William H. Willimon - "God Is Coming" (December 1, 1991)

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	(orchestral music)	0:00
-	Good morning and welcome to Duke University Chapel	5:53
	on this first Sunday in Advent.	5:56
	The Chapel Choir will not be here today	5:59
	due to Thanksgiving recess	6:01
	but we're blessed to welcome the Crown Chamber Brass Group	6:03
	who will provide special music for this service.	6:06
	Performances of the Messiah will be held	6:09
	on Friday evening at 7:30pm,	6:11
	next Saturday afternoon at 2 o'clock pm,	6:15
	and next Sunday at 3 o'clock pm.	6:18
	Tickets are currently available through Page Box Office	6:21
	and you definitely don't want to miss	6:24
	this wonderful occasion.	6:26
	Next Sunday is Founder's Day Sunday,	6:28
	always a special celebration,	6:30
	and we hope you'll be able to join us for that.	6:32
	Let us continue our worship together.	6:35
	Please stand for the greeting.	6:37
	The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you.	6:46
Congregation	And with you.	6:49
-	Our redemption is drawing nigh.	6:51
Congregation	Praise the Lord.	6:54
	(cheerful orchestral music)	6:57
	♪ Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates ♪	7:28
	♪ Behold, the King of glory waits ♪	7:34
	♪ The King of kings is drawing near ♪	7:41
	♪ The Savior of the world is here ♪	7:49
	♪ Fling wide the portals of your heart ♪	7:58
	♪ Make it a temple, set apart ♪	8:05
	♪ From earthly use for heaven's employ, ♪	8:12
	♪ Adorned with prayer and love and joy. ♪	8:20
	♪ Redeemer, come, with us abide; ♪	8:29
	♪ Our hearts to thee we open wide; ♪	8:37
	♪ Let us thy inner presence feel; ♪	8:44
	♪ Thy grace and love in us reveal. ♪	8:51
	♪ Thy Holy Spirit lead us on ♪	9:01
	♪ Until our glorious goal is won; ♪	9:09
	♪ Eternal praise, eternal fame ♪	9:16
	♪ Be offered, Savior, to thy name! ♪	9:24
-	The proof of God's amazing love is this.	9:41
	While we were sinners, Christ died for us.	9:44
	Because we have faith in him,	9:47
	we dare to approach God in confidence.	9:50
	Let us admit our sins before God	9:53
	as we pray in unison the Prayer of Confession	9:55
	found on page 890.	9:58
All	Most merciful God,	10:05
	we confess that we have sinned against you	10:08
	in thought, word, and deed,	10:11
	by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.	10:14
	We have not loved you with our whole heart.	10:19
	We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.	10:23
	We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.	10:27
	For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,	10:31
	have mercy on us and forgive us;	10:34
	that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways,	10:38
	to the glory of your Name.	10:43
	Amen.	10:45
-	Almighty God have mercy on you,	10:54
	forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ,	10:58
	strengthen you in all goodness,	11:03
	and by the power of the Holy Spirit	11:06
	keep you in eternal life.	11:09
	Amen.	11:12
	You may be seated.	11:15
-	Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination.	11:26
	Open our hearts and minds of God,	11:30
	by the power of your holy spirit	11:33
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed,	11:36
	we might be prepared for your advent among us.	11:40
	Amen.	11:44
	The first reading is from the words of the prophet Jeremiah.	11:47
	The 33rd Chapter, starting with the 14th verse.	11:51
	"The days are coming," says the Lord,	11:57
	"when I will fulfill the good promise I made	12:00
	"to the house of Israel and the house Judah.	12:03
	"In those days and at that time	12:07
	"I will cause a righteous Branch spring up for David	12:10
	"and he shall execute justice	12:14
	"and righteousness in the land."	12:16
	In those days Judah will be saved	12:20
	and Jerusalem will live in safety.	12:23
	And this is the name by which it will be called.	12:28
	The Lord Is Our Righteousness.	12:33
	This is the word of the Lord.	12:38
Congregation	Amen.	12:41
-	This reading is from Paul's first letter	12:44
	to the Thessalonians,	12:47
	chapter three beginning with the ninth verse.	12:48
	How can we thank God enough for you	12:54
	in return for all the joy that we feel	12:57
	before our God because of you?	12:59
	Night and day we pray most earnestly	13:03
	that we may see you face to face	13:06
	and restore whatever is lacking in your faith.	13:08
	Now may our God and father and our Lord Jesus	13:13
	direct our way to you	13:17
	and may the Lord make you increase	13:20
	and abound in love for one another and for all,	13:22
	just as we are bound in love for you.	13:26
	and may the Lord so strengthen your hearts and holiness	13:31
	that you may be blameless before our God and Father	13:34
	at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.	13:38
	This is the word of the Lord.	13:45
	(upbeat brass music)	13:54
-	Please stand for the reading of the gospel.	16:38
	The gospel is from the 21st chapter	16:44
	of the Gospel According to Luke.	16:47
	And there will be signs in sun, and moon, and stars	16:51
	and upon the earth distress of nations,	16:56
	in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves.	17:01
	People fainting with fear and with foreboding	17:06
	over what is coming upon the world,	17:10
	for the powers of heavens will be shaken.	17:13
	And then they will see the Son of Man	17:17
	coming in a cloud with power and great glory.	17:19
	Now when these things begin to take place,	17:26
	stand up, raise your heads,	17:29
	because your redemption is drawing near	17:33
	this is the word of the Lord, thanks be to God.	17:40
	Be seated.	17:45
	I do not know what to do with a text like this one.	17:54
	A text so full of	18:00
	unmanageable biblical images.	18:03
	To stand before such an Advent text,	18:08
	so rich in these images of sun and moon,	18:13
	and stars and roaring waves, and sea and heavens shaking,	18:16
	it causes a preacher's knees to tremble.	18:22
	I shall, therefore, resist the inclination	18:28
	to explain it, to rationalize it, to apply it.	18:32
	I shall let it stand.	18:36
	I shall attempt to let some of its white,	18:37
	hot blaze singe your eyebrows.	18:39
	Anything less would be an affront to the text.	18:46
	This is not a text to be abused by a preacherette,	18:50
	in a sermonette for Christianettes.	18:54
	It's a big text.	18:58
	What we're reading here in the 21st chapter of Luke	19:00
	is called apocalyptic.	19:03
	This is apocalyptic literature,	19:05
	which occurs frequently in the Bible	19:09
	and more frequently than we would like to admit	19:11
	on the lips on Jesus.	19:14
	But usually only when Jesus happened to be	19:17
	preaching in a University Chapel,	19:22
	when he wanted to shake the foundations,	19:25
	tear the doors off the hinges, upset a pew or two,	19:28
	in much the same way that here in Duke Chapel,	19:31
	we sometimes will rent trumpets and timpani	19:34
	when we really wanna do the thing up big.	19:39
	It's cosmic.	19:43
	Signs of sun and moon and raging seas, shaking heavens.	19:45
	Apocalyptic is a poetic, and therefore utterly realistic,	19:53
	way of attempting to speak through the medium of mere words	19:59
	to say	20:04
	God is coming.	20:07
	That's what all these images are attempting to say:	20:11
	God is coming.	20:15
	Either coming to bless us or to grab us,	20:19
	either way to redeem us.	20:23
	Pray, Jesus says, just pray you'll be able to stand	20:25
	in such a day when the Son of Man comes in a cloud.	20:30
	Now I'll admit that you haven't heard much	20:40
	apocalyptic talk around here.	20:42
	University Chapels, liberal mainline Protestantism,	20:44
	lacks the imagination often times to speak	20:50
	in terms of raging sea and clouds and shaking heavens.	20:54
	Today's church has traded apocalyptic poetry	21:03
	for therapeutic advice.	21:07
	Thus we find ourselves unable to speak	21:12
	either to deep pain or to large fear.	21:14
	The line between Dear Abby and Sunday Sermons grows thin.	21:20
	Alas, church history teaches	21:29
	that the lessening of apocalyptic	21:31
	is always a sign of the church's adaptation	21:34
	to the fixations of the petty bourgeois.	21:39
	And maybe that's why today you can learn	21:45
	a lot more about the injustice suffered by the poor	21:47
	or average middle class misery	21:53
	by going to the theater rather than listening to a sermon.	21:55
	So Paul Simon, when he returned	22:03
	from South Africa, wrote a song,	22:05
	"Look for a distant constellation in the corner of the sky.	22:10
	"These are the days of miracle and wonder.	22:17
	"This is a long distance call,	22:23
	"Don't cry baby, don't cry."	22:26
	It's funny how art and apocalyptic go together.	22:32
	Because at its best both are straining	22:38
	to speak of the unspeakable,	22:40
	to imagine the unimaginable in a flat modern world.	22:42
	And so we now refer to our pastors	22:50
	as members of the helping profession	22:52
	and Christian evangelism becomes something	22:56
	you can put on a bumper sticker.	22:59
	World, where does it itch?	23:00
	Please, allow the church to scratch it for you.	23:02
	How different, how different this text.	23:08
	There will be signs and sun and moon and stars on earth,	23:12
	distress among the nations,	23:16
	confused by the roaring of sea and waves.	23:19
	People will faint with foreboding about what is coming.	23:23
	The powers of heavens will be shaken.	23:27
	Then they will see the Son of Man	23:29
	coming on a cloud with power and glory.	23:32
	Signs of dismantling.	23:40
	Big moves.	23:43
	Chaos.	23:46
	Which always accompanies major change.	23:48
	All interpreted here in Luke as signs of our redemption.	23:52
	Now when these things take place,	24:00
	stand up, lift up your heads	24:03
	because your redemption is drawing near.	24:06
	I think we're uncomfortable with such Bible talk.	24:14
	And maybe that's because people who run banks,	24:19
	people who work for the military	24:23
	or for corporations or for universities,	24:25
	that is people who profit from the status quo,	24:29
	twitch upon hearing apocalyptic speech.	24:33
	But people on the bottom,	24:39
	the small or the hungry, the very ill,	24:42
	those who have little to gain from the preservation	24:48
	of what is, always tremble when they hear talk	24:52
	about what by God's grace will be.	24:58
	I think it all depends on where	25:04
	you happen to be standing when you hear these words.	25:06
	It just depends on where you are.	25:12
	Columbia, South Carolina.	25:17
	Mary Chestnut's diary.	25:20
	March 1865.	25:23
	"General Sherman marched off in a solid column,	25:29
	"leaving not so much as a blade of grass behind.	25:32
	"We have become a howling wilderness,	25:38
	"land laid waste, dust and ashes."	25:41
	She's describing the end of the Old South.	25:50
	But in her tears, Mrs. Chestnut	25:56
	neglected to mention in her tale of devastation and woe	26:00
	the slaves were dancing in the streets.	26:07
	See, it just all depends on where you happen to be standing	26:14
	when you hear apocalyptic talk	26:18
	of dismantling and redemption.	26:21
	Here is Jesus in a way that we don't often see him,	26:26
	Jesus as the byzantine pantocrator	26:30
	holding the world in the palm of his hand like a baseball.	26:34
	Not Jesus, friend of the lilies and the little children,	26:38
	Jesus, the good friend.	26:42
	We're gonna have to reverse our images of God	26:47
	if we are going to meet this God when he comes on clouds	26:50
	with the sea roaring and heavens shaking.	26:54
	Don't you just love Doctor Joe Graedon's	27:02
	Saturday morning program from Chapel Hill?	27:04
	Doctor Joe Graedon's Saturday morning hints	27:08
	for achieving immortality and good health.	27:10
	Couple of weeks ago Doctor Graedon's program	27:14
	was on stress and how to get over it.	27:17
	Various meditational techniques were proposed.	27:21
	Walking in the woods when you feel tense.	27:26
	Going out and screaming in the woods.	27:31
	However it was said by the experts on stress,	27:34
	if you live in an apartment, can't scream,	27:37
	you can tear up large magazines.	27:39
	Take this down, some of you will need this some time.	27:43
	Or if you live in an apartment,	27:46
	it was advised that you can also punch your mattress.	27:47
	This will make you feel better.	27:50
	And yet, said a visiting expert, and yet	27:54
	if, by chance, your marriage is falling apart	27:59
	or you've just lost your job	28:03
	or, perhaps, you're suffering from terminal cancer,	28:05
	these techniques may not be that effective.	28:08
	We can ease the symptoms of stress	28:14
	but we can do very little sometimes about their causes.	28:17
	Yes.	28:25
	There is a limit to the therapeutic.	28:27
	And most of what passes for cure	28:31
	these days is only temporary relief.	28:33
	We got a pill for pain but the cause	28:38
	of the illness is beyond us.	28:42
	Dare we struggle to find words that describe redemption?	28:47
	Fundamental rectification of our situation?	28:53
	If we're going to, we're going to have to rise	28:59
	out of the subjective captivity of the church,	29:01
	for even the expansive human heart is too small a screen	29:05
	on which to project these images.	29:10
	Now when these things take place,	29:16
	stand up, raise up your heads,	29:18
	because you redemption is drawing near.	29:20
	Alas, we have reduced Jesus to the friendly therapist.	29:26
	The merely subjective, we come to church	29:31
	for a little help to make it through the week.	29:33
	To receive hints for better living.	29:37
	We know not what to make of signs that appear	29:43
	in moon and stars and raging of the sea and heaven shaking.	29:46
	Oh, I believe Jesus was a fine teacher,	29:54
	a great moral example.	29:56
	And maybe that's enough to help you	30:02
	make it through most of life's hassles.	30:04
	But it's not good enough for the fundamental,	30:10
	humanly unresolvable situations	30:13
	in which we sometimes find ourselves.	30:16
	And what then?	30:21
	Listen carefully.	30:25
	Listen carefully if there be any of you here this morning	30:28
	who cannot be helped by a pill	30:34
	or a noble uplifting platitude	30:36
	or a moralistic call to greater human effort.	30:41
	Listen carefully because today's text speaks to you.	30:43
	As Monika Hellwig once said,	30:52
	"If it won't play in a cancer ward	30:54
	"or a shoddy nursing home for the elderly,	30:56
	"then whatever it is, it's not gospel."	30:59
	Here is gospel.	31:04
	Good news.	31:07
	In roaring of the waves and rising seas,	31:09
	God is coming.	31:14
	Take heed, God is coming.	31:17
	And whether that be good news or bad news for you,	31:20
	I think depend somewhat on your social location.	31:23
	On where you happen to be standing when you get the news.	31:27
	God is coming.	31:30
	Bad news if we're weighed down with dissipation	31:33
	or even worried about what to give or to get for Christmas.	31:36
	Good news, though, if you're standing on tiptoes,	31:41
	listening, waiting, for nothing less than redemption.	31:45
	As Flannery O'Connor once said in one of her novels,	31:54
	"Any man with a good car don't need redemption."	31:58
	Well where are you standing this advent?	32:04
	This advent, 1991 years after his first advent?	32:07
	Are you merely weighed down with conventional	32:15
	solutions to ordinary human problems?	32:17
	Having so much that this world can offer,	32:25
	is our religion reduced to nothing more	32:28
	than the therapeutic?	32:31
	Or is it still possible for you to stand on tiptoes,	32:34
	sensing your redemption is growing near?	32:37
	Here's a larger vision.	32:44
	It is the vision of Martin Luther King Junior	32:45
	who stood on the mountaintop	32:48
	and looked over into the promise land	32:49
	and was able to redeem by shedding of blood.	32:51
	It is the vision of Martin Luther,	32:57
	who, as a young priest standing before the alter of God	33:00
	at his first mass, his hands shook and trembled so	33:02
	at the thought of touching the very body and blood	33:08
	of Christ, he could not move.	33:11
	It's big, it's large, it's cosmic,	33:15
	apocalyptic.	33:20
	And most of us, I think, on most Sundays	33:24
	just don't need that much and that's okay.	33:27
	But there's some of us on some Sundays	33:33
	that can be comforted with nothing less than redemption.	33:40
	There was a man who lived with his family	33:49
	almost next door to our church.	33:52
	His yard was always a mess	33:57
	and that yard was sort of like his life,	34:00
	his life was a mess.	34:02
	It was rumored in town that he went on	34:03
	drunken binges on the weekends.	34:05
	That he abused his wife.	34:08
	That he cursed his children.	34:10
	Well, we became concerned, we thought we would help him.	34:12
	So I went over and visited with him in his living room.	34:17
	The youth invited his two children	34:22
	to go with them on their trip to the mountains.	34:24
	The women's group went over and invited her	34:28
	to join them at their annual day of prayer.	34:30
	I think they visited our church a couple of Sundays	34:34
	but then they quit coming and that was that.	34:37
	Well some time later, I met him downtown.	34:43
	Well I thought it was him,	34:48
	I had to look at him twice to know who it was.	34:49
	"Joe, is that you?" I said.	34:51
	And he kind of smiled sheepishly and he said,	34:53
	"Yeah, yeah, it's me.	34:55
	"But then, it's not really me.	34:57
	"You see, I've changed."	35:00
	Well I could see he had changed.	35:03
	His whole physical appearance had changed.	35:05
	Come to think of it, his yard had changed.	35:09
	Well, what had happened?	35:13
	Well, he told me, "A few weeks ago,	35:17
	"I was visited by people from this church.	35:22
	"A group came by to pray with me."	35:27
	Now, it was a group from a church,	35:32
	not my nice, middle class, Methodist church.	35:34
	But it was from a church over across the tracks.	35:37
	It was from a fundamentalist church.	35:40
	A premillennial, fire-baptized,	35:46
	Bible-believing, washed-in-the-blood Baptist church.	35:48
	And they'd come over one Sunday night, he said,	35:53
	and they sat down on his sofa	35:57
	and they looked him in eye and said,	35:58
	"Joe, you're gonna die and you're gonna go to hell	36:00
	"and you're gonna burn forever."	36:05
	And then they got Joe down to their church	36:11
	on Wednesday night and they prayed for him by name	36:13
	and they prayed that God would spare him just a week longer	36:16
	so they could have time to save him	36:18
	and keep him from burning in hell.	36:20
	Joe said, "They got my attention."	36:22
	And he was saved.	36:30
	He was turned inside-out, upside-down, he was redeemed.	36:36
	So I said something about, "Well,	36:42
	"I'm glad that their church was able to meet your needs.	36:44
	"I'm sorry that our church wasn't."	36:47
	He said, "Well, preacher, don't feel bad.	36:50
	"I was sick, you offered me asprin.	36:54
	"I needed chemotherapy."	36:58
	Well we gathered with Jesus in the upper room,	37:05
	we just gathered for a little meal,	37:07
	just Jesus, 12 best friends.	37:09
	A little meal, polite conversation.	37:11
	And then Jesus took hold of the cup and said,	37:16
	"This is my blood, pour it out for you.	37:19
	"This loaf is my body, broken for you."	37:25
	And that night we realized,	37:33
	if we are to be redeemed,	37:37
	if God is coming to do something about us,	37:41
	then our redemption will not be small,	37:49
	neither will it be cheap.	37:55
	Amen.	38:00
-	The Lord be with you.	38:09
	Let us pray.	38:13
	God of compassion.	38:19
	We are grateful that you listen when we cry out to you.	38:21
	Indeed, we know that you reached out to us	38:26
	long before we had the faith to turn toward you	38:29
	and that gives us the confidence to come before you	38:34
	once again, knees shaking in anticipation of your coming.	38:36
	Prepare us for your revelation,	38:44
	for we can not make sense out of life apart from you.	38:47
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	38:52
	God of power, we have so often trivialized our faith.	38:58
	We've used Christianity to ease our conscience	39:03
	and build up our sense of morality and self-esteem	39:08
	but we haven't expected life-changing,	39:12
	earth-shattering results.	39:15
	Raise our expectations and lift our eyes	39:18
	so that we might see your hopes for us and all of creation.	39:23
	Lord, in your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	39:29
	God of mercy, all of creation longs	39:35
	for nothing less than your redemption.	39:39
	We pray this morning for those who are homeless,	39:43
	beaten down, and without hope,	39:47
	that they may find shelter, homecoming, and renewal.	39:50
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	39:55
	For those who are unemployed and fearful for the future,	40:00
	that they may find good jobs, security, and piece of mind.	40:05
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	40:11
	For those nameless victims of rampant crime,	40:15
	that they may know healing, and freedom from fear.	40:19
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	40:24
	For those who are imprisoned,	40:29
	that they may know forgiveness	40:31
	and your rehabilitation to a new life.	40:33
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	40:37
	For those who listen this morning at Duke Hospital,	40:42
	and for all those who fill our medical facilities,	40:46
	that they may know healing and renewal.	40:50
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	40:54
	For those who are imprisoned	40:58
	within their own minds and bodies,	41:00
	enslaved to mental illness or addictions,	41:03
	that they may be freed and restored to wholeness.	41:08
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	41:12
	For those who are suffering from broken homes	41:17
	and broken relationships,	41:20
	that they may know reconciliation and restoration.	41:22
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	41:27
	For Haitians, Croatians, Vietnamese,	41:32
	and all who flee their homelands seeking sanctuary,	41:36
	that they may find safety and homecoming.	41:40
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	41:44
	For all in battled lands,	41:48
	that they may know peace, tolerance, justice, and freedom.	41:51
	In your mercy, come, Lord Jesus.	41:58
	God of hope, with expectant hearts,	42:02
	we, your people, await Christ coming,	42:07
	we await your redemption of the whole world	42:10
	and pray that you will prepare us	42:15
	so that we might be ready for your coming.	42:17
	Teach us to live as faithful children	42:20
	in anticipation of our adoption into your kingdom.	42:24
	In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, amen.	42:28
	Since Christ has opened his heart to us,	42:37
	let us open our hearts to one another	42:41
	and God will be glorified.	42:43
	Please stand as we share signs	42:45
	of the peace of Christ with one another.	42:48
	(congregation murmuring)	42:52
	With gladness, let us present the offerings	43:26
	of our life and labor to the Lord.	43:29
	You may be seated.	43:31
	(upbeat brass music)	43:51
	('Prelude & Fugue in E Flat Major' by William J. Peterson)	47:42
-	Please turn to page 15 in the hymnal, page 15	49:50
	and join in the prayer of thanksgiving.	49:54
	The Lord be with you.	49:59
	Lift up your hearts.	50:03
	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.	50:06
	Father, in this season when we celebrate	50:11
	the coming of your son, our Lord Jesus Christ,	50:13
	we give you thanks.	50:16
	You created all things, you made us in your own image.	50:18
	Even when we rebelled against your love,	50:22
	you did not desert us.	50:24
	You delivered us and made covenant to be our sovereign God.	50:26
	You spoke to us through prophets	50:30
	who looked for that day when justice would roll down	50:32
	like waters and righteousness an ever-flowing stream.	50:36
	And so, with your people on earth,	50:40
	and all the company of heaven,	50:42
	we praise your name and join in their unending hymn.	50:44
	Holy, holy, holy Lord.	50:49
	God of power and might.	50:52
	Heaven and earth are full of your glory.	50:54
	Hosanna in the highest.	50:56
	Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.	50:58
	Hosanna in the highest.	51:01
	Holy is your name and blessed in your son Jesus Christ	51:04
	whom you sent in the fullness of time	51:08
	as light to the nations.	51:10
	You scatter the proud,	51:13
	you have mercy on those who fear you	51:14
	from generation to generation	51:16
	you put down the mighty from their thrones	51:19
	and lift up those of low degree.	51:21
	And so in remembrance of your mighty acts and Jesus Christ,	51:24
	we offer ourselves in praise and thanksgiving	51:27
	as a holy and living sacrifice	51:31
	in union with Christ's offering for us	51:32
	as we proclaim the mystery of faith.	51:35
	Christ is died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again.	51:38
	On the night he offered himself up for us,	51:44
	he took bread and gave thanks to you.	51:46
	Broke the bread, gave it to his disciples	51:48
	and said, "Take, eat.	51:51
	"This is my body given for you.	51:53
	"Do this in the remembrance of me."	51:55
	When the supper was over, he took the cup,	51:58
	he gave you thanks, gave it to his disciples	52:00
	and said, "Drink from this, all of you.	52:03
	"This is the blood of the new covenant,	52:06
	"poured out for you and many for the forgiveness of sin.	52:08
	"Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me."	52:11
	therefore in remembrance of all your mighty acts	52:16
	and Jesus Christ, we ask you to accept this,	52:18
	our sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving	52:21
	which we offer in union with Christ's sacrifice for us.	52:24
	Send the power of your holy spirit on us and on these gifts,	52:28
	then the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine,	52:31
	we may know the presence of living Christ.	52:34
	Be one body and Him cleansed by his blood,	52:37
	faithfully to serve him in the world,	52:40
	to look forward to that day foretold	52:43
	by prophets and apostles.	52:45
	When the one who came in humility,	52:48
	the one who comes today in word and spirit	52:50
	shall come on clouds with the shaking of heavens	52:53
	and roaring of waves in final victory.	52:57
	Through Him, with Him, and in Him	53:01
	and the unity of the Holy Spirit,	53:03
	all honor and glory is yours, almighty God,	53:04
	now and forever more.	53:07
	Amen.	53:10
	Come to the Lord's table.	53:15
	As we come invite you to join in singing hymn 196.	53:18
	(orchestral music)	53:29
	♪ Come, Thou long expected Jesus ♪	54:24
	♪ Born to set Thy people free ♪	54:31
	♪ From our fears and sins release us ♪	54:38
	♪ Let us find our rest in Thee ♪	54:45
	♪ Jesus Christ's strength and consolation ♪	54:52
	♪ Hope of all the earth Thou art ♪	54:59
	♪ Dear desire of every nation ♪	55:06
	♪ Joy of every longing heart ♪	55:13
	♪ Born Thy people to deliver ♪	55:23
	♪ Born a child and yet a King ♪	55:30
	♪ Born to reign in us forever ♪	55:37
	♪ Now Thy gracious kingdom bring ♪	55:44
	♪ By Thine own eternal Spirit ♪	55:51
	♪ Rule in all our hearts alone ♪	55:58
	♪ By Thine all sufficient merit ♪	56:06
	♪ Raise us to Thy glorious throne ♪	56:13
	(somber music)	56:32
-	Let us stand and pray together	1:04:09
	the prayer our Lord has taught us.	1:04:11
	Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	1:04:14
	Thy kingdom come.	1:04:19
	Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.	1:04:21
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:04:24
	and forgive us our trespasses,	1:04:27
	as we forgive those who trespass against us	1:04:29
	and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:04:32
	Divine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.	1:04:37
	Amen.	1:04:41
	Now may the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,	1:04:43
	the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit	1:04:46
	be with you now as you go forth	1:04:49
	to serve the Lord in all that you do.	1:04:51
	Amen.	1:04:54
	(brass music)	1:05:01
	♪ Savior of the nations, come ♪	1:05:34
	♪ Virgin's Son, make here thy home ♪	1:05:41
	♪ Marvel now, O heav'n and earth ♪	1:05:48
	♪ That the Lord chose such a birth ♪	1:05:56
	♪ Not of flesh and blood the Son ♪	1:06:06
	♪ Offspring of the Holy One ♪	1:06:14
	♪ Born of Mary ever blest, ♪	1:06:22
	♪ God in flesh is manifest. ♪	1:06:29
	♪ Wondrous birth! O wondrous Child ♪	1:06:40
	♪ Of the Virgin undefiled ♪	1:06:48
	♪ Though by all the world disowned ♪	1:06:55
	♪ Still to be in heav'n enthroned. ♪	1:07:04
	♪ From the Father forth he came ♪	1:07:14
	♪ And returneth to the same ♪	1:07:22
	♪ Captive leading death and hell ♪	1:07:30
	♪ High the song of triumph swell ♪	1:07:38

Item Info

Title:

William H. Willimon - "God Is Coming" (December 1, 1991)

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4xd0rc6h

Date:

December 1, 1991

Speaker:

Willimon, William H.

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Description:

Sermon start time: 17:54. Sermon end time: 38:02.
The seemingly terrible apocalyptic scene of the end of time shows that God’s saving work is both subversive and marvelous. Christians should not be afraid of that day. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “People, something’s afoot. I’m sorry if you thought we had God all tucked safely to bed. This God is on the move. God is not hunkered down here at church. God is now invading the city. God is taking back what God owns.”

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0258
ref9025_fr7
uachapelsermaud
duke:321547
dcrmv001247
ark:/87924/r4xd0rc6h
a63bb8c4-ee40-4f56-bbe0-6dbe7df4ff07

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Related Resources:

See below

Location:

Subject:

Format:

Language:

English

Liturgical Calendar:

Advent

Provenance:

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

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

Type: