Elizabeth Achtemeier - "What We Were Meant to Be" Extended Version - includes Raleigh Boys Choir Prelude (March 6, 1994)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(choir singing in foreign language) | 0:00 | |
(gentle organ music) | 0:32 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 0:39 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 2:48 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 4:54 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 8:26 | |
(gentle organ music) | 11:32 | |
- | Would you please stand for the greeting. | 16:08 |
Create in me a clean heart, O God. | 16:17 | |
Congregation | And renew a right spirit within me. | 16:21 |
- | Open my lips, O Lord. | 16:24 |
Congregation | And my mouth shall proclaim your praise. | 16:26 |
(gentle organ music) | 16:31 | |
(organ drowning out singing) | 17:08 | |
- | You may be seated. | 19:21 |
Would you please join me | 19:30 | |
in the Prayer for Illumination. | 19:32 | |
All | Open our hearts and minds, O God, | 19:38 |
by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 19:41 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 19:43 | |
we may hear your message to us | 19:47 | |
this Lenten season. | 19:49 | |
Amen. | 19:51 | |
- | The Old Testament lesson comes from | 19:53 |
the Book of Exodus, Chapter 20, | 19:55 | |
beginning with the first verse. | 19:58 | |
Then God spoke all these words. | 20:11 | |
"I am the Lord your God, | 20:13 | |
"who brought you out to the land of Egypt, | 20:15 | |
"out to the house of slavery. | 20:18 | |
"You should have no other gods before me. | 20:20 | |
"You shall not make for yourself an idol, | 20:23 | |
"whether in the form of anything | 20:26 | |
"that is in Heaven above or that is on the Earth beneath, | 20:27 | |
"or that is in the water under the Earth. | 20:31 | |
"You shall not bow down to them, | 20:34 | |
"or worship them. | 20:36 | |
"For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, | 20:37 | |
"punishing children for the inequity of parents, | 20:40 | |
"to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me. | 20:43 | |
"But showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation, | 20:48 | |
"of those who love me and keep my commandments. | 20:52 | |
"You shall not make wrongful use of | 20:56 | |
"the name of the Lord your God, | 20:57 | |
"for the Lord will not aquitt anyone who misuses his name. | 20:59 | |
"Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy, | 21:04 | |
"six days you shall labor and do all your work, | 21:07 | |
"but the seventh day is the Sabbath to the Lord your God. | 21:11 | |
"You shall not do any work. | 21:14 | |
"You, your son, or your daughter, | 21:16 | |
"your male or female slave, | 21:19 | |
"your livestock, or the alien resident in your towns. | 21:21 | |
"For, in six days, the Lord made Heaven and Earth, | 21:25 | |
"the sea and all that is in them, | 21:28 | |
"but rested the seventh day. | 21:31 | |
"Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day | 21:33 | |
"and consecrated it. | 21:35 | |
"Honor your father and your mother, | 21:38 | |
"so that your days may be long | 21:40 | |
"in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. | 21:42 | |
"You shall not murder. | 21:45 | |
"You shall not commit adultery. | 21:46 | |
"You shall not steal. | 21:48 | |
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. | 21:50 | |
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. | 21:54 | |
"You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, | 21:57 | |
"or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, | 21:59 | |
"or anything that belongs to your neighbor." | 22:02 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 22:06 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 22:08 |
- | Please stand for the Response of Reading of the Psalm. | 22:20 |
The Heavens are telling the glory of God, | 22:33 | |
and the firmament proclaims God's handiwork. | 22:36 | |
Congregation | Day to day pours out speech | 22:40 |
and night to night reveals knowledge. | 22:43 | |
- | There is no speech, nor are there words. | 22:46 |
Their voice is not heard. | 22:50 | |
Congregation | Their voice goes out | 22:53 |
through all the Earth, | 22:55 | |
and their words to the end of the world. | 22:56 | |
- | In them, God has set a tent for the sun, | 22:59 |
which comes forth like a bridegroom | 23:02 | |
leaving his chamber, | 23:05 | |
and runs it's course with joy, | 23:06 | |
like a strong man. | 23:08 | |
Congregation | It's rising is from | 23:10 |
the end of the Heavens, | 23:12 | |
and it's circuit to the end of them, | 23:14 | |
and there is nothing hidden from it's heat. | 23:16 | |
- | The law of the Lord is perfect, | 23:20 |
reviving the soul. | 23:22 | |
Congregation | The testimony of the Lord is sure, | 23:24 |
making wise the simple. | 23:26 | |
- | The precepts of the Lord are right, | 23:29 |
rejoicing the heart. | 23:31 | |
Congregation | The commandment of the Lord is pure, | 23:33 |
enlightening the eyes. | 23:36 | |
- | The fear of the Lord is clean, | 23:38 |
enduring forever. | 23:41 | |
Congregation | The rules of the Lord are true, | 23:42 |
and righteous altogether. | 23:45 | |
- | More to be desired are they than gold, | 23:48 |
even much fine gold. | 23:51 | |
Congregation | Sweeter also than honey, | 23:53 |
and drippings of the honeycomb. | 23:56 | |
- | Moreover, by them is your servant warned. | 23:58 |
In keeping them, there is great reward. | 24:02 | |
Congregation | Who can discern his errors? | 24:05 |
Declare me innocent from hidden faults. | 24:08 | |
- | Also, keep your servant from the insolent. | 24:12 |
Let them not have dominion over me. | 24:14 | |
Congregation | Then I shall be blameless, | 24:17 |
and innocent of great transgression. | 24:20 | |
All | Let the words of my mouth, | 24:23 |
and the meditation of my heart | 24:25 | |
be acceptable in your sight, | 24:27 | |
O Lord, my rock, and my redeemer. | 24:30 | |
(gentle organ music) | 24:34 | |
(organ drowning out singing) | 24:42 | |
- | The gospel lesson comes from the Book of John, | 25:58 |
the second chapter, beginning with the 13th verse. | 26:01 | |
The Passover of the Jews was near, | 26:09 | |
and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, | 26:11 | |
in the Temple he found people | 26:14 | |
selling cattle, sheep, and doves, | 26:15 | |
and the money changes seated at their tables. | 26:18 | |
Making a whip of cords, | 26:21 | |
he drove all of them out of the Temple, | 26:23 | |
both the sheep and the cattle. | 26:25 | |
He also poured-out the coins of the money changers, | 26:27 | |
and overturned their tables. | 26:30 | |
He told those who were selling the doves, | 26:33 | |
"Take these things out of here. | 26:35 | |
"Stop making my father's house a marketplace." | 26:37 | |
His disciples remembered that it was written: | 26:41 | |
"Zeal for your house will consume me." | 26:43 | |
The Jews then said to him, | 26:47 | |
"What sign can you show us for doing this?" | 26:49 | |
And Jesus answered them, | 26:53 | |
"Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." | 26:54 | |
The Jews then said, | 27:00 | |
"This temple has been under construction for 46 years, | 27:02 | |
and will you raise it up in three days?" | 27:06 | |
But he was speaking of the temple of his body. | 27:09 | |
After he was raised from the dead, | 27:12 | |
his disciples remembered that he had said this, | 27:14 | |
and they believed the scripture, | 27:17 | |
and the word that Jesus had spoken. | 27:19 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 27:22 | |
All | Thanks be to God. | 27:24 |
(gentle organ music) | 27:52 | |
(choral singing in foreign language) | 28:04 | |
(choral singing in foreign language) | 29:37 | |
- | Before I read the New Testament lesson | 31:40 |
from the Epistle to the Corinthians, | 31:43 | |
just let me say it is always a pleasure and an honor | 31:46 | |
for me to worship with you at Duke. | 31:49 | |
Our Epistle lesson is taken from the | 31:54 | |
first letter of Paul to the Corinthians, | 31:57 | |
the first chapter, beginning at the 18th verse. | 31:59 | |
For the word of the cross | 32:04 | |
is folly to those who are perishing. | 32:05 | |
But to us, who are being saved, it is the power of God. | 32:09 | |
For is written, | 32:15 | |
"I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, | 32:16 | |
"and the cleverness of the clever I will thwart. | 32:18 | |
"Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? | 32:22 | |
"Where is the debater of this age? | 32:25 | |
"Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? | 32:28 | |
"For since in the wisdom of God, | 32:33 | |
"the world did not know God through wisdom, | 32:35 | |
"it pleased God through the folly of what we preach, | 32:37 | |
"to save those who believe. | 32:40 | |
"For Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom. | 32:44 | |
"But we preach Christ crucified, | 32:48 | |
"a stumbling block to Jews and folly to gentiles. | 32:52 | |
"But to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, | 32:56 | |
"Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. | 32:59 | |
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, | 33:03 | |
"and the weakness of God is stronger than men." | 33:07 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 33:11 | |
(mumbling Congregation response) | 33:13 | |
When it comes to religion, | 33:17 | |
times don't change very much. | 33:19 | |
The Apostle Paul writing to the Corinthian church | 33:23 | |
stated that when he preached among them, | 33:26 | |
he had only one message. | 33:28 | |
Jesus Christ and him crucified. | 33:30 | |
And, of course, still today, | 33:34 | |
that cross is at the center of our faith. | 33:36 | |
The prominent, never-changing, universal symbol | 33:39 | |
of the one Lord in whom we believe. | 33:42 | |
But, says Paul, in our epistle lesson, | 33:46 | |
that cross was regarded by his pagan world | 33:48 | |
as a symbol of folly; | 33:51 | |
as a stumbling block to the Jews, | 33:53 | |
who could not believe that a true messiah | 33:55 | |
would be crucified; | 33:57 | |
and as foolishness to the Greeks. | 34:00 | |
And maybe that is still the case in our Greek-like world. | 34:04 | |
The cross still seems utterly foolish | 34:09 | |
at the end of this 20th Century, | 34:12 | |
a symbol to be eliminated from every public building; | 34:13 | |
a fact never to be mentioned in a university classroom; | 34:17 | |
a strange sign, never to be taken seriously, | 34:22 | |
by those who run the print and broadcast media. | 34:25 | |
It seems to be the case, these days, | 34:30 | |
that every form of religion can find | 34:32 | |
a ready hearing in our education institutions, | 34:34 | |
except the traditional Christian faith. | 34:37 | |
We will listen to every opinion | 34:41 | |
about the animism of North American Indians, | 34:43 | |
or about new age Monism, | 34:47 | |
or about far eastern mysticism, | 34:48 | |
indeed sometimes we will even use their liturgies. | 34:50 | |
But mention Jesus Christ and Him crucified, | 34:55 | |
and the audience shrinks to a faithful few. | 34:57 | |
As for the media, well, | 35:02 | |
they have decided to lump every Christian believer | 35:04 | |
into a political group called The Religious Right. | 35:06 | |
Oh, to be sure, the media-folk know | 35:11 | |
that every politician should claim | 35:13 | |
to be religious at election time. | 35:15 | |
But then, they insist, | 35:18 | |
the politician's religious faith | 35:19 | |
must not have anything to do | 35:21 | |
with decision-making in the government. | 35:23 | |
Anyone who believe the scriptures | 35:27 | |
is automatically named a fundamentalist, | 35:29 | |
and is therefore thought to be dangerous. | 35:31 | |
"And all such persons," wrote The Washington Post, | 35:35 | |
"are largely uneducated, poor, and easy to command." | 35:38 | |
Yes, the Christian faith is foolishness to our society, | 35:43 | |
and the cross of Christ is folly. | 35:48 | |
Judging by the way we think and act, | 35:52 | |
I wonder if Christ's cross is not also foolishness | 35:54 | |
to many of us here this morning. | 35:57 | |
Foolishness, at least a lot of the time. | 36:00 | |
For, the message of the cross, you see, | 36:04 | |
is that you and I have something wrong with us, | 36:06 | |
and that is not an announcement that we like to hear, | 36:10 | |
not in this day and age. | 36:13 | |
Ours, is a time of individual worth and autonomy, | 36:17 | |
and self direction, is it not? | 36:21 | |
A time when the individual's experience | 36:23 | |
reigns supreme over all other authority. | 36:26 | |
Said a speaker on this campus not too long ago, | 36:30 | |
"Women do not need to be redeemed, | 36:33 | |
"they just need to be affirmed." | 36:36 | |
And that is what we all think we need, is it not? | 36:40 | |
The affirmation that we are responsible, strong, | 36:44 | |
self-governing individuals, | 36:47 | |
who can make their own decisions | 36:49 | |
about what is right and what is wrong, | 36:50 | |
who can eliminate sexism, racism, militarism, | 36:54 | |
all those -isms that have so undermined community. | 36:57 | |
And yes, who have the ability to remake this world | 37:02 | |
into the harmonious place that it was meant to be. | 37:05 | |
And how do we self-governing individuals plan to do that? | 37:10 | |
Well, so many of us think we can remake the world | 37:16 | |
by fixing the system. | 37:18 | |
That is, by restructuring the powers and institutions | 37:21 | |
that constitute our society. | 37:24 | |
It's the system that's out of joint these days, | 37:26 | |
we think, and it has victimized us all. | 37:29 | |
So, we will organize ourselves, | 37:33 | |
and form a caucus, and exercise our rights. | 37:35 | |
And by protests, and consciousness-raising, | 37:40 | |
through courts, and media, and propaganda, | 37:44 | |
we will gain enough power to | 37:46 | |
put our own particular program into effect. | 37:47 | |
And then, by Heaven, we will be able | 37:51 | |
to right some wrongs in this society. | 37:53 | |
Power. | 37:57 | |
That's what we need to heal our world, | 37:58 | |
in our estimation. | 38:01 | |
And so, as Malcolm Muggeridge has written, | 38:04 | |
"The dogma that our human condition | 38:07 | |
"can be ameliorated by the exercise of power | 38:09 | |
"has come to be almost universally accepted. | 38:12 | |
"For then, you see, we can change the system, | 38:17 | |
"and none of us will have to be good." | 38:20 | |
Well, certainly, if that is the agenda | 38:25 | |
we live by these days, | 38:27 | |
it is no wonder that we reject the cross of Christ. | 38:28 | |
For, that man hanging on the cross, | 38:33 | |
is one totally without power. | 38:35 | |
What should we call him, the Ultimate Victim, | 38:39 | |
since this is an age of victims? | 38:41 | |
The One Sacrificed to an Evil System? | 38:44 | |
Bleeding, thirsting, dying, | 38:48 | |
with no one to demand his rights for him, | 38:50 | |
and no one picketing in protest of his execution. | 38:54 | |
We live in an age of power play, friends, | 38:59 | |
and the cross does not qualify. | 39:02 | |
It's occupant is too lonely, | 39:05 | |
too desolate, too impotent there on cavalries hill. | 39:07 | |
He urged us once to take up our cross | 39:12 | |
and be crucified with him, | 39:15 | |
but that is not the way we secure our lives | 39:18 | |
in a world such as ours. | 39:20 | |
Or is it? | 39:24 | |
Could it be that the truth is, | 39:26 | |
as Paul says in our scripture lesson, | 39:28 | |
that the foolishness of the cross is wiser | 39:32 | |
than the wisdom of us mortals, | 39:34 | |
and that the weakness of the cross is stronger | 39:37 | |
than the power we seek for ourselves. | 39:39 | |
For, clearly, the cross tells us | 39:42 | |
that there is something wrong with us, | 39:44 | |
and it does that by showing us what is right, | 39:46 | |
and what we ought to be. | 39:50 | |
You see, that dying man on the cross | 39:54 | |
bears the image of God. | 39:56 | |
To be sure, he is also the Son of God, incarnate. | 39:59 | |
But in his human nature too, he bears the image of God. | 40:02 | |
And amazingly enough, the scriptures tell us, | 40:06 | |
so do you and I. | 40:08 | |
We are made in the image of God, | 40:11 | |
made like the image of Christ. | 40:13 | |
Made to live in relationship with our Heavenly Father, | 40:16 | |
and to glorify him, and to enjoy him forever. | 40:19 | |
And the one thing that distinguishes | 40:25 | |
Christ's human nature from ours, | 40:27 | |
is that he will not give up that relationship. | 40:29 | |
He will not deny his tie to his father, | 40:34 | |
he will not go it on his own. | 40:37 | |
Tempted in every way, as we are, | 40:41 | |
he will not turn his back on God. | 40:44 | |
Even when the mob comes out to arrest him, | 40:46 | |
and Judas betrays him with a kiss. | 40:49 | |
Even when Pilate tempts him with the possibility | 40:53 | |
of avoiding a torturous death, | 40:55 | |
even when the nails tear at his flesh | 40:57 | |
and he thinks God himself has forsaken him to die alone. | 41:00 | |
Jesus will not claim to be free of his Heavenly Father. | 41:04 | |
No, he believes that God owns his life, | 41:10 | |
and is working in him to accomplish his good purpose. | 41:12 | |
He believes that the cross is to be accepted | 41:17 | |
as the wisdom of God, | 41:19 | |
and he believes that by that cross, | 41:22 | |
God will exercise his power. | 41:24 | |
And so, as Paul puts it, | 41:28 | |
Jesus Christ empties himself of every glory | 41:29 | |
and desire and goal of his own, | 41:32 | |
and humbles himself, and becomes obedient, even to death. | 41:35 | |
And that obedience, friends, shows us what is wrong with us. | 41:41 | |
For here we are, aren't we? | 41:48 | |
All of us, autonomous, independent, | 41:52 | |
self-governing individuals, | 41:54 | |
trying to live life on our own without God. | 41:55 | |
So often breaking those commandments, | 42:00 | |
that we heard for our Old Testament lesson, | 42:02 | |
so often denying by our words and actions | 42:06 | |
that we have any connection with God whatsoever. | 42:09 | |
So often refusing to bear the image of God in Christ | 42:14 | |
that we were meant to be. | 42:17 | |
What shall we call ourselves? | 42:20 | |
Runaway children? | 42:23 | |
Like those thousands of homeless kids on our city streets? | 42:26 | |
Oh, sure, we use the hotline once in a while | 42:31 | |
to call home to make sure that the father is still there, | 42:34 | |
but we do not return home, | 42:36 | |
because we want to go it on our own. | 42:40 | |
And so, shall we say that the Whiffenpoof song | 42:45 | |
sums up what our destiny shall be? | 42:46 | |
Songsters off on a spree, | 42:50 | |
damned from here to eternity? | 42:52 | |
Friends, apart from God, we do not even know who we are. | 42:57 | |
Do you think that your human personality | 43:03 | |
can be adequately described, | 43:06 | |
except in relation to your maker? | 43:07 | |
Can the psychologist, the sociologist, | 43:12 | |
the economist, the humanist, | 43:14 | |
accurately reveal your nature? | 43:16 | |
No! | 43:17 | |
Not if they leave out the fact that you were made | 43:20 | |
to bear within you an image that points | 43:23 | |
to a transcended glory. | 43:25 | |
And so, apart from our relation to God, | 43:30 | |
we are, indeed, damned to eternity; | 43:32 | |
lost and forsaken. | 43:36 | |
As Christopher Morley put it, | 43:39 | |
"Comic and struggling human beings, | 43:41 | |
"destined for agony and disappointment, | 43:44 | |
"and bawdy stories." | 43:47 | |
Or as Rosemary Ruether would have us believe, | 43:51 | |
"Just dying dust. | 43:53 | |
"Decayed compost to fertilize the gardens | 43:56 | |
"of the next generation." | 43:59 | |
But let's forget the figures of speech, | 44:02 | |
let's put it in the traditional language | 44:06 | |
of the Christian church, | 44:08 | |
that language that seems so silly | 44:10 | |
to our faithless age. | 44:11 | |
We are sinners, friends. | 44:14 | |
Sinners, because we have denied our | 44:17 | |
relationship with God. | 44:19 | |
Sinners, because we have refused to be | 44:20 | |
what we were created to be: God's image, | 44:23 | |
his obedient creatures who reflect his life, | 44:26 | |
revealed to us in his son. | 44:30 | |
That life of faithfulness, | 44:34 | |
of sole concern for the father's will, | 44:36 | |
that life that forgets itself and | 44:40 | |
lives only to God. | 44:42 | |
And because that is true, friends, | 44:46 | |
because we want to be independent of our maker, | 44:47 | |
you, and I, and every faithless soul like us, | 44:50 | |
are just going to die. | 44:54 | |
Die, eternally, far from home, | 44:57 | |
like runaway kids whose spree has ended. | 45:01 | |
There is no life apart from the God of Jesus Christ. | 45:06 | |
He is the sole creator and owner | 45:11 | |
of all life in this universe, | 45:14 | |
and apart from him there are only | 45:16 | |
death, void, the door closed forever. | 45:17 | |
And yes, compost for the next generation. | 45:22 | |
But the cross, good Christians, | 45:27 | |
is the wisdom and power of God, | 45:30 | |
and yes, it is also his love. | 45:34 | |
And so God will not deny his relationship with us, | 45:38 | |
though daily we try to deny ours with him. | 45:41 | |
Indeed, in forgiveness, he sends is son to seek us out, | 45:44 | |
to find all us runaway children, | 45:50 | |
to take our flesh, to know our loneliness, | 45:54 | |
to suffer our defeats and struggles, | 45:56 | |
to be tempted in every respect | 46:00 | |
as we are yet without sitting. | 46:02 | |
And, yes, to descend into our death | 46:05 | |
and to know the extinction of the grave. | 46:07 | |
To find us, Christ had to come where we are, | 46:10 | |
and he had to deal with the realities of our existence, | 46:15 | |
because God, in his wisdom, | 46:18 | |
knew that was the only way he could save us. | 46:19 | |
And so Jesus Christ took on our sin | 46:24 | |
and by his obedience, even unto death on Golgotha, | 46:26 | |
he broke the power of sin! | 46:30 | |
And the son of God suffered our death, | 46:34 | |
and was raised in triumph over it. | 46:36 | |
Now, that may sound like foolishness | 46:40 | |
to a self-serving society, | 46:42 | |
but to those of us who are being saved, | 46:44 | |
it is the wisdom of God, | 46:46 | |
and the power of God. | 46:48 | |
And so, this morning, you see, | 46:52 | |
we are invited to participate | 46:54 | |
in the benefits of that wisdom and power. | 46:56 | |
We are invited to become, once more, | 47:00 | |
what we were meant to be, | 47:03 | |
persons made in the image of God, | 47:04 | |
who were created to live eternally | 47:08 | |
in the company of our Heavenly father. | 47:10 | |
But our Lord has told us what we must do | 47:15 | |
to accept that invitation. | 47:17 | |
"Take up your cross and follow me," he said. | 47:19 | |
In other words, let your self will, | 47:24 | |
your autonomy, your desire to run your own life, | 47:27 | |
let all of that be crucified and done away forever. | 47:30 | |
Die, to yourself, as Christ died to himself on the cross. | 47:36 | |
Trust your life, and future, and welfare to God, | 47:42 | |
as Christ trusted them there on Golgotha. | 47:45 | |
And then cling to God, good Christians. | 47:49 | |
Hold fast to your relationship with him, | 47:54 | |
through prayer, through scripture study, | 47:58 | |
through worship, through obedience, | 48:01 | |
and every daily round and decision, | 48:04 | |
refuse ever to give up your God, | 48:06 | |
for God in Christ does not want to give up you. | 48:11 | |
In his power and his wisdom, | 48:16 | |
by the cross and resurrection, | 48:18 | |
he wants you to have eternal life with him. | 48:21 | |
Yes, he wants you to be | 48:26 | |
what you were created to be. | 48:30 | |
Amen. | 48:33 | |
(gentle organ music) | 48:39 | |
(organ drowning out singing) | 49:19 | |
- | [Brown Haired Female Minister] Lord be with you. | 52:24 |
All | And also with you. | 52:26 |
- | Let us pray. | 52:28 |
With all our hearts, and with all our minds, | 52:41 | |
let us pray to the Lord, saying, | 52:44 | |
"Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer." | 52:47 | |
For the faithful witness of the church, | 52:53 | |
that it may proclaim Christ crucified | 52:56 | |
to a world that follows the folly of it's own devices, | 52:59 | |
and that often times seeks to silence | 53:04 | |
the good news of the gospel. | 53:06 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 53:11 | |
All | ...hear our prayer. | 53:13 |
- | For the unity of the Church throughout the world, | 53:18 |
for the fellowship of Christians across lines | 53:22 | |
of race, ethnicity, and nation. | 53:25 | |
That separating divisions and prejudices may decease, | 53:30 | |
and that the spirit of peace may establish waring neighbors | 53:34 | |
in the bonds of unity and love. | 53:39 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 53:46 | |
All | ...hear our prayer. | 53:48 |
- | For those who do not yet believe. | 53:54 |
For those drawing near the light of faith. | 53:57 | |
And for those whose faith has dimmed. | 54:01 | |
That they may come to the knowledge of your truth. | 54:05 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 54:13 | |
Congregation | ...hear our prayer. | 54:15 |
- | For the leaders of this land, and of all the nations, | 54:20 |
that they may govern with wisdom, | 54:25 | |
that they may seek the common good, | 54:28 | |
rather than the welfare of the few, | 54:30 | |
and that they may encourage peace a justice | 54:34 | |
among all peoples. | 54:37 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 54:44 | |
All | ... hear our prayer. | 54:46 |
- | For the earth, | 54:50 |
that we may respect it as part of your creation, | 54:52 | |
and be fitting stewards of its many resources. | 54:56 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 55:04 | |
All | ... hear our prayer. | 55:06 |
- | For those of the Duke community, | 55:10 |
who this we give of themselves in ministry and mission. | 55:12 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 55:21 | |
All | ... hear our prayer. | 55:23 |
- | For those who are poor and oppressed. | 55:29 |
For those unemployed and homeless. | 55:32 | |
For prisoners, and captives, | 55:36 | |
and for all who remember and care for them, | 55:40 | |
that they may find courage and comfort | 55:43 | |
in your steadfast love. | 55:46 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 55:53 | |
All | ... hear our prayer. | 55:55 |
- | For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, | 56:03 |
especially our brothers and sisters in Duke Hospital, | 56:08 | |
that they may find comfort, courage, and hope, | 56:13 | |
and be delivered from their distress. | 56:17 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 56:25 | |
All | ... hear our prayer. | 56:28 |
- | For all who have died in the communion of your church, | 56:36 |
and for those whose faith is known to you alone, | 56:40 | |
we give you thanks. | 56:43 | |
May we be faithful like those who have gone before us, | 56:47 | |
and bring us at last to the joy of your heavenly kingdom. | 56:51 | |
Lord, in your mercy... | 57:00 | |
All | ... hear our prayer. | 57:01 |
- | Eternal God, accept these prayers of your people, | 57:09 |
and strengthen us to do your will | 57:15 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 57:19 | |
Amen. | 57:22 | |
With gladness, let us present our offerings | 57:28 | |
of life and labor to the Lord. | 57:31 | |
(gentle organ music) | 58:04 | |
(choir singing in foreign language) | 58:18 | |
(gentle organ music) | 1:02:06 | |
(organ drowning out singing) | 1:03:00 | |
- | Let us pray. | 1:03:44 |
All things come from you, O God. | 1:03:48 | |
You created all that is. | 1:03:52 | |
With the care of a skillful potter, | 1:03:55 | |
you lovingly formed us from the dust of the earth, | 1:03:59 | |
into your image. | 1:04:02 | |
You set us apart for faithful obedience, | 1:04:05 | |
and gave us your law. | 1:04:08 | |
Yet, when we disobeyed and turned from you, | 1:04:11 | |
your love never failed. | 1:04:14 | |
You gave us judges and prophets to show us the true way, | 1:04:17 | |
and as the ultimate act of love, | 1:04:23 | |
you gave your only son, Jesus Christ, | 1:04:26 | |
to be our savior, | 1:04:28 | |
that we might be remade into your likeness, | 1:04:30 | |
and have abundant and eternal life. | 1:04:34 | |
All that we are, and all that we have, | 1:04:39 | |
is a trust from you. | 1:04:42 | |
And so, with grateful hearts, | 1:04:45 | |
we return to you what is yours. | 1:04:47 | |
We offer ourselves and all that we have | 1:04:51 | |
in praise and thanksgiving, | 1:04:54 | |
in union with Christ's offering for us. | 1:04:56 | |
By your Holy Spirit, make us one in Christ, | 1:05:00 | |
one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world. | 1:05:04 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord, | 1:05:08 | |
who taught us to pray, saying, | 1:05:11 | |
All | "Our Father, who art in heaven, | 1:05:13 |
"hallowed be thy name. | 1:05:17 | |
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, | 1:05:19 | |
"on Earth as it is in Heaven. | 1:05:22 | |
"Give us this day, our daily bread, | 1:05:25 | |
"and forgive us our trespasses, | 1:05:28 | |
"as we forgive those who trespassed against us. | 1:05:31 | |
"And lead us not into temptation, | 1:05:35 | |
"but deliver us from evil, | 1:05:37 | |
"for thine is the kingdom, the power, | 1:05:40 | |
"and the glory forever." | 1:05:43 | |
- | Amen. | 1:05:45 |
(gentle organ music) | 1:05:49 | |
(organ drowning out singing) | 1:06:20 | |
- | Go forth in peace. | 1:08:08 |
And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, | 1:08:10 | |
the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 1:08:12 | |
be with you now, and forevermore. | 1:08:16 | |
Amen. | 1:08:18 | |
(gentle organ music) | 1:08:20 |
Item Info
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