David Brooks - "Grace: The Radical Change" (February 18, 1990)

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	(soft music)	0:00
-	We welcome you to this service of worship on this	1:13
	seventh Sunday after Epiphany.	1:15
	This is our annual student preacher Sunday.	1:18
	A student has annually been selected	1:22
	by a committee of faculty and students	1:25
	to preach here in the chapel.	1:28
	And this year's student preacher	1:31
	is a senior, Mr. David Brooks.	1:32
	David is active in Lutheran campus ministry	1:37
	and in the Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity.	1:40
	And we're delighted to have David as our	1:44
	student preacher this Sunday.	1:46
	I'll call your attention to the various announcements	1:49
	in the bulletin, particularly the ongoing discussion	1:53
	of the ins of medicine, Christian dialogues on	1:56
	biomedical dilemmas, which we are holding on Monday nights.	2:00
	We had a good crowd out for our first discussion,	2:04
	and that continues this week on Monday evening.	2:08
	And now, let us continue the worship of God.	2:13
	(soft music)	2:19
	♪ Our church's one foundation ♪	3:00
	♪ Is Jesus Christ her Lord ♪	3:05
	♪ She is this new creation ♪	3:10
	♪ By water and the word ♪	3:15
	♪ From heaven he came and sought her ♪	3:20
	♪ To be his holy bride ♪	3:25
	♪ With his own blood he bought her ♪	3:31
	♪ And for her life he died ♪	3:36
	♪ Elect from every nation ♪	3:43
	♪ Yet one o'er all the earth ♪	3:47
	♪ Her charter of salvation ♪	3:53
	♪ One Lord, one faith, one birth ♪	3:58
	♪ One holy name she blesses ♪	4:04
	♪ Partakes one holy food ♪	4:09
	♪ And to one hope she presses ♪	4:14
	♪ With every grace endured ♪	4:20
	♪ Though with a scornful wonder ♪	4:28
	♪ Men see her so oppressed ♪	4:32
	♪ By schisms rent asunder ♪	4:37
	♪ By heresies distressed ♪	4:42
	♪ Yet saints their watch are keeping ♪	4:48
	♪ Their cry goes up how long ♪	4:53
	♪ And soon the night of weeping ♪	4:58
	♪ Shall be the morn of song ♪	5:04
	♪ Mid toil and tribulation ♪	5:12
	♪ And tumult of her war ♪	5:16
	♪ She waits the consummation ♪	5:22
	♪ Of peace forevermore ♪	5:27
	♪ Till with the vision glorious ♪	5:33
	♪ Her longing eyes are blessed ♪	5:38
	♪ And the great church victorious ♪	5:44
	♪ Shall be the church at rest ♪	5:50
	♪ Yet she on earth have union ♪	5:57
	♪ With God the three in one ♪	6:02
	♪ And mystic sweet communion ♪	6:09
	♪ With those whose rest is won ♪	6:14
	♪ Oh happy ones and holy ♪	6:20
	♪ Lord give us grace that we ♪	6:25
	♪ Like them the meek and lowly ♪	6:31
	♪ On high may dwell with thee ♪	6:37
	Almighty God,	6:51
	from whom every good prayer cometh and	6:53
	who pourest out on all who desire it,	6:55
	the spirit of grace,	6:58
	deliver us when we draw nigh to thee,	7:00
	from coldness of heart,	7:03
	from wanderings of mind,	7:05
	that with steadfast thoughts	7:08
	and rekindled affection	7:10
	we may worship you in spirit and in truth.	7:13
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord.	7:18
	Amen.	7:21
	Be seated.	7:22
-	Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination.	7:29
Everyone	Open our hearts and minds,	7:34
	oh God, by the power of your Holy Spirit,	7:36
	so that, as the word is read and proclaimed,	7:40
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day.	7:43
	Amen.	7:47
-	The first lesson is taken from the book of Isaiah.	7:49
	Thus says the Lord.	7:52
	In a time of favor, I have answered you.	7:54
	In a day of salvation, I have helped you.	7:57
	I have kept you and given you as a covenant	8:00
	to the people, to establish the land,	8:02
	to apportion the desolate heritages,	8:05
	saying to the prisoners, come forth,	8:08
	and to those who are in dungeons, appear.	8:11
	They shall feed along the ways and on bare heights	8:14
	shall be their pasture.	8:17
	They shall not hunger or thirst.	8:19
	Neither scorching wind nor sun shall smite them.	8:21
	For the one who has pity on them will lead them	8:24
	and by springs of water will guide them.	8:27
	And I will make all my mountains a way	8:31
	and my highways shall be raised up.	8:32
	These shall come from afar.	8:35
	And these from the north and from the west.	8:38
	And these from the land of Sinim.	8:40
	Sing for joy, oh heavens, and exalt, oh earth.	8:43
	Break forth, oh mountains, into singing,	8:46
	for the Lord has comforted the people	8:49
	and will have compassion on the afflicted.	8:51
	Here ends the reading of the first lesson.	8:54
	(soft music)	8:59
	♪ Lord, thou hast been our refuge ♪	9:32
	♪ From one generation to another ♪	9:39
	♪ Oh God our help ♪	9:47
	♪ In ages past ♪	9:52
	♪ Before the mountains were brought forth ♪	9:59
	♪ Or ever the earth and the world was made ♪	10:03
	♪ Thou art God from everlasting ♪	10:08
	♪ And world without end ♪	10:16
	♪ Thou turnest man to destruction ♪	10:22
	♪ Again thou sayest ♪	10:29
	♪ Come again ye children of men ♪	10:37
	♪ For a thousand years in thy sight ♪	10:43
	♪ Are but as yesterday ♪	10:49
	♪ Seeing that is past ♪	10:58
	♪ As a watch in the night ♪	11:03
	♪ As soon as thou scatterest them ♪	11:13
	♪ They are even as asleep ♪	11:19
	♪ And fade away suddenly ♪	11:27
	♪ Like the grass ♪	11:35
	♪ In the morning ♪	11:39
	♪ It is green and groweth up ♪	11:43
	♪ But in the evening ♪	11:50
	♪ It is cut down, dried up and withered ♪	11:55
	♪ For we consume away ♪	12:05
	♪ In thy displeasure ♪	12:11
	♪ And are afraid at thy wrathful indignation ♪	12:21
	♪ For when thou art angry ♪	12:31
	♪ All our days are gone ♪	12:34
	♪ We bring our years to an end ♪	12:39
	♪ As a tale that is told ♪	12:47
	♪ The years of our age are three score years ♪	12:55
	♪ And though men be so strong ♪	13:01
	♪ That they come to fourscore years ♪	13:07
	♪ Yet is their strength but labor and sorrow ♪	13:13
	♪ So passeth it away ♪	13:18
	♪ And we are gone ♪	13:24
	♪ Turn thee again ♪	13:33
	♪ Oh Lord, at the last ♪	13:38
	♪ Be gracious unto thy servants ♪	13:49
	♪ Be gracious unto thy servants ♪	13:58
	♪ Oh satisfy us with thy mercy and that soon ♪	14:04
	♪ So shall we rejoice and be glad ♪	14:16
	♪ All the days of our life ♪	14:27
	(soft music)	14:40
	♪ Lord ♪	15:28
	♪ Thou hast been our refuge ♪	15:30
	♪ From one generation to another ♪	15:35
	(soft music)	15:42
	♪ Before the mountains were brought forth ♪	15:55
	♪ Or ever the earth and the world were made ♪	15:59
	♪ Thou art God ♪	16:05
	♪ From everlasting and world without end ♪	16:07
	♪ And the glorious majesty ♪	16:19
	♪ Of the Lord, his Majesty of the Lord ♪	16:25
	♪ His Majesty ♪	16:36
	♪ Oh prosper thou ♪	16:42
	♪ Oh prosper thou the work of our hands ♪	16:48
	♪ Oh prosper thou our handy work ♪	16:56
	♪ Oh prosper thou, oh prosper thou ♪	17:02
	♪ Oh prosper thou, oh prosper thou ♪	17:09
	♪ Oh prosper thou, oh prosper thou ♪	17:17
	♪ Oh prosper thou, oh prosper thou ♪	17:23
	♪ Oh prosper thou ♪	17:30
-	Please stand for the responsive singing of the Psalm	17:49
	found at number 787.	17:52
	(soft music)	18:00
	♪ For God alone my soul waits in silence ♪	18:07
	♪ All my hope is from God ♪	18:12
	♪ Mighty rock and my salvation ♪	18:17
	♪ My fortress shall not be shaken ♪	18:22
	♪ On God rests my deliverance and my honor ♪	18:28
	♪ My mighty rock, my refuge is God ♪	18:33
	♪ Trust in God at all times oh people ♪	18:38
	♪ Pour out your heart before God ♪	18:43
	♪ Who is a refuge for us ♪	18:47
	♪ Those of low estate are but a breath ♪	18:51
	♪ Those of highest state are a delusion ♪	18:55
	♪ In the balances they go up ♪	19:00
	♪ They are together lighter than a breath ♪	19:05
	♪ Put no confidence in extortion ♪	19:10
	♪ And set no vain hopes on robbery ♪	19:14
	♪ If riches increase set not your heart on them ♪	19:18
	♪ Once God has spoken ♪	19:24
	♪ Twice have I heard this ♪	19:27
	♪ Power belongs to God ♪	19:30
	♪ And to you, oh Lord, who has sent us love ♪	19:34
	♪ You reward everyone according to what they have done ♪	19:40
	(soft music)	19:48
	♪ Lord redeemed to our creator ♪	19:57
	♪ Grace of God, Redeemer, Lord ♪	20:03
	♪ Glory bring to our Savior ♪	20:11
	♪ Ever be and evermore ♪	20:18
	♪ As it was in love redeemed ♪	20:27
	♪ Now at heaven most shall be ♪	20:34
-	The second lesson comes from Paul's	20:51
	first letter to the Corinthians.	20:53
	According to the grace of God given to me,	20:56
	like an expert builder, I have laid a foundation,	20:58
	and another is building upon it.	21:01
	Let each one take care how it is built,	21:03
	for no other foundation can anyone lay	21:06
	than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.	21:08
	Do you not know that you are God's temple,	21:11
	and that God's spirit dwells in you?	21:13
	Whoever destroys God's temple, God will destroy,	21:16
	for God's temple is holy,	21:19
	and you are that temple.	21:21
	Let none deceive themselves.	21:22
	If any among you think that they are wise in this age,	21:25
	let them become fools,	21:28
	that they may become wise.	21:29
	For the wisdom of this world is folly with God.	21:31
	For it is written,	21:34
	God catches the wise and their craftiness.	21:35
	And again, the Lord knows that	21:38
	the thoughts of the wise are futile.	21:40
	So let no one boast of mere human beings,	21:41
	for all things are yours,	21:44
	whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas	21:46
	or the world of life or death	21:48
	or the present or the future.	21:50
	All are yours and you are Christ and Christ is God's.	21:52
	Here endeth the reading of the second lesson.	21:57
	The gospel reading is taken from the book of Matthew.	21:59
	You have heard that it was said,	22:03
	you should not commit adultery.	22:04
	But I say to you that any one of you	22:06
	who looks at another lustfully	22:08
	has already committed adultery in your heart.	22:09
	If your right eye causes you to sin,	22:13
	pluck it out and throw it away.	22:15
	It is better that you lose one of your members	22:17
	than that your whole body be thrown into hell.	22:18
	And if your right hand causes you to sin,	22:21
	cut it off and throw it away.	22:24
	It is better that you lose one of your members	22:26
	than that your whole body go into hell.	22:28
	It was also said,	22:31
	whoever divorces his wife,	22:32
	let him give her a certificate of divorce.	22:34
	But I say to you that everyone	22:37
	who divorces his wife,	22:38
	except on the grounds of unchastity,	22:40
	forces her into adultery.	22:41
	And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.	22:44
	Again, you have heard that it was said in ancient times.	22:47
	You shall not swear falsely,	22:50
	but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.	22:52
	But I say to you, do not swear at all,	22:55
	either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,	22:57
	or by the earth, for it is God's footstool,	23:00
	or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great ruler.	23:03
	And do not swear by your head,	23:07
	for you cannot make one hair white or black.	23:08
	Let what you say be simply yes or no.	23:11
	Anything more than this comes from evil.	23:13
	Here ends the reading of the gospel.	23:16
-	I would like to start by	23:27
	offering a personal word of greeting	23:29
	to everyone here this morning.	23:31
	And I pray that the words that come forth	23:33
	from this pulpit might be a source	23:36
	of inspiration to each of you.	23:37
	Now for those of you who are	23:41
	associated with Duke University,	23:43
	or even if you were in the neighborhood at all	23:45
	during the fall semester	23:47
	and happened to see a newspaper,	23:48
	you are aware that the number one news item	23:51
	for Duke campus this past fall	23:55
	was the ongoing de Rothschild saga.	23:57
	Now then, I know most of you	24:01
	probably know the details of this story,	24:02
	so I'll not recount them here.	24:04
	But I wanted to add kind of a postscript to that.	24:07
	I remember that people were angry at Duke	24:10
	for its involvement in this tale,	24:13
	but I notice that there were very few people	24:16
	who had anything at all to say	24:18
	about the imposter himself.	24:20
	And in fact, there were some signs	24:23
	of praise for his bravado.	24:26
	Most disturbing, there were some students who,	24:29
	hoping to cash in on this gentleman's notoriety,	24:31
	sold T-shirts out on the quad.	24:36
	They called it good entrepreneurship.	24:39
	But I suppose that that was last semester.	24:43
	The end of the 1980s.	24:47
	The last of the me decade.	24:49
	We're in the kinder decade now.	24:51
	Well, when I was home in Atlanta over Christmas break,	24:55
	a downtown hotel was overrun New Year's Eve	25:00
	by some 2000 high school and college students,	25:04
	who rang in the new year	25:08
	by tossing glasses, bottles,	25:10
	fire extinguishers, and even furniture	25:14
	over a 42 story atrium,	25:17
	down to the dining hall below.	25:20
	Eyewitnesses said that it was worse	25:23
	than any war zone that they had ever seen.	25:27
	18 persons were sent to the hospital	25:31
	in this unusual way of ringing in the new year.	25:34
	Welcome to the kinder decade.	25:37
	And lest I paint too bleak a picture of people my age,	25:41
	most whom I feel are a pretty good crowd,	25:46
	I'd like to point out that	25:49
	this type of activity is not limited	25:51
	just to the young or even to America.	25:54
	Because again, if you read your newspapers,	25:58
	you will recall that in mid January,	26:01
	scores of people were killed and injured	26:06
	in the Anti-Armenian riots in Soviet Azerbaijan.	26:09
	Now I admit that this is a lot of depressing news	26:15
	and a rough way to start off a sermon.	26:20
	But I feel that there is an answer,	26:23
	a reply to this depressing news.	26:26
	God has a reply to this depressing news,	26:29
	and that reply is all of us gathered here.	26:33
	But not just us gathered here today,	26:36
	but all of us who gather	26:39
	in the name of Christ around the world.	26:40
	In our Isaiah lesson that was read this morning,	26:45
	we read of God's promise to his servant,	26:48
	to provide empowerment to that servant,	26:51
	to right wrongs in the world,	26:55
	to bring those in darkness into the light,	26:57
	to bring those that are in prison into freedom.	27:00
	Now this empowerment of God	27:05
	comes to us as grace.	27:07
	This grace comes to us in our baptism.	27:10
	And from that day forth,	27:14
	from that moment on,	27:16
	each of us is renewed as a child of God.	27:18
	But this renewal brings with it a responsibility.	27:23
	And that responsibility is change.	27:27
	Change in how we view ourselves.	27:31
	Change in how we view each other.	27:34
	Change in how we view the world.	27:36
	In our gospel lesson today,	27:40
	our Lord Jesus points out	27:43
	that not just the act of adultery,	27:45
	but the thought of adultery is sin.	27:48
	Not just the act, but the thought.	27:51
	Then he goes on to say	27:56
	that if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out.	27:57
	If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off.	28:01
	And I don't know about you,	28:06
	but I haven't seen too many one-eyed,	28:08
	one-handed persons walking around campus lately.	28:10
	I have both of mine.	28:13
	But yet, reading the lesson,	28:16
	we see that there is a need for radical change,	28:19
	and there is an answer.	28:23
	Radical grace.	28:25
	Radical grace.	28:27
	Surprising,	28:28
	startling,	28:30
	enters into our lives.	28:31
	And this radical grace brings change.	28:34
	For first we realize that no,	28:37
	we cannot change ourselves.	28:40
	We cannot change our nature	28:43
	merely by plucking out eyes or chopping off hands.	28:45
	It must come from inside.	28:49
	But how do we get inside?	28:51
	There's no way for us to get at our soul.	28:54
	But God does with radical grace.	28:57
	Sending down to cleanse away the dark blot of sin.	29:01
	Making us whole and holy before his throne.	29:07
	And as soon as his grace enters in,	29:14
	the change occurs where	29:19
	we are no longer sinful beings.	29:23
	And then we realize that,	29:27
	because of this inward change,	29:29
	there must be an outward change.	29:31
	This outward change comes in the form of us	29:34
	living out the promise of our baptism.	29:38
	It means we must put aside the things	29:42
	that cause us to stumble,	29:44
	even if they cause us pleasure.	29:46
	It means that we must maintain	29:49
	a code of conduct that is worthy of our Lord.	29:52
	In our friendships,	29:56
	in our marriages,	29:58
	in our businesses,	30:00
	in our academic life.	30:02
	Wherever we gather together,	30:03
	we must remember that we are changed.	30:06
	Our Lord also says,	30:10
	let your yes be yes and your no be no.	30:12
	If we live under grace,	30:17
	we need swear by nothing.	30:19
	For lying and cheating and deceivery	30:21
	have no place under grace.	30:25
	We are called to be good stewards of his creation	30:28
	under this radical grace.	30:31
	And finally, we are called to die,	30:34
	trusting in his resurrection.	30:37
	The resurrection of our Lord.	30:39
	Now that this grace,	30:43
	this startling grace, has changed what we are inside,	30:45
	it now changes what we are to each other.	30:49
	All of us again gathered here today,	30:53
	as well as everyone gathered around the world	30:56
	in the name of Christ, are of one body.	30:58
	We are the physical proof	31:01
	of the presence and the success	31:04
	of God's work in the world.	31:07
	Our relationship to Christians around the world	31:10
	does not stop with just	31:14
	what's on the world today.	31:16
	But we are connected with believers throughout all time.	31:18
	All the way back to those who listened	31:23
	as a wandering rabbi preached	31:26
	about the kingdom of God.	31:27
	Paul in our Corinthians lesson	31:31
	points out that because we belong to Christ,	31:33
	we belong to each other.	31:37
	And therefore, we must serve each other	31:39
	as Christ served us.	31:42
	For us today, this servanthood means	31:45
	accepting differences in each other.	31:48
	And working with each other despite those differences.	31:52
	It means taking a radical view	31:56
	of the impact of the other person on our lives	31:59
	and realizing that many times,	32:03
	their impact on us is as great or greater	32:05
	than our impact on them.	32:09
	To illustrate my point,	32:12
	Alpha Phi Omega Service Fraternity,	32:14
	in which I am a brother,	32:16
	does frequent work with	32:18
	the Lenox Baker Children's Hospital	32:19
	by making regular visits	32:22
	to play with the children there.	32:24
	Brothers that I have talked to	32:26
	who go there regularly	32:28
	say that they are continually amazed	32:30
	by the bravery, the cheerfulness,	32:33
	and indeed, the energy that these children exhibit.	32:36
	The funny thing is is that we assume	32:41
	that we are going there to help them by our presence.	32:43
	But in turn, we are helped by their presence.	32:48
	We are enriched by their presence in our lives.	32:52
	It is radical grace that deems it necessary	32:57
	that a sickly child in the hospital	33:01
	will have positive impact on a college student.	33:04
	And then this change,	33:09
	this startling grace that has brought	33:11
	change within ourselves	33:14
	and has brought change with our relationships,	33:15
	changes our view of the world.	33:19
	We have a responsibility to God's creation,	33:22
	which is testimony to the glory and power of our Lord.	33:26
	But this responsibility is not just to ourselves,	33:30
	but also to believers to come,	33:34
	since we are bound to them in the name of our Lord.	33:36
	Also, we must recall that we are not,	33:41
	while we are not of the world,	33:45
	we are in the world.	33:47
	And therefore, we should let all know us by our love	33:50
	and should live lives that are beyond reproach	33:54
	because we are not of the world.	33:58
	But as we continue to do our work in the world,	34:02
	we find that the grace of God	34:05
	liberates us to do this work,	34:08
	rather than hindering or denying us.	34:11
	We find that the grace of God	34:16
	works through us to free the world.	34:18
	Now I started with several depressing stories	34:23
	about the state of our nation and our world.	34:27
	But I wanted to finish with a story of change.	34:31
	A friend of mine, who is a graduate and Namibian student,	34:35
	came to one of the Lutheran campus ministry dinners	34:42
	right after the Christmas break.	34:46
	And I asked him how he spent his Christmas,	34:48
	and he gave me a big smile and said	34:52
	that his Christmas was the most wonderful	34:53
	that he had had in many years.	34:55
	And I asked him why,	34:59
	and he told me that this Christmas	35:01
	was the first time that he had been able	35:04
	to go back to Namibia to see his family in 15 years.	35:07
	He said that he was not sure	35:14
	who was more incredulous at the reunion.	35:17
	He, at the sight of his brothers and sisters,	35:22
	who were small children when he left	35:25
	and now were grown,	35:27
	or they, who were afraid that if they blinked,	35:30
	that he would be gone.	35:34
	He told me that Christmas Eve service	35:38
	that his family went to	35:43
	was the first time that church bells	35:45
	had rang in Namibia in the 15 years of civil war.	35:47
	This is change.	35:54
	Yes, it is political change,	35:56
	but nonetheless, this is the story	35:59
	of Christian brothers and sisters	36:02
	who are moving toward freedom.	36:04
	The freedom that grace promises.	36:07
	God's grace.	36:10
	Radical,	36:12
	surprising,	36:14
	startling,	36:16
	unexpected,	36:18
	brings us freedom.	36:20
	It brings us freedom from fear.	36:22
	It brings us freedom from doubt.	36:25
	And it also brings us freedom to live.	36:29
	Freedom to live blameless,	36:32
	freedom to live holy,	36:35
	freedom to live out the promise of God's plan,	36:38
	freedom to live out a life of change.	36:42
	Amen.	36:47
	(soft music)	36:53
	♪ I love thy kingdom, Lord ♪	37:16
	♪ The house of thine abode ♪	37:21
	♪ The church our blessed Redeemer saved ♪	37:26
	♪ With his own precious blood ♪	37:32
	♪ I love the church, oh God ♪	37:38
	♪ Her walls before thee stand ♪	37:44
	♪ Dear as the apple of thine eye ♪	37:50
	♪ And graven on thy hand ♪	37:56
	♪ For her my tears shall fall ♪	38:03
	♪ For her my prayers ascend ♪	38:08
	♪ To her my cares and toils be given ♪	38:14
	♪ Till toils and cares shall end ♪	38:20
	♪ Beyond my highest joy ♪	38:27
	♪ I prize her heavenly ways ♪	38:32
	♪ Her sweet communion, solemn vows ♪	38:38
	♪ Her hymns of love and praise ♪	38:44
	♪ Sure as thy truth shall last ♪	38:51
	♪ To Zion shall be given ♪	38:56
	♪ The brightest glories earth can yield ♪	39:02
	♪ And brighter bliss of heaven ♪	39:08
-	The Lord be with you.	39:18
Congregation	And also with you.	39:19
-	Let us pray, be seated.	39:21
	Eternal God,	39:35
	you have given us knowledge of yourself	39:38
	through the faithful ministry of your Son.	39:42
	Help us by faith to join the ranks	39:46
	of Christ's disciples.	39:49
	To learn from him at first hand.	39:52
	To appropriate the radical grace,	39:55
	which is our gift in Christ.	39:59
	We remember with thankfulness	40:04
	our Lord's love of life,	40:05
	his identity with ordinary folk,	40:08
	his joy in good companionship,	40:11
	his delight in the beauty and the grandeur of the world.	40:15
	Increase our joy in everyday gifts, oh Lord.	40:20
	We remember how he used his freedom	40:28
	to do your will,	40:31
	regardless of the consequences.	40:32
	How he chose the radical way of sacrificial love	40:35
	rather than the conventional way	40:40
	of personal convenience and moral compromise.	40:41
	And how he demonstrated true power	40:47
	by refusing to use power.	40:51
	Increase in us, we pray,	40:56
	the demonstration of his love.	40:58
	Help us never to be forgetful	41:04
	of the great things you have accomplished	41:06
	through the work of your Son.	41:07
	To follow him with joy wherever he might lead us.	41:10
	Increase our faith, oh Lord.	41:14
	To serve you where you have placed us	41:17
	in our many vocations.	41:20
	Our time is one of despair and expectation.	41:24
	Despair because of our inability to save ourselves.	41:29
	Of expectation because of our hope	41:34
	that you will raise up for yourself	41:37
	out of the wilderness of our complacency	41:39
	a loyal and victorious people.	41:42
	So increase our hope, oh Lord, in your church.	41:47
	And increase our loyalty to your kingdom above all other.	41:51
	Redeem our times, oh Father.	41:58
	And guide us in the way of righteousness,	42:01
	of truth and peace,	42:04
	of faith and hope and love.	42:07
	Increase our desire to serve you above all else.	42:11
	You are our God.	42:18
	And we are your people here in this place.	42:22
	Help us to be faithful to you at all times,	42:26
	and to be able to overcome every evil	42:30
	in the power of the grace	42:34
	given to us by your Holy Spirit.	42:37
	And to your name be the praise and glory forever and ever.	42:41
	Amen.	42:46
	This year at Spring Break,	42:51
	a group of Duke students	42:52
	will go on a mission work team to Jamaica.	42:55
	I've asked two members of that work team	42:58
	to speak briefly to you today.	43:00
	Scott Williams, who is a sophomore,	43:04
	active in the Presbyterian Fellowship here at Duke.	43:06
	Scott is from West Virginia.	43:08
	And Andy Baxter, United Methodist	43:10
	from Charlotte, North Carolina.	43:13
	He is also a sophomore.	43:15
	Today's entire offering will go to assist this work.	43:17
	And we invite them to come forward	43:22
	and tell us something of the project.	43:24
-	On March the 9th,	43:31
	20 Duke undergraduates and graduates	43:33
	and other members of our local community churches	43:36
	are gonna travel to Mavis Bank	43:39
	and Content Gap, Jamaica,	43:41
	for a 10 day missions trip.	43:43
	And I just wanted to share with you	43:44
	what we envisioned a typical day being.	43:46
	We're probably gonna wake up pretty early	43:49
	and go and work to refinish	43:51
	some of the pews and to paint	43:53
	some of the insides of two of the local Methodist churches.	43:55
	In the afternoon, we're gonna try	44:00
	to run some programs for the approximately	44:01
	500 school children in each of the villages,	44:03
	and we'll let you know how that turns out.	44:06
	At night, we're gonna work to do some	44:08
	fellowship opportunities, and also,	44:11
	to share in some Bible study	44:13
	with a lot of the local church members.	44:15
	This trip is much sort of the culmination	44:18
	of a lot of planning	44:21
	and a lot of fundraising on behalf	44:23
	of all of the members of the work team.	44:24
	And we leave with the support of our families	44:27
	and our local churches	44:30
	and our districts and our conferences.	44:31
	And hopefully, we can leave with your support.	44:34
	Sort of our home away from home church also.	44:37
	Thank you.	44:40
-	The members of our work team come	44:46
	from a lot of different directions.	44:48
	And it seems like all of our callings are very diverse.	44:50
	For example, one of my personal reasons	44:55
	for wanting to take this Jamaica trip	44:58
	is to help other people as a result	45:00
	of an experience I had about five years ago.	45:02
	My hometown was flooded,	45:05
	and I was amazed at the number of people	45:07
	who came to us to help us through our distress.	45:09
	And the reasons of others for going to Jamaica	45:14
	are equally important and equally varied.	45:18
	Some things we hope to gain from this experience	45:21
	are a new understanding of the Jamaican culture,	45:24
	apart from what we see on television	45:27
	as Jamaica being a resort area.	45:30
	We hope to really learn about the people	45:32
	and what their lives are really like.	45:35
	We also hope to worship with the Jamaican people	45:37
	and learn something from them	45:40
	about their style of worshiping God.	45:42
	And then we also hope to take our experiences	45:45
	back here to the United States	45:49
	and share them with churches	45:51
	and to give other people greater understanding	45:53
	of God's mission in the world.	45:57
	And most of all,	46:00
	we hope to go down there and build	46:02
	and repair churches and homes	46:03
	to give an example of putting our faith in action.	46:06
	Thank you.	46:09
-	Thank you.	46:14
	When I came to Duke,	46:15
	I noticed that Duke Chapel had	46:15
	a fund called a Duke Student Foreign Mission Fund.	46:18
	And I must admit,	46:23
	I wondered to myself,	46:24
	how many Duke students actually seek funds	46:26
	to conduct mission work on the summer?	46:29
	And the story of that fund is that	46:33
	each year, the problem we have with our mission fund	46:37
	is that usually, twice as many students	46:40
	apply for help to do mission work	46:43
	than we have funds to accommodate.	46:46
	We are gratified that these 20 students,	46:48
	raising money from their own funds and their churches,	46:52
	are going on this project,	46:55
	and we're gratified at the number of students	46:57
	who are engaging themselves	47:00
	in work at home and around the world	47:02
	in the name of mission.	47:05
	Just in six years I've been here,	47:07
	I know of four Duke students	47:09
	who have made various works of compassion	47:11
	and mission their life work,	47:15
	after leaving Duke in response to the experiences	47:17
	they had through the Duke Student Foreign Mission Fund	47:20
	and the work of Duke Chapel.	47:24
	We invite you, therefore,	47:26
	to give generously in today's offering.	47:27
	Let us offer ourselves and our gifts	47:30
	to the God who has offered so much to us.	47:33
	(soft music)	47:38
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	49:01
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	49:09
	♪ My God and King ♪	49:19
	(soft music)	49:27
	♪ The heavens are not too high ♪	49:35
	♪ His praise may thither fly ♪	49:39
	♪ The earth is not too low ♪	49:49
	♪ His praises there may grow ♪	49:55
	♪ Let all the world ♪	50:01
	♪ Let all the world ♪	50:04
	♪ In every corner sing ♪	50:08
	(soft music)	50:18
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	50:31
	♪ My God and King ♪	50:41
	(soft music)	50:48
	♪ The church with psalms must shout ♪	50:57
	♪ No door can keep them out ♪	51:03
	♪ But more than all the heart ♪	51:10
	♪ Must bear the longest part ♪	51:15
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	51:24
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	51:31
	♪ In every corner sing ♪	51:39
	♪ My God and King ♪	51:46
	♪ My God and King ♪	51:55
	♪ Let all the world in every corner sing ♪	52:03
	♪ My God and King ♪	52:10
	(soft music)	52:20
	♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪	53:49
	♪ Praise him, all creatures here below ♪	53:54
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:00
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:03
	♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪	54:07
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪	54:13
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:19
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:22
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:25
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:28
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	54:32
	Almighty God,	54:45
	we thank you for your grace	54:46
	showered upon our lives,	54:49
	in all things great and small.	54:51
	Particularly do we praise you for	54:54
	the transforming power of your grace,	54:56
	which transforms us into your disciples to do your work.	54:59
	Transform these gifts from the labor of our lives	55:04
	to the means of Christian service.	55:09
	This we pray with thanksgiving,	55:12
	and as our Lord has taught us.	55:16
Everyone	Our Father, who art in heaven,	55:18
	hallowed be thy name.	55:21
	Thy kingdom come.	55:23
	Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	55:24
	Give us this day our daily bread,	55:28
	and forgive us our trespasses,	55:31
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	55:33
	And lead us not into temptation,	55:36
	but deliver us from evil.	55:39
	For thine is the kingdom	55:41
	and the power and the glory forever.	55:42
	Amen.	55:46
-	Now, may the blessing of our Lord	55:49
	and Savior Jesus Christ be with you	55:51
	and remain with you now and always.	55:54
	Amen.	55:58
	(soft choral music)	56:00

Item Info

Title:

David Brooks - "Grace: The Radical Change" (February 18, 1990)

Description:

The radical grace of God begins by working change on the inside, which in turn produces outward changes in our lives. It changes the way we see ourselves, see others, and see the world. And it brings us freedom to live out God's call on our lives in the world. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 23:27. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 36:50.
Key quotation: “God’s grace, radical, surprising, startling, unexpected, brings us freedom.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4tx35n11

Date:

February 18, 1990

Speaker:

Brooks, David

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0168
ref8740_re5
uachapelsermaud
duke:321536
dcrmv001163
ark:/87924/r4tx35n11
c73eb9e4-2a2e-4978-8347-c1815051b5f2

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

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Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Educational Use Permitted

Rights Note:

This material is made available for educational and non-commercial use. This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the license indicated here. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For other 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.

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