WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.700 --> 00:00:05.250
Discussion, we never mention
2
00:00:05.250 --> 00:00:08.703
our relation to God.
3
00:00:08.703 --> 00:00:11.050
You see we are very much like the citizens
4
00:00:11.050 --> 00:00:13.050
of Jerusalem in Zephiniah's time
5
00:00:13.050 --> 00:00:15.590
because we have invented for ourself
6
00:00:15.590 --> 00:00:18.950
a secular world, a world from which God
7
00:00:18.950 --> 00:00:22.916
is almost totally absent.
8
00:00:22.916 --> 00:00:26.100
And so we think we are the masters of our own destiny,
9
00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:30.190
left to muddle through as best we can,
10
00:00:30.190 --> 00:00:32.010
or we join the climb to get to the top
11
00:00:32.010 --> 00:00:34.010
of the ladder of prosperity by stepping
12
00:00:34.010 --> 00:00:37.643
on someone else's fingers.
13
00:00:37.643 --> 00:00:40.300
We are like the man I knew in a church in Pennsylvania
14
00:00:40.300 --> 00:00:42.670
who said one time in a discussion group,
15
00:00:42.670 --> 00:00:47.670
sure I believe in God, but I don't think he does anything.
16
00:00:50.650 --> 00:00:53.340
And so we have constructed a society
17
00:00:53.340 --> 00:00:58.286
that believes that God is absent from the world.
18
00:00:59.720 --> 00:01:03.890
But as Dostoevsky wrote, if there is no God,
19
00:01:03.890 --> 00:01:08.160
everything is permissible.
20
00:01:08.160 --> 00:01:11.080
There is no one to see what we do, we imagine,
21
00:01:11.080 --> 00:01:15.693
and there are no consequences to be paid.
22
00:01:15.693 --> 00:01:18.680
And so we have become the ultimate idolaters
23
00:01:18.680 --> 00:01:23.680
who have usurped the place of our creator.
24
00:01:24.381 --> 00:01:27.650
It was because the people of God in Zephiniah's time
25
00:01:27.650 --> 00:01:30.670
held very much the same views that God said
26
00:01:30.670 --> 00:01:33.020
through his prophet that he would judge them
27
00:01:33.020 --> 00:01:35.320
and destroy them and all like them
28
00:01:35.320 --> 00:01:37.520
from the face of the Earth,
29
00:01:37.520 --> 00:01:40.620
and that is very much the judgment of God that we too
30
00:01:40.620 --> 00:01:44.705
deserve in this advent season.
31
00:01:44.705 --> 00:01:48.070
The general confession still holds, dear friends,
32
00:01:48.070 --> 00:01:52.225
there is no health in us.
33
00:01:52.225 --> 00:01:56.515
And advent comes to us first of all
34
00:01:56.515 --> 00:02:01.515
as the season when we need repentance.
35
00:02:02.080 --> 00:02:07.013
And yet, the promise is still there.
36
00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.820
God will keep his word through his prophet.
37
00:02:11.820 --> 00:02:16.486
He will take away his judgments against us,
38
00:02:16.486 --> 00:02:19.410
but only if we celebrate this Christmas
39
00:02:19.410 --> 00:02:24.410
for still a third reason given us by our prophet,
40
00:02:24.650 --> 00:02:27.410
because we are jubilant over the fact
41
00:02:27.410 --> 00:02:32.325
that God has come into our midst as our king.
42
00:02:33.380 --> 00:02:36.220
Rejoice and exalt with all your heart
43
00:02:36.220 --> 00:02:39.660
proclaims our prophet to us, the King of Israel
44
00:02:39.660 --> 00:02:44.643
the Lord is in your midst, you shall not fear evil again.
45
00:02:46.620 --> 00:02:49.100
And is that not finally the reason
46
00:02:49.100 --> 00:02:51.800
why any people or any one of us
47
00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:56.110
has true cause for jubilation?
48
00:02:56.110 --> 00:02:59.140
Because the Lord, this mighty one to save
49
00:02:59.140 --> 00:03:04.140
now rules in our midst as sovereign?
50
00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:08.030
We are not abandoned in the world to the follies
51
00:03:08.030 --> 00:03:13.030
of fortune and the whims of government bureaucracies.
52
00:03:13.100 --> 00:03:18.100
We are not left to our own flawed and selfish devices.
53
00:03:18.780 --> 00:03:21.880
We do not have to rely on our own cleverness,
54
00:03:21.880 --> 00:03:24.820
our own wisdom, our own strength to live whole
55
00:03:24.820 --> 00:03:27.300
and good and righteous lives in the world.
56
00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:31.841
No, God offers to forgive us,
57
00:03:31.841 --> 00:03:35.691
to take away his judgments against us and to come to us
58
00:03:35.691 --> 00:03:39.074
to order and to sanctify
59
00:03:39.074 --> 00:03:43.765
and to daily guide our lives.
60
00:03:43.765 --> 00:03:46.470
But it is only the people who accept that
61
00:03:46.470 --> 00:03:51.470
you see who are celebrating in Zephiniah's picture.
62
00:03:51.670 --> 00:03:54.910
The others have fallen victim to their own evil
63
00:03:54.910 --> 00:03:59.628
and to God's very real judgments upon it.
64
00:03:59.628 --> 00:04:02.524
Just as any one of us will fall equal victim
65
00:04:02.524 --> 00:04:05.210
if we try to usurp God's throne.
66
00:04:05.210 --> 00:04:09.751
He is king over our lives,
67
00:04:09.751 --> 00:04:13.251
the lord of the universe,
68
00:04:13.251 --> 00:04:15.970
and until we accept his rule in our midst
69
00:04:15.970 --> 00:04:20.470
we can never have his abundant life.
70
00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:24.120
He alone has the power to triumph over sin and death,
71
00:04:24.120 --> 00:04:28.470
he alone is mighty enough to give us life in its fullness,
72
00:04:28.470 --> 00:04:31.620
and because he loves us so much he will settle
73
00:04:31.620 --> 00:04:35.820
for nothing less than that.
74
00:04:35.820 --> 00:04:38.720
He will settle for nothing less for us
75
00:04:38.720 --> 00:04:43.605
than a merry merry Christmas party.
76
00:04:45.490 --> 00:04:49.063
Well we can participate in that party,
77
00:04:49.063 --> 00:04:51.700
if in faith we will welcome the one born
78
00:04:51.700 --> 00:04:56.115
at Bethlehem as our lord and king.
79
00:04:56.115 --> 00:04:59.000
For you see Jesus Christ is the incarnation
80
00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:03.975
of that mighty warrior to save that Zephiniah talks about.
81
00:05:03.975 --> 00:05:07.860
He is the one who brings forth every generation,
82
00:05:07.860 --> 00:05:10.440
who created you for his purpose,
83
00:05:10.440 --> 00:05:15.440
who rules every empire and who commands the stars.
84
00:05:16.127 --> 00:05:18.590
And if we will accept him for who he is,
85
00:05:18.590 --> 00:05:22.938
and give up our petty claims to his throne,
86
00:05:22.938 --> 00:05:25.630
if we will trust his guidance through his word
87
00:05:25.630 --> 00:05:30.628
and obey his will given us in the scriptures,
88
00:05:30.628 --> 00:05:32.990
if we will seek his purpose for our living
89
00:05:32.990 --> 00:05:35.680
by daily prayer and Christian discipline,
90
00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:40.641
then we can indeed have a joyful Christmas party.
91
00:05:41.530 --> 00:05:46.530
And we can in truth rejoice and rejoice again,
92
00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:52.120
because our lord is at hand in this advent season,
93
00:05:52.480 --> 00:05:55.190
and has promised us that he will never leave us,
94
00:05:55.190 --> 00:05:59.813
even to the end of the age.
95
00:05:59.813 --> 00:06:03.907
But there is one more thing
96
00:06:03.907 --> 00:06:05.540
in Zepheniah's picture
97
00:06:05.540 --> 00:06:09.010
of that exuberant party of the saved,
98
00:06:09.010 --> 00:06:14.010
it is not only the faithful who rejoice.
99
00:06:14.120 --> 00:06:16.990
For the prophet says that God himself
100
00:06:16.990 --> 00:06:20.670
is in the midst of that laughing and dancing throng,
101
00:06:20.670 --> 00:06:23.510
celebrating with them.
102
00:06:23.510 --> 00:06:27.740
He literally shouts over his repentant and forgiven people
103
00:06:27.740 --> 00:06:30.480
in joy and in exultation.
104
00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:34.900
The father, holding a homecoming party
105
00:06:34.900 --> 00:06:39.900
for the son who was lost and is found,
106
00:06:40.290 --> 00:06:42.600
the shepherd exuberantly calling out
107
00:06:42.600 --> 00:06:44.590
to friends and neighbors that the sheep
108
00:06:44.590 --> 00:06:47.630
lost from the flock has been recovered,
109
00:06:47.630 --> 00:06:52.501
it's God the father, you see, rejoicing,
110
00:06:52.501 --> 00:06:57.460
because we have all come home for Christmas.
111
00:06:59.050 --> 00:07:01.530
And wouldn't that be a Christmas party
112
00:07:01.530 --> 00:07:05.715
to top all Christmas parties?
113
00:07:05.715 --> 00:07:10.656
Joy in heaven, over all of us repentant sinners,
114
00:07:12.110 --> 00:07:14.540
the morning stars singing together again
115
00:07:14.540 --> 00:07:18.930
at God's redeemed creation, the saints of all the years
116
00:07:18.930 --> 00:07:22.700
joining in the Hallelujah chorus,
117
00:07:22.700 --> 00:07:27.700
the laughter and good fellowship at the father's table,
118
00:07:27.920 --> 00:07:32.898
and joy friends, joy in our hearts,
119
00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:38.359
because we have been forgiven and welcomed home
120
00:07:38.359 --> 00:07:40.440
and given the imperishable gift
121
00:07:40.440 --> 00:07:45.000
of God's good abundant life.
122
00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.690
Yes that would be quite a festival,
123
00:07:48.690 --> 00:07:51.737
for God our mighty one to save,
124
00:07:51.737 --> 00:07:56.737
really knows how to celebrate Christmas.
125
00:07:57.240 --> 00:08:02.240
And so what shall we say then, to his invitation?
126
00:08:02.380 --> 00:08:07.380
Shall we join the party?
127
00:08:07.880 --> 00:08:10.530
Amen.
128
00:08:21.605 --> 00:08:24.188
(church organ)
129
00:08:58.676 --> 00:09:02.843
(congregation singing over organ)
130
00:09:30.995 --> 00:09:35.162
(congregation singing over organ)
131
00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:22.546
(congregation singing over organ)
132
00:11:02.270 --> 00:11:04.361
The lord be with you.
133
00:11:04.361 --> 00:11:06.250
And also with you.
134
00:11:06.250 --> 00:11:07.263
Let us pray.
135
00:11:21.630 --> 00:11:24.020
Oh God who didst prepare of old
136
00:11:25.520 --> 00:11:29.520
the minds and hearts of men and women
137
00:11:29.520 --> 00:11:33.830
for the coming of thy son, and whose spirit
138
00:11:33.830 --> 00:11:37.980
ever worketh to illumen our darkened lives
139
00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:42.570
with the light of the gospel, prepare now
140
00:11:42.570 --> 00:11:45.593
our minds and hearts, we beseech thee,
141
00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:50.680
that Christ may dwell in us, and ever reign
142
00:11:50.680 --> 00:11:52.810
in all our thoughts and affections
143
00:11:52.810 --> 00:11:57.810
as the king of love, and the very prince of peace.
144
00:11:59.540 --> 00:12:01.883
It is in his name that we pray.
145
00:12:03.930 --> 00:12:06.933
For the members of Christ's church throughout the world.
146
00:12:08.710 --> 00:12:12.640
For all ministers of the gospel, for all
147
00:12:12.640 --> 00:12:15.733
teachers and leaders of thy church,
148
00:12:16.690 --> 00:12:18.750
that they may be good stewards
149
00:12:18.750 --> 00:12:21.323
of thy manifold grace we pray.
150
00:12:23.370 --> 00:12:26.740
For Christian missions everywhere,
151
00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:30.640
especially in lands where governments or cultures
152
00:12:30.640 --> 00:12:35.180
are hostile to thy gospel, for those
153
00:12:35.180 --> 00:12:38.233
who have never heard its word of truth there,
154
00:12:39.690 --> 00:12:43.459
and for those who are too jaded and self consumed
155
00:12:43.459 --> 00:12:47.373
to see its truth here, we pray.
156
00:12:49.480 --> 00:12:52.793
For all families who have no home,
157
00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:56.700
remembering the plight of our lord's family,
158
00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:01.383
homeless in Bethlehem, and refugees in Egypt,
159
00:13:02.310 --> 00:13:05.630
we pray for all those who by poverty and oppression
160
00:13:05.630 --> 00:13:07.653
have no home to call their own.
161
00:13:10.310 --> 00:13:13.613
For all who worship in the services of this chapel,
162
00:13:15.240 --> 00:13:16.910
those who have come here this morning
163
00:13:16.910 --> 00:13:19.163
with heavy burden or doubting heart,
164
00:13:20.400 --> 00:13:24.450
those who join us on the radio, or In their rooms
165
00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:28.990
at the Duke hospitals, may they find here
166
00:13:28.990 --> 00:13:31.190
the help they need for this,
167
00:13:31.190 --> 00:13:34.483
and every other time of trial, we pray.
168
00:13:36.600 --> 00:13:40.303
Remember oh God, the peoples of the world,
169
00:13:41.290 --> 00:13:43.753
divided into many nations and tongues.
170
00:13:45.320 --> 00:13:48.150
Deliver us from every evil which obstructs
171
00:13:48.150 --> 00:13:53.100
thy saving purpose, and fulfill thy promises of old
172
00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:56.930
to establish thy kingdom of peace
173
00:13:56.930 --> 00:13:59.223
in the name of Jesus the Christ.
174
00:14:01.640 --> 00:14:05.390
Oh God, who has set before us the great hope
175
00:14:05.390 --> 00:14:08.063
that thy kingdom shall come on Earth,
176
00:14:08.900 --> 00:14:11.213
and has taught us to pray for its coming,
177
00:14:12.700 --> 00:14:17.350
make us this advent ever ready to thank thee
178
00:14:17.350 --> 00:14:22.070
for signs of its dawning, and to pray and work
179
00:14:22.070 --> 00:14:26.180
for that day, when thy will shall be done on Earth
180
00:14:26.180 --> 00:14:31.180
as it is in heaven, through Jesus Christ our lord, Amen.
181
00:14:35.690 --> 00:14:39.520
The lord reigns, let the Earth be glad,
182
00:14:39.520 --> 00:14:41.700
and let us show forth our gladness
183
00:14:41.700 --> 00:14:45.597
and our gifts and offerings which we now give to God.
184
00:14:59.488 --> 00:15:01.988
(soft melody)
185
00:17:54.499 --> 00:17:57.416
(soft slow melody)
186
00:21:52.215 --> 00:21:54.798
(church organ)
187
00:22:07.888 --> 00:22:12.055
(congregation singing over organ)
188
00:23:09.470 --> 00:23:11.570
Oh kind and gracious God,
189
00:23:12.460 --> 00:23:14.430
who did not deem it an unworthy thing
190
00:23:14.430 --> 00:23:18.270
to come among us to be born as we are
191
00:23:18.270 --> 00:23:21.280
and to live this life with us,
192
00:23:21.280 --> 00:23:24.283
who did not reject us even in our sin,
193
00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:29.486
we offer you these gifts as sign of our thanksgiving
194
00:23:29.486 --> 00:23:33.070
for your beneficent love showered upon us
195
00:23:33.070 --> 00:23:37.940
in Jesus the Christ, praying as we have been taught.
196
00:23:37.940 --> 00:23:40.970
Our father, who art in heaven,
197
00:23:40.970 --> 00:23:44.780
hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come,
198
00:23:44.780 --> 00:23:48.240
thy will be done on Earth as it is in heaven.
199
00:23:48.240 --> 00:23:50.890
Give us this day our daily bread,
200
00:23:50.890 --> 00:23:54.490
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those
201
00:23:54.490 --> 00:23:59.490
who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation,
202
00:23:59.520 --> 00:24:03.170
but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom,
203
00:24:03.170 --> 00:24:06.170
and the power and the glory forever, Amen.
204
00:24:18.197 --> 00:24:20.780
(church organ)
205
00:24:48.309 --> 00:24:52.476
(congregation singing over organ)
206
00:25:38.264 --> 00:25:42.431
(congregation singing over organ)
207
00:27:01.410 --> 00:27:03.320
I remind you that the Lord's supper
208
00:27:03.320 --> 00:27:05.870
shall be celebrated immediately after the service
209
00:27:05.870 --> 00:27:07.133
in memorial chapel.
210
00:27:08.080 --> 00:27:10.370
And now by the grace of our lord and savior,
211
00:27:10.370 --> 00:27:13.310
Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship
212
00:27:13.310 --> 00:27:18.003
of the holy spirit be with you now and always, Amen.
213
00:27:37.313 --> 00:27:39.896
(church organ)
214
00:29:43.936 --> 00:29:46.519
(church organ)
215
00:31:56.277 --> 00:31:58.860
(church organ)
216
00:34:39.967 --> 00:34:42.550
(church organ)