from small beginnings.	39:16
	Be encouraged wherever you see the seeds of the kingdom	39:18
	being sewn in you,	39:22
	for God can take you where you are and nurture you	39:24
	and grow you up to realize the seeds of the kingdom	39:27
	that are within you.	39:32
	And when you become the person that God envisions,	39:34
	you will be as a great mustard shrub that nurtures others	39:37
	and shelters them within your shade.	39:41
	And as a community of faith, we should also be encouraged	39:45
	that God doesn't sew just one seed, but many seeds.	39:49
	The kingdom of God gets planted in many people	39:53
	and many places.	39:56
	It isn't one might tree,	39:58
	but many shrubs grown up from small, insignificant,	40:00
	inconspicuous beginnings.	40:04
	From seeds, even as small as a mustard seed,	40:08
	the kingdom of God is sewn in you and in me,	40:11
	in Durham and Los Angeles,	40:15
	in the United States and Honduras and Africa.	40:18
	From millions of small, inconspicuous beginnings,	40:22
	the kingdom grows to be a mighty thing indeed.	40:27
	The seeds have been sewn.	40:31
	The kingdom of God is at hand.	40:33
	(organ music)	40:41
	(congregation singing)	41:20
Rev. Sue Fricks	The Lord be with you.	44:37
Congregation	And also with you.	44:39
Rev. Sue Fricks	Let us pray.	44:42
-	Gracious God,	44:56
	we are amazed and humbled by the ways you work among us.	44:58
	Though you call us to speak	45:05
	and do deeds of justice and mercy,	45:07
	yet you work in hidden and mysterious ways	45:11
	to effect your purposes,	45:16
	even while we sleep.	45:18
	Though the world is beset with conflict and injustice.	45:22
	Though your people, our sisters and brothers,	45:27
	in Rwanda, Zaire, Bosnia, Hayti, and the Middle East	45:31
	are suffering.	45:37
	And though our beautiful planetary home is threatened	45:39
	by pollution and greed motivated human development,	45:43
	you teach us not to be discouraged.	45:48
	When our efforts seem puny and fruitless,	45:53
	and we are paralyzed by indecision,	45:58
	you remind us of the seeds that grow	46:02
	even when the sewer sleeps,	46:06
	and of the little mustard seed that each year	46:09
	starts out small but grows into a large and useful shrub.	46:13
	You encourage us to trust in your perennial promises.	46:22
	Fill us with hope.	46:28
	Let us see the world beyond, around, and within ourselves	46:32
	with open eyes.	46:38
	Having seen, enable us to respond appropriately	46:40
	with compassion, justice, and mercy.	46:46
	Having responded, gift us with faith in your mysterious	46:51
	and marvelous ways.	46:56
	Fill us with hope.	46:58
	In spite of the homeless, the hungry, the poor,	47:02
	the sick, the dying, the imprisoned,	47:05
	who are always and increasingly with us.	47:08
	In spite of our concerns for those we love,	47:13
	our families and our friends.	47:17
	In spite of our rightful concerns about ourselves,	47:20
	our state of mind and body,	47:24
	all of which we pray for earnestly.	47:27
	In spite of all of these, give us eyes and ears	47:32
	to see and hear the signs of your coming kingdom.	47:37
	In South Africa, the Middle East, Sarajevo, Russia,	47:42
	in Durham and in our immediate neighborhoods,	47:47
	in our loved ones, in ourselves.	47:51
	Teach us to celebrate small victories	47:54
	and tiny new beginnings.	47:58
	Fill us with hope.	48:02
	Fill us with hope.	48:04
	In Jesus name we pray, amen.	48:08
	God invites us to give as we have been given unto.	48:18
	Let us respond as we are called,	48:25
	remembering that God loves a cheerful giver.	48:28
	(organ music)	48:36
	(choir singing)	49:56
	(organ music)	53:50
	(congregation singing)	54:28
	Let us pray.	55:28
	Beneficent God, you gift us beyond measure with life.	55:35
	This lovely planet and all of its plants and animals,	55:44
	especially our human family and our personal gifts	55:50
	and talents and so many material blessings.	55:55
	You teach us to be generous with the fruits of our labor	55:59
	and with our time and talents.	56:04
	Bless our offerings of this day	56:07
	to the service of your kingdom in this place,	56:10
	this community, and in the wider world.	56:14
	May they and we bring you glory.	56:18
	Amen.	56:22
	And now, let us be bold and pray	56:23
	as Jesus taught his disciples.	56:26
-	[Rev. Sue Fricks And Congregation] Our Father,	56:29
	who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	56:31
	They kingdom come, they will be done,	56:35
	on earth as it is in heaven.	56:39
	Give us this day our daily bread,	56:43
	forgive us our debts	56:46
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	56:49
	Lead us not into temptation,	56:53
	but deliver us from evil.	56:56
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	56:58
	and the glory forever.	57:01
	Amen.	57:04
	(organ music)	57:08
	(congregation singing)	57:42
-	[Debra K. Brazzel] Now may the grace	1:00:24
	of the Lord Jesus Christ,	1:00:26
	the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit	1:00:27
	be with you and keep you always in God's kingdom.	1:00:29
	Amen.	1:00:34
	♪ Allelujah. ♪	1:00:37
	♪ Amen. ♪	1:00:39
	♪ Amen. ♪	1:00:41
	(organ music)	1:00:48

Item Info

Title:

Debra K. Brazzel - Sermon Untitled (June 12, 1994)

Description:

Sermon start time: 23:47. Sermon end time: 40:38.
God has a purpose for each individual in the Kingdom of God. Although we think our actions are insignificant, if we act according to the virtues, we will see that our actions snowball into something much greater. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Each of [the seeds] may start small, a nagging thought, a desire, a tiny step, but God can use the smallest seeds to grow us up into mighty witnesses to the Kingdom of God.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r40k26s3x

Date:

June 12, 1994

Speaker:

Brazzel, Debra K.

Liturgical Calendar:

Ordinary Time

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0376
ref9428_tgk
uachapelsermaud
duke:321560
dcrmv001358
ark:/87924/r40k26s3x
8df86aba-ff9c-4850-b3a0-a5b30d0e0fd4

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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