James T. Laney - "Beyond the Bottom Line" (September 14, 1986)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
(pipe organ plays reverent music) | 0:03 | |
(congregation murmuring) | 6:54 | |
(footsteps walking) | 6:59 | |
- | Good morning, and welcome to Duke University Chapel. | 7:35 |
We are pleased to welcome you here | 7:39 | |
for this Duke Campus Ministry Sunday. | 7:41 | |
Today, in front of the chapel, all afternoon | 7:43 | |
our Duke Campus Ministry students will be conducting | 7:47 | |
a faith festival, highlighting the many dimensions | 7:50 | |
of religious life here at Duke, | 7:54 | |
and we invite all students | 7:56 | |
to join them for the faith festival. | 7:59 | |
One word about the service. | 8:03 | |
The music for the psalm | 8:05 | |
is incorrectly printed in the bulletin. | 8:07 | |
Just follow along with the response | 8:09 | |
with the choir as they sing. | 8:11 | |
The words are right, the music is wrong, | 8:14 | |
but join with the choir in that. | 8:17 | |
Call your attention to the main announcements | 8:20 | |
in the bulletin, | 8:22 | |
including the visit this week, | 8:24 | |
sponsored by Duke Chapel, | 8:26 | |
of Michael Novak, | 8:28 | |
speaking on capitalism and Christianity, | 8:30 | |
and the public is invited. | 8:35 | |
Our guest preacher this morning | 8:39 | |
is the Reverend Doctor James Laney, | 8:41 | |
President of Emory University. | 8:43 | |
Delighted to invite this good friend | 8:46 | |
and president of our sister institution | 8:49 | |
again to the chapel pulpit. | 8:53 | |
Dr. Laney is a renowned speaker | 8:56 | |
and leader in American higher education, | 8:59 | |
and we welcome him again to the chapel. | 9:04 | |
We also invite you to join us for lemonade | 9:08 | |
after the service, | 9:11 | |
at which time you will have the opportunity to meet | 9:12 | |
Dr. and Mrs. Laney. | 9:15 | |
And now let us prepare ourselves for worship. | 9:18 | |
(papers shuffling) | 9:22 | |
(choir singing hymn) | 9:43 | |
♪ Beautiful Savior ♪ | 9:44 | |
♪ Lord of the nations ♪ | 9:51 | |
♪ Son of God and Son of Man ♪ | 9:59 | |
♪ Glory and honor ♪ | 10:14 | |
♪ Praise, adoration ♪ | 10:22 | |
♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪ | 10:28 | |
♪ Now and forevermore be thine ♪ | 10:41 | |
(pipe organ playing stately music) | 11:03 | |
(choir sings accompanied by pipe organ) | 11:45 | |
- | Let us pray. | 15:39 |
Gracious God, | 15:46 | |
rule over us as we meet together, | 15:48 | |
and so fill us with your Spirit | 15:51 | |
that in our singing and in our prayers | 15:54 | |
and the reading and preaching of your holy word | 15:58 | |
we may in spirit and in truth worship you, | 16:01 | |
and proclaim your mighty deeds to all the world. | 16:05 | |
Amen. | 16:10 | |
Be seated. | 16:11 | |
(congregation murmurs) | 16:13 | |
- | Let us pray. | 16:18 |
Open our hearts and minds, O God, | 16:20 | |
by the power | 16:24 | |
(congregation joins celebrant) of your Holy Spirit | 16:25 | |
so that, as the word is read and proclaimed, | 16:27 | |
we might hear with joy | 16:31 | |
what you say to us this day. | 16:33 | |
Amen. | 16:36 | |
The first lesson is taken from Genesis. | 16:38 | |
"When the boys grew up, | 16:41 | |
"Esau was a skillful hunter, | 16:43 | |
"a man of the field, | 16:45 | |
"while Jacob was a quiet man, | 16:47 | |
"dwelling in his tents. | 16:49 | |
"Isaac loved Esau because he ate of his game, | 16:52 | |
"but Rebecca loved Jacob. | 16:56 | |
"Once, when Jacob was boiling pottage, | 16:58 | |
"Esau came in from the field | 17:01 | |
"and he was famished. | 17:04 | |
"And Esau said to Jacob, | 17:06 | |
"Let me eat some of that red pottage for I am famished. | 17:09 | |
"Therefore, his name was called Edom. | 17:14 | |
"Jacob said, First sell me your birthright. | 17:17 | |
"Esau said, I am about to die. | 17:21 | |
"Of what use is a birthright to me? | 17:25 | |
"Jacob said, Swear to me first. | 17:28 | |
"So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. | 17:32 | |
"Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils. | 17:37 | |
"And he ate and drank and rose and went his way. | 17:40 | |
"Thus Esau despised his birthright." | 17:45 | |
This ends the reading of the first lesson. | 17:49 | |
(congregation murmurs) | 17:54 | |
(pipe organ music plays majestic music) | 18:03 | |
♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪ | 18:15 | |
♪ And rejoice the heart ♪ | 18:19 | |
♪ The law of the Lord is perfect ♪ | 18:28 | |
♪ It renews the soul ♪ | 18:31 | |
♪ The rule of the Lord is sure ♪ | 18:35 | |
♪ It makes wise the simple ♪ | 18:39 | |
♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪ | 18:44 | |
♪ And rejoice the heart ♪ | 18:48 | |
♪ The command of the Lord shines clear ♪ | 18:53 | |
♪ It lightens the eyes ♪ | 18:56 | |
♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪ | 19:02 | |
♪ And rejoice the heart ♪ | 19:07 | |
♪ The fear of the Lord is holy ♪ | 19:15 | |
♪ Enduring forever ♪ | 19:18 | |
♪ The decrees of the Lord are true ♪ | 19:22 | |
♪ And all of them righteous ♪ | 19:26 | |
♪ They are more precious than gold ♪ | 19:31 | |
♪ More than abundant pure gold ♪ | 19:35 | |
♪ The word of the Lord is sweeter than honey ♪ | 19:40 | |
♪ Than honey fresh from the comb ♪ | 19:45 | |
♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪ | 19:51 | |
♪ And rejoice the heart ♪ | 19:56 | |
♪ By them your servant is guided ♪ | 20:04 | |
♪ In keeping them there is great reward ♪ | 20:07 | |
♪ Who can know all my offenses ♪ | 20:12 | |
♪ Wash me from my secret wrongdoing ♪ | 20:16 | |
♪ O Lord God keep your servant from foolish pride ♪ | 20:23 | |
♪ Let it not overwhelm me ♪ | 20:29 | |
♪ Then shall I be whole and innocent of all my transgression ♪ | 20:34 | |
♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪ | 20:43 | |
♪ And rejoice the heart ♪ | 20:48 | |
♪ Let the words of my mouth ♪ | 20:56 | |
♪ The cries of my heart ♪ | 20:59 | |
♪ Find favor before you, O Lord ♪ | 21:04 | |
♪ My redeemer and God ♪ | 21:09 | |
♪ The statutes of the Lord are just ♪ | 21:15 | |
♪ They rejoice the heart ♪ | 21:20 | |
(pipe organ playing music) | 21:30 | |
(choir singing accompanied by pipe organ) | 21:39 | |
(papers shuffle) | 22:39 | |
(pipe organ playing softly) | 22:49 | |
(choir singing slow ethereal music) | 23:14 | |
♪ Salvation ♪ | 23:18 | |
♪ Is made ♪ | 23:32 | |
♪ Salvation ♪ | 23:48 | |
♪ Is made ♪ | 24:04 | |
♪ In midst of ♪ | 24:15 | |
♪ Is made ♪ | 24:25 | |
♪ In midst of ♪ | 24:40 | |
♪ Is made ♪ | 24:51 | |
♪ In midst of ♪ | 24:55 | |
♪ The earth ♪ | 25:10 | |
♪ O God ♪ | 25:15 | |
- | The gospel lesson is taken from Matthew. | 25:45 |
"Everyone, then, who hears these words of mine | 25:49 | |
"and does them, will be like a wise man | 25:53 | |
"who built his house upon the rock. | 25:57 | |
"And the rain fell, and the floods came, | 25:59 | |
"and the winds blew and beat upon the house. | 26:03 | |
"But it did not fall | 26:07 | |
"because it had been founded on the rock. | 26:09 | |
"And everyone who hears these words of mine | 26:13 | |
"and does not do them will be like the foolish man, | 26:17 | |
"who built his house upon the sand. | 26:21 | |
"And the rain fell, and the floods came, | 26:24 | |
"and the winds blew and beat against that house, | 26:28 | |
"and it fell. | 26:32 | |
"And great was the fall of it. | 26:34 | |
"And when Jesus finished these sayings, | 26:37 | |
"the crowds were astonished at his teaching. | 26:40 | |
"For he taught them as one who had authority, | 26:43 | |
"and not as their scribes." | 26:47 | |
This ends the reading of the gospel. | 26:50 | |
- | It's a great personal privilege | 27:08 |
for me to be in this splendid place today | 27:11 | |
on such a glorious morning | 27:17 | |
and to hear this magnificent choir | 27:20 | |
sing an anthem that took me back to my own collegiate days | 27:24 | |
when I sang in a choir. | 27:29 | |
Chesnokov's "Salvation." | 27:32 | |
And to sense the indwelling | 27:36 | |
of the power of the presence of God | 27:40 | |
that can come with the gathering of his people, | 27:45 | |
and the singing of his praises, | 27:49 | |
and the reading of his word. | 27:52 | |
So I come before you in gratitude | 27:57 | |
for this opportunity to share in this splendid morning. | 27:59 | |
Every age has a dominant characteristic. | 28:09 | |
A tone, a spirit | 28:15 | |
that is often | 28:17 | |
captured by a phrase | 28:20 | |
or a term. | 28:22 | |
The Victorian Age. | 28:26 | |
The Gay Nineties. | 28:29 | |
The Roaring Twenties. | 28:30 | |
And as the darkling plains of Europe | 28:33 | |
were clouded in the 30s | 28:38 | |
we recall Auden's Age of Anxiety. | 28:40 | |
What would be the appropriate characterization of our age? | 28:47 | |
Of the 80s. | 28:54 | |
Certainly the term that seems to sum up | 28:58 | |
the prevailing spirit and mood of our culture and our time | 29:02 | |
is the bottom line. | 29:08 | |
It's an ubiquitous phrase. | 29:13 | |
We hear it all the time. | 29:16 | |
Some friends of ours with a precocious eight year old | 29:18 | |
were sitting around dinner discussing the pros and cons | 29:21 | |
of a particular issue, | 29:25 | |
and finally in exasperation the eight year old | 29:26 | |
looked at his parents and he said, | 29:29 | |
"All right, but what is the bottom line?" | 29:31 | |
(congregation murmurs) | 29:33 | |
Obviously, it bespeaks | 29:36 | |
the pervasiveness of business, | 29:40 | |
and of the importance of efficiency. | 29:45 | |
It points to the need for productivity | 29:50 | |
and accountability. | 29:55 | |
And it doesn't easily brook an excuse or extenuation. | 29:58 | |
One only has to go abroad to many countries | 30:04 | |
and stand in a long queue, waiting for some service, | 30:09 | |
only to be told when we reach the counter | 30:14 | |
that the person that we were to see | 30:18 | |
has gone off on a long tea break, | 30:19 | |
to appreciate how much the crispness of our affairs | 30:22 | |
lends a certain kind of satisfaction for all of us. | 30:28 | |
The bottom line cuts through irrelevance | 30:34 | |
and cant | 30:39 | |
and gets right to the point. | 30:41 | |
The "New Yorker," as most of you know, | 30:45 | |
if fond of cutting through irrelevance and cant. | 30:47 | |
In the summer, in one of the end of column quotations, | 30:51 | |
they quoted an advertisement for the BMW. | 30:56 | |
The first paragraph was, | 31:03 | |
"Turn on the ignition of your ordinary car | 31:05 | |
"and the engine starts." | 31:07 | |
The second paragraph of the ad went on, | 31:11 | |
"Turn on the ignition of your BMW, | 31:14 | |
X-X-Z-Y or whatever, | 31:17 | |
and sensors tell you immediately | 31:20 | |
the outside temperature and humidity, | 31:23 | |
your altitude above sea level, | 31:26 | |
and if you wish will chart a vector for your next trip." | 31:29 | |
The editors of the "New Yorker" wrote, | 31:35 | |
"Tell us more about the one that starts." | 31:36 | |
(congregation laughs) | 31:39 | |
With apologies to those of you who are fond of driving | 31:43 | |
the ultimate driving machine. | 31:47 | |
(congregation laughs) | 31:49 | |
There's a certain attractiveness | 31:51 | |
in having a trenchant handle on affairs. | 31:56 | |
A no nonsense approach. | 32:02 | |
The competence and expertise of our age. | 32:06 | |
And more and more we're finding the bottom line applied | 32:11 | |
not only to business, or after dinner conversation | 32:14 | |
by precocious youngsters, | 32:19 | |
but also to institutions, | 32:21 | |
universities, | 32:25 | |
professions, | 32:28 | |
medical practices, | 32:30 | |
law firms. | 32:32 | |
All across the spectrum of our society. | 32:34 | |
We live by the bottom line. | 32:39 | |
We are results oriented. | 32:44 | |
And I think as long as it bespeaks a culture | 32:49 | |
which doesn't reduce everything to the bottom line, | 32:53 | |
which allows a certain latitude in concerns and aspirations, | 33:00 | |
and virtues, this has its place. | 33:06 | |
But I think all of us realize very quickly | 33:11 | |
that the bottom line is really not enough. | 33:13 | |
Ironically, it's not enough even in business. | 33:20 | |
Corporate life itself | 33:24 | |
must think of more than the immediate results, | 33:26 | |
even though some people try to skim off | 33:29 | |
and produce something that will | 33:31 | |
make the stock more marketable | 33:33 | |
for their own manipulative purposes. | 33:36 | |
The people that know can appreciate how much | 33:40 | |
a business is like any institution. | 33:45 | |
It requires loyalty and dedication, | 33:49 | |
hard work and discipline, | 33:53 | |
a good idea, | 33:54 | |
a sense of consistency and persistence. | 33:57 | |
Last winter, in the "American Scholar," | 34:02 | |
there was a fascinating essay | 34:05 | |
on the rise of the department store in the United States | 34:07 | |
and the revolution in marketing that it caused. | 34:10 | |
How from a myriad of | 34:15 | |
merchants with small stores | 34:18 | |
and peddlers who would haggle over prices | 34:21 | |
and for whom the motto was caveat emptor, | 34:25 | |
buyer beware, | 34:29 | |
to a consistent price and consistent quality of | 34:31 | |
all kinds of goods under the roof of one emporium. | 34:36 | |
Told about Marshall Fields. | 34:43 | |
Their legendary man in Chicago. | 34:46 | |
How he went to a dinner party one night, | 34:50 | |
an elegant dinner party, | 34:52 | |
and there on his host's table | 34:53 | |
he saw this gorgeous tablecloth. | 34:55 | |
One that he knew had come from his store | 34:59 | |
because he had made a mental note | 35:01 | |
to reprimand the department manager, | 35:05 | |
saying that that was never going to sell | 35:07 | |
because it was too expensive. | 35:09 | |
As he saw it there on his host's table | 35:12 | |
he thought, "I owe that man an apology. | 35:14 | |
"He did sell it and this lady bought it." | 35:18 | |
And he smiled with great satisfaction. | 35:22 | |
The next morning he called in the department manager | 35:26 | |
to praise him. | 35:29 | |
And the manager came before the great man | 35:31 | |
and Marshall Fields said, | 35:35 | |
"I am really impressed with your marketing prowess. | 35:37 | |
"You had something I though would never sell, | 35:41 | |
but it sold because I saw it last night | 35:44 | |
at Mrs. So-and-So's." | 35:46 | |
The man's face fell. | 35:49 | |
He said, "I wish you'd called me in yesterday afternoon. | 35:52 | |
It's true it did sell, but it was returned this morning." | 35:54 | |
(congregation chuckles) | 35:58 | |
The customer is always right. | 36:03 | |
Maybe in the short run that's not always profitable | 36:06 | |
in the strict sense of the term. | 36:09 | |
But it does build a great business. | 36:13 | |
Some of you've read the recent book out | 36:16 | |
called "The Big Time," | 36:18 | |
which tells of the graduates of the famous class of 1949 | 36:21 | |
at the Harvard Business School. | 36:27 | |
Men who have come in an incredibly concentrated way | 36:30 | |
to dominate American business and industry. | 36:35 | |
And the thing that came through in this description of | 36:40 | |
these leaders of business and industry was | 36:43 | |
the extraordinary sense of dedication, | 36:48 | |
almost idealism, that they displayed. | 36:51 | |
Obviously, toward their business, | 36:56 | |
but also toward their communities, | 36:59 | |
their sense of civic responsibility, | 37:01 | |
their willingness to invest themselves for team spirit, | 37:03 | |
it was almost as though they transferred from | 37:06 | |
the playing fields of Cambridge, or wherever, | 37:10 | |
to their corporate life | 37:13 | |
a sense of participation and collegiality and team spirit, | 37:15 | |
always, of course, under real leadership. | 37:18 | |
And there was a contrast made | 37:23 | |
between the leaders that came out in 1949 | 37:26 | |
with almost this naivete | 37:31 | |
about the value of the work that they were doing | 37:33 | |
and how it justified their lives, | 37:36 | |
with many of the number-crunchers | 37:40 | |
that are now lining up on Wall Street. | 37:42 | |
Probably brighter. | 37:45 | |
Certainly more clever. | 37:46 | |
Able to perform an LBO, a leverage buyout | 37:49 | |
over a weekend. | 37:55 | |
But the point was clearly, though understated, | 37:58 | |
clearly made. | 38:01 | |
The bottom line is not enough. | 38:05 | |
Even in business. | 38:08 | |
For something to endure, | 38:11 | |
to perdure, it requires integrity. | 38:13 | |
In the sense of dependability. | 38:16 | |
Virtues that are not always consistent | 38:18 | |
with an immediate eye upon the profit and loss margin. | 38:20 | |
But if the bottom line is not enough for business | 38:28 | |
in the best sense of the term, | 38:30 | |
neither is it enough for a society. | 38:34 | |
We need efficiency but we also need justice. | 38:39 | |
We appreciate the fact that a great and good society | 38:44 | |
can never be built merely on an aggregate, | 38:49 | |
an aggregate of self-interest. | 38:52 | |
That Adam Smith's invisible hand | 38:56 | |
is not the providence of a gracious and benign God. | 38:59 | |
And that Adam Smith himself | 39:04 | |
also wrote a theory of moral sentiments | 39:07 | |
in appreciation of the fact | 39:12 | |
that society must also have sympathy, | 39:13 | |
and courage, | 39:17 | |
and steadfastness, | 39:19 | |
the virtues that come beyond the bottom line. | 39:21 | |
During the 60s, | 39:27 | |
the south, as many of us in here know, | 39:28 | |
was wracked with problems of race. | 39:31 | |
And in Atlanta, | 39:36 | |
there was deep concern that race riots and dissension | 39:38 | |
would tear the city apart | 39:41 | |
and render it, as it were, helpless in the years ahead. | 39:44 | |
At that time a handful of business leaders and civic leaders | 39:50 | |
came together in private, | 39:53 | |
really in great secrecy. | 39:56 | |
And they pledged themselves and their fortunes | 39:58 | |
to see that there was life beyond integration | 40:02 | |
where the city could in justice and fairness | 40:06 | |
understand what it was as a fair metropolis. | 40:09 | |
And one has only to contract my hometown of Memphis | 40:16 | |
or Birmingham, where that did not happen | 40:20 | |
to such a degree, | 40:23 | |
to see the difference. | 40:26 | |
They understood that it might not in the short run | 40:28 | |
be in any sense profitable for them. | 40:30 | |
And many became pariahs among their own peers | 40:34 | |
because they were taking stands for justice | 40:37 | |
that the others did not agree with | 40:39 | |
and could not support. | 40:41 | |
And one looks | 40:45 | |
with longing and frustration | 40:48 | |
across the ocean | 40:50 | |
to another nation | 40:52 | |
which is being rent with dissension | 40:54 | |
because it does not have a society | 40:57 | |
that is fundamentally just for all people. | 40:59 | |
And one longs for | 41:03 | |
a clutch of business and government leaders | 41:05 | |
who would sit down in private | 41:07 | |
and pledge themselves and their fortunes, | 41:09 | |
that there would be life on the other side of apartheid. | 41:12 | |
The bottom line helps keeps us clear-eyed and clear-headed. | 41:21 | |
Knocks off the nonsense | 41:26 | |
and the excessive romanticism in life, | 41:28 | |
and the sentimentality. | 41:31 | |
But society lives beyond that in a world not only | 41:33 | |
of business and efficiency, | 41:39 | |
but of hope and dreams, | 41:41 | |
and longings, and aspirations, | 41:44 | |
of justice, | 41:48 | |
and concern, and care, and community. | 41:51 | |
The bottom line, | 41:58 | |
as important as it is, | 42:01 | |
and as well-served as we are, | 42:03 | |
is not enough for us as persons either. | 42:06 | |
Life is an investment. | 42:11 | |
What kind of investment are we making? | 42:16 | |
What are we investing in and for? | 42:20 | |
And what will be the legacy? | 42:24 | |
It's hard to translate the bottom line into a legacy. | 42:27 | |
Those qualities that a society and a culture admire, | 42:33 | |
how do we nourish those | 42:38 | |
and nurture them | 42:39 | |
and see that they are upheld and enhanced, | 42:40 | |
implanted in the hearts of a younger generation? | 42:44 | |
I think of a young Jim Billington who | 42:51 | |
graduated from Harvard a year ago. | 42:53 | |
And who, having been admitted to a professional school, | 42:58 | |
decided to take off for a couple of years. | 43:00 | |
And through his church, | 43:03 | |
it happened to be the Episcopal Church, | 43:04 | |
to work in Appalachia. | 43:07 | |
And was sent down there in a very small, rural community, | 43:11 | |
without a supporting group, | 43:15 | |
and set up housekeeping and tried to do his job, | 43:18 | |
simple as it was. | 43:21 | |
And when he came to see me a few months ago, | 43:24 | |
he said, "You know, for four months I labored | 43:26 | |
"to try to win trust and confidence and friendship. | 43:28 | |
"And as much as I tried to disabuse myself | 43:34 | |
"of any condescension, | 43:36 | |
"I realized that they were very skeptical and suspicious." | 43:38 | |
He said, "It was only when I became ill." | 43:43 | |
And he said, "I really got very sick indeed. | 43:47 | |
"And I needed help for groceries, | 43:51 | |
"and for someone to kind of come and nurse me | 43:52 | |
"and to take care of me." | 43:55 | |
And he said, "It was at that point | 43:57 | |
"that the Appalachian people began looking in on me, | 43:59 | |
"and they became my friends because I needed them. | 44:05 | |
"From that point on," he said, | 44:11 | |
"it's been a rich experience." | 44:12 | |
I said, "Well, what, what have you learned | 44:16 | |
"from that experience?" | 44:18 | |
And he said, "Well, I've learned a number of things, | 44:20 | |
"not only about myself, | 44:22 | |
"but about what really is important in life. | 44:25 | |
"What's enduring. | 44:28 | |
"What I want to invest myself in." | 44:31 | |
You know, we read the gospels | 44:38 | |
and it's fascinating how seldom Jesus uses the contrast | 44:41 | |
between the good and the bad, or the right and the wrong. | 44:46 | |
And how often he adverts | 44:52 | |
to what is wise and what is foolish. | 44:55 | |
Those are consistent with | 45:00 | |
what a university education is about. | 45:03 | |
What is wise? | 45:07 | |
And what is foolish? | 45:09 | |
What kinds of things over the long haul | 45:12 | |
will we look back on | 45:14 | |
and see had the marks of wisdom, | 45:16 | |
or of commitment, or dedication, or of courage, | 45:20 | |
of things that give us a sense of self-respect and dignity? | 45:23 | |
Not in self-preening way, but because they are congenial | 45:26 | |
to the mind of God. | 45:31 | |
Maybe a university education, | 45:36 | |
in addition to its rigor, its challenge, | 45:39 | |
its new disciplines, | 45:43 | |
its extraordinary competencies and expertise, | 45:45 | |
is also that very precious time | 45:50 | |
when we can ponder things. | 45:53 | |
Ponder them in their deepest sense. | 45:57 | |
What they're for, and what we're about, | 46:00 | |
and what, yes, what God wants of us | 46:02 | |
in his wisdom. | 46:08 | |
And maybe we will see that the bottom line | 46:12 | |
is to do good, | 46:17 | |
and avoid evil, | 46:20 | |
and to care for our neighbor | 46:23 | |
and to do justice. | 46:24 | |
And to turn our backs upon foolishness | 46:28 | |
and triviality and superficiality. | 46:30 | |
And to appreciate the role of faith | 46:35 | |
and hope | 46:40 | |
and love of God | 46:43 | |
and our neighbor. | 46:46 | |
Amen. | 46:49 | |
(papers rustling) | 46:51 | |
(pipe organ plays sedate music) | 47:02 |
(happy organ music) | 0:04 | |
(muffled singing) | 0:08 | |
Please be seated. | 1:16 | |
The Lord be with you. | 1:28 | |
And also you. | 1:30 | |
Let us pray for students around the world. | 1:32 | |
For those who are persecuted and imprisoned for their faith. | 1:42 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 1:47 | |
For those who live in constant fear. | 1:50 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 1:53 | |
For those who are ill or hungry or cold. | 1:56 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 2:01 | |
For those how are in despair | 2:03 | |
at the collapse of false hopes. | 2:05 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 2:08 | |
For those who are blinded by this world's success, | 2:11 | |
that they may come to know the love of God. | 2:15 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 2:18 | |
For those who are lonely, | 2:21 | |
that they may find comfort in the Gospel. | 2:23 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 2:26 | |
Let us pray for those in revolutionary situations, | 2:37 | |
that they may confess their faith in the hour of trial | 2:41 | |
and show forth a true picture of community in Christ. | 2:45 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 2:49 | |
For those in newly independent countries, | 2:52 | |
that they may seize with zeal the great opportunities | 2:55 | |
open to them to bring their people closer together. | 2:58 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 3:03 | |
For those who have civil strife raging in their countries, | 3:06 | |
that they may be comforted in the face | 3:10 | |
of the terrors surrounding them, | 3:12 | |
and thereby be strengthened to comfort others | 3:14 | |
by word and deed. | 3:17 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 3:19 | |
Let us pray for those who find out work too difficult. | 3:31 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 3:36 | |
For those who do not give of their best in their work. | 3:39 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 3:43 | |
For those who are oppressed | 3:45 | |
by the fear of failure in examinations. | 3:47 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 3:50 | |
For those who are perplexed and cast down | 3:53 | |
by the struggle to understand the world in which they live. | 3:56 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 4:00 | |
Let us pray for those whose work is a joy to them, | 4:13 | |
that they may be strengthened and enabled | 4:17 | |
to communicate their joy to others. | 4:19 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 4:22 | |
For those who are engaged in the work | 4:25 | |
of research and discovery, that their minds | 4:27 | |
may be enlightened continually to see more of your glory. | 4:30 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 4:35 | |
For those who are leaders in the student community, | 4:38 | |
that their influence may be for good. | 4:41 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 4:44 | |
Let us pray to God for all who teach | 4:55 | |
and have the care of students in educational institutions. | 4:58 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 5:03 | |
For those who work under great difficulties of time | 5:06 | |
and lack of materials. | 5:09 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 5:11 | |
For those who find hostility, misunderstanding, | 5:14 | |
and rivalry among their colleagues. | 5:18 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 5:21 | |
Let us pray for those who distort the truth | 5:24 | |
in the interest of false ideologies. | 5:26 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 5:30 | |
For those who are presumptuous, bitter, or indifferent, | 5:32 | |
that they may come to unite with others | 5:37 | |
in mutual respect and Christian love. | 5:39 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 5:43 | |
For those who have a vision of their responsibility, | 5:46 | |
that they may be given the wisdom and strength | 5:49 | |
to discharge it effectively. | 5:52 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 5:55 | |
Let us pray to God for the student Christian groups | 6:04 | |
throughout the world, that they may be living, worshiping, | 6:07 | |
and witnessing communities | 6:12 | |
in the universities and schools of the world. | 6:13 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 6:17 | |
For campus ministers and all who work | 6:20 | |
in Christ's name with students. | 6:22 | |
Lord, hear our prayer. | 6:25 | |
For all seekers after truth, that their minds | 6:28 | |
may be enlightened and their will strengthened | 6:31 | |
to follow the truth disclosed. | 6:34 | |
May the God of hope fill us | 6:45 | |
with all joy and peace in believing, | 6:46 | |
that we may abound in hope through the power | 6:50 | |
of the Holy Spirit. | 6:53 | |
Amen. | 6:55 | |
And now in the spirit of Thanksgiving | 6:58 | |
for the mercies of God, let us offer our gifts | 7:00 | |
and ourselves unto the one who made us. | 7:04 | |
(gentle organ music) | 7:16 | |
(muffled singing) | 9:08 | |
("Doxology) | 16:04 | |
♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 16:22 | |
♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪ | 16:29 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 16:35 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 16:39 | |
♪ Praise Him above ye heavenly host ♪ | 16:43 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost ♪ | 16:50 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 16:57 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 17:00 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 17:04 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 17:07 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 17:11 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 17:20 | |
Our kind and gracious God, | 17:32 | |
the hope of all who seek thee and the joy of all who find. | 17:35 | |
Diverse that we are in age and outlook, | 17:40 | |
we are one in our desire to voice our gratitude to thee. | 17:43 | |
We thank thee for friends who care. | 17:48 | |
For ways that open when every door seems shut. | 17:51 | |
For the reality of forgiveness, both human and divine. | 17:55 | |
We thank thee for thyself oh eternal God | 17:59 | |
ground and source of every good | 18:02 | |
and especially for thy love which no need can exhaust. | 18:05 | |
This we pray in the name of Jesus Christ who taught us | 18:10 | |
to pray with confidence. | 18:14 | |
Our father who art in heaven, | 18:16 | |
hallowed be thy name. | 18:19 | |
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 18:21 | |
on earth as it is in heaven. | 18:24 | |
Give us this day our daily bread, | 18:26 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 18:29 | |
as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 18:32 | |
And lead us not into temptation, | 18:35 | |
but deliver us from evil. | 18:38 | |
For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. | 18:40 | |
Amen. | 18:45 | |
(triumphant organ music) | 18:48 | |
(muffled singing) | 19:28 | |
The grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, | 23:59 | |
the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit | 24:02 | |
be with you now and always. | 24:05 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 24:13 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 24:19 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 24:26 | |
(vocalizing) | 24:32 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 24:51 | |
♪ Amen ♪ | 25:07 | |
(joyous organ playing) | 25:26 |
Item Info
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