David H. C. Read - "God Loves You - So What?" (March 29, 1992)
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
| (footsteps) | 0:46 | |
| - | Good morning and welcome to this fourth Sunday of Lent. | 0:47 |
| This is truly a beautiful morning. | 0:50 | |
| Indeed, as we have come together to praise God | 0:53 | |
| and to give thanks for miraculous basketball wins. | 0:56 | |
| (audience laughing) | 1:00 | |
| We are blessed today to have as our guest preacher, | 1:03 | |
| the distinguished Dr. David Read. | 1:07 | |
| Dr. Read is a native of Scotland who served | 1:10 | |
| as the minister of the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church | 1:14 | |
| in New York City for 35 years. | 1:18 | |
| His distinguished career spans three continents, | 1:21 | |
| and he's the author of more than 30 books. | 1:24 | |
| It is our pleasure to welcome Dr. Read back to Duke Chapel. | 1:27 | |
| I'd like to call your attention | 1:32 | |
| to a couple of announcements in the bulletin. | 1:33 | |
| This evening at 5:00, we have a concert | 1:36 | |
| by Dr. Robert Parkins and hope you will be able | 1:39 | |
| to attend that. | 1:43 | |
| Next week and also the first Sunday of each month, | 1:44 | |
| we are collecting canned goods for the poor in Durham | 1:48 | |
| and there will be a collection box | 1:52 | |
| at the back of the chapel. | 1:54 | |
| Let us continue our worship together | 1:56 | |
| as you stand for the greeting. | 1:58 | |
| The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 2:07 | |
| Congregation | And also with you. | 2:10 |
| - | Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me. | 2:12 |
| Bless God's holy name. | 2:16 | |
| Congregation | Bless the Lord my soul | 2:18 |
| and lift up our countenance. | 2:21 | |
| - | Who forgives all your sins | 2:24 |
| and heals all your infirmities. | 2:26 | |
| Congregation | (murmuring) God in prayer, | 2:29 |
| we ask for mercy upon us. | 2:32 | |
| (joyful organ music) | 2:36 | |
| ♪ Lift high the cross ♪ | 2:58 | |
| ♪ The love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 3:03 | |
| ♪ Till all the world adore ♪ | 3:07 | |
| ♪ His sacred name ♪ | 3:14 | |
| ♪ Come, Christians, follow ♪ | 3:18 | |
| ♪ This triumphant sign ♪ | 3:23 | |
| ♪ The hosts of God ♪ | 3:27 | |
| ♪ In unity combine ♪ | 3:32 | |
| ♪ Lift high the cross ♪ | 3:38 | |
| ♪ The love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 3:42 | |
| ♪ Till all the world adore ♪ | 3:47 | |
| ♪ His sacred name ♪ | 3:53 | |
| ♪ Each newborn servant ♪ | 3:57 | |
| ♪ Of the Crucified ♪ | 4:03 | |
| ♪ Bears on the brow ♪ | 4:07 | |
| ♪ The seal of him who died ♪ | 4:12 | |
| ♪ Lift high the cross ♪ | 4:18 | |
| ♪ The love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 4:22 | |
| ♪ Till all the world adore ♪ | 4:27 | |
| ♪ His sacred name ♪ | 4:33 | |
| ♪ O Lord, once lifted ♪ | 4:38 | |
| ♪ On the glorious tree ♪ | 4:43 | |
| ♪ As thou has promised ♪ | 4:47 | |
| ♪ Draw the world to thee ♪ | 4:53 | |
| ♪ Lift high the cross ♪ | 4:58 | |
| ♪ The love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 5:03 | |
| ♪ Till all the world adore ♪ | 5:08 | |
| ♪ His sacred name ♪ | 5:14 | |
| ♪ So shall our song of ♪ | 5:19 | |
| ♪ Triumph ever be ♪ | 5:24 | |
| ♪ Praise to the crucified for victory ♪ | 5:27 | |
| ♪ Lift high the cross ♪ | 5:39 | |
| ♪ The love of Christ proclaim ♪ | 5:43 | |
| ♪ Till all the world adore ♪ | 5:48 | |
| ♪ His sacred name ♪ | 5:54 | |
| (jubilant organ music) | 6:00 | |
| - | God was in Christ, reconciling the world to God's self. | 7:00 |
| Therefore, we come in the name of Jesus Christ | 7:05 | |
| to claim that healing within and among us. | 7:08 | |
| The one who received sinners and ate with them | 7:12 | |
| invites us to feast on God's forgiving love. | 7:15 | |
| Let us confess our sin as we pray in unison | 7:18 | |
| the prayer found on page 890. | 7:21 | |
| All | Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned | 7:31 |
| against you in thought, word and deed | 7:35 | |
| by what we have done and what we have left undone. | 7:38 | |
| We have not loved you with our whole heart. | 7:43 | |
| We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. | 7:46 | |
| We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. | 7:50 | |
| For the sake of your son, Jesus Christ, have mercy on us | 7:53 | |
| and forgive us that we may delight in your will | 7:58 | |
| and walk in your ways to the glory of your name. | 8:01 | |
| Amen. | 8:06 | |
| - | God rolls away our reproach. | 8:14 |
| In Christ, we are a new creation, | 8:17 | |
| and God does not count our trespasses against us. | 8:20 | |
| God gives us the very best and celebrates our return. | 8:25 | |
| The new life God grants us enables us to reach out | 8:29 | |
| to those we have wronged and those who have wronged us. | 8:32 | |
| We are reconciled to God and one another. | 8:36 | |
| Let us then live as ambassadors for Christ. | 8:40 | |
| You may be seated. | 8:44 | |
| - | Let us pray together the Prayer for Illumination. | 8:54 |
| All | Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 9:00 |
| by the power of your Holy Spirit | 9:03 | |
| so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 9:06 | |
| we might hear with joy what you say | 9:10 | |
| to us this Lenten season. | 9:13 | |
| Amen. | 9:16 | |
| - | The Old Testament lesson for this morning will come | 9:18 |
| from the book of Jeremiah in place of that | 9:20 | |
| which is printed in your bulletin. | 9:24 | |
| I will read from the 31st chapter, verses one through four. | 9:26 | |
| At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God | 9:31 | |
| of all the families of Israel. | 9:35 | |
| They shall be my people. | 9:38 | |
| Thus, says the Lord, the people who survive the sword | 9:40 | |
| found grace in the wilderness. | 9:44 | |
| When Israel sought for rest, the Lord appeared to him | 9:47 | |
| from far away. | 9:51 | |
| I have loved you with an everlasting love. | 9:54 | |
| Therefore, I have continued my faithfulness to you. | 9:58 | |
| Again, I will build you and you shall be built, | 10:02 | |
| oh virgin Israel. | 10:06 | |
| Again, you shall take your tambourines and go forth | 10:09 | |
| in the dance of the merrymakers. | 10:13 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 10:16 | |
| Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 10:19 |
| - | Will the congregation please stand | 10:29 |
| and sing responsively Psalm 34: 1-8 | 10:30 | |
| on page 769 of the hymnal. | 10:34 | |
| ♪ I will bless the Lord at all times ♪ | 10:45 | |
| ♪ God's praise shall continually be in my mouth ♪ | 10:49 | |
| ♪ My soul makes its boast in the Lord ♪ | 10:54 | |
| ♪ Let the humble hear and be glad ♪ | 10:59 | |
| ♪ O' magnify the Lord with me ♪ | 11:04 | |
| ♪ And let us exalt God's name together ♪ | 11:08 | |
| ♪ I sought the Lord who answered me ♪ | 11:12 | |
| ♪ And delivered me from all my fears ♪ | 11:17 | |
| ♪ Look to God and be radiant ♪ | 11:23 | |
| ♪ So your faces shall never be ashamed ♪ | 11:26 | |
| ♪ The poor ran out and Lord had heard ♪ | 11:31 | |
| ♪ And saved him out of all his troubles ♪ | 11:36 | |
| ♪ The angel of the Lord encamps around those ♪ | 11:41 | |
| ♪ Who fear God and delivers them ♪ | 11:46 | |
| ♪ O taste and see that the Lord is good ♪ | 11:50 | |
| ♪ Happy are those who take refuge in God ♪ | 11:55 | |
| ♪ All glory be to you, Creator ♪ | 12:02 | |
| ♪ And to Jesus Christ out savior ♪ | 12:05 | |
| ♪ And to the Holy Spirit blessed is he ♪ | 12:08 | |
| ♪ As it was as time began ♪ | 12:14 | |
| ♪ Is now and will be forever more ♪ | 12:17 | |
| - | This reading is from Paul's second letter | 12:42 |
| to the Corinthians, the fifth chapter, verses 16-21. | 12:44 | |
| From now on, therefore, we regard no one | 12:51 | |
| from a human point of view. | 12:56 | |
| Even though we once knew Christ from a human point of view, | 12:59 | |
| we know him no longer in that way. | 13:03 | |
| So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation. | 13:07 | |
| Everything old has passed away. | 13:12 | |
| See, everything has become new. | 13:15 | |
| All this is from God who reconciled us | 13:19 | |
| to himself through Christ and has given us | 13:22 | |
| the ministry of reconciliation. | 13:26 | |
| That is in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, | 13:30 | |
| not counting their trespasses against them | 13:36 | |
| and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. | 13:39 | |
| So we are ambassadors for Christ. | 13:44 | |
| Since God is making his appeal through us, | 13:48 | |
| we entreat you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. | 13:53 | |
| For our sake, he made him to be sin | 13:59 | |
| who knew no sin so that in him, | 14:03 | |
| we might become the righteousness of God. | 14:06 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 14:11 | |
| Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 14:14 |
| (organ music) | 14:19 | |
| ♪ O taste and see how gracious the Lord is ♪ | 14:35 | |
| ♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪ | 14:44 | |
| ♪ O taste, o taste and see, and see ♪ | 14:52 | |
| ♪ Taste and see how gracious the Lord is ♪ | 15:00 | |
| ♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪ | 15:10 | |
| ♪ O taste and see how gracious the Lord is ♪ | 15:18 | |
| ♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪ | 15:28 | |
| ♪ O taste, o taste and see, and see ♪ | 15:36 | |
| ♪ Taste and see, taste and see ♪ | 15:45 | |
| ♪ How gracious the Lord is ♪ | 15:49 | |
| ♪ Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him ♪ | 15:55 | |
| ♪ O fear the Lord, ye that are His saints ♪ | 16:03 | |
| ♪ For they that fear Him ♪ | 16:12 | |
| ♪ That fear Him lack nothing ♪ | 16:17 | |
| ♪ The lions do lack, and suffer hunger ♪ | 16:23 | |
| ♪ But they who seek the Lord ♪ | 16:29 | |
| ♪ They who seek the Lord ♪ | 16:34 | |
| ♪ Shall want no manner of thing that is good ♪ | 16:39 | |
| ♪ Shall want no manner of thing that is good ♪ | 16:44 | |
| ♪ Shall want no manner of thing that is good ♪ | 16:49 | |
| ♪ No manner of thing that is good ♪ | 16:53 | |
| ♪ The lions do lack, and suffer hunger ♪ | 16:58 | |
| ♪ The lions do lack, and suffer hunger ♪ | 17:02 | |
| ♪ But they who seek the Lord ♪ | 17:07 | |
| ♪ They who seek the Lord ♪ | 17:13 | |
| ♪ Shall want no manner of thing that is good ♪ | 17:19 | |
| ♪ Shall want no manner of thing that is good ♪ | 17:23 | |
| ♪ Shall want no manner of thing that is good ♪ | 17:27 | |
| ♪ No manner of thing that is good ♪ | 17:31 | |
| ♪ O taste and see how gracious the Lord is ♪ | 17:36 | |
| ♪ Blessed is the man ♪ | 17:46 | |
| ♪ That trusteth in Him ♪ | 17:53 | |
| - | Before I read the Scripture and preach, | 18:29 |
| I want to say what a joy it is for me | 18:32 | |
| to be once more in this lovely chapel | 18:36 | |
| and sharing in your morning worship. | 18:39 | |
| I should, perhaps, explain that the change | 18:42 | |
| in the reading from the Old Testament was not made | 18:45 | |
| by me at the last minute. | 18:48 | |
| It wasn't that last night | 18:51 | |
| when I looked at the original reading | 18:54 | |
| and found it rather somber, | 18:56 | |
| I switched it that it would end | 18:59 | |
| with a note of celebration, dancing, and joy. | 19:02 | |
| But I'm very glad that although for five minutes, | 19:06 | |
| I thought the original might have been more suitable, | 19:08 | |
| the last second changed it all, | 19:12 | |
| and here we are rejoicing. | 19:16 | |
| Now, we read from the new, the gospel. | 19:19 | |
| It's one of the most familiar stories in the world. | 19:24 | |
| Then drew near to Jesus, all the publicans and sinners | 19:35 | |
| to hear him. | 19:40 | |
| And the Pharisees and scribes murmured saying, | 19:42 | |
| "This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." | 19:45 | |
| And he spake this parable saying, | 19:50 | |
| a certain man had two sons. | 19:58 | |
| The younger of them said to his father, | 20:02 | |
| "Father, give me the portion of goods | 20:04 | |
| "that forteth to me." | 20:07 | |
| He divided unto them his living. | 20:09 | |
| Not many days after, the younger son gathered all together | 20:13 | |
| and took his journey into a far country. | 20:17 | |
| There wasted his substance with riotous living. | 20:20 | |
| When he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine | 20:25 | |
| in that land and he began to be in want | 20:29 | |
| and he went and joined himself to a citizen | 20:32 | |
| of that country and he sent him into his fields | 20:34 | |
| to feed swine. | 20:39 | |
| He would have feign have filled his belly | 20:41 | |
| with the husks that the swine did eat | 20:43 | |
| and no man gave unto him. | 20:45 | |
| When he came to himself, he said, | 20:50 | |
| "How many hard servants of my father's have bread enough | 20:53 | |
| "and to spare, and I perish with hunger? | 20:56 | |
| "I will arise and go to my father | 20:59 | |
| "and will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven | 21:02 | |
| "and before thee and am no more worthy | 21:07 | |
| "to be called thy son. | 21:10 | |
| "Make me as one of thy hard servants." | 21:12 | |
| He arose and came to his father. | 21:16 | |
| When he was yet a great way off, | 21:21 | |
| his father saw him and had compassion | 21:23 | |
| and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. | 21:26 | |
| The son said unto him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven | 21:31 | |
| "and then thy sight and am no more worthy | 21:36 | |
| "to be called thy son." | 21:38 | |
| But the father said to his servants, | 21:41 | |
| "Bring forth the best robe and put it on him, | 21:43 | |
| "and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, | 21:46 | |
| "and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it | 21:50 | |
| "and let us eat and be merry. | 21:53 | |
| "For this, my son, who's dead and is alive again. | 21:56 | |
| "He was lost and is found." | 22:01 | |
| And they began to be merry. | 22:04 | |
| Now, his elder son was in the field. | 22:08 | |
| As he came nigh and drew nigh to the house, | 22:12 | |
| he heard music and dancing. | 22:14 | |
| He called one of the servants | 22:17 | |
| and asked what these things meant. | 22:19 | |
| He said unto him, "Thy brother is come and thy father | 22:22 | |
| "hath killed the fatted calf | 22:27 | |
| "because he hath received him safe and sound." | 22:28 | |
| And he was angry and would not go in. | 22:33 | |
| Therefore, came his father out and he dreated him. | 22:38 | |
| He answering, said to his father, | 22:42 | |
| "Lo' these many years do I serve thee? | 22:44 | |
| "Neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment? | 22:46 | |
| "And yet thou never gavest me a kid | 22:50 | |
| "that I might make merry with my friends. | 22:53 | |
| "But as soon as this thy son was come, | 22:56 | |
| "which had devoured thy living with harlots, | 23:00 | |
| "thou hast killed for him the fatted calf." | 23:03 | |
| And he said unto him, "Son, thou art ever with me | 23:08 | |
| "and all that I have is thine. | 23:13 | |
| "It was meek that we should make merry and be glad | 23:17 | |
| "for this, thy brother, who was dead and is alive again | 23:21 | |
| "and was lost and is found." | 23:25 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 23:32 | |
| Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 23:35 |
| - | Let the words of my mouth | 23:39 |
| and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in thy sight. | 23:40 | |
| Oh Lord, our strength and our redeemer. | 23:44 | |
| Amen. | 23:46 | |
| New York taxi drivers hear a very strange conversations | 23:52 | |
| from time to time. | 23:57 | |
| Some years ago, I was driving down Park Avenue | 24:00 | |
| to deliver an old friend at Grand Central Station. | 24:04 | |
| On the way down, we talked about preaching. | 24:09 | |
| We talked about the Christian gospel. | 24:14 | |
| We talked about the message we should be proclaiming. | 24:16 | |
| We talked about the theology behind it all. | 24:20 | |
| My friend was the late D.T. Niles, | 24:24 | |
| a Methodist minister | 24:28 | |
| from Sri Lanka, a predominantly Buddhist island. | 24:30 | |
| At that time he was the Director of Evangelism | 24:35 | |
| for The World Council of Churches. | 24:38 | |
| I had asked him some years before | 24:43 | |
| to conduct a Christian mission in Edinburgh University | 24:45 | |
| where I was chaplain. | 24:48 | |
| Probably the first time a missionary from Asia came | 24:51 | |
| to evangelize Scottish students. | 24:56 | |
| Well, the driver of that cab must have heard | 24:59 | |
| a lot more than he wanted to about this sort of thing. | 25:02 | |
| As we drew up at the station, | 25:05 | |
| Niles got out of the cab, | 25:07 | |
| poked his head in again through a window. | 25:10 | |
| He said, "There's only one thing to say, David. | 25:15 | |
| "Only one thing. | 25:20 | |
| "In the end, | 25:22 | |
| it's God loves you, goodbye." | 25:24 | |
| It was the last time I saw him. | 25:31 | |
| He died shortly afterwards, | 25:32 | |
| but I've never forgotten his remark. | 25:34 | |
| Is that indeed what all our preaching's about? | 25:38 | |
| God loves you. | 25:40 | |
| And it is, you know. | 25:44 | |
| And yet, and yet, what does that mean | 25:46 | |
| to the average person today? | 25:51 | |
| What surprises me is that after some 55 years | 25:54 | |
| in the business of proclaiming this good news | 25:59 | |
| is that it does not, contrary to expectations, | 26:03 | |
| seem to have less meaning, | 26:07 | |
| nor is it less often said. | 26:12 | |
| Few weeks ago, I was walking | 26:17 | |
| through central park one afternoon I saw a vast crowd | 26:18 | |
| of people and I heard the beloved voice | 26:22 | |
| of my old fried, Billy Graham. | 26:25 | |
| He was preaching on God so loved the world | 26:28 | |
| that whoever believes in him should not perish | 26:30 | |
| but have everlasting life. | 26:34 | |
| Somehow it seemed as fresh as when I heard him use | 26:37 | |
| that familiar text years and years ago. | 26:40 | |
| And yet, there we were. | 26:44 | |
| All around us, Manhattan and all it contains. | 26:45 | |
| The crowd were listening. | 26:52 | |
| A week later, I saw another old friend, | 26:55 | |
| who is Canon Bryan Green, ascending the pulpit | 27:00 | |
| with even more trouble than I had today | 27:03 | |
| because he's 92 years of age. | 27:06 | |
| His text was the party began. | 27:09 | |
| They began to be merry and his message was | 27:13 | |
| that God loves us with an unconditional love. | 27:16 | |
| Right, but on the other hand, | 27:23 | |
| with this theme in mind for you this morning, | 27:26 | |
| I was hit over the head, as it were, | 27:31 | |
| by an article I read which had the innocuous title, | 27:32 | |
| Jesus Loves Everybody. | 27:37 | |
| It was the very opposite of the kind of article | 27:42 | |
| I expected to find. | 27:45 | |
| It began with these words: | 27:47 | |
| More human beings live in abject poverty now | 27:50 | |
| than at any moment in the history of the planet. | 27:55 | |
| The wars of our century have set records | 27:59 | |
| for destructiveness. | 28:02 | |
| We have seen genocide practiced | 28:03 | |
| with a technical efficiency | 28:06 | |
| that might have cause Genghis Khan to blush. | 28:08 | |
| To the long list of ancient pestilences, | 28:11 | |
| has been added the scourge of AIDS, famine as commonplace, | 28:15 | |
| the United States, the richest and most powerful nation | 28:20 | |
| on Earth, is beset with racial class conflicts. | 28:23 | |
| Many of our schools are in brutal disarray. | 28:29 | |
| Homelessness, addiction, crime are epidemic. | 28:33 | |
| These are the words not of some atheistic | 28:38 | |
| professor of sociology or anything of that kind. | 28:44 | |
| They're the words of a professor of theology, Dr. Goetz. | 28:46 | |
| Jesus loves everybody. | 28:53 | |
| So what? | 28:56 | |
| What meaning does that have for you and me? | 28:59 | |
| That's the part. | 29:01 | |
| So I had to do another bit of thinking about the sermon. | 29:06 | |
| That's the astonishing thing about words like | 29:12 | |
| the love of Jesus, the love of God. | 29:16 | |
| That you think you must know all about it | 29:20 | |
| when you've been preaching for about 10 years. | 29:23 | |
| When you've been preaching for about 50, | 29:27 | |
| you begin to feel you don't know anything about it. | 29:29 | |
| It's constantly expanding. | 29:32 | |
| So, I began to wonder. | 29:35 | |
| Is this an impossible task | 29:41 | |
| to declare to people like you | 29:45 | |
| that the whole human story, | 29:49 | |
| the planet we inhabit, | 29:53 | |
| the vast universe beyond, | 29:55 | |
| your life, my life, | 29:59 | |
| are actually under the control | 30:02 | |
| and direction of an infinitely wise | 30:07 | |
| and benevolent power? | 30:11 | |
| It doesn't look like it. | 30:15 | |
| So I decided I would prepare this sermon | 30:18 | |
| with a so what ringing in my ear. | 30:23 | |
| The so what is said by people | 30:27 | |
| who come to the conclusion that a phrase | 30:29 | |
| like God loves you is part of the repertory | 30:33 | |
| of the Christian church that has ceased | 30:35 | |
| to have any real meaning at all. | 30:39 | |
| Or else, they say, "What difference would it make | 30:43 | |
| "to my life tomorrow morning whether I believe | 30:45 | |
| "that God loves me or now." | 30:48 | |
| So what. | 30:50 | |
| So I kept hearing that so what as I was preparing this. | 30:52 | |
| It's not just that the facts seem | 30:58 | |
| to contradict the proposition, | 31:01 | |
| but that we, ourselves, probably all of us here, | 31:05 | |
| may have gone through or are now going through | 31:10 | |
| some experience that robs the words of real meaning. | 31:14 | |
| You say, so what, I've heard this, | 31:21 | |
| but it's not helping me very much at the moment. | 31:28 | |
| Is there anybody who really, totally escapes | 31:31 | |
| what you might call the silence of this loving God | 31:36 | |
| when we are most in need? | 31:41 | |
| It's my conviction and experience | 31:46 | |
| that we're on the way to a more living | 31:50 | |
| and genuine when we begin to realize | 31:53 | |
| that these phrases, God is love, God loves you, | 31:57 | |
| are very far from being cliches or truisms. | 32:02 | |
| As a matter of fact, the phrase, God is love, | 32:07 | |
| does not occur in the entire Bible | 32:10 | |
| until a little letter that's tucked in | 32:14 | |
| before the book of Revelation at the end. | 32:17 | |
| There's no such statement in the whole of the Old Testament. | 32:21 | |
| There's no such statement in the Gospels | 32:26 | |
| or the Letters of Paul. | 32:29 | |
| I think that's because Jesus, himself, | 32:34 | |
| and the great prophets in the Old Testament | 32:39 | |
| never dealt in abstractions. | 32:44 | |
| That the word, love, is nearly always a verb | 32:48 | |
| and practically never a noun when it does occur. | 32:50 | |
| We learn to hear Jesus saying, "God loves you," | 32:56 | |
| when we hear the stories he told | 33:03 | |
| like this one of the prodigal son. | 33:04 | |
| Or incidental words like, aren't five sparrow sold | 33:08 | |
| for two pence, and not one of them is overlooked by God. | 33:13 | |
| "Even the hairs of your head have all been counted," | 33:21 | |
| he said. | 33:23 | |
| "Don't be afraid, you're more value than many sparrows." | 33:26 | |
| These are the images that convey the astounding news | 33:31 | |
| of God really loving us. | 33:36 | |
| Jesus doesn't argue about it, at all. | 33:39 | |
| He lives it more than anyone who ever walked. | 33:42 | |
| He lived in the conviction that God loved him. | 33:47 | |
| A conviction that took him right through the worst kind | 33:50 | |
| of pain of body, mind, and spirit | 33:54 | |
| that any of us can ever know. | 33:56 | |
| So that he could die saying, | 34:00 | |
| "Father, into they hands I commend my spirit." | 34:02 | |
| Somehow, occasionally the sight of a dead pigeon | 34:08 | |
| lying in the gutter of a New York street, | 34:14 | |
| or the sight of my comb when I've just done brushed my hair. | 34:19 | |
| One little hair, perhaps. | 34:24 | |
| The dead pigeon speaks more to me today | 34:28 | |
| than the arguments. | 34:31 | |
| They can become, you know, these simple little things. | 34:34 | |
| The sacraments of God's love, | 34:37 | |
| and they still speak with power. | 34:41 | |
| I think this amazing grace, as it is so well called, | 34:44 | |
| accounts for astonishing durability of the good news | 34:50 | |
| of the Gospel. | 34:54 | |
| By normal human standards of judgment, | 34:57 | |
| the grim facts of what has happened | 35:01 | |
| during these recent years. | 35:05 | |
| The years I've seen since my ordination in 1936. | 35:08 | |
| Just to hear them listed, should be enough | 35:13 | |
| to convince most sensible people | 35:17 | |
| that to talk of a God who loves us has become impossible, | 35:20 | |
| and these cliches, if they are, should be thrown | 35:27 | |
| into the dust bin of theology. | 35:31 | |
| But it hasn't happened like that. | 35:37 | |
| As I said, the word seems to be growing at the moment. | 35:40 | |
| The current issue, I believe, | 35:48 | |
| of Time magazine carries a stimulating essay | 35:49 | |
| about the year 2000 by Henry Gruenwaller. | 35:54 | |
| He talks about the present sense we have | 36:00 | |
| of things ending and others beginning. | 36:04 | |
| "As if," he says, "the hand of God was turning | 36:09 | |
| "another page in human faith." | 36:11 | |
| Then he goes on to speak | 36:15 | |
| about three great endings and beginnings | 36:19 | |
| that are happening right now. | 36:24 | |
| First, obviously, the end of communism | 36:28 | |
| and the beginning of coping of what it will mean | 36:32 | |
| for capitalism. | 36:35 | |
| Second, the rise of nationalism | 36:37 | |
| and the beginning | 36:45 | |
| of looking for new international relations. | 36:47 | |
| Then the third made me blink. | 36:53 | |
| He says, "We are witnessing the end, or at least the decline | 36:56 | |
| "of an age of unbelief and a beginning | 37:01 | |
| "of what may well be a new age of faith." | 37:05 | |
| You believe that? | 37:10 | |
| I don't know. | 37:13 | |
| New age of faith? | 37:14 | |
| I think it can happen. | 37:18 | |
| There are signs that it can happen. | 37:20 | |
| When we awake and let others be awake | 37:24 | |
| to the fact that the church is not dispensing bromides | 37:27 | |
| with its message of the love of God. | 37:31 | |
| We're not being called to return to a church | 37:33 | |
| that is going to be out there next century on the margin, | 37:38 | |
| living on a cliche, | 37:41 | |
| doing nothing that changes the situation. | 37:44 | |
| God is love. | 37:48 | |
| God loves you. | 37:50 | |
| That's a challenge to the mind and to the will. | 37:52 | |
| It's not meant to be an obvious truth. | 37:58 | |
| It's not an obvious truth. | 38:01 | |
| It's an astonishing truth. | 38:03 | |
| It's a challenge to the mind and the will. | 38:05 | |
| It's a slogan, if you like, to stir the blood | 38:07 | |
| when we really hit it and send us marching on | 38:10 | |
| to make a better world. | 38:14 | |
| Send us out dancing on whatever Berlin walls remain. | 38:16 | |
| So if our response to the word God loves you | 38:23 | |
| is so what. | 38:28 | |
| There are two important things waiting for us. | 38:30 | |
| Two answers, if you like. | 38:34 | |
| One offers a satisfaction to the mind. | 38:36 | |
| The other appeals to our wills, to our desire, | 38:41 | |
| to make this a better world. | 38:44 | |
| People wouldn't think that such a simple statement | 38:47 | |
| that God loves you could offer satisfaction to the mind. | 38:52 | |
| It does when we realize what an astonishing statement it is. | 38:56 | |
| I've just been reading a book that has given me | 39:02 | |
| what I never expected to find in my 80's, | 39:06 | |
| some new light on the parable of the prodigal son. | 39:10 | |
| The book is by Henri Nouwen, | 39:16 | |
| whom I think many of you may have heard. | 39:18 | |
| Illuminating writing on the spiritual life is probably known | 39:22 | |
| to some here. | 39:26 | |
| His new book just out is based not just | 39:28 | |
| on the story of the prodigal son, | 39:34 | |
| but Rembrandt's extraordinary painting | 39:36 | |
| of that return. | 39:41 | |
| Nouwen went as far as to Saint Petersburg | 39:43 | |
| to spend he said, "Seven hours gazing at that picture." | 39:47 | |
| He's a man who's had experience proclaiming | 39:56 | |
| the Gospel of God's love to the student world. | 39:58 | |
| He's a man who felt called by God | 40:04 | |
| to close that chapter and go to live | 40:07 | |
| with the community of mentally retarded people. | 40:12 | |
| He repaints, as it were in the book, the central figure, | 40:21 | |
| the Father, but he paints the prodigal | 40:27 | |
| in all his destitution being embraced by this father. | 40:31 | |
| Prodigal kneeling, penitent, | 40:38 | |
| and folded in that unexpected welcome. | 40:41 | |
| Then there is that stern disapproving figure | 40:46 | |
| of the elder brother standing there. | 40:51 | |
| Apparently unmoved by any instinct | 40:59 | |
| of joy seeing his brother back. | 41:03 | |
| We're not told in the story | 41:10 | |
| if he responded to the father's appeal. | 41:14 | |
| In fact, the gospel passage | 41:17 | |
| doesn't really indicate | 41:22 | |
| one way or the other. | 41:26 | |
| All we know is that this tremendous love coming | 41:29 | |
| from the father was responded to | 41:32 | |
| by the prodigal. | 41:37 | |
| The elder brother made his complaint, | 41:42 | |
| a very natural, but we don't know | 41:45 | |
| if he decided in the end to join the party. | 41:49 | |
| But Nouwen invites us to identify with these figures. | 41:54 | |
| Now, we have been asked a thousand times | 42:00 | |
| to identify with the prodigal son. | 42:02 | |
| You and I are invited to see ourselves as prodigals | 42:07 | |
| as indeed we are, | 42:14 | |
| but it's difficult for the average church congregation | 42:18 | |
| really to identify with this guy | 42:22 | |
| who went and spent all his father's hard, | 42:25 | |
| worked for gains | 42:30 | |
| and lived it up with prostitutes in a distant country. | 42:32 | |
| Most of us find it possible to obey the commandments, | 42:38 | |
| that's to say to the extent of getting through 24 hours | 42:42 | |
| without telling lies, stealing, or committing adultery. | 42:46 | |
| So we wonder why we should be considered prodigal. | 42:51 | |
| Nouwen doesn't rub in the ordinary things here. | 42:59 | |
| He indicates how hard it is for us | 43:04 | |
| as it was for that prodigal to let ourselves be embraced | 43:07 | |
| by a totally unconditional love that | 43:12 | |
| accepts us as we are. | 43:17 | |
| A love that dazzles us | 43:20 | |
| with the only kind of self esteem, | 43:23 | |
| to use the overworked word, that's worth math counting. | 43:26 | |
| Bring forth the best robe and put it on him. | 43:36 | |
| Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. | 43:39 | |
| Bring hither the fatted calf and let us eat and be merry. | 43:41 | |
| Do we really hear that? | 43:50 | |
| Or do we have a much more severe | 43:53 | |
| and unappealing picture of God? | 43:57 | |
| For this is how God loves us. | 44:03 | |
| This is the God who's love offers the most marvelous, | 44:04 | |
| mind satisfying, soul refreshing interpretation | 44:09 | |
| of human life. | 44:12 | |
| Just when we are tempted to say Macbeth was right. | 44:16 | |
| It's a tale told by an idiot | 44:21 | |
| full of sound and fury signifying nothing. | 44:24 | |
| "So what?" we say. | 44:30 | |
| That's the real truth. | 44:32 | |
| So we're prodigals. | 44:35 | |
| We gotta be startled again by hearing | 44:37 | |
| that there is this God of love | 44:39 | |
| behind all that is happening | 44:40 | |
| to the world and to us. | 44:42 | |
| There's nothing simplistic, obvious, sentimental | 44:45 | |
| about Jesus' way of telling us that God loves us. | 44:49 | |
| Nor is there anything grim, | 44:54 | |
| drab, sensorius. | 44:58 | |
| In his approach to that constant question | 45:02 | |
| that arises in every generation | 45:07 | |
| about what we call moral values. | 45:09 | |
| Rules of behavior. | 45:13 | |
| So Nouwen invites us to identify with the elder brother. | 45:17 | |
| In fact, when he was busy writing the book | 45:23 | |
| and got halfway through, he met a nun where he was working | 45:26 | |
| who said, "Henri, don't forget you are the elder brother." | 45:29 | |
| He didn't like it when he heard it, | 45:34 | |
| but he came to believe that there was a lot of truth in it | 45:36 | |
| as there is for us. | 45:38 | |
| As I say, most of us who come to church, | 45:41 | |
| whether we are firm believers or not, | 45:45 | |
| consider ourselves pretty decent people. | 45:48 | |
| Sometimes people get worried about these confessions of sin | 45:56 | |
| that we produce in our bulletins. | 45:59 | |
| They say, "Well, I don't want to say that." | 46:03 | |
| So I noticed that our Anglican friends have taken out | 46:08 | |
| there is no health in us and yet, I think, | 46:10 | |
| probably should have been left in. | 46:13 | |
| It's when we realize that there is, | 46:16 | |
| basically, no health in us | 46:18 | |
| that we're on our way to understanding the love of God. | 46:22 | |
| Pure love of God and love our neighbor. | 46:30 | |
| How about the envy we have of rascals | 46:36 | |
| like the prodigal | 46:40 | |
| who seem to get away with it, huh? | 46:41 | |
| Subtle sins, the elder brother. | 46:46 | |
| Question of pride, for instance. | 46:51 | |
| They tell a story in Scotland about a Sunday School teacher | 46:56 | |
| who was telling the children the story | 47:00 | |
| of the Pharisee and the tax collector | 47:03 | |
| who were praying in public. | 47:08 | |
| You will remember the Pharisee | 47:14 | |
| stood up and said, | 47:18 | |
| he didn't kneel. | 47:20 | |
| He stood up and he said, "Lord, I thank thee. | 47:21 | |
| "I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust adulterers. | 47:23 | |
| "I fast twice in a week. | 47:28 | |
| "I give tithes of all I posses." | 47:29 | |
| And the teacher then dramatically illustrated | 47:34 | |
| that the tax collector just threw himself on the ground | 47:37 | |
| and all he said was, "Lord have mercy on me a sinner!" | 47:42 | |
| And Jesus said he was the one | 47:49 | |
| who was deceived. | 47:53 | |
| Unfortunately the teacher at that point had a closing prayer | 47:55 | |
| in which he said, "Now children, let's give thanks | 47:59 | |
| "that we are not like that Pharisee." | 48:01 | |
| You can never get to the end. | 48:07 | |
| Instead of pride, comparing ourselves favorably | 48:09 | |
| with other people. | 48:13 | |
| Once we glimpse the fact that what it means | 48:17 | |
| to understand human life as a journey | 48:21 | |
| towards the fulfillment of God's love in us | 48:25 | |
| and in his world, then I think we can make | 48:30 | |
| that leap of faith without waiting for an answer | 48:34 | |
| to all our questions. | 48:39 | |
| We'll not get it, you know, | 48:41 | |
| but I'd rather make that leap of faith | 48:44 | |
| with Mother Teresa, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, | 48:47 | |
| Francis of Assisi, John Donne, Dante | 48:50 | |
| then settle for this so what of the cynic | 48:55 | |
| and hedonist. | 48:59 | |
| I don't have to be mathematically certain | 49:02 | |
| of the things I say I believe | 49:05 | |
| when I have those moments | 49:09 | |
| when I know that which lies beyond | 49:11 | |
| mathematical proofs. | 49:16 | |
| What comes to me through those moments | 49:19 | |
| of illumination come to us all. | 49:22 | |
| Simple thing, we know | 49:25 | |
| that despite of the evil and the power of evil in our day, | 49:28 | |
| ultimately, we are in the hands | 49:33 | |
| of the living and loving God. | 49:37 | |
| So what about that other answer when people say, | 49:42 | |
| "What difference does it make?" | 49:45 | |
| Well, it does make a very big difference | 49:48 | |
| if we are understanding | 49:51 | |
| what our profession of love to God | 49:54 | |
| really involves us in. | 49:56 | |
| Henri Nouwen said it took him a long time | 50:00 | |
| to understand that we are not invited | 50:02 | |
| just to identify with the prodigal or the other brother, | 50:06 | |
| but with the father. | 50:09 | |
| He says, talking of his own life, | 50:13 | |
| "God's love for me was limited by my fear of God's power | 50:17 | |
| "and it seemed wise to keep a careful distance | 50:22 | |
| "even though the desire for closeness is immense." | 50:25 | |
| He said, "I know I share this experience | 50:29 | |
| "with countless others. | 50:31 | |
| "I've seen how the fear of becoming subject | 50:34 | |
| "to God's revenge and punishment has paralyzed | 50:38 | |
| "the emotional lives of many people." | 50:41 | |
| This paralyzing fear of God is one | 50:43 | |
| of the great human tragedies. | 50:45 | |
| Rembrandt's painting and his own tragic life have offered | 50:47 | |
| me a context in which to discover | 50:51 | |
| that the final stage of the spiritual life is | 50:54 | |
| so to let go of all fear of the father | 50:59 | |
| that it becomes possible to become like him. | 51:02 | |
| After all, didn't Jesus say, "Be compassionate | 51:07 | |
| "as your Father in Heaven is compassionate." | 51:11 | |
| We are to be like the Father. | 51:16 | |
| Have we ever really felt a force behind the Lord's statement | 51:19 | |
| that to love God with heart and soul and strength | 51:23 | |
| is indesolubly linked | 51:26 | |
| with loving our neighbor as our selves, | 51:29 | |
| being the father to the sisters and brothers around us. | 51:32 | |
| Another apostle made that very clear, didn't he? | 51:39 | |
| John says, "We love because he first loved us. | 51:42 | |
| "Those who say I love God | 51:47 | |
| "and hate their brothers and sisters are liars." | 51:49 | |
| Well, the preacher in this post-modern age. | 51:55 | |
| I often wonder what people mean by post-modern. | 51:59 | |
| I've come to the conclusion, for me, | 52:02 | |
| it means it was modern when I was an active in the ministry | 52:04 | |
| and it's now post-modern in my retirement. | 52:08 | |
| However, struggling to understand this post-modern world, | 52:11 | |
| the preacher had a lot to rely on, | 52:16 | |
| not just the Bible text, but the communion of the saints | 52:20 | |
| that we proclaim God loves you. | 52:25 | |
| So does every Christian who wants | 52:28 | |
| to share good news to the friends. | 52:32 | |
| The most powerful and convincing argument for everyone | 52:36 | |
| is a demonstration of that fatherly and motherly love | 52:41 | |
| and care for those in need | 52:47 | |
| that reflects the unconditional, indiscriminate love | 52:50 | |
| that God has shown and will show | 52:55 | |
| to the entire human family. | 52:57 | |
| I usually begin my sermons with the text. | 53:00 | |
| Now, I'm ending, as you'll be glad to hear, | 53:04 | |
| with this time with a text. | 53:06 | |
| I will say no more. | 53:09 | |
| From Paul, Roman 8:38. | 53:11 | |
| A man who had a very full life. | 53:16 | |
| I am persuaded that neither death nor life, | 53:18 | |
| nor angels nor principalities nor powers | 53:23 | |
| nor things present nor things to come | 53:28 | |
| nor height nor depth nor any other creature | 53:32 | |
| shall be able to separate us from the love of God | 53:35 | |
| which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. | 53:41 | |
| To that, let us all say amen. | 53:47 | |
| (jubilant organ music) | 53:59 | |
| ♪ Oh for our heart to praise my God ♪ | 54:27 | |
| ♪ A heart from sin set free ♪ | 54:34 | |
| ♪ A heart that always feels thy blood ♪ | 54:40 | |
| ♪ So freely shed for me ♪ | 54:47 | |
| ♪ A heart resigned, submissive, meek ♪ | 54:56 | |
| ♪ My great Redeemer's throne ♪ | 55:03 | |
| ♪ Where only Christ is heard to speak ♪ | 55:09 | |
| ♪ Where Jesus reigns alone ♪ | 55:16 | |
| ♪ A humble, lowly, contrite heart ♪ | 55:25 | |
| ♪ Believing, true, and clean ♪ | 55:32 | |
| ♪ Which neither life nor death can part ♪ | 55:38 | |
| ♪ From Christ who dwells within ♪ | 55:46 | |
| ♪ A heart in every thought renewed ♪ | 55:55 | |
| ♪ And full of love divine ♪ | 56:02 | |
| ♪ Perfect and right and pure and good ♪ | 56:08 | |
| ♪ A copy, Lord, of thine ♪ | 56:16 | |
| ♪ Thy nature, gracious Lord, impart ♪ | 56:25 | |
| ♪ Come quickly from above ♪ | 56:32 | |
| ♪ Write thy new name up on my heart ♪ | 56:38 | |
| ♪ They new, best name of Love. ♪ | 56:46 | |
| - | The Lord be with you. | 56:56 |
| Congregation | And also with you. | 56:58 |
| - | Let us pray. | 57:00 |
| Loving God, who makes the afflicted hear, | 57:11 | |
| who delivers us from all our fears, | 57:15 | |
| who saves us out of all our troubles, | 57:19 | |
| we give you thanks and continuous praise. | 57:23 | |
| We bless you and exalt your name | 57:27 | |
| for we were lost, but now we are found. | 57:30 | |
| We were dead, but now we have new life | 57:34 | |
| through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. | 57:38 | |
| We thank you that you loved us enough | 57:42 | |
| to send your son that we might be freed | 57:44 | |
| from the power of sin and restored as your children. | 57:48 | |
| Like the prodigal son, some of us have followed | 57:53 | |
| our own desires and have swept up | 57:56 | |
| in the temptations of the world | 58:00 | |
| and sucked down into the pit. | 58:03 | |
| We have lived no better than the swine. | 58:05 | |
| You have intended more for us, | 58:10 | |
| but we have been afraid to come back to you | 58:13 | |
| and ask for your forgiveness | 58:16 | |
| knowing we have squandered our inheritance. | 58:18 | |
| Help us to trust in your compassion and graciousness | 58:23 | |
| for you have promised that those who seek the Lord | 58:27 | |
| shall want no manner of thing that is good. | 58:30 | |
| Help us accept your love and its healing power | 58:35 | |
| so that we might be made over as your loving children. | 58:39 | |
| Fill us with your righteousness | 58:44 | |
| that we might become obedient and whole. | 58:46 | |
| Yet many of us, Lord, are like the elder son. | 58:51 | |
| We have kept our eyes firmly fixed on you | 58:55 | |
| and have tried to obey your every command, | 58:59 | |
| but our hearts are small | 59:03 | |
| and there is no room for love within us. | 59:06 | |
| We would have you love, | 59:10 | |
| but only those we deem deserving. | 59:12 | |
| We count ourselves among those who deserve | 59:16 | |
| even more than you have given to us. | 59:19 | |
| Forgive us for our smallness | 59:23 | |
| for truly we are in as great a need | 59:26 | |
| of your forgiveness and reconciliation | 59:29 | |
| as the greatest sinner. | 59:32 | |
| We are weighed down by the sin of pride | 59:35 | |
| and puffed up with our own accomplishments. | 59:38 | |
| Remind us that nothing we do | 59:43 | |
| and nothing we are is possible without you. | 59:45 | |
| Free us from our self-righteousness | 59:51 | |
| that we might become filled with our righteousness. | 59:54 | |
| Enlarge our hearts so that we might have room | 59:58 | |
| to love all those whom you love. | 1:00:02 | |
| The sinner, the failure, the disobedient, the undeserving. | 1:00:05 | |
| God, we are amazed at your love. | 1:00:14 | |
| A love that gives, gives ever more, | 1:00:17 | |
| gives with zeal, with eager hands, | 1:00:22 | |
| spares not, keeps not, all outpours, | 1:00:26 | |
| ventures all, its all expends. | 1:00:31 | |
| We know that we don't deserve so great a love as this, | 1:00:36 | |
| but we thank you that you love | 1:00:40 | |
| regardless of what we deserve. | 1:00:43 | |
| We know that only so great a love as this can transform us | 1:00:47 | |
| into the loving children you have created us to be | 1:00:52 | |
| through Jesus Christ, our Lord. | 1:00:56 | |
| Oh God, you have promised that if anyone is in Christ, | 1:00:59 | |
| they are a new creature. | 1:01:04 | |
| The old things have passed away and the new has come. | 1:01:07 | |
| Make us new that we might become ambassadors for Christ. | 1:01:12 | |
| Give us the courage to lift high the cross | 1:01:16 | |
| to proclaim the love of Christ to all people. | 1:01:20 | |
| You have called us to be ministers of reconciliation. | 1:01:25 | |
| We're the ones you have called to be the peacemakers, | 1:01:30 | |
| the healers, the lovers of the world. | 1:01:34 | |
| We are the ones you have called to live like you, | 1:01:39 | |
| to love like you. | 1:01:43 | |
| Help us so to live that all persons might experience | 1:01:46 | |
| the love of Christ through us | 1:01:50 | |
| and all the world might adore his Holy name. | 1:01:53 | |
| For it is in the name of Jesus Christ that we pray. | 1:01:57 | |
| Amen. | 1:02:00 | |
| As stewards of all that God has entrusted to our care, | 1:02:05 | |
| we bring our offerings with deep concern | 1:02:09 | |
| that they accomplish God's will in our day. | 1:02:12 | |
| Let us rededicate ourselves with our tithes and offerings. | 1:02:15 | |
| (graceful organ music) | 1:02:20 | |
| ("Beati Quorum Via") | 1:03:28 | |
| (jubilant organ music) | 1:07:00 | |
| ♪ Praise God from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 1:07:48 | |
| ♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ | 1:07:56 | |
| ♪ Praise God above, ye heavenly host ♪ | 1:08:04 | |
| ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 1:08:12 | |
| Let us pray. | 1:08:25 | |
| How grateful we are, oh God, that you have claimed us | 1:08:27 | |
| and provided for us even when we have been unfaithful. | 1:08:31 | |
| In thanksgiving for your compassion | 1:08:37 | |
| and in recognition of needs among your children | 1:08:39 | |
| that you call us to address. | 1:08:43 | |
| We bring you our best in these offerings. | 1:08:46 | |
| Make us useful in your service. | 1:08:49 | |
| Amen. | 1:08:52 | |
| Let us pray together the prayer that Jesus taught us. | 1:08:54 | |
| All | Our Father, who art in heaven, | 1:08:58 |
| hallowed be the thine name. | 1:09:01 | |
| Thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 1:09:03 | |
| on earth as it is in heaven. | 1:09:06 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread | 1:09:09 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses | 1:09:11 | |
| as we forgive those who trespass against us. | 1:09:14 | |
| Lead us not into temptation, | 1:09:17 | |
| but deliver us from evil. | 1:09:20 | |
| For thine is the kingdom, and the power, | 1:09:22 | |
| and the glory forever. | 1:09:25 | |
| Amen. | 1:09:26 | |
| - | In Christ we are a new creation. | 1:09:28 |
| The old has passed away. | 1:09:31 | |
| Behold, the new has come. | 1:09:34 | |
| Let us go forth as ambassadors for Christ | 1:09:36 | |
| to proclaim the love of Christ for all people. | 1:09:39 | |
| May the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, | 1:09:42 | |
| and the love of God and the fellowship | 1:09:44 | |
| of the Holy Spirit be with you all. | 1:09:47 | |
| ♪ Amen, amen ♪ | 1:09:55 | |
| ♪ Amen ♪ | 1:10:03 | |
| (joyful organ music) | 1:10:17 | |
| (muffled congregation singing) | 1:10:42 | |
| (joyful organ music) | 1:13:14 |
Item Info
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