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Ronald R. Hamilton - "What Is Your Risk Factor?" (January 8, 1984)

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	(soft classical music)	0:04
	(imposing organ music)	10:01
-	By a prairie from the Highlands of Scotland	12:14
	we are called to worship.	12:17
	"That night the star shone	12:20
	"was born the Shepherd of the flock.	12:22
	"Of the Virgin of the hundred charms, the Mary Mother.	12:25
	"The Trinity eternal by her side,	12:29
	"in the manger cold and lowly.	12:31
	"Come and give to her of thy means, to the healing Man.	12:33
	"The foam-white breastling beloved.	12:38
	"Without one home in the world,	12:40
	"the tender holy Babe forth driven, Immanuel!	12:43
	"Ye three angels of power, come ye, come ye down;	12:48
	"to the Christ of the people give ye salutation.	12:52
	"Kiss ye His hands, dry ye His feet	12:56
	"with the hair of your heads;	13:01
	"and o thou world-pervading God,	13:03
	"And ye, Jesu, Mary, do not ye forsake us."	13:06
	And we know on this first Sunday after Epiphany	13:13
	that God has not forsaken us.	13:16
	Let us worship God.	13:18
	As a community of faith praying together	13:33
	our prayer of confession.	13:35
	Almighty God, Lord of us all,	13:39
	whose mercy is higher than the heavens,	13:43
	wider than our wonderings, and deeper than all our sin,	13:46
	hear us when we cry onto You,	13:51
	and restore onto us the joy of Your salvation.	13:54
	We confess onto You our folly and our sin,	13:58
	our rebellious pride that has made us forgetful of You	14:02
	and callous toward our neighbor.	14:07
	Our preoccupation with things that perish	14:09
	that has made us neglectful of Your word and worship.	14:13
	Our false sense of freedom	14:17
	that has led us to irresponsible living.	14:19
	Our divided loyalty that has marred and weakened	14:23
	our discipleship to Christ.	14:26
	By Your judgment and Your love,	14:29
	prompt in us a true repentance.	14:32
	By Your grace enable us to be worthy of repentance.	14:35
	Then grant us Your forgiveness, oh God,	14:40
	and renew in us the mind and spirit of Christ	14:43
	that His work of salvation may be accomplished in us	14:47
	through the same Jesus Christ we pray.	14:52
	Amen.	14:55
	We have confessed together our sins.	15:47
	My sisters and brothers know and believe the good news	15:51
	that is available to us this day.	15:54
	Experience it within yourselves	15:56
	that in and by Jesus, who was and is the Christ,	16:00
	you and I,	16:05
	you and I are forgiven.	16:06
	Let us give thanks for God is good,	16:11
	and God's love is everlasting.	16:13
	(people chanting)	16:17
	It is the first Sunday after Epiphany,	16:33
	but I am glad to be able to welcome you	16:36
	on this beautiful Sunday morning,	16:39
	to welcome many of you back from the holidays	16:43
	that you have had.	16:47
	It is good to feel the energy of the students	16:49
	as you come back to campus,	16:52
	and bring with you your excitement and your curiosity.	16:54
	We are glad that you are back.	17:00
	There are three announcements having much to do	17:05
	with the life of the chapel and our ministry here	17:08
	that I want to acknowledge this morning.	17:11
	You will note two of them	17:16
	in the bulletin in the announcement section.	17:16
	Sandy and Nancy have issued to you an invitation	17:20
	to take part in the services of worship here	17:23
	by serving as a chapel usher.	17:26
	That is a very prominent, important part	17:30
	of the life of this congregation,	17:32
	and I encourage you to respond to that invitation.	17:35
	Our head chapel attendant, Sharon Adams,	17:40
	has also issued to you an invitation	17:42
	to serve as a chapel attendant	17:46
	during the weekdays of the life,	17:50
	the time the chapel is open.	17:54
	That too is a very important part	17:56
	of our work and ministry here,	17:58
	and I encourage you to give very serious thought	18:01
	to responding to Sharon's invitation.	18:04
	Both of those invitations indicate to you	18:07
	how you may get in touch with the necessary people	18:10
	if you would like to respond.	18:14
	There is one announcement that is not in the bulletin,	18:17
	but is an important one.	18:19
	The Duke University Chapel Choir	18:22
	is now accepting new members	18:23
	for the spring semester of 1984.	18:25
	All singers in the Duke and Durham communities	18:28
	are invited to audition.	18:31
	You may sign up for an audition appointment	18:33
	or obtain further information	18:35
	by calling the choral activities office at 684-3898.	18:37
	If you wish to sign up for an audition appointment today,	18:45
	you may do so immediately following the service	18:49
	at the hostess desk in the rear of the chapel.	18:51
	And I need not tell you that the choir	18:55
	is indeed an important element	18:57
	in the life and worship of this chapel.	18:59
	I am glad to have the opportunity	19:08
	to be able to welcome to the Duke Chapel Pulpit	19:09
	the Reverend Ronald Hamilton.	19:16
	Also to welcome a fellow Hoosier.	19:21
	We were comparing notes in our visit yesterday afternoon	19:25
	and discovered that our hometowns were only 30 miles apart.	19:29
	And so we've had much to talk about	19:34
	in terms of Southwestern Indiana.	19:35
	Ron, as you will note, is a busy minister.	19:42
	He comes to us from a large congregation	19:48
	in Littletown, Colorado,	19:52
	where he is the senior minister	19:53
	overseeing a diverse ministry and staff there,	19:55
	and is involved in not only the life of that congregation	20:00
	but in the life of his community	20:04
	and the life of his denomination.	20:06
	Ron is a worker, a very sensitive individual	20:09
	in the work of the United Methodist Church	20:15
	as well as his own local congregation.	20:18
	Ron, it is a delight to be able to welcome you this morning	20:21
	and to welcome as well your very gracious wife, Norma.	20:26
	We indeed had a delightful time	20:32
	as the three of us visited yesterday afternoon.	20:34
	We look forward to Ron's sermon, What is Your Risk Factor?	20:37
-	Let us pray.	20:53
	Oh God, who according to the promise	20:58
	that Jesus Christ, Your son,	21:00
	did in the spirit of truth to your people,	21:02
	grant that the spirit may teach us all things,	21:05
	guide us into all truth, open us to the scriptures,	21:08
	and take the ways of Christ and show them to us.	21:14
	For your namesake, amen.	21:19
	The Old Testament lessons from Isaiah,	21:25
	chapter 42, verses one through nine.	21:28
	"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold.	21:33
	"My chosen in whom My soul delights.	21:36
	"I have put My Spirit upon Him.	21:40
	"He will bring forth justice to the nations.	21:43
	"He will not cry or lift up His voice,	21:46
	"or make it heard in the street.	21:49
	"A bruised reed He will not break,	21:52
	"and a dimly burning wick He will not quench.	21:55
	"He will faithfully bring justice forth.	21:59
	"He will not fail or be discouraged,	22:03
	"till He has established justice in the earth,	22:05
	"and the coastlines wait for His law.	22:09
	"This is God, the Lord	22:12
	"who created the heavens and stretched them out,	22:15
	"who spread forth the earth and what comes from it,	22:18
	"who gives breath to people upon it,	22:22
	"and spirit to those who walk in it.	22:24
	"I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness.	22:27
	"I have taken you by the hand and kept you.	22:31
	"I have given you as a covenant to the people,	22:35
	"a light to the nations, to open the eyes that are blind,	22:38
	"to bring out the prisoner from the dungeon,	22:43
	"from the prison those who sit in darkness.	22:46
	"I am the Lord, that is My name.	22:49
	"My glory I give to no other,	22:53
	"nor My praise to graven images.	22:56
	"Behold the former things have come to pass	22:59
	"and new things I now declare	23:02
	"before they spring forth I tell you of them."	23:06
	Here ends the reading from the Old Testament.	23:11
	The epistle lesson is from Second Corinthians, chapter four.	23:16
	"Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God,	23:22
	"we do not lose heart.	23:26
	"We have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways.	23:29
	"We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word.	23:33
	"But by the open statement of the truth	23:39
	"we would commend ourselves to every man's consciousness	23:41
	"in the sight of God.	23:44
	"And even if our gospel is veiled,	23:46
	"it is veiled only to those who are perishing.	23:49
	"In their case, the God of this world	23:53
	"has blinded the minds of the unbelievers,	23:55
	"to keep them from seeing the light	23:58
	"of the gospel of the glory of Christ,	23:59
	"who is the likeness of God.	24:02
	"For what we preach is not ourselves,	24:05
	"but Jesus Christ as Lord,	24:07
	"with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.	24:10
	"For it is the God who said,	24:14
	"Let light shine out of darkness	24:17
	"who has shone in our hearts	24:20
	"to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God	24:22
	"in the face of Christ.	24:24
	"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels	24:27
	"to show that the transcendent power belongs to God	24:30
	"and not to us.	24:32
	"We are afflicted in every way but not crushed.	24:35
	"Perplexed but not driven to despair.	24:38
	"Persecuted but not forsaken.	24:42
	"Struck down but not destroyed.	24:45
	"Always carrying in the body the death of Jesus	24:49
	"so that the life of Jesus	24:53
	"may also be manifested in our bodies.	24:55
	"For while we live we're always being given up to death	24:59
	"for Jesus' sake so that the life of Jesus	25:02
	"may be manifested in our mortal flesh.	25:05
	"So death is at work in us, but life in you.	25:09
	"Since we have the same spirit of faith	25:14
	"as He who wrote, I believed and so I spoke, we too,	25:17
	"and so we speak knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus	25:23
	"will raise us also with Jesus,	25:27
	"and bring us with You into His presence.	25:30
	"For it is all for Your sake,	25:34
	"so that as grace extends to more and more people	25:36
	"it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God.	25:39
	"So we do not lose heart.	25:43
	"Though our outer nature is wasting away,	25:46
	"our inner nature is being renewed every day.	25:49
	"For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us	25:53
	"for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison,	25:56
	"because we look not to the things that are seen	26:01
	"but to the things that are unseen;	26:03
	"for the things that are seen are transient,	26:06
	"but the things that are unseen are eternal."	26:09
	Here ends the reading from the epistle.	26:13
	(soft classical music)	26:22
	The gospel lesson is from Matthew,	29:00
	chapter three, verses 13 through 17.	29:02
	"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John,	29:06
	"to be baptized by him.	29:11
	"John would have prevented him, saying,	29:13
	"I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?	29:15
	"But Jesus answered him, let it be so now;	29:20
	"for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.	29:24
	"Then he consented.	29:28
	"And when Jesus was baptized,	29:30
	"he went up immediately from the water,	29:32
	"and behold, the heavens were opened	29:34
	"and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove,	29:36
	"and alighting on him;	29:39
	"and lo, a voice from heaven, saying,	29:42
	"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."	29:45
	Here ends the reading from the gospel lesson.	29:51
	Amen.	29:54
	(imposing organ music)	29:56
	(chanting)
-	I appreciate the privilege	31:01
	of sharing worship with you this morning,	31:03
	and I especially want to thank our musicians	31:06
	for the beautiful contribution they've made to our worship.	31:08
	Indulge me for a moment if you will.	31:14
	In our church we have, what I call,	31:16
	the family minute of prayer.	31:19
	It's a time when we remember that under God we are a family,	31:21
	and we join hearts and concerns,	31:27
	also the joys	31:32
	that other members of the family are experiencing.	31:33
	Many times we share the sorrows of others,	31:39
	we weep with those who weep.	31:44
	And sometimes we forget to rejoice with those who rejoice,	31:48
	so just for a moment,	31:52
	please hold someone clearly	31:58
	in your hearts and thoughts and prayers,	32:00
	someone whose joy you want to share and celebrate,	32:04
	someone whose concern you want to share,	32:08
	and you might want to weep with those who weep	32:14
	but somebody who has a special need or a special joy.	32:16
	In your prayer hold that person before our Father	32:23
	as together, as part of the family of God, we pray.	32:26
	Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts	33:08
	be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord.	33:10
	For thou indeed our strength, our rock,	33:13
	our redeemer.	33:18
	Amen.	33:21
	Paul talks about having this treasure	33:27
	in earthen vessels clay jars,	33:30
	and a little bit later he talks about the fact	33:34
	that we're knocked down, but we're never knocked out.	33:36
	And that's something we need to remember.	33:42
	You know, people used to say	33:45
	there's really nothing certain in life	33:48
	except death and taxes.	33:51
	But, as you look at it,	33:55
	you begin to realize	33:59
	that few of us really seem to believe that.	34:00
	For instance, who do you know that really lives	34:06
	by that kind of maxim?	34:11
	Don't you realize that almost everybody	34:14
	appears to be trying to make life as secure as possible?	34:18
	Striving in all the ways that they can possibly devise	34:25
	to remove every element of risk,	34:30
	of chance from their living.	34:35
	This desire for certainty, for absolute security,	34:41
	seems to spill over into the area of religion as well.	34:46
	It seems to me likely that one of the reasons	34:50
	the Fundamentalist branches of Christianity	34:53
	have been growing so dramatically	34:56
	in these last 15 or 20 years,	34:59
	is because in an insecure world	35:04
	they purport to give secure answers.	35:09
	Large numbers of people are responding positively	35:15
	to any kind of religious assurance they can get	35:19
	because many individuals today are desperate	35:25
	in their desire to achieve certainty,	35:29
	to achieve safety in this life.	35:33
	Now interestingly, traditional Christianity	35:39
	has never offered the promise of security	35:43
	in any conventional sense of that word.	35:47
	In fact, the gospel seemed to contradict	35:51
	that kind of assurance.	35:55
	Now Christianity has often used the word comfort.	35:58
	And maybe that's part of the problem,	36:04
	maybe that's partly where our trouble has its source.	36:07
	Because we say the word comfort,	36:12
	and we tend to wrap it around us like a warm blanket.	36:15
	In other words, what we really mean is comfortable.	36:22
	But the New Testament used the word comfort	36:28
	in a totally different sense.	36:31
	Come, meaning with.	36:34
	Fort us, meaning strength.	36:36
	Comfort means with strength.	36:41
	In other words, Jesus promised his followers	36:44
	strength, fortitude,	36:47
	the ability to endure.	36:51
	And those words have little to do with our meaning of ease,	36:54
	comfortableness and tranquility.	36:59
	Moreover, Protestant Christianity has long emphasized	37:05
	that the supporting power of the Christian faith	37:10
	doesn't stem from information about God,	37:13
	that is, from dogmas and doctrines,	37:17
	nor does it come from pronouncements or assurances	37:22
	from church authorities.	37:25
	No, the lifting power of the Christian faith	37:28
	flows from an individuals vital relationship with God.	37:32
	And from committed Christians growing together	37:38
	in spiritual stature, through fellowship and worship	37:41
	and study and the giving of themselves.	37:46
	Furthermore, our faith understands	37:53
	that nothing remains the same,	37:55
	that everything must be examined in the light of the truth	37:58
	as we know it at any give moment.	38:02
	And that we must be ready to change	38:05
	to accommodate new truths and new understanding	38:07
	as new light comes to us.	38:11
	And that kind of openness to truth and change	38:14
	is absolutely necessary,	38:17
	because human understanding is subject to error,	38:20
	human motives are often tainted,	38:23
	and human plans are always less than perfect.	38:27
	God has given us freedom, and the very word freedom	38:32
	implies the option of making a wrong choice.	38:38
	Since in our humanity we do make mistakes	38:44
	through faulty will or through wrong thinking,	38:48
	there's no way that human beings at this stage	38:52
	can be absolutely secure.	38:55
	So Christianity has long recognized that human attempts	39:00
	to evade the risk element in life are illusions.	39:03
	Christ, for instance, never promised his followers security.	39:08
	What he did promise them was that	39:13
	in all the vascillating aspects of life,	39:15
	he would be with those who chose to be his disciples.	39:19
	Martin Niemoller echoed this	39:24
	when he pointed up the fluctuating nature of life and said,	39:28
	no man can rest on his past record.	39:32
	We must pray for the Holy Spirit every day.	39:36
	Now that's an authentic Christian word.	39:43
	Life can never be secure	39:46
	because there are no finalities, there are no absolutes.	39:49
	Christians must pray for the help	39:54
	of the Holy Spirit every day.	39:56
	The essence of Christian discipleship then	40:01
	is the willingness to live in uncertainty with God	40:04
	day by day,	40:08
	always open to the leading of His spirit.	40:10
	W. B. J. Martin in a book called	40:15
	The Diary of Peter Parson says,	40:18
	"What man needs is not authority,	40:21
	but the power to do without authority.	40:25
	Not certainty and security,	40:29
	but the willingness to face the radical uncertainty	40:33
	of an encounter with the living God."	40:37
	The Judeo-Christians' faith holds out an invitation	40:43
	to all people to respond to God's love	40:47
	and to God's leading in an uncertain world.	40:51
	Because everything is in flux,	40:55
	even our response is not permanent.	40:57
	We don't respond once and for all	41:01
	with never a doubt, and never a fear.	41:04
	Instead we usually find that,	41:07
	in the midst of life's buffeting,	41:09
	we must reaffirm our commitment to God day by day,	41:11
	sometimes hour by hour, even minute by minute.	41:16
	Recall the situation of Elijah	41:22
	as it's recorded in First Kings, chapters 18 and 19.	41:24
	He made a heroic stand against	41:30
	the priest of Baal on Mount Carmel.	41:34
	450 priests of Baal were defeated.	41:37
	And then he retreated to a place of quietness.	41:43
	There the messenger from Jezebel the queen	41:47
	arrived with word that about that same time tomorrow	41:51
	she intended to have Elijah's head.	41:54
	The old prophet became frightened.	41:59
	Now he'd stood firmly against 450 men,	42:02
	but facing queen Jezebel was another matter all together.	42:06
	And so his courage failed.	42:11
	He quickly gathered up his few belongings	42:14
	and fled for the hills.	42:16
	Ralph Sockman said it best,	42:19
	Elijah was passing through that trying experience	42:22
	that comes to all idealists when they discover	42:28
	that there are no permanent victories.	42:32
	Finally he arrived at a mountain called Horeb.	42:37
	He entered a cave and he laid down exhausted,	42:41
	and there several things happened in succession.	42:44
	First, a wind storm hit the mountain.	42:49
	It quickly passed.	42:53
	Elijah listened for the voice of God in the wind,	42:55
	but the Almighty was not there.	42:57
	And then the earth trembled,	43:02
	but the Lord was not in the earthquake either.	43:04
	And finally, an uncontrollable fire	43:08
	burned the area all around him,	43:10
	but there was still no word from God.	43:13
	Elijah began to wonder what was happening,	43:18
	whether he was dreaming all of this,	43:22
	and then the crisp, soft voice of God asked,	43:26
	"What are you doing here, Elijah?"	43:31
	Tishbite responded that he felt all alone,	43:35
	all of his hope was gone, he was a lost man.	43:40
	And God told him he was wrong.	43:45
	There were still hundreds of people out there	43:48
	who were God's people.	43:51
	But now they were without a leader	43:54
	because he had forsaken them.	43:57
	Strange twist, isn't it?	44:02
	This prophet believed his was the only faithful one left,	44:05
	and God was telling him he was unfaithful.	44:10
	Among the many things that Elijah learned in that encounter	44:15
	was that you can't pin God down	44:18
	and demand to find your security	44:21
	in any particular event or manner.	44:23
	In the Bible we're told that God	44:29
	was in the fire on Mount Carmel,	44:31
	but on Mount Horeb God was not in the fire.	44:35
	Now this seems to me to point out the fact that	44:41
	experiences of, excuse me,	44:44
	experiences of God are not all alike,	44:47
	and we should never try to make them so.	44:51
	Neither should we expect to find our security	44:55
	in some particular religious posture.	44:58
	Personally I view with great concern	45:03
	many of the attempts today to pass Christianity off	45:05
	as some super success movement.	45:08
	Because I fear we'll try to make success	45:12
	the norm of our understanding of faithfulness.	45:15
	Some weeks ago I saw a religious television program	45:20
	which was being broadcast from Hawaii.	45:23
	Obviously the setting was quite beautiful.	45:26
	The minister was dressed in a 400 dollar suite	45:29
	with an expensive hairstyle.	45:32
	His wife was beautifully coiffured and stylishly gowned.	45:35
	And to a point that was all well and good,	45:40
	but it also seemed to suddenly suggest to the world	45:43
	that it pays to serve Jesus,	45:48
	that if one is dedicated and spirit-filled,	45:50
	everything is going to be smiles and fine clothing	45:53
	and expensive trips and no problems.	45:57
	And if that's where things are for you my congratulations.	46:01
	But let's remember, at the same time	46:07
	there also millions of poor Christians,	46:10
	millions of starving Christians,	46:13
	millions of Christians who are facing tremendous problems	46:16
	of one sort or another,	46:19
	and they are also faithful Christians.	46:21
	We like to ignore the fact	46:27
	that a major symbol of our faith is the cross.	46:28
	And though we wear crosses as ornaments today,	46:33
	let's recall that originally the cross	46:36
	was a sign of insecurity and death.	46:38
	Of course, from the earliest days of the Christian faith	46:44
	the cross has also been a sign of triumph,	46:47
	and many of Christ's followers	46:50
	have found comfort and strength in the cross.	46:52
	George Buttrick put it well,	46:56
	the cross seems to give our doubts their best argument,	46:58
	and then to answer that argument	47:03
	not by syllogism but by an event in love.	47:05
	And that's the best answer to our doubts,	47:13
	to our fears, to our insecurity.	47:16
	The response of God's love.	47:20
	In Pygmalion, which became the musical play My Fair Lady,	47:25
	George Bernard Shaw has Eliza Doolittle say,	47:30
	regarding her transformation	47:33
	from a gutter snipe to a gracious lady,	47:35
	whether a girl becomes a lady depends not on how she behaves	47:39
	but on how she is treated.	47:46
	It's the Christian conviction that, even in our freedom,	47:50
	God has treated us like people destined for.	47:55

-	Not like animals headed for the gutter,	0:04
	a traditional Christian word	0:09
	for this kind of loving response	0:10
	to our doubts and to our failures	0:13
	is the word grace.	0:15
	We are saved, we are supported,	0:18
	we find our security in God's grace,	0:21
	that grace is our only certainty	0:26
	and furthermore, we can't even prove that	0:29
	because God's grace can never be proven,	0:32
	it can only be accepted.	0:36
	In other words, the Christian faith	0:40
	doesn't offer security in any ordinary sense of the word.	0:42
	Christians are not guaranteed	0:48
	that everything will come out good	0:50
	from a human point of view.	0:52
	God's grace simply means	0:54
	that even though cruelty and confusion	0:56
	are abroad in the world,	0:59
	that even though prisons and slums	1:01
	and human sin distort the bodies	1:04
	and the souls of people	1:07
	that even though failure and sickness	1:09
	and death assail us,	1:12
	even those tragedies cannot separate us from God's love.	1:16
	In fact, it is in precisely such trying conditions	1:22
	that God's grace becomes most evident	1:27
	if we know how to look for it.	1:31
	There's a parable which has had some currency recently.	1:35
	I ran across it a number of years ago.	1:40
	It goes one night,	1:43
	I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord	1:46
	and many scenes from my life flashed across the sky	1:50
	and at each scene I noticed a footprint	1:55
	in the sand, sometimes there were two sets	1:58
	of footprints, other times there was only one.	2:01
	And this bothered me	2:06
	because I noted that during the low periods	2:08
	of my life when I was suffering from anguish,	2:11
	sorrow and defeat, I could see only one set of footprints.	2:14
	So, I said to the Lord,	2:20
	you promised me, Lord that if I followed you,	2:23
	you would walk with me always.	2:25
	But I noticed that during the most trying periods	2:30
	of my life, there's only been one set of footprints	2:33
	in the sand.	2:37
	Why, Lord, why when I needed you most	2:38
	have you not been there for me?	2:42
	And the Lord replied,	2:46
	the times when you've seen only one set of footprints,	2:48
	my child, are the times when I was carrying you.	2:51
	It's often been charged	3:02
	that most protestants don't know their faith	3:03
	as some of our more conservative	3:06
	and authoritarian brethren know theirs.	3:08
	Now to the degree that such a charge correctly means	3:12
	that we've not been committed,	3:16
	that we've not been disciplined,	3:17
	that we've not been studious enough	3:19
	to learn our faith, it's to our shame.	3:21
	But we must also recognize that traditional Christianity	3:26
	doesn't consist solely in an intellectual grasp	3:30
	of doctrine nor in the memorization of a creed.	3:34
	At its best, the traditional Christian faith	3:41
	rests heavily on a living encounter with God	3:44
	through Jesus Christ	3:48
	and living relationships can never be formulated	3:50
	with exact finality.	3:54
	Again, to quote W.B.J. Martin.	3:58
	The essence of Protestantism	4:02
	is the willingness to be in uncertainty with God,	4:04
	the important thing is not to have correct information	4:09
	about God but to be susceptible to God's spirit,	4:13
	to be growingly aware of his pressures	4:18
	upon our lives.	4:22
	It was toward the end of World War II	4:28
	that a young Jewish girl in the Warsaw Ghetto	4:30
	managed to escape over the wall	4:36
	and hide out in a cave.	4:38
	She died there shortly before the Allied Army broke through	4:41
	and liberated that ghetto	4:45
	but before she died,	4:49
	she scratched on the wall three things.	4:51
	I believe in the sun even when it's not shining.	4:56
	I believe in love	5:02
	even when feeling it not.	5:05
	I believe in God	5:10
	even when he's silent.	5:13
	That young lady had grasped something	5:19
	of the necessary insecurity of life	5:21
	and yet had overcome through her faith.	5:26
	Now, if we will respond with our whole will	5:34
	to the gracious love of God,	5:38
	we will tend to gain some sense of assurance	5:40
	for in the power of the gift of God's grace,	5:45
	even though we're never really secure	5:49
	in the ordinary sense of that word,	5:52
	we will be enabled to walk from uncertainty	5:55
	to uncertainty with something	5:59
	of a sense of personal victory.	6:01
	Paul caught some of this in Romans 8.	6:05
	Let me paraphrase it for you.	6:09
	For I am persuaded that neither knowledge nor lack of it,	6:13
	neither faith or doubt,	6:19
	neither virtue nor sin,	6:22
	neither life nor death,	6:25
	that nothing in the universe	6:28
	has any power to separate us	6:30
	from God's love for us	6:33
	as shown in Jesus Christ our Lord.	6:36
	That then is our security.	6:43
	(lively organ music)	6:56
	(congregation sings)	7:22
-	Let us now affirm what we believe.	9:22
-	We believe in God	9:26
	who has created and is creating,	9:28
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	9:31
	to reconcile and make new,	9:34
	who works in us and others by the sprit,	9:37
	we trust God who calls us to be the church,	9:41
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	9:46
	to love and serve others,	9:49
	to seek justice and resist evil,	9:52
	proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	9:55
	our judge and our hope.	9:59
	In life, in death, in life beyond death,	10:02
	God is with us,	10:06
	we are not alone.	10:08
	Thanks be to God.	10:10
	The Lord be with you.	10:14
-	And also with you.	10:16
-	Let us pray.	10:17
	Oh Yahweh, we praise you for yourself	10:32
	in whom we live and by whom all things	10:37
	are sanctified and made for shining.	10:40
	We praise you for this day	10:45
	which proceeds from your graciousness	10:47
	and returns to your love.	10:50
	We praise you for every moment	10:54
	when the work of our hands	10:56
	and minds is blessed beyond our deserving	10:58
	and for every hour that our hearts	11:03
	are made glad by a wise and endless peace	11:05
	that we do not earn.	11:10
	Oh comforter, who from the other side of dark	11:15
	invades our despair,	11:20
	our loss and who overcomes	11:23
	for all the harried people,	11:27
	the disasters of nations,	11:30
	the defeats of flesh and soul.	11:33
	Now in the brimming days that hasten us towards Bethlehem,	11:37
	all life calls upon you for wholeness,	11:43
	let sickness be healed,	11:47
	the mind's terrors removed far from us,	11:51
	the heart's loneliness transformed unto joy.	11:56
	Teach the nations	12:02
	and those who lead the nations	12:05
	the things that make for peace.	12:08
	And as you are the creator and guardian of this universe,	12:12
	do keep this fragile planet from destruction.	12:18
	Oh Lord, our God,	12:27
	who by the light of a star dispels the night of our fears	12:30
	and makes us free to sing again,	12:36
	we give thanks that once more the weight	12:41
	of glory is pressed upon an inglorious world,	12:43
	that a stirring is in our midst,	12:48
	a hope rising to strive against the world's despair.	12:52
	Be active in our minds and hearts,	12:58
	that no distress will prevent our doing the works of life,	13:02
	no impatience keep us from the slow work	13:07
	of building a place	13:11
	where love is the mandate that we obey.	13:13
	Awaken us, redeem us,	13:18
	be archangel in us	13:23
	'til we dare to soar	13:28
	and in all of the plodding times	13:31
	and places of the months ahead,	13:33
	be to us unicorn and dove	13:37
	and storm and star	13:40
	until our flesh becomes your wild, wise word.	13:44
	In the name of the Christ	13:54
	we have gathered and prayed	13:55
	and now we pray together this prayer	13:58
	which he teaches us.	14:00
-	Our Father who art in heaven,	14:03
	hallowed be thy name,	14:07
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	14:10
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	14:13
	Give us this day our daily bread	14:16
	and forgive us our trespasses	14:19
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	14:22
	and lead us not into temptation	14:25
	but deliver us from evil	14:28
	for thine is the kingdom	14:30
	and the power and the glory forever.	14:33
	Amen.	14:38
	(tranquil music)	14:50
	(lively music)	18:05
	(lively organ music)	21:17
	(congregation sings)	21:38
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	21:51
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	21:53
	(congregation sings)	21:58
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	22:11
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	22:14
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	22:17
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	22:20
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	22:24
	♪ Amen ♪	22:32
-	Be with us, oh God	22:44
	as we move into a new semester	22:46
	and a new sense of ministry and purpose	22:50
	within your church.	22:53
	Be with us now in the use of these offerings	22:57
	that what we accomplish	23:00
	may be according to your will,	23:02
	that justice and mercy and grace	23:05
	may pervade this Earth and your peoples.	23:10
	In the name of your Son,	23:15
	our Lord, amen.	23:17
	(lively organ music)	23:22
	(congregation sings)	24:38
	Let me remind you that our guest preacher of the morning,	27:20
	Reverend Hamilton will be at the foot	27:22
	of the Chancel Steps following this service	27:25
	to greet you and I know that he would like to meet	27:28
	as many of you as he possibly can.	27:30
	So, I hope that you will come and meet the preacher	27:33
	of the morning.	27:35
	And now go out into the world in peace,	27:38
	have courage, hold on to what is good,	27:41
	return no person evil for evil,	27:46
	but rather strengthen the faint hearted,	27:50
	support the weak,	27:53
	give help to the suffering,	27:55
	honor all men and women,	27:58
	love and serve the Lord,	28:01
	rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit	28:04
	and now may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ	28:08
	and the love of God and the strength and fellowship	28:11
	of the Holy Spirit be with you this day and forever.	28:13
	(tranquil music)	28:24
	(clapping)	32:19

Item Info

Title:

Ronald R. Hamilton - "What Is Your Risk Factor?" (January 8, 1984)

Description:

The Christian life offers no promises of security and comfort. However, by opening ourselves up to God's grace through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will be given the strength to walk through life's uncertainties and endure life's suffering. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 31:01. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 06:48.
Key quotation: “Life can never be secure because there are no finalities, there are no absolutes. Christians must pray for the help of the Holy Spirit every day. The essence of Christian discipleship, then, is the willingness to live in uncertainty with God day by day, always open to the leading of His spirit.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r42b8vs4r

Date:

January 8, 1984

Speaker:

Hamilton, Ronald R.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0188
ref7899_zoq
uachapelsermaud
duke:320982
dcrau001178
ark:/87924/r42b8vs4r
879823aa-225d-4eef-91c3-bfa22b8c78e0

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

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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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Ronald R. Hamilton - "What Is Your Risk Factor?" (January 8, 1984)

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1. Ronald R. Hamilton - "What Is Your Risk Factor?" (January 8, 1984)

Duke University Archives

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Ronald R. Hamilton - "What Is Your Risk Factor?" (January 8, 1984)

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Duke University Archives

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