Debra K. Brazzel - Sermon Untitled (July 3, 1994)
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Transcript
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- | The birth of our nation. | 0:00 |
Please stand as we join in worship with the greeting. | 0:02 | |
The beginning of wisdom is to give reverence to God. | 0:08 | |
Congregation | God grant us wisdom and worship | 0:13 |
to live with reverence. | 0:16 | |
- | The wise delight to meditate on God's will and way. | 0:17 |
Congregation | They are like a tree, | 0:23 |
planted by streams of water, | 0:24 | |
that yields fruit in its season. | 0:27 | |
Its leaf does not wither. | 0:30 | |
All | We come to worship God with reverence, | 0:32 |
hoping to send down the roots of righteousness. | 0:36 | |
(religious music) | 0:40 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 0:46 | |
- | Let us pray. | 4:48 |
Oh, God, who makes us glad with the weekly remembrance | 4:53 | |
of your glory resurrection. | 4:57 | |
We, your children, come gathered here | 5:01 | |
to worship you, oh God, in spirit | 5:04 | |
and in truth. | 5:08 | |
We pray today that as we raise our psalms of Zion, | 5:10 | |
and as we sing songs of praise to your glory name, oh God, | 5:16 | |
that indeed all that we do and say will be to your name's | 5:21 | |
honor and glory. | 5:27 | |
Grant us blessing in worship, | 5:30 | |
that this day and ever more, | 5:33 | |
earth will proclaim thee blessed Lord of peace, amen. | 5:36 | |
- | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. | 5:55 |
All | Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 5:59 |
by the power of your holy spirit, | 6:02 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 6:05 | |
we might hear your word with joy this day, amen. | 6:08 | |
- | The first lesson is taken from the second book | 6:14 |
of Samuel, chapter five, verses one through five | 6:16 | |
and verses nine through, nine and 10. | 6:21 | |
"Then all the tribes of Israel came | 6:26 | |
"to David at Hebron and said, | 6:28 | |
"look, we are your bone and flesh, | 6:31 | |
"for some time while Saul was king over us, | 6:35 | |
"it was you who led out Israel and brought it in. | 6:37 | |
"The Lord said to you, | 6:42 | |
"it is you who shall be shepherd of my people, Israel. | 6:43 | |
"You who shall be ruler over Israel. | 6:47 | |
"So all the leaders of Israel came to the king at Hebron. | 6:51 | |
"And king David made a covenant with them at Hebron | 6:55 | |
"before the Lord and they anointed David king over Israel." | 6:58 | |
David was 30 years old when he began | 7:04 | |
to reign and he reigned 40 years. | 7:06 | |
At Hebron, he reigned over Judah seven years | 7:09 | |
and six months. | 7:11 | |
And at Jerusalem, he reigned over all Israel | 7:13 | |
and Judah 33 years. | 7:16 | |
David occupied the stronghold | 7:19 | |
and named it the city of David. | 7:22 | |
David built the city all around from the Millo inward, | 7:24 | |
and David became greater and greater, | 7:28 | |
for the Lord, the God of hosts, was with him. | 7:30 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 7:33 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 7:35 |
- | Today's Psalm is Psalm 48, found on page 782 | 7:50 |
in the hymnal. | 7:54 | |
Please stand and sing the Psalm and glory responsively. | 7:55 | |
(organ music) | 8:03 | |
♪ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised ♪ | 8:14 | |
♪ In the city of our God ♪ | 8:20 | |
♪ His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation ♪ | 8:26 | |
♪ He's the joy of all the earth ♪ | 8:33 | |
♪ Mount Zion in the far north, the city ♪ | 8:39 | |
♪ Of the great ruler ♪ | 8:43 | |
♪ Within its citadels, God has proven a sure defense ♪ | 8:47 | |
♪ For lo, the kings assembled ♪ | 8:57 | |
♪ They marched together ♪ | 9:00 | |
♪ As soon as they saw it, they were astounded ♪ | 9:03 | |
♪ They were in panic, they took to flight ♪ | 9:08 | |
♪ Trembling took hold of them there ♪ | 9:15 | |
♪ Anguish as of a woman in travail ♪ | 9:20 | |
♪ As when an east wind shatters ♪ | 9:24 | |
♪ The ships of Tarshish. ♪ | 9:27 | |
♪ As we have heard, so have we seen ♪ | 9:31 | |
♪ In the city of the Lord of hosts ♪ | 9:35 | |
♪ In the city of our God ♪ | 9:39 | |
♪ Which God establishes forever ♪ | 9:42 | |
♪ We have thought on your steadfast love, oh God ♪ | 9:48 | |
♪ In the midst of your temple ♪ | 9:55 | |
♪ As your name, oh God, so your praise reaches ♪ | 10:01 | |
♪ To the ends of the earth ♪ | 10:06 | |
♪ Your right hand is filled with victory ♪ | 10:10 | |
♪ Let Mount Zion be glad ♪ | 10:15 | |
♪ Let the daughters of Judah rejoice ♪ | 10:20 | |
♪ Because of your judgements ♪ | 10:23 | |
♪ Walk about Zion, go round about it ♪ | 10:27 | |
♪ Number its towers ♪ | 10:32 | |
♪ Consider well its ramparts, go through its citadels ♪ | 10:38 | |
♪ That you may tell the next generation ♪ | 10:45 | |
♪ This is God, our God forever and ever ♪ | 10:52 | |
♪ God will be our guide forever ♪ | 11:00 | |
♪ Oh glory be to you, creator ♪ | 11:08 | |
♪ And to Jesus Christ, our savior ♪ | 11:11 | |
♪ And to the holy spirit, blessed will it be ♪ | 11:16 | |
♪ As it was when time began, he is God ♪ | 11:24 | |
♪ And will be forever more ♪ | 11:32 | |
- | You may be seated. | 11:40 |
- | The epistle reading is from second Corinthians, | 11:51 |
chapter 12, verses two through 10. | 11:53 | |
"I know a person in Christ, who 14 years ago was caught | 11:59 | |
"up to the third heaven, whether in the body | 12:02 | |
"or out of the body, I do not know. | 12:05 | |
"God knows and I know that such a person, | 12:08 | |
"whether in the body or out of the body, | 12:11 | |
"I do not know, God knows was caught up | 12:13 | |
"into paradise and heard things that are not to be told, | 12:15 | |
"that no mortal is permitted to repeat. | 12:20 | |
"On behalf of such a one, I will boast, | 12:23 | |
"but on my own behalf, I will not boast | 12:25 | |
"except of my weaknesses. | 12:29 | |
"But, if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, | 12:32 | |
"for I will be speaking the truth. | 12:35 | |
"But I refrain from it so that no one may think better | 12:38 | |
"of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, | 12:40 | |
"even considering the exceptional character | 12:44 | |
"of the revelations. | 12:46 | |
"Therefore to keep me from being too elated, | 12:48 | |
"a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger | 12:51 | |
"of Satan to torment me, to keep me | 12:54 | |
"from being too elated. | 12:57 | |
"Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, | 13:00 | |
"that it would leave me, but he said to me, | 13:03 | |
"my grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect | 13:05 | |
"in weakness, so I will boast all the more gladly | 13:09 | |
"of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ | 13:13 | |
"may dwell in me. | 13:15 | |
"Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, | 13:18 | |
"hardships, persecutions and calamities | 13:21 | |
"for the sake of Christ. | 13:25 | |
'For whenever I am weak, then I am strong." | 13:27 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 13:31 | |
♪ I got a crown up in that kingdom ♪ | 13:56 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 13:59 | |
♪ I got a crown up in that kingdom ♪ | 14:01 | |
♪ I'm gonna lay down this world ♪ | 14:06 | |
♪ Gonna shoulder up my cross ♪ | 14:09 | |
♪ Gonna take it home to my Jesus ♪ | 14:12 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 14:14 | |
♪ I got a robe up in that kingdom ♪ | 14:17 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 14:19 | |
♪ I got a robe up in that kingdom ♪ | 14:22 | |
♪ I got a crown up in that kingdom ♪ | 14:24 | |
♪ I'm gonna lay down this world ♪ | 14:28 | |
♪ Gonna shoulder up my cross ♪ | 14:31 | |
♪ Gonna take it home to my Jesus ♪ | 14:34 | |
♪ Ain't that good news, good news ♪ | 14:36 | |
♪ I got a savior in that kingdom ♪ | 14:39 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 14:42 | |
♪ I got a savior in that kingdom ♪ | 14:44 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 14:47 | |
♪ I'm gonna lay down this world ♪ | 14:49 | |
♪ Gonna shoulder up my cross ♪ | 14:52 | |
♪ Gonna take it home to my Jesus ♪ | 14:54 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 14:57 | |
♪ Good news, good news, good news ♪ | 14:58 | |
♪ Good news my lord ♪ | 15:02 | |
♪ Ain't that good news, good news, my lord ♪ | 15:08 | |
♪ Ain't that good news ♪ | 15:13 | |
- | Our gospel lesson this morning is from Mark, chapter six, | 15:30 |
verses one through 13. | 15:35 | |
"He left that place and came to his home town | 15:39 | |
"and his disciples followed him. | 15:42 | |
"On the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue. | 15:45 | |
"And many who heard him were astounded, | 15:48 | |
"they said, where did this man get all this? | 15:51 | |
"What is this wisdom that has been given to him? | 15:54 | |
"What deeds of power are being done by his hands? | 15:58 | |
"Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary? | 16:01 | |
"And brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon | 16:04 | |
"and are not his sisters here with us? | 16:09 | |
"And they took offense at him. | 16:12 | |
"And Jesus said to them, | 16:14 | |
"prophets are not without honor, except in their home towns, | 16:16 | |
"And among their own kin and in their own house. | 16:20 | |
"And he could do no deed of power there, | 16:24 | |
"except he laid his hands on a few sick people | 16:26 | |
"and cured them. | 16:28 | |
"And he was amazed at their unbelief, | 16:30 | |
"then he went about among the villages teaching. | 16:33 | |
"He called the 12 and began to send them out, two by two, | 16:35 | |
"and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. | 16:40 | |
"He ordered them to take nothing for their journey | 16:43 | |
"except a staff. | 16:46 | |
"No bread, no bag, no money in their belts, | 16:47 | |
"but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. | 16:51 | |
"He said to them wherever you enter a house, stay there | 16:56 | |
"until you leave the place. | 17:00 | |
"If any place will not welcome you, | 17:02 | |
"and they refuse to hear you, as you leave | 17:04 | |
"shake off the dust that is on your feet | 17:07 | |
"as a testimony against them. | 17:10 | |
"So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. | 17:13 | |
"They cast out many demons and anointed with oil many | 17:16 | |
"who were sick and cured them." | 17:19 | |
This is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God. | 17:22 | |
- | One of the things we learned at a very early age, | 17:40 |
is that we are judged on the basis | 17:44 | |
of our strengths and weaknesses. | 17:46 | |
She's so pretty, he's smart as a whip. | 17:50 | |
You're so stupid, God, what a wimp. | 17:54 | |
Strengths are good, weaknesses are bad. | 17:59 | |
Strengths bring praise, weaknesses condemnation. | 18:01 | |
We learn very early to lead with our strengths, | 18:07 | |
to show these proudly to the world | 18:11 | |
and to work to overcome our weaknesses, | 18:14 | |
or failing that to hide them in shame. | 18:16 | |
Our entire educational system, beginning with preschool | 18:21 | |
is designed to enhance strengths and minimize weaknesses. | 18:24 | |
At the university level, we strive to help students | 18:29 | |
develop their intellectual, emotional, physical, spiritual, | 18:32 | |
and social skills. | 18:36 | |
We believe that college should strengthen them | 18:38 | |
to face the challenges of life, | 18:41 | |
through education we hope they will learn to recognize | 18:44 | |
and overcome their weaknesses. | 18:47 | |
We hope that they will leave Duke smarter, stronger, better | 18:49 | |
than when they came to us. | 18:54 | |
Our success as a university is based upon how much | 18:57 | |
we enhance our strengths as an institution | 19:01 | |
and how much we develop the strengths of our students. | 19:05 | |
The successes of our alumni have a lot to say | 19:11 | |
about our success as an institution. | 19:15 | |
The judgment of your success as an individual is usually | 19:20 | |
based upon how well you have developed your strengths. | 19:24 | |
The number of degrees that follow your name is | 19:29 | |
an indication of your intellectual prowess. | 19:31 | |
The prestige of your job reveals how well you measured | 19:35 | |
up against other people. | 19:38 | |
The significance of your research, the quantity | 19:41 | |
and the quality of your publications speaks | 19:44 | |
to your ability to produce. | 19:47 | |
The size of your bank account shows your business savvy. | 19:49 | |
The duration of your marriage is an indication | 19:53 | |
of your skill in relationships, | 19:56 | |
the achievements of your children tell | 19:58 | |
what kind of parent you've been. | 20:02 | |
You and I are judged every day on the basis | 20:05 | |
of our strengths and weaknesses. | 20:08 | |
Knowing that, we work very hard to maximize our strengths | 20:11 | |
and minimize our weaknesses. | 20:15 | |
In the church, at Corinth, Paul was also being judged | 20:19 | |
for his strengths and weaknesses. | 20:23 | |
The church wasn't so much concerned with his educational | 20:26 | |
or economic background, but with his strength | 20:29 | |
and power as an apostle. | 20:31 | |
After he founded the church at Corinth, some other apostles | 20:34 | |
came to them who were much more impressive. | 20:37 | |
They had much better credentials than Paul. | 20:40 | |
They performed miracles and told of mysterious | 20:44 | |
and dramatic religious experiences. | 20:47 | |
They were charismatic leaders and powerful speakers, | 20:49 | |
in fact, beside them, Paul looked weak and ineffective. | 20:53 | |
He never performed any miracles for them. | 20:58 | |
He never talked about visions, he was an awful, | 21:00 | |
stumbling speaker, painful to listen to. | 21:03 | |
He was in and out of jail all the time. | 21:07 | |
If he was truly an apostle of Christ, | 21:10 | |
one of the chosen favorites, one of the chosen few, | 21:12 | |
then why did he seem so pathetic, beside these others? | 21:16 | |
This gave rise to a debate about which apostle | 21:21 | |
they should follow? | 21:24 | |
Who was best? | 21:26 | |
Who had the most spiritual strength? | 21:27 | |
Who had the best credentials? | 21:29 | |
Paul was being asked to prove himself as an apostle, | 21:32 | |
or lose the church to the influence of someone else. | 21:37 | |
Our text is Paul's response to that demand. | 21:41 | |
Earlier in the letter he told them that he thought | 21:44 | |
it was ridiculous to boast about himself, | 21:46 | |
that they ought to be able to judge him | 21:49 | |
on the basis of what they had seen and heard in him, | 21:51 | |
but if it was necessary, if they forced him to, | 21:54 | |
he would boast and make a fool of himself like the others. | 21:57 | |
He told them, you want me to boast about my visions, | 22:01 | |
I'll tell you about a vision. | 22:04 | |
I had a vision where I went up to the third Heaven, | 22:06 | |
I saw things that can never be repeated to anyone. | 22:10 | |
But what good does that do you? | 22:14 | |
I didn't have anything to do with it. | 22:16 | |
God did it. | 22:17 | |
And it does you no good whatsoever. | 22:19 | |
You want me to boast about my miracles? | 22:23 | |
I'll tell you about my miracles. | 22:25 | |
I have this thorn in my flesh, that I prayed to be removed | 22:27 | |
from me, three times I prayed for the thorn | 22:31 | |
to be removed from me. | 22:34 | |
And the answer to my prayer was, live with your thorn. | 22:36 | |
My grace is sufficient for you, | 22:42 | |
for power is made perfect in weakness. | 22:44 | |
You want me to boast about my strength, | 22:48 | |
I'll tell you what I boast in, I boast in my weakness. | 22:51 | |
This was some answer that Paul gave to his critics. | 22:57 | |
Instead of giving them the litany of his accomplishments | 23:01 | |
and strengths, his apostle resume, so to speak, | 23:04 | |
he held up the mirror image of their expectations. | 23:07 | |
They wanted proof of his spiritual credentials, | 23:12 | |
dramatic descriptions of visions and revelations, | 23:15 | |
but he told them that his vision, any vision, | 23:18 | |
was God's doing. | 23:22 | |
They wanted proof of his spiritual power, | 23:24 | |
of healings and miracles, but he told them | 23:27 | |
of his own failure to be healed. | 23:30 | |
They wanted to know about his strengths, | 23:34 | |
but he told them about his weaknesses. | 23:38 | |
He boasted of his weaknesses. | 23:40 | |
What does this mean? | 23:44 | |
Does it mean that Paul gloried in his weaknesses? | 23:45 | |
Was he glad for the thorn in the flesh, | 23:49 | |
which scholars have speculated was anything | 23:52 | |
from epilepsy to depression, to an eye disorder. | 23:54 | |
We all know people, people who take a kind | 23:59 | |
of perverse pleasure in their sufferings, | 24:03 | |
folks who talk about them all the time. | 24:07 | |
Who see life as one long pity party. | 24:09 | |
Is that what Paul meant? | 24:13 | |
Look at me, look at all I've suffered, | 24:15 | |
nobody has suffered as much as I have, | 24:17 | |
I am the best because I've suffered the most. | 24:19 | |
Was that what Paul meant? | 24:23 | |
Or could it be that he saw weakness as the most true | 24:27 | |
expression of faith. | 24:30 | |
Power is made perfect in weakness, when I'm weak, | 24:33 | |
then I am strong. | 24:36 | |
What does it mean to be strong in weakness? | 24:39 | |
This very concept goes against everything | 24:42 | |
we've been taught since birth. | 24:45 | |
Strength, self mastery, competence is the goal. | 24:47 | |
Weaknesses are to be avoided, | 24:53 | |
or when they can't be avoided, to be hidden from view. | 24:55 | |
We spend our whole lives trying to strengthen | 24:59 | |
our strengths and lessen our weaknesses. | 25:02 | |
So what does it mean to say when I am weak, | 25:06 | |
I am strong? | 25:10 | |
I must confess that I've been struggling | 25:13 | |
with this text for some time. | 25:15 | |
The truth is, I don't like to be weak. | 25:18 | |
I like to be strong, in control. | 25:21 | |
I am a child of my culture, and I have learned well | 25:24 | |
the lessons of strength and weakness. | 25:27 | |
Everything within me rebels against the concept | 25:31 | |
that to be faithful, I must be weak. | 25:35 | |
As a woman, I've also learned to be suspicious | 25:40 | |
of anything or anyone that tells me I need to forfeit | 25:42 | |
my strength, give away my power. | 25:47 | |
I know too many women who lead with their weakness | 25:50 | |
because they've never learned to trust their power. | 25:53 | |
What does this scripture say to them? | 25:58 | |
What does it say to the battered wife, | 26:01 | |
or the sexually abused child? | 26:02 | |
She knows what it's like to be weak and powerless | 26:05 | |
to stop the violence against her. | 26:09 | |
There's nothing to boast about in that. | 26:12 | |
What does it say to the men, the women, and children | 26:15 | |
in Rwanda who've seen atrocities that no one should ever | 26:18 | |
have to witness? | 26:21 | |
As hundreds of thousands have died at the butchering hands | 26:23 | |
of the powerful. | 26:27 | |
What does it mean to say to them, when I am weak, | 26:29 | |
then I am strong? | 26:33 | |
I cannot, I will not tell the battered, | 26:36 | |
abused, war-torn | 26:41 | |
powerless that God desires their weakness and powerlessness. | 26:43 | |
I don't believe in a God like that. | 26:49 | |
So what does this text mean? | 26:53 | |
Power is made perfect in weakness. | 26:56 | |
When I am a weak, then I am strong. | 26:58 | |
Paul was certainly a person who understood | 27:03 | |
what it meant to be weak. | 27:06 | |
He knew what it felt like to be powerless | 27:07 | |
to stop the violence against him. | 27:11 | |
He'd been beaten, he'd been stoned, he'd been | 27:14 | |
in prison, he'd been starved. | 27:17 | |
This was not a lofty spiritual principle for Paul. | 27:19 | |
It touched very close to home. | 27:24 | |
In his life as an apostle, Paul had learned | 27:27 | |
that the mountaintop experiences of the third heaven | 27:29 | |
were few and far between. | 27:32 | |
It was easy to believe in the power of God | 27:35 | |
at times like that. | 27:37 | |
But his life was much more marked by times | 27:39 | |
of weakness and danger. | 27:42 | |
The pivotal question for Paul was to discover where | 27:46 | |
the power of God was when he faced the 40 lashes minus one. | 27:50 | |
Not one time, but five separate times. | 27:55 | |
Where was the power of God in that? | 27:59 | |
Where was the power of God when he was adrift at sea | 28:01 | |
for a night and a day? | 28:04 | |
Where was the power of God when stones were being hurled | 28:07 | |
at him and he feared for his life? | 28:10 | |
Where was the power of God | 28:14 | |
when he wasn't healed of the thorn in his flesh? | 28:16 | |
Where was the power of God in that? | 28:20 | |
This was the pivotal question. | 28:24 | |
The answer that Paul received | 28:28 | |
allowed him to make sense out of his life | 28:31 | |
and empowered him to face hardships | 28:35 | |
with unshakeable confidence. | 28:38 | |
The key for Paul was God's answer to his request | 28:43 | |
that the thorn in his flesh be removed from him. | 28:47 | |
God's answer was, | 28:52 | |
my grace is sufficient for you, | 28:54 | |
for power is made perfect in weakness. | 28:58 | |
The key is not the fact of our weakness, | 29:02 | |
weakness is part of the inescapable human reality. | 29:05 | |
The key, the key is the sufficiency | 29:10 | |
of God's grace and power. | 29:14 | |
Power and grace which are known perfectly, | 29:18 | |
made fully present, fully known, fully realized, | 29:21 | |
fully sufficient in moments of our weakness. | 29:26 | |
God didn't will the sufferings of Paul, | 29:31 | |
but when Paul had no strength of his own, | 29:35 | |
when he had no personal resources left, | 29:38 | |
he discovered that the grace and power of God | 29:42 | |
were present with him and that they were sufficient, | 29:45 | |
enough, nothing more required. | 29:49 | |
When there was no question about his strength, | 29:55 | |
or his confidence or his power, when he had nothing left | 29:57 | |
to rely upon, Paul discovered that the God of power | 30:01 | |
was perfectly present in his weakness and that was enough. | 30:05 | |
In those moments, when he could no longer depend | 30:11 | |
on his own power, he was strengthened by the very power | 30:15 | |
of Christ dwelling within. | 30:19 | |
That is what he boasted in. | 30:23 | |
Not his weakness, but that through his weakness the God | 30:25 | |
of power was made perfectly present, perfectly sufficient, | 30:29 | |
perfectly visible, perfect. | 30:33 | |
It isn't that God's power isn't present all the time, | 30:37 | |
all the time God's power is present for not one of us | 30:42 | |
could live one single moment apart from the power | 30:46 | |
of God, which sustains the whole creation. | 30:48 | |
It isn't that God's power isn't present, it's just | 30:52 | |
that it's so easy for us to overlook God's power | 30:56 | |
in moments when we're filled with our own strength. | 30:59 | |
When everything's going great, when we often believe | 31:03 | |
that we're in control of the situation, | 31:06 | |
everything's going our way, | 31:08 | |
it's easy for us to feel responsible | 31:10 | |
for the blessings that we enjoy. | 31:12 | |
Self made is the highest praise you can have in America. | 31:15 | |
When our power is at its height, it's difficult | 31:20 | |
to make room for God. | 31:24 | |
Perhaps that's why so many of us only become aware | 31:27 | |
of the presence of God in times of weakness, | 31:31 | |
when we have no inner resources left. | 31:33 | |
God doesn't set out to prostrate us, | 31:37 | |
but when we find ourselves through the vicissitudes | 31:41 | |
and the troubles of life, laid out flat | 31:44 | |
with no resources of our own left to turn to, | 31:47 | |
we discover that the power and grace of God have been there | 31:50 | |
all along and they are | 31:54 | |
sufficient for us. | 31:58 | |
Whatever our need, whatever our pain, | 32:01 | |
whatever our suffering, God's grace | 32:05 | |
and power is sufficient. | 32:09 | |
They are sufficient for the battered wife, | 32:12 | |
sufficient for the abused child, | 32:14 | |
sufficient for the tortured and murdered, | 32:16 | |
sufficient for the grieving, sufficient for the hurting, | 32:19 | |
God's grace is sufficient, God's power is made perfect, | 32:23 | |
perfectly present in our weakness. | 32:28 | |
That doesn't mean God wants us to give away our strength | 32:32 | |
or wallow in our weaknesses. | 32:35 | |
Paul kept on preaching the gospel in spite | 32:37 | |
of the persecution, in spite of the pain that he lived | 32:40 | |
with every day of his life. | 32:43 | |
He used every ability, every skill that God gave him | 32:46 | |
in his mission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. | 32:50 | |
More than any other than Christ, Paul was responsible | 32:54 | |
for the spread of Christianity throughout the world. | 32:58 | |
He was a man of tremendous power and he continues | 33:01 | |
to have an incredible influence upon our world | 33:06 | |
2000 years later. | 33:09 | |
But, the power of Paul was the power of Christ, | 33:12 | |
dwelling within him. | 33:15 | |
God doesn't diminish or take away our strength, | 33:18 | |
indeed when the power of Christ dwells within us, | 33:22 | |
we have more strength than we could ever attain | 33:25 | |
on our own. | 33:28 | |
The difference is whether we look to our own power | 33:30 | |
or to the power of God. | 33:33 | |
What matters is where we place our trust, | 33:35 | |
where is our confidence? | 33:38 | |
What do we rely upon? | 33:39 | |
Is it self or God? | 33:41 | |
What Paul was trying to convey to the Corinthians | 33:44 | |
is that the center of our life and the focus | 33:46 | |
of our trust, ought not be our own strength, | 33:50 | |
but God's strength. | 33:54 | |
Our power is limited, no matter how impressive | 33:56 | |
our credentials may be. | 33:59 | |
But, God's power is inexhaustible. | 34:02 | |
He had learned that the in dwelling Christ, | 34:06 | |
was the source, the only source of authentic power. | 34:08 | |
And that is what gave him the strength to endure | 34:14 | |
and triumph through all the difficult and weak situations | 34:18 | |
of his life. | 34:23 | |
What matters is what we put at the center of life, | 34:25 | |
what we base our confidence upon. | 34:28 | |
Will we rely solely upon our own | 34:31 | |
strength and accomplishments? | 34:33 | |
Or upon the power of God? | 34:36 | |
The world teaches that we should cultivate our strengths | 34:38 | |
because self is all that there is to rely upon. | 34:41 | |
But, Christ teaches a better way, a way that sustains | 34:46 | |
even in times of greatest weakness. | 34:51 | |
My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made | 34:55 | |
perfect in weakness. | 34:59 | |
Thanks be to the God of sufficient grace and power, | 35:03 | |
amen. | 35:08 | |
(organ music) | 35:17 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 36:15 | |
- | The Lord be with you. | 39:30 |
- | And also with you. | |
- | Let us pray. | 39:35 |
Some trust in chariots, | 39:50 | |
and some in horses. | 39:53 | |
But we will remember the name of the Lord our God. | 39:57 | |
Dear God, we call upon your name | 40:03 | |
because we recognize you as creator and preserver | 40:06 | |
of our lives. | 40:12 | |
We humbly beseech thee to pour down all mercies upon | 40:14 | |
your people here assembled. | 40:19 | |
We come today lifting our supplication | 40:24 | |
for the church universal. | 40:28 | |
We pray, oh God, that the church throughout the world | 40:31 | |
would be guided and governed by your holy spirit. | 40:35 | |
So that all who profess your name, oh God, | 40:40 | |
might be led in the ways of truth and righteousness. | 40:44 | |
So that we may hold a faith in unity of spirit, | 40:49 | |
in bond of peace, | 40:53 | |
and the righteousness of life. | 40:56 | |
We commend to you all those who are in affliction, | 41:01 | |
we remember especially the sick and the suffering, | 41:08 | |
and pray, oh God, that today you would visit | 41:13 | |
their beds of afflictions | 41:16 | |
and cause them to be aware of your ever healing presence. | 41:19 | |
To assure, to touch, and to heal. | 41:26 | |
We lift before you the needy and the poor, | 41:32 | |
the homeless and the destitute, | 41:40 | |
help us, oh God, to see your face in their faces. | 41:44 | |
And grant to us love and confession to minister | 41:49 | |
to them faithfully as brothers and sisters | 41:53 | |
in your creation. | 41:58 | |
Today we remember the nations of the world, | 42:02 | |
and we pray that everywhere your people might be led, | 42:07 | |
in righteousness and truth, | 42:12 | |
and this our anniversary of independence, oh God, | 42:16 | |
we remember this nation of America. | 42:20 | |
And we pray as we celebrate the spirit of birth, | 42:24 | |
that you might remind us of what it means | 42:29 | |
to be born in you. | 42:33 | |
Help us not to put our trust in military | 42:36 | |
or economic powers, but to trust in your truth | 42:40 | |
and in your righteousness. | 42:46 | |
So that as a nation, oh God, we might proclaim | 42:49 | |
to the world what it means, oh God, | 42:53 | |
to truly trust in you. | 42:57 | |
As we continue to think of the world, we think especially | 43:01 | |
of troubled parts of the world. | 43:04 | |
Remember your people in Palestine and Israel. | 43:08 | |
We lift up especially the cities of Gaza and Jericho | 43:13 | |
and Jerusalem and pray, oh God, | 43:18 | |
that your spirit of peace would reign. | 43:21 | |
We remember your people in Haiti, and Rwanda and Columbia. | 43:25 | |
Oh God of deliverance, cause us to know | 43:32 | |
and cause your people who are oppressed to know | 43:37 | |
that you are a God who identifies with your press | 43:41 | |
and that in their weakness, oh God, | 43:45 | |
you will make them strong. | 43:47 | |
Grant them hope, grant them to see in you justice | 43:49 | |
and peace, and live ever more reassured | 43:54 | |
that you are faithful to deliver. | 44:00 | |
Hear our prayer today, oh God, and grant these petitions | 44:03 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. | 44:08 | |
And amen. | 44:13 | |
Let us prepare ourself to continue to worship God | 44:19 | |
with our offertories as the choir leads us in an anthem. | 44:23 | |
(organ music) | 44:28 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 45:40 | |
(organ music) | 49:35 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 50:21 | |
- | Almighty God, father of all mercies. | 51:21 |
We your unworthy servants | 51:29 | |
give you most humble and hearty thanks, | 51:31 | |
we thank you for all your goodness | 51:36 | |
and loving kindness. | 51:39 | |
We pray, oh God, that you might accept our thanks | 51:42 | |
for being the blessed God of creation. | 51:46 | |
Preserve us, oh God, with all your blessing | 51:51 | |
in this life. | 51:55 | |
We also pray that you will accept our thanks | 51:58 | |
for the redemption you gave us | 52:01 | |
through Jesus Christ, your son. | 52:04 | |
That through him we might have life | 52:08 | |
and have it more abundantly. | 52:11 | |
Accept these and all our gifts. | 52:15 | |
We recognize, oh God, that what we bring to you is | 52:18 | |
but a reasonable service, | 52:23 | |
but we present ourselves to you, oh God, | 52:25 | |
as living sacrifices, hear us today | 52:29 | |
and accept our thanks as we ask all these things | 52:34 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 52:39 | |
who taught us when we pray, to say. | 52:42 | |
All | Our father, who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, | 52:46 |
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 52:52 | |
on earth as it is in Heaven. | 52:56 | |
Give us this day, our daily bread | 52:59 | |
and forgive us our trespasses, | 53:02 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us | 53:05 | |
and lead us not to temptation, | 53:09 | |
but deliver us from evil, | 53:12 | |
for thine is the kingdom, | 53:15 | |
the power and the glory, forever. | 53:17 | |
(organ music) | 53:23 | |
(singing in foreign language) | 54:06 | |
- | May the God of sufficient grace and power be with you | 57:20 |
and keep you always, amen. | 57:24 | |
♪ Hallelujah, amen ♪ | 57:28 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 57:32 | |
(organ music) | 57:40 |