Lawrence E. Johnson - "Set Free" (July 1, 1984)

Download
- Rights
- No Re-Use
  In Copyright
  More Rights Info
- Files (2)
- MP3 Part 1
- MP3 Part 2
- Please be patient with media downloads. They are often large files.
Share

Embed Code
<iframe src='https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r41c1tw80?embed=true' height='125px' width='100%' frameborder='0' marginwidth='0' marginheight='0' scrolling='no' loading='lazy' allowfullscreen></iframe>
Permalink

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r41c1tw80
Skip to Item Info

Loading the media player...

Files for this Item

Transcript

Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.

	(organ music)	0:02
	(choir singing off mic)	16:24
-	Lord, open our lips	18:36
-	And our mouths shall proclaim your praise.	18:40
-	Your love, oh Lord, forever will I sing,	18:43
	from age to age my mouth will proclaim your faithfulness,	18:47
	for I am persuaded that your love	18:53
	is established forever.	18:56
	You have set your faithfulness firmly in the heavens.	18:59
-	I have made a covenant with my chosen one,	19:04
	I have sworn an oath to David my servant.	19:08
	I will establish your line forever,	19:11
	and preserve your throne for all generations.	19:15
-	The heavens bear witness to your wonders, oh Lord,	19:19
	and to your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.	19:22
	For who in the skies can be compared to the lord?	19:27
	Who is like the Lord among the gods?	19:31
	God is much to be feared in the counsel of the holy ones,	19:34
	great and terrible to all those round about him.	19:39
-	Who is like you, oh Lord of hosts?	19:45
	Oh mighty Lord, your faithfulness is all around you.	19:48
-	You rule the raging of the sea,	19:54
	and still the surging of it's waves.	19:56
	You have crushed Rahab of the deep with a deadly wound.	20:00
	You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.	20:04
	Yours are the heavens, the Earth also is yours,	20:08
	you laid the foundations of the world	20:13
	and all that is in it.	20:15
	You have made the north and the south.	20:18
	Tabor and Herman rejoice in your name.	20:21
	You have a mighty arm, strong is your hand,	20:24
	and high is your right hand.	20:28
	Righteousness and justice	20:31
	are the foundations of your throne.	20:33
	Love and truth go before your face.	20:37
-	Happy are the people who know the festal shout.	20:41
	They walk, oh Lord, in the light of your presence.	20:46
	They rejoice daily in your name,	20:50
	they are jubilant in your righteousness.	20:53
-	For you are the glory of their strength,	20:56
	and by your favor our might is exalted.	20:59
	Truly the Lord is our ruler,	21:04
	the holy one of Israel is our king.	21:07
	(organ music)	21:12
	(choir singing off mic)	21:20
-	It is a particular pleasure to be lector this morning,	22:16
	and to welcome back to the pulpit	22:21
	our guest preacher today	22:25
	who is no stranger to the Duke chapel,	22:27
	the Reverend Dr. Lauren C. Johnson,	22:31
	pastor of Asbury Temple United Methodist Church in Durham.	22:34
	Many of you remember the times and the contributions	22:39
	that he has made to this Duke University	22:44
	through the period of 1979-1982	22:47
	when Dr. Johnson was the director black church affairs	22:51
	at the Duke Divinity School.	22:56
	We truly do welcome you back, Dr. Johnson,	22:58
	to be with us today.	23:01
	Now I'm going to take an additional prerogative	23:05
	that the presiding minister this morning	23:08
	has not included in her instructions to me,	23:12
	and that's namely to express on behalf of the Duke community	23:16
	also a warm welcome to the Reverend Nancy Faret	23:21
	who has returned to Duke this month	23:27
	as assistant minister to the university.	23:30
	As you perhaps might surmise by this beautiful	23:34
	and somewhat cool morning, on a comparative basis,	23:37
	she comes to us from Asheville North Carolina,	23:41
	where she has just been acting as the associate minister	23:44
	of the Central Methodist church there.	23:49
	And it's quite evident that she's brought	23:51
	this weather to us from there.	23:53
	So that's another way in which we are	23:56
	a beneficiary of her being here.	23:59
	I knew Nancy when she was a student at Duke,	24:03
	coming to Duke as an AB Duke scholar in 1971,	24:05
	and she meant so much to the university community.	24:10
	She sang in this chapel choir,	24:13
	she played the organ here,	24:17
	and became an accomplished organist while she was here.	24:19
	Originally planning on going into law,	24:23
	she decided as she said it,	24:27
	she felt the divine command to go to seminary,	24:29
	to see what God wanted from here.	24:33
	And following Yale Divinity School,	24:35
	she returned to North Carolina.	24:38
	We welcome her, we're delighted	24:41
	that she's going to be with us	24:44
	and share the many attributes that she has	24:45
	with us here at Duke University.	24:48
	As you've noticed from the announcement in the bulletin,	24:52
	you're all invited to have lemonade	24:55
	out in the south arcade to the chapel,	24:59
	and we'd like for you to meet both Reverend Faret,	25:04
	and of course also to meet Dr. Johnson.	25:08
	Would you join in prayer?	25:15
	Open our hearts and minds, oh God,	25:20
	by the power of your spirit,	25:24
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	25:26
	we might hear with you what you have	25:31
	to say to us this day, amen.	25:33
	The epistle lesson is from Romans 6:1-11.	25:40
	What shall we say then?	25:49
	Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?	25:52
	By no means.	25:58
	How can we who died to sin still live in it?	26:00
	Do you not know that all of us	26:06
	who have been baptized into Christ Jesus	26:08
	were baptized into his death?	26:11
	We were buried therefore with him	26:15
	by baptism into death,	26:17
	so that as Christ was raised from the dead	26:20
	by the glory of the Father,	26:23
	we too might walk in newness of life.	26:26
	For if we have been united with him	26:31
	in a death like his,	26:34
	we shall certainly be united with him	26:36
	in a resurrection like his.	26:39
	We know that our old self was crucified with him	26:43
	so that the sinful body might be destroyed,	26:48
	and we might no longer be enslaved to sin.	26:52
	For he who has died is freed from sin,	26:57
	but if we have died with Christ,	27:02
	we believe that we shall also live with him.	27:05
	For we know that Christ being raised from the dead	27:10
	will never die again.	27:14
	Death no longer has dominion over him.	27:16
	The death he died, he died to sin once for all,	27:21
	but the life he lives, he lives to God.	27:27
	So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin	27:32
	and alive to God in Christ Jesus.	27:36
	Here ends the reading of the epistle lesson.	27:41
	The gospel lesson is from Matthew 10:22-42.	27:46
	So everyone who acknowledges me before men,	27:56
	I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,	28:00
	but whoever denies me before men,	28:07
	I also will deny before my father who is in heaven.	28:10
	Do not think that I have come to bring peace on Earth.	28:17
	I have not come to bring peace, but a sword,	28:21
	for I have come to set a man against his father,	28:26
	and a daughter against her mother,	28:29
	and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law,	28:32
	and a man's foes will be those of his own household.	28:34
	He who loves father or mother more than me	28:40
	is not worthy of me,	28:45
	and he who loves son or daughter more than me	28:48
	is not worthy of me.	28:52
	And he who does not take his cross and follow me	28:55
	is not worthy of me.	29:00
	He who finds his life will lose it,	29:02
	and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.	29:06
	And he who receives me, receives him who sent me.	29:14
	He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet	29:20
	shall receive a prophet's reward.	29:25
	And he who receives a righteous man,	29:28
	because he is a righteous man	29:31
	shall receive a righteous man's reward.	29:33
	And whoever gives to one of these little ones	29:38
	even a cup of cold water,	29:42
	because he is a disciple, truly I say to you,	29:44
	he shall not lose his reward.	29:49
	Here ends the reading of the gospel lesson, amen.	29:53
	(organ music)	29:59
-	It is indeed a pleasure to come	34:10
	and share with you this morning.	34:14
	As I thought about my subject this morning,	34:20
	I thought about it and I felt that I was	34:27
	truly the epitome of being set free.	34:32
	For yesterday I decided to	34:39
	try my hand at domestication,	34:43
	and I spent most of the day and	34:47
	into the early morning hours	34:51
	baking rolls for our church breakfast this morning.	34:55
	In the process of trying to complete my task	35:00
	in order that I might fulfill my mission here this morning,	35:03
	my family was preparing to go away,	35:08
	and when the rolls were done, the first dozen was gone.	35:13
	So I had to start my task all over again.	35:18
	But I feel real free this morning,	35:22
	because I sent them away to Las Vegas yesterday.	35:25
	Let us join together in prayer.	35:33
	Drop thy still dew of quietness upon us,	35:39
	'til all our striving cease,	35:46
	and let our ordered lives confess	35:52
	the beauty of thy peace.	35:57
	Let the words of our mouths	36:01
	and the meditation of our hearts	36:06
	be acceptable in thy sight.	36:08
	In your name we pray, amen.	36:12
	So you also must consider yourselves	36:19
	dead to sin,	36:25
	and alive to God in Christ Jesus,	36:27
	Romans 6:11.	36:31
	And he who does not take his cross and follow me	36:35
	is not worthy of me.	36:41
	He who finds his life will lose it.	36:44
	And he who loses his life for my sake will find it.	36:49
	Matthew 10:38, 39.	36:56
	I hope you listened attentively	37:04
	to the scripture reading this morning,	37:06
	because that is where our message will come from.	37:09
	As we listened this morning,	37:17
	I'm quite sure you began to say in your mind,	37:18
	that the message in our scripture text today	37:25
	is very disturbing, as well as challenging.	37:28
	It indicates that we who call ourselves Christians	37:34
	must take our call and discipleship seriously.	37:38
	In America we are not persecuted, stoned,	37:45
	or gunned down because of our stand	37:47
	and the conviction of our faith.	37:50
	However, we must not take this as an indication	37:54
	that the Christian life is easy going.	38:01
	The type of life Jesus lived and proclaimed	38:07
	is costly and demanding.	38:10
	If any man would come after me	38:14
	he must deny himself and take up his cross daily	38:17
	and follow me.	38:22
	The way of the cross promises no softness,	38:24
	but suffering, no comfort, but challenge,	38:29
	no safety, but sacrifice.	38:34
	In this life there is peace,	38:39
	and there is also persecution.	38:43
	There is security, joy, and abundance,	38:47
	but there is also pain and tears.	38:51
	Jesus said, I came not to bring peace,	38:55
	but a sword.	39:00
	How could the Prince of Peace	39:03
	talk about violence of this nature,	39:06
	especially one who came	39:10
	to bring peace to Earth.	39:14
	The sword that Jesus had referenced to	39:18
	was a division between the old self	39:21
	and the new self.	39:25
	Jesus foresaw persecution and predicted it.	39:27
	The sword was in the hands of the enemy, not Jesus.	39:34
	It was a sword of cruelty,	39:39
	tyranny, and persecution.	39:43
	Jesus knew that his enemies would seek to destroy him,	39:46
	but he was not threatened, nor did he compromise his gospel	39:51
	because of these threats.	39:56
	He felt truth must be spoken,	39:59
	and that errors must be expressed,	40:02
	and that sins must be denounced at any cost.	40:06
	We notice one particular thing about Jesus,	40:13
	and that is he was not out to appease people.	40:17
	We know that the word of God is sharper	40:21
	than a two edged sword.	40:23
	Often the gospel of peace brings warfare.	40:26
	It cuts through old habits, opposes sin,	40:30
	and sets up new standards to live by.	40:36
	To refuse, to resist temptation	40:40
	for the sake of peace and quiet	40:42
	is to be faithful to Christ	40:46
	who only gives peace through our	40:48
	faithful endurance of conflict.	40:51
	The sword cuts across social lines	40:56
	to cause discord and division among families,	40:58
	separating children and parents.	41:03
	Christ does not require us to renounce home ties	41:08
	in order to follow him,	41:11
	but the gospel demands are so stringent	41:14
	that some feel the pressure so great	41:18
	that they must leave home and family.	41:22
	In many families,	41:27
	for example the Jews who became Christians,	41:28
	divided their families.	41:31
	Hindu families converted by missionaries	41:34
	and other foreign persons,	41:36
	confessing Christ as savior of their lives	41:37
	brought trouble in a worldly home,	41:41
	especially where one was converted	41:44
	and the other in the family remained unchristian.	41:47
	The simple explanation for the sword	41:52
	is that Christ must be first in our lives,	41:54
	and that no domestic claim can excuse us	41:59
	for disloyalty to him.	42:03
	We notice that there is a continuous struggle	42:07
	between the old man Adam, who will not die	42:09
	without a fight over against the new man.	42:15
	But Jesus Christ calls us to a new life,	42:20
	renouncing sin, and coming alive to God in Christ Jesus.	42:24
	Jesus came that we might have life,	42:32
	and that we might have it more abundantly.	42:35
	Henry Thoreau, an English philosopher in his essay,	42:39
	Where I Lived and What I Lived For,	42:43
	sensed a need in himself and every person	42:47
	when he said, I went into the woods	42:51
	because I wished to live deliberately,	42:53
	to front only the essential facts of life,	42:57
	and see if I could not learn what it had to teach,	43:00
	and not when I come to die,	43:04
	discover that I had not lived.	43:08
	What could be more tragic for any one of us	43:13
	than to die before we really live?	43:17
	We need to give priority to quality of life,	43:20
	rather than to longevity,	43:23
	for we live not in number of years, but in deeds.	43:25
	It is not how long we live,	43:30
	but the quality of life that we live.	43:33
	Jesus is talking about quality of life and eternal life,	43:37
	life after death.	43:42
	Jesus did not come back from the resurrection or the grave	43:44
	to inform us that life goes on,	43:49
	but he came back to tell us that real life	43:53
	is possible right here and now.	43:56
	When we as human beings accept Christ as our savior,	44:00
	it is seen as the passing from death unto life.	44:04
	New life is found wherever Christ is known,	44:09
	where he's trusted, where he's loved.	44:13
	As we greet each new day with hope,	44:18
	it is our opportunity to begin new life,	44:23
	leaving behind the past	44:27
	and pressing on towards the future.	44:30
	But the question comes to mind,	44:35
	what prevents us from having this new life in Christ?	44:38
	Sin.	44:43
	Sin separates us from God and our fellow human being.	44:45
	Whosoever committed sin is the slave of sin.	44:51
	Our concept of slavery is a person	44:58
	who is placed under servitude,	45:00
	or a prisoner locked behind bars.	45:03
	Not so.	45:06
	A person may be physically free without being free indeed.	45:08
	Prejudice, hatred, inner fears.	45:13
	Secondly, a person may be socially free	45:17
	without being free indeed,	45:20
	a person who enjoys the social and political privileges,	45:23
	and yet become a captive of some great tradition.	45:29
	And thirdly, a person may be mentally free	45:35
	without being free indeed.	45:37
	One's intellect may be sound,	45:41
	and grasping his mental vision clear,	45:44
	and far reaching, and still be a prisoner of their own mind.	45:47
	Every sinner has a master	45:54
	who has dominion over them,	45:58
	and gives wages to the servant.	45:59
	The wages of sin is death,	46:02
	because one obeys them.	46:07
	Slavery to sin implies a false relationship to God,	46:10
	and there is a distinct difference	46:16
	between the servant and the son.	46:18
	And the servant abided not in the house forever,	46:22
	but the son abided forever.	46:26
	Take for an example, as descendants from Abraham's seeds,	46:30
	the Jews remembered Isaac,	46:35
	the son of the free woman remained in the house	46:37
	as the heir of the promise,	46:40
	but Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, was cast out.	46:43
	Our Lord adheres to the lives of ancient history,	46:49
	so as to mark who were as sons introduced	46:53
	into true spiritual freedom of Abraham's seed.	46:58
	Christ thus places us on a new footing in the household.	47:03
	It is Christ who gives us freedom.	47:08
	It is true freedom because it is freedom	47:11
	from sin, guilt, condemnation,	47:14
	from the darkness of ignorance and error,	47:18
	from self, self-seeking pleasure and satisfaction,	47:22
	from the law of curse, penalties,	47:27
	and heavy burden.	47:32
	True freedom is assessed to God at all times,	47:34
	and it holds our expectation of liberty	47:39
	of sons of God hereafter.	47:43
	True freedom is deliverance	47:47
	from spiritual chains and bondage.	47:50
	For those who recognize and accept	47:54
	the supreme claim of the divine law	47:56
	are the ones who prefer the will of God	48:00
	above their own pleasure, or that of their peers.	48:04
	Political or social freedom	48:09
	may be gained by a human deliverer,	48:11
	such as the hostages that were released,	48:14
	but only God can enfranchise the soul.	48:18
	Charles Wesley pens it this way,	48:22
	he breaks the power of canceled sin,	48:25
	he sets the prisoners free,	48:29
	his blood can make the foulest clean, his blood.	48:32

Pastor	Is a choice we make on our own.	0:02
	Ezekiel 36:26-27 says,	0:05
	"Then while I sprinkle clean water	0:10
	"upon you, and you shall be clean	0:12
	"from all your filthiness, and from all your idols,	0:17
	"will I cleanse you.	0:22
	"A new heart also will I give you,	0:24
	"and a new spirit I will put within you.	0:26
	"and I will take away the stony heart, out of your flesh,	0:30
	"and I will give your heart of flesh."	0:34
	In such a way, baptism comes to be the symbol	0:38
	of the forgiveness of sins.	0:43
	And the new life in Christ Jesus.	0:45
	This outward symbol signifies	0:48
	an inward change of repentance.	0:50
	Our scripture reminded us today,	0:56
	that he that findith his life, shall lose it.	0:59
	Love is life.	1:03
	The love of self and the world,	1:05
	is the life of the unregenerate.	1:07
	But the love of Christ, is the life of the new birth.	1:11
	He that allows self love to rule in their hearts,	1:15
	must lose the love of God.	1:20
	But it also goes on to say, that "He that loses his life	1:23
	for my sake, shall find it."	1:27
	The life of a grain is terminated,	1:32
	when it is used for immediate gratification.	1:36
	But it receives fullest development,	1:41
	accomplishes it's richest end	1:43
	when it is cast into the ground,	1:46
	and bear it out of sight and loss.	1:48
	You can end your life, in selfish gratification.	1:53
	But you can also fulfill your life by living for others.	1:58
	Your life can be increased.	2:04
	It can be widened, it can be enriched.	2:06
	Christ gives quality to life.	2:11
	He fills it with meaning, with purpose,	2:15
	with hope.	2:20
	And life in Christ has a purpose to serve	2:21
	others around us.	2:25
	We are nevertheless in the daily process	2:30
	of dying to see him.	2:33
	Their dying will not be completed,	2:35
	until we have set free to relate to one another.	2:37
	To share with one another.	2:42
	To serve, to support, and to build up one another.	2:43
	But it continues as we cease yielding	2:49
	to self-interests, self-concerns.	2:53
	As we cease seeking out our own gratification,	2:58
	at the expense of others.	3:02
	As we become increasingly successful at overcoming	3:05
	our lust, our covetousness, our bigotry,	3:09
	our impatience,	3:14
	our apathy, and whatever else clouds our relationship	3:16
	between God and our fellow creatures.	3:21
	As a resurrected people, we are crucified with Christ,	3:25
	and raised with him from the dead,	3:29
	we become new people in Christ.	3:32
	Focus upon new goals.	3:35
	Compelled by new motives.	3:38
	Committed to new objectives,	3:41
	we have thus been reborn.	3:44
	All things have become new, and old things have passed away.	3:47
	Through the grace of God, we are now free	3:53
	to love and accept ourselves,	3:56
	and to dedicate our lives	3:58
	to loving our fellow persons, as ourselves.	4:00
	When we are free, we are not offended at those	4:05
	who leave us out of their circle.	4:12
	But we become much bigger persons	4:17
	by drawing a circle that is much bigger, to include them in.	4:21
	In Zorro the Greek, the impulsive Zorro points out	4:29
	the vast chasm that separates him from his uptight boss.	4:33
	This is what he said:	4:39
	"No you're not free," he said.	4:43
	"The string you're tied to,	4:46
	"is perhaps no longer than any other person.	4:47
	"That's all.	4:53
	"You're on a long piece of string, boss.	4:54
	"You come and go and think you're free,	4:57
	"but you never cut the string in two.	4:59
	"It's difficult boss, very difficult.	5:04
	"You needn't touch a folly to do that.	5:07
	"Folly you see, you have to risk everything.	5:10
	"But you got such a strong head,	5:16
	"it'll always get the better of you.	5:19
	"A person's head is like a grocer, it keeps a count.	5:22
	"I paid so much, and earn so much,	5:28
	"and that means a profit of this much,	5:31
	"or a loss of this much."	5:34
	We are much like the boss.	5:40
	Our strings in life are too tight for us	5:42
	to prayerfully, joyfully accept the gift of life.	5:45
	We are too caught up in our own worlds,	5:50
	to celebrate the joy and the beauty of God.	5:53
	But notice what happens when Zorro is free.	5:57
	He can sing with enthusiasm,	6:01
	"I am the Lord of the dead," says he.	6:04
	Thus if we are cut loose,	6:07
	we can become like Zorro the Greek.	6:09
	Leaping high of sin I am the life	6:12
	that will never, never, never die.	6:15
	I'll live in you if you live in me.	6:19
	I'm the lord of the dead, says he.	6:23
	Life is to be lived, whatever risk may be.	6:26
	Choose life today.	6:32
	Only that and always, and at whatever risk,	6:35
	to let life leak out,	6:39
	to let it well wade by the mere passage of time.	6:43
	To withhold giving it and spreading it, to choose nothing.	6:48
	To choose life, whatever the risk,	6:52
	is to believe in the resurrection.	6:55
	Least you die before you live, let Christ fill your life	6:59
	with meaning, with hope, with adventure.	7:04
	It is when we are set free to live,	7:10
	when we are set free to love,	7:14
	when we are set free to serve,	7:16
	that we can enjoy real freedom.	7:20
	It is the knowledge of the truth that will set us free.	7:23
	You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.	7:27
	Good feelings, will not free us.	7:32
	Ecstatic experiences will not free us.	7:36
	Getting high on Jesus, will not free us.	7:41
	Without a knowledge of the truth,	7:46
	we will not be free.	7:50
	But when you are free, you can love those	7:53
	who despitefully use you.	7:57
	You can share with those, that those who have asked	8:01
	for your coat you can give them your cloak also.	8:04
	When you are set free you can speak the truth,	8:09
	and not be afraid of the consequences.	8:12
	When you are set free,	8:15
	you can preach liberty to the Catholics,	8:17
	sight for the blind, proclaim justice	8:20
	and freedom to the poor.	8:24
	I say to you, you are set free today.	8:27
	Walk on.	8:33
	Walk on through the wind and through the wake.	8:36
	Walk on, and don't get weary.	8:41
	Walk on for justice, for freedom,	8:45
	for peace, and righteousness.	8:49
	And we can soon say, free at last,	8:53
	free at last, thank God almighty.	8:58
	Free at last.	9:03
	(organ music)	9:17
	(church singing hymns)	10:05
	(church continues to sing hymns)	10:59
Woman	The lord be with you.	13:46
Audience	And also be with you.	13:49
Woman	Let us pray.	13:51
	Most merciful God,	14:04
	having called each of us into perfect freedom	14:10
	through Jesus Christ,	14:14
	you have thereby called us into relationship	14:17
	with our sisters and brothers throughout the world.	14:21
	We offer unto you these prayers for others,	14:27
	beseeching you to grant them fullness of life.	14:31
	We pray for people everywhere, who seek to know the truth,	14:38
	and who dare to weave it into	14:44
	the fabric of their daily lives.	14:46
	For all who earnestly seek peace,	14:52
	and who live lives that make it a reality.	14:55
	For all who suffer with those who are stricken,	15:01
	whatever their station in life,	15:05
	and help to bring the world into new awareness's,	15:08
	of our own frailties.	15:12
	For all who perceive beauty and order	15:16
	in the midst of chaos and despair.	15:21
	And who give their own lives in order to create it.	15:25
	For all who stand up in any company	15:32
	to expose injustice, prejudice, and inhumanity,	15:35
	even at the price of their own security.	15:41
	We commend to you gracious God,	15:46
	those who stand in special need of prayer this day.	15:49
	All who bear the burdens of homelessness or unemployment,	15:55
	and who suffer the pangs of hunger.	15:59
	All who are paralyzed in the face of decisions	16:03
	or responsibilities, that seem to consume them.	16:07
	All who are burdened, not by too little, but by too much.	16:14
	Wielding power that renders them indifferent,	16:19
	to the needs and the rights of others.	16:23
	All who are overwhelmed by loneliness, despair,	16:27
	or grief, and who question their reason for living.	16:31
	And we dare to pray, eternal God, even for ourselves,	16:37
	aware that we have done so little with so much,	16:43
	yet committed to offering you more obedient service.	16:47
	Give us keener self-understanding,	16:52
	lest we think of ourselves more highly,	16:55
	or more lowly, than we ought.	17:00
	Give us a sense of what is most vital,	17:05
	and most valuable in our lives.	17:08
	Lest we squander our years and waste precious energies.	17:12
	Give us a clear and compelling vision	17:18
	of the call to be disciples of Christ.	17:22
	Lest we presume our own limited understanding of faith,	17:26
	to be all that you would ask of us,	17:31
	when you have created us, to be so much more.	17:34
	We lift these prayers unto you, oh God,	17:41
	beseeching you to strive with us, yet a little longer.	17:45
	In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.	17:52
	(organ music)	18:11
	(organ music continued)	21:00
	(church singing hymns)	25:14
Woman	Our kind and gracious God,	26:13
	creator, redeemer, and sustainer of us all,	26:15
	Diverse though we are in age, and outlook,	26:20
	we are one in our desire to voice our gratitude to thee.	26:24
	We thank thee for our time and place in history,	26:30
	for this opportunity of worship,	26:35
	and the privilege of serving thee,	26:37
	as we dedicate these gifts, we do so in the knowledge	26:41
	that thou has given us life, and called it good.	26:46
	So we echo thy joyful affirmation of creation,	26:51
	this day, thanking thee, and praising thy name	26:55
	for such wondrous love, as we pray together with confidence.	26:59
Audience	[Woman] Our Father, who art in heaven,	27:06
	hallowed be thy name.	27:10
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	27:12
	on earth as it is in heaven.	27:16
	Give us this day, our daily bread,	27:18
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	27:22
	who trespass against us,	27:25
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	27:28
	For thine is the King, the power and the glory, forever.	27:34
	Amen.	27:40
	(organ music)	27:42
	(church sings Glory Glory Hallelujah)	28:06
Woman	The peace of God, which passeth all understanding,	32:39
	keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,	32:43
	and of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.	32:48
	And the blessing of God almighty,	32:52
	the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,	32:54
	be among you, and remain with you, always.	32:57
	Amen.	33:01
	(organ music)	33:05

Item Info

Title:

Lawrence E. Johnson - "Set Free" (July 1, 1984)

Description:

Sermon start time: (Part 1): 34:10. Sermon end time: (Part 2) 09:06.
While the Christian call to discipleship does not offer comfort or ease––the way of the cross is costly––it does offer freedom. We are all slaves to sin, but, through Christ's death and resurrection, we have been set free from these bonds. In this new freedom, we are able to speak the truth without fear of consequences and love our neighbors as ourselves. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “Through the grace of God, we are now free to love and accept ourselves, and to dedicate our lives to loving our fellow persons as ourselves.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r41c1tw80

Date:

July 1, 1984

Speaker:

Johnson, Lawrence E.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 CS-0217
ref7955_mpw
uachapelsermaud
duke:320659
dcrau001205
ark:/87924/r41c1tw80
29f7ff1b-3340-48fc-b198-d025016aa90b

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

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:

No Re-Use

In Copyright

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

Sponsor:

Sponsor this Digital Collection

Lawrence E. Johnson - "Set Free" (July 1, 1984)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

More Info & Options