Calvin Miller - "Two-Part Invitation" (June 13, 1993)
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| (soft organ music) | 0:00 | |
| (dramatic organ music) | 0:29 | |
| - | Good morning, we'd like to welcome you to Duke Chapel | 2:29 |
| on this second Sunday after 10 o'clock. | 2:31 | |
| Our guest preacher today is the Reverend Dr. Calvin Miller | 2:34 | |
| who is Professor of Communication and Ministry | 2:38 | |
| and Writer in Residence | 2:41 | |
| at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth. | 2:43 | |
| For more than 30 years Dr. Miller pastored churches | 2:48 | |
| in Nebraska, he's also the author of more than 41 books | 2:51 | |
| and it is our privilege to have him here | 2:56 | |
| as our guest preacher today. | 2:58 | |
| Would you please stand as we continue our worship | 3:00 | |
| with a greeting. | 3:02 | |
| The Spirit of God moves among us, binding us in covenant | 3:10 | |
| with faithful people of every time and place. | 3:15 | |
| (congregation reading) | 3:20 | |
| The Spirit moves through us, | 3:26 | |
| making us channels of God's love. | 3:28 | |
| (congregation reading) | 3:32 | |
| (organ music) | 3:43 | |
| ♪ Holy, Holy, Holy ♪ | 4:23 | |
| ♪ Lord God Almighty ♪ | 4:29 | |
| ♪ Early in the morning ♪ | 4:34 | |
| ♪ Our song shall rise to Thee ♪ | 4:38 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 4:44 | |
| ♪ Merciful and mighty ♪ | 4:49 | |
| ♪ God in three persons ♪ | 4:54 | |
| ♪ Blessed Trinity ♪ | 4:59 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 5:06 | |
| ♪ All the saints adore Thee ♪ | 5:11 | |
| ♪ Casting down their golden crowns ♪ | 5:17 | |
| ♪ Around the glassy sea ♪ | 5:21 | |
| ♪ Cherubim and seraphim ♪ | 5:27 | |
| ♪ Falling down before Thee ♪ | 5:32 | |
| ♪ Who was, and is ♪ | 5:37 | |
| ♪ And evermore shall be ♪ | 5:41 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 5:50 | |
| ♪ Though the darkness hide Thee ♪ | 5:55 | |
| ♪ Though the eye of sinful man ♪ | 6:00 | |
| ♪ Thy glory may not see ♪ | 6:05 | |
| ♪ Only Thou art holy ♪ | 6:11 | |
| ♪ There is none beside Thee ♪ | 6:16 | |
| ♪ Perfect in power ♪ | 6:21 | |
| ♪ In love and purity ♪ | 6:26 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 6:53 | |
| ♪ Lord God Almighty ♪ | 6:58 | |
| ♪ All Thy works shall praise Thy Name ♪ | 7:04 | |
| ♪ In earth, and sky and sea ♪ | 7:08 | |
| ♪ Holy, holy, holy ♪ | 7:14 | |
| ♪ Merciful and mighty ♪ | 7:20 | |
| ♪ God in three persons ♪ | 7:26 | |
| ♪ Blessed Trinity ♪ | 7:31 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 7:44 |
| Gracious and holy God, we come to You | 7:48 | |
| because You have first come to us. | 7:52 | |
| We know You because You have revealed Yourself. | 7:56 | |
| Give us in this morning hour of worship | 8:01 | |
| a new sense of Your Spirit breathing through us, | 8:04 | |
| filling us with Your presence. | 8:09 | |
| Lift our hearts with the wings of song. | 8:12 | |
| Heal our souls with the balm of prayer. | 8:16 | |
| Enliven our minds and our lives with the words of Scripture | 8:20 | |
| and interpretation and newly enable us to dedicate | 8:25 | |
| our strength, our substance and our service to Your work | 8:30 | |
| in the world. | 8:36 | |
| We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen. | 8:38 | |
| You may be seated. | 8:43 | |
| - | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination. | 8:58 |
| All | Open our hearts and minds oh, God, | 9:03 |
| by the power of Your Holy Spirit so that as the Word | 9:07 | |
| is read and proclaimed, we might hear Your message | 9:11 | |
| of joy today. | 9:15 | |
| Amen. | 9:17 | |
| - | This reading is taken from the ninth and 10th chapters | 9:21 |
| of the Gospel according to Saint Matthew. | 9:25 | |
| Starting with the 35th verse of chapter nine. | 9:29 | |
| "Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, | 9:35 | |
| "teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming | 9:40 | |
| "the good news to the kingdom and curing every disease | 9:43 | |
| "and every sickness. | 9:48 | |
| "When He saw the crowds, He had a compassion for them | 9:51 | |
| "because they were harassed and helpless | 9:55 | |
| "like sheep without a shepherd. | 9:58 | |
| "Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful, | 10:02 | |
| "'but the laborers are few. | 10:06 | |
| "'Therefore, ask the Lord of the harvest | 10:10 | |
| "'to send out laborers into His harvest.' | 10:13 | |
| "Then Jesus summoned His 12 disciples | 10:18 | |
| "and gave them authority over unclean spirits, | 10:21 | |
| "to cast them out and to cure every disease | 10:25 | |
| "and every sickness. | 10:29 | |
| "These are the names of the 12 apostles. | 10:32 | |
| "First, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother, Andrew. | 10:36 | |
| "James, son of Zebedee and his brother, John. | 10:43 | |
| "Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, | 10:48 | |
| "the tax collector. | 10:53 | |
| "James, son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus. | 10:55 | |
| "Simon, the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, | 10:59 | |
| "the one who betrayed Him. | 11:03 | |
| "These 12 Jesus sent out with the following instructions. | 11:06 | |
| "Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town | 11:12 | |
| "of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep | 11:16 | |
| "of the house of Israel. | 11:21 | |
| "As you go, proclaim the good news, | 11:23 | |
| "the kingdom of heaven has come near. | 11:26 | |
| "Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, | 11:30 | |
| "cast out demons. | 11:35 | |
| "You received without payment, give without payment." | 11:38 | |
| This is the Word of the Lord. | 11:43 | |
| (congregation responds) | 11:46 | |
| - | Today's song is number 116, verses 12 through 19, | 11:59 |
| found on page 838 in the hymnal. | 12:04 | |
| Please stand and sing the song and gloria responsively. | 12:07 | |
| (organ music) | 12:13 | |
| ♪ What shall I return to the Lord ♪ | 12:19 | |
| ♪ For all my benefits ♪ | 12:22 | |
| ♪ I will lift up the cup of salvation ♪ | 12:27 | |
| ♪ And call on the name of the Lord ♪ | 12:31 | |
| ♪ I will pay my vows to the Lord ♪ | 12:37 | |
| ♪ In the presence of all His people ♪ | 12:41 | |
| ♪ Precious in the sight of the Lord ♪ | 12:46 | |
| ♪ Is the death of his faithful ones ♪ | 12:50 | |
| ♪ Oh Lord, I am Your servant ♪ | 12:55 | |
| ♪ I am Your servant, a child of Your handmaid ♪ | 12:58 | |
| ♪ You have loosed my bonds ♪ | 13:03 | |
| ♪ I will sacrifice a thank offering to You ♪ | 13:06 | |
| ♪ And call on the name of the Lord ♪ | 13:13 | |
| ♪ I will pay my vows to the Lord ♪ | 13:18 | |
| ♪ In the presence of all His people ♪ | 13:22 | |
| ♪ In the courts of the house of the Lord ♪ | 13:26 | |
| ♪ In your midst, Jerusalem ♪ | 13:30 | |
| ♪ Praise the Lord ♪ | 13:35 | |
| ♪ All glory be to You Creator ♪ | 13:40 | |
| ♪ And to Jesus Christ our Savior ♪ | 13:43 | |
| ♪ And through the Holy Spirit ♪ | 13:47 | |
| ♪ I've been redeemed ♪ | 13:50 | |
| ♪ And as it was as time began ♪ | 13:54 | |
| ♪ Is now and will be forevermore ♪ | 13:58 | |
| (organ music) | 14:27 | |
| (choir singing) | 14:44 | |
| - | Thank you, choir. | 18:46 |
| This is an immense honor for me today | 18:47 | |
| to get to be here in this wonderful church. | 18:49 | |
| One of the fringe benefits, I suppose, | 18:53 | |
| with being friends with Dean Wileman | 18:55 | |
| and thank you for honoring me by letting me come. | 18:58 | |
| I want to preface my scripture reading this morning | 19:00 | |
| with just a couple of other verses. | 19:04 | |
| The first verse I would like to read to you | 19:07 | |
| is from Genesis the 12th chapter, verse one. | 19:09 | |
| "The Lord said to Abraham, 'Leave your country, | 19:14 | |
| "'your people, your father's household, | 19:17 | |
| "'and go to a land that I will show you.'" | 19:21 | |
| Of course, to go with him was Mrs. Abraham in verse 10. | 19:26 | |
| "There was a famine in the land | 19:31 | |
| "and Abraham went down to Egypt to live there | 19:32 | |
| "while the famine was severe. | 19:34 | |
| "As he was about to enter Egypt, | 19:38 | |
| "he said to his wife, Sarai, | 19:40 | |
| "'I know you are a beautiful woman.'" | 19:42 | |
| She is 70 years of age here. | 19:44 | |
| This is the ultimate compliment, but more than that, | 19:47 | |
| it's a way of seeing her, I think. | 19:49 | |
| "When the Egyptians see you, they will say | 19:52 | |
| "this is his wife and they will kill me, | 19:56 | |
| "but they will let you live. | 19:57 | |
| "Please say you are my sister." | 19:59 | |
| Then the passage for today is over in Genesis | 20:03 | |
| the 18th chapter, verse one. | 20:06 | |
| "The Lord appeared to Abraham | 20:09 | |
| "near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting | 20:11 | |
| "at entrance to his tent in the heat of the day. | 20:14 | |
| "Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby | 20:18 | |
| "and when he saw them, he hurried from the entrance | 20:22 | |
| "of the tent to meet them and bow to the ground. | 20:24 | |
| "And he said, 'If I have favor in your eyes, my lord, | 20:29 | |
| "'do not pass your servant by. | 20:33 | |
| "'Let a little water be brought that you may wash your feet | 20:36 | |
| "'and rest under this tree. | 20:38 | |
| "'Let me get you something to eat so you can be refreshed | 20:40 | |
| "'and then go on your way | 20:43 | |
| "'now that you have come to your servant.' | 20:45 | |
| "'Very well,' they answered, 'Do as you say.' | 20:48 | |
| "Abraham hurried to the tent to Sarah. | 20:50 | |
| "'Quick,' he said, 'Get three seahs of fine flower | 20:53 | |
| "'and knead it and bake some bread.' | 20:56 | |
| "Then he ran to the herds | 20:58 | |
| "and selected a choice, tender calf, | 20:59 | |
| "gave it to his servant who hurried to prepare it. | 21:01 | |
| "And then he brought some curds and milk | 21:04 | |
| "and the calf that had been prepared | 21:06 | |
| "and set these before them. | 21:08 | |
| "While they ate, he stood near them under a tree. | 21:10 | |
| "'Where is your wife, Sarah?' they asked him. | 21:14 | |
| "'There in the tent,' he said. | 21:16 | |
| "'Surely,' the Lord said, 'I will return to you | 21:19 | |
| "'about this time next year and Sarah, your wife, | 21:21 | |
| "'will have a son.' | 21:23 | |
| "Now Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, | 21:25 | |
| "which was behind. | 21:29 | |
| "And Abraham and Sarah were already old | 21:31 | |
| "and advanced in years and Sarah was past the age | 21:32 | |
| "of childbearing, so Sarah laughed to herself | 21:35 | |
| "as she thought, 'After I am worn out and my master is old, | 21:37 | |
| "'will I know this pleasure?' | 21:43 | |
| "And the Lord said to Abraham, 'Why did Sarah laugh? | 21:45 | |
| "'Say, will I really have a child now that I am old?' | 21:48 | |
| "Is anything too hard for the Lord? | 21:52 | |
| "I will return here for this time next year | 21:54 | |
| "and Sarah will have a son. | 21:56 | |
| "Sarah was afraid so she lied and said, 'I did not laugh.' | 22:00 | |
| "But they said, 'Yes, you did laugh.' | 22:05 | |
| And then the wonderful conclusion of this story | 22:09 | |
| in Genesis 21, "The Lord was gracious to Sarah | 22:11 | |
| "as He had said and the Lord did for Sarah | 22:15 | |
| "what He had promised. | 22:17 | |
| "And Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham | 22:19 | |
| "in his old age. | 22:22 | |
| "Abraham gave the name Isaac to his son and Sarah bore him." | 22:23 | |
| In verse six, Sarah said, "'God has brought me laughter,' | 22:29 | |
| "which is what Isaac means, 'And everyone who hears | 22:33 | |
| "'about this will laugh with me.' | 22:37 | |
| "And she added, 'Who would have said to Abraham | 22:39 | |
| "'that Sarah would nurse children, | 22:42 | |
| "'yet I have borne him a son in his old age.'" | 22:44 | |
| I've heard this story told a lot of different ways | 22:49 | |
| and I'm not sure exactly how it might have happened, | 22:52 | |
| but I am told that on one occasion when Paderewski | 22:56 | |
| was to appear to play a piano solo or concert, | 22:58 | |
| that on that occasion, just as the place began to darken | 23:03 | |
| like air being let out of an inflated tire, | 23:08 | |
| the lights sank and a single beam of white light | 23:10 | |
| shot from the third tier of the balcony to a long piano. | 23:15 | |
| For little children, pianos are usually long, | 23:20 | |
| as are concerts, and there was a little boy there | 23:23 | |
| named Jimmy who saw the long, long piano | 23:27 | |
| which would be played by a man with a long, long last name, | 23:29 | |
| playing the composition of a long name | 23:33 | |
| with the title of a long name. | 23:36 | |
| It was too much for him and he ripped loose from his mother | 23:38 | |
| and to her horror, ran up on the stage and seated himself | 23:41 | |
| at this long piano just before the artist would come out. | 23:46 | |
| And he began playing that old anthem | 23:50 | |
| so familiar to us, Chopsticks. | 23:52 | |
| You have to take two index fingers and locate one | 23:56 | |
| under your left, the G and the F is on the left | 23:59 | |
| and you begin. | 24:04 | |
| You know how it goes, blink, blink, blink, | 24:04 | |
| blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, | 24:07 | |
| blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, blink, | 24:09 | |
| blink, blink, blink. | 24:11 | |
| And then there's a part that goes blink, blink, | 24:12 | |
| blink, blink, and so on. | 24:14 | |
| Oh, his mother was embarrassed. | 24:17 | |
| But the artist walked out and rest assured | 24:19 | |
| there's a kind of hypocrisy, it's where no matter | 24:22 | |
| how great a piano may play Bach, at least in Methodist | 24:24 | |
| and Baptist churches of my acquaintance, | 24:28 | |
| somewhere between the awe guest performances | 24:29 | |
| of those instruments on Sunday, a youth will defile | 24:32 | |
| the grand instrument, slip in and play Chopsticks. | 24:36 | |
| And so the old artist came out and took the little boy's | 24:41 | |
| hands, set him on his lap, placed his hands | 24:43 | |
| on the artist's hands, | 24:46 | |
| and he did a kind of two-part invention. | 24:47 | |
| All music and all life, it seems to me, is to be lived. | 24:53 | |
| It is to be lived as a part of serving each other. | 24:57 | |
| Madeline Lingo wrote her wonderful tribute to her husband's | 25:01 | |
| death called two-part invention. | 25:04 | |
| She said on the second of December, I took Mother | 25:06 | |
| to Penn Station, saw her onto the train. | 25:09 | |
| It was a Sunday morning and I hardly got to the door | 25:12 | |
| of my apartment when the phone rang. | 25:15 | |
| It was Hugh, Hugh Franklin. | 25:18 | |
| He suggested that after dinner that we play records. | 25:20 | |
| He chose Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. | 25:23 | |
| And then she said he picked up a book of poetry | 25:26 | |
| from the shelves and began reading Conrad Aiken's | 25:30 | |
| haunting words, "The music I heard with you | 25:33 | |
| "was more than music and the bread I broke with you | 25:38 | |
| "was more than bread." | 25:44 | |
| Then he asked me to marry him. | 25:47 | |
| You see, as I look back at this passage, | 25:51 | |
| it strikes me that here is a couple who were discovering | 25:55 | |
| that the only way, or the best to life, | 25:57 | |
| can be made beautiful is to do music | 25:59 | |
| that's a two-part invention. | 26:02 | |
| It is God Himself who is the metronome and counts the time | 26:05 | |
| back and forth and back and forth. | 26:08 | |
| But it is that togetherness that makes it all possible. | 26:11 | |
| But this was a long time ago and they worshiped the moon, | 26:15 | |
| Abraham and Sarai in those days. | 26:19 | |
| They climbed those funny towers known as ziggurats. | 26:22 | |
| They hadn't heard of God yet. | 26:27 | |
| They also hadn't heard of themselves having a baby. | 26:28 | |
| Dr. Ruth was a long ways in the future | 26:33 | |
| and they really didn't know how to make life work | 26:37 | |
| to have a baby. | 26:40 | |
| And I can almost visualize them as week by week | 26:42 | |
| they climbed these towers to the moon god. | 26:45 | |
| They sang a moon hymn. | 26:48 | |
| They offer a moon prayer. | 26:50 | |
| They give five good Babylonian bucks to the moon priest. | 26:52 | |
| And as Sarah got older and older, it got harder and harder | 26:57 | |
| to go and ask the moon god for a child. | 27:03 | |
| And so they say to Sarah, | 27:07 | |
| one day Abraham comes back from that tower | 27:11 | |
| where he had been to worship | 27:15 | |
| the moon and perhaps on his way home he has heard a word | 27:17 | |
| from a God that neither one of them recognized. | 27:20 | |
| This God said, if you'll get up out of this land | 27:24 | |
| and go to a land I'll show you, I will make of you | 27:26 | |
| a great nation. | 27:28 | |
| And so he comes home from the moon temple that week | 27:30 | |
| and he says to Sarah, how would you like to go West with me? | 27:32 | |
| She said, well, it beats Disney Land. | 27:38 | |
| And they started out. | 27:41 | |
| Now, they were old, folks. | 27:44 | |
| They already had their AARP cards. | 27:48 | |
| They could already go to movies for $3.75. | 27:51 | |
| They could eat Denny's half a waffle for $2.99. | 27:53 | |
| They were old people. | 27:57 | |
| But as they walked along, and as maybe they creaked along | 27:59 | |
| with all the arthritis that goes with advancing age, | 28:03 | |
| one can almost hear Sarah say, look, Abe, | 28:06 | |
| most of our friends are moving to Fort Lauderdale. | 28:11 | |
| Why do we have to go to the Mojave Desert? | 28:14 | |
| But there they go. | 28:17 | |
| And life might have been disappointing | 28:19 | |
| except that all the way along there is this sense | 28:23 | |
| of a two-part invention. | 28:25 | |
| God is moving and if you're here and maybe you're single | 28:27 | |
| this morning, how great it is to understand | 28:29 | |
| that life needs a little concert, the pulling together | 28:32 | |
| of separate people so that under God you may touch | 28:37 | |
| and help each other find purpose for your lives. | 28:40 | |
| Well the Book of Proverbs hadn't been written, | 28:43 | |
| but if it had been, I think Abraham would have looked | 28:45 | |
| at this wonderful woman of maybe 50 years of marriage | 28:48 | |
| as they move into the land of Canaan. | 28:52 | |
| And as he looks over and remembers, he might have quoted | 28:56 | |
| Proverbs 5:18, may your fountain be blessed, | 29:00 | |
| may you rejoice with the wife of your youth. | 29:06 | |
| May you not see her as an old person, | 29:10 | |
| but may you see her as someone who has shared life | 29:12 | |
| and the pilgrimage with you, and someone for whom life | 29:15 | |
| is a pilgrimage. | 29:19 | |
| And the second verse says, a loving doe, a graceful deer, | 29:21 | |
| let her breasts satisfy you at all times. | 29:25 | |
| I could hear the old woman through this, ah Abey, | 29:31 | |
| I am old, I am a decrepit crone. | 29:33 | |
| I am not a loving deer, a graceful deer. | 29:37 | |
| My breasts can hardly satisfy, gravity takes its toll, | 29:42 | |
| of all things, a ram. | 29:45 | |
| But on they walk. | 29:47 | |
| I am not beautiful, but old. | 29:49 | |
| Well, he says, you're only 70. | 29:52 | |
| Look at Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren | 29:53 | |
| and Mary Kay Ash. | 29:55 | |
| Please, when we get down to Egypt, say you are my sister. | 29:57 | |
| Well, there's a kind of beauty that comes, | 30:03 | |
| I've only been married about 35 years, but I tell ya, | 30:05 | |
| I used to hear people say it all the time, | 30:08 | |
| that the older you get and the further you go, | 30:11 | |
| the more in love you become. | 30:15 | |
| And I understand now. | 30:18 | |
| I understand what Peter meant when he wrote | 30:20 | |
| in his little epistle, your beauty should not come | 30:22 | |
| from ornaments such as braided hair and the wearing of gold. | 30:25 | |
| It should come from your inner self, the unfading beauty, | 30:30 | |
| said Peter, of a gentle and quiet spirit, | 30:34 | |
| which is of great worth in God's sight. | 30:36 | |
| This is the way women of the past made themselves beautiful | 30:39 | |
| to their husbands. | 30:44 | |
| Thus the music flows. | 30:46 | |
| You know, I could almost look out and visualize them | 30:49 | |
| on that wonderful day when Abraham comes in. | 30:53 | |
| There are three guys out in the field, hungry angels. | 30:58 | |
| And he says to Sarah, bake some bread. | 31:02 | |
| Guess who's coming to dinner? | 31:06 | |
| She begins to cook dinner. | 31:09 | |
| She makes a mistake that day of listening at the keyhole | 31:11 | |
| and that's always a dangerous thing. | 31:13 | |
| She listens and she overhears the angels saying, | 31:15 | |
| your wife is going to have a baby. | 31:20 | |
| She cannot stand any more of this kind of sick humor | 31:24 | |
| and she bursts out into laughter, the Bible says. | 31:27 | |
| And she says to herself, I'm old, I'm all cellulite | 31:31 | |
| and varicose veins. | 31:35 | |
| I'm so old I make Dr. Ruth look like a Dallas Cheerleader. | 31:37 | |
| How can I have a baby when I am old? | 31:41 | |
| Then they said, she laughed. | 31:46 | |
| She said, no, I didn't laugh. | 31:49 | |
| They said, yes, you did. | 31:50 | |
| I laughed. | 31:51 | |
| You know, all of that comes as she thinks back | 31:53 | |
| about all the years until she was too old, | 31:58 | |
| climbing the ziggurat, asking the moon god | 32:01 | |
| and the angels remind her that all things are possible | 32:04 | |
| when you ask the right God. | 32:09 | |
| So the baby would be born. | 32:13 | |
| It's always interesting when babies get born | 32:16 | |
| just a little bit out of sequence. | 32:19 | |
| We had a couple in our church, Jim and Zenna. | 32:21 | |
| I never will forget them because they lectured | 32:24 | |
| on family planning. | 32:26 | |
| They were the couple who had it all under control. | 32:28 | |
| Two kids, Alpha and Omega. | 32:33 | |
| And when Omega was about 15, they lectured constantly, | 32:36 | |
| they lectured on, I don't know, how to control a family, | 32:41 | |
| family control, birth control. | 32:45 | |
| Then all of a sudden they stopped lecturing. | 32:48 | |
| And in about three months, Zenna came to church | 32:52 | |
| in a maternity dress. | 32:56 | |
| And there's a little bit of, I don't know, backing up | 33:00 | |
| from the grandeur of the unexpected. | 33:06 | |
| Have a children's poem that I like. | 33:10 | |
| Let me share with you a little bit. | 33:13 | |
| "Haven't you found that the mothers you know | 33:15 | |
| "quit having babies at 40 or so? | 33:18 | |
| "But Sarah was 80, so wrinkled and gray, | 33:22 | |
| "she sat knitting booties through most of the day. | 33:26 | |
| "When Abraham said to her, Sarah, you're knitting, | 33:30 | |
| "I feel that it's fitting that you tell me why. | 33:33 | |
| "Old Sarah just smiled and winked and replied, | 33:36 | |
| "I'm gonna have a baby, Abey. | 33:40 | |
| "Now, honey, said Abraham, don't make a fuss. | 33:45 | |
| "In April you're gonna be 70 plus. | 33:47 | |
| "You're getting so old that you barely can hold | 33:50 | |
| "your plate or your bowl or your saucer or cup. | 33:52 | |
| "It takes you an hour sometimes to stand up. | 33:55 | |
| "Forget about babies, I'll buy you a pup. | 33:59 | |
| "Anyway, why do you want a new baby? | 34:02 | |
| "Maybe, just maybe I'd like to sing softly, | 34:06 | |
| "Sweet rock-a-by baby, Mommy loves Snookems, | 34:10 | |
| "Kitch, kitch, kitch-a-coo. | 34:13 | |
| "Patty cake, patty cake, peek-a-boo. | 34:14 | |
| "And I just want a sweet little baby to coo, | 34:17 | |
| "boo-gurgle-lee-boo. | 34:21 | |
| "Be-ba-na-gurlge-goo-gurlgle-goo-goo. | 34:22 | |
| "I just want a baby to bounce on my knees. | 34:26 | |
| "Yeah, argued Abey, well, how can that be? | 34:28 | |
| "You sure have to bounce him on boney old knees. | 34:31 | |
| "Besides, my sweet Sarah, you're all wrinkled up. | 34:34 | |
| "You sleep every night with your teeth in a cup. | 34:37 | |
| "I tell ya, sweet woman, you're baby-proof now. | 34:40 | |
| "You're old, I say old and your joints have grown cold. | 34:43 | |
| "And if you had a baby, what would I do? | 34:47 | |
| "Play Little League ball at 102? | 34:49 | |
| (congregation laughing) | 34:52 | |
| "Sarah just smiled and then turned to speak. | 34:53 | |
| "I think I'll just check with my doctor next week. | 34:56 | |
| "And, so sure enough, Sarah saw her physician, | 35:01 | |
| "a Mesopotamian old obstetrician, | 35:05 | |
| "and said to him, doctor, I've been feeling dizzy. | 35:08 | |
| "The doctor turned white and fainted away | 35:12 | |
| "and when he revived he said, my, what a day. | 35:14 | |
| "Sarah, believe me, you're not going to die, | 35:17 | |
| "but you'll have a baby, 8th of July. | 35:20 | |
| "And old Sarah stood gasping with nothing to say. | 35:24 | |
| "She too clapped her forehead and fainted away. | 35:27 | |
| "And when she go up, she ended her stress | 35:30 | |
| "and bought a Chaldean maternity dress. | 35:34 | |
| "And the months hurried by and at last came July | 35:37 | |
| "and Sarah sang, rock-a-by baby, Mommy loves snookems, | 35:42 | |
| "kitch, kitch, kitch-a-coo. | 35:46 | |
| "Patty cake, patty cake, peek-peek-a-boo. | 35:47 | |
| "Sure enough Isaac said, gurgley-boo, | 35:50 | |
| "be-ba-na-gurble-go-gurgle-goo-goo." | 35:54 | |
| It's a moment of triumph. | 35:58 | |
| God had made it all happen. | 36:00 | |
| You know what I think the real essence | 36:02 | |
| of this whole thing is? | 36:03 | |
| The word barrenness and the word pregnant | 36:07 | |
| stand against each other. | 36:10 | |
| The word pregnant means to be full. | 36:12 | |
| The word barren means to be empty. | 36:15 | |
| Here is an old woman who couldn't understand | 36:19 | |
| what life could mean following her doughty old husband | 36:22 | |
| around in ancient or new land for her. | 36:25 | |
| And all of a sudden, God gives her a reason | 36:28 | |
| to quit feeling empty. | 36:31 | |
| Our church in Omaha was on television | 36:34 | |
| for a good many years. | 36:36 | |
| I lot of people knew me that I | 36:37 | |
| never really got to know very well, | 36:39 | |
| but there was a woman in the hospital who was like 86. | 36:40 | |
| She was dying, had a heart condition, she couldn't live. | 36:45 | |
| They asked her if she wanted a preacher to come in. | 36:48 | |
| She'd outlived both of her kids, | 36:50 | |
| she outlived most of her grandkids. | 36:51 | |
| So, she didn't know what to do. | 36:54 | |
| She heard me on television, she said, | 36:55 | |
| I know a television preacher, | 36:57 | |
| why don't you have him come over. | 36:59 | |
| So I kinda went over and I was called in to sort of do | 37:01 | |
| a Baptist version of the last rights. | 37:04 | |
| You know, I said to her that day as I took her hand, | 37:08 | |
| you're going to meet Jesus very soon. | 37:12 | |
| You're gonna see Him just on the other side. | 37:14 | |
| Yes, she said, but it's the crossing over. | 37:17 | |
| Would you stay here while I cross over? | 37:19 | |
| Yes, I said, I will. | 37:22 | |
| And I took her hand and sat down by her bed. | 37:24 | |
| One o'clock came, two o'clock came, | 37:26 | |
| she still hadn't crossed over. | 37:28 | |
| Finally it was five o'clock and she hadn't crossed over | 37:30 | |
| and I asked her if she'd mind if I went and got a sandwich. | 37:32 | |
| No, she said, go ahead. | 37:35 | |
| I went got a sandwich, came back, held her hand, | 37:36 | |
| I held her hand for four days. | 37:38 | |
| We both had paralysis. | 37:39 | |
| When the doctor came in and said, you know, Miss Reid, | 37:41 | |
| you're not going to die. | 37:44 | |
| You're going to get better, you're going to live. | 37:46 | |
| Oh, it's great to do something besides hold her hand, | 37:49 | |
| but you know what I discovered in this moment was | 37:51 | |
| that God is the One who gets to say when live is over | 37:55 | |
| and He gets to say what life means till it is over. | 37:59 | |
| I found a wonderful friend in those days. | 38:04 | |
| She's 93 now, she was 86 then. | 38:07 | |
| She's lived a long time. | 38:09 | |
| You know what I like most about her? | 38:11 | |
| I like her because she had a little house | 38:13 | |
| and when I would get really tired of my big church, | 38:16 | |
| I would go to her house, she would fix me a cup of tea, | 38:20 | |
| she always had some cookies, and then she would say, | 38:24 | |
| Pastor, why don't you lay down on my bed and take a nap. | 38:26 | |
| What a gift to give me. | 38:32 | |
| I mean, it was a gift past gossip. | 38:34 | |
| I've always really rather believed in the Falwell doctor | 38:37 | |
| that a pastor should keep his reputation above reproach. | 38:40 | |
| If you pass a woman in the rain and even if you know her, | 38:45 | |
| you shouldn't put her in your car because somebody | 38:49 | |
| in the church will be sure to gossip about it. | 38:51 | |
| Oh, here was a woman who was 90 years old | 38:53 | |
| who could make tea and I could stay in her bed | 38:56 | |
| and sleep all afternoon and nobody would have died | 38:59 | |
| either one of us. | 39:02 | |
| She had a wonderful gift she gave me that refreshed me | 39:02 | |
| and made me come alive again. | 39:06 | |
| You see, that's what Pentecost is about. | 39:09 | |
| It is about this beautiful little passage in Ephesians five. | 39:12 | |
| "Therefore, be not foolish, but understand | 39:16 | |
| "what the will of the Lord is. | 39:21 | |
| "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery, | 39:23 | |
| "but be filled with the Spirit of God. | 39:27 | |
| "Speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. | 39:30 | |
| "Make melody in your heart to God." | 39:34 | |
| Don't be barren, be pregnant with meaning. | 39:37 | |
| Well, the baby comes and because she giggled, | 39:42 | |
| she had to name this little boy giggles. | 39:46 | |
| He would wear it all his life and still the word | 39:49 | |
| means giggles in Hebrew. | 39:52 | |
| She named her little boy giggles | 39:55 | |
| and there was a kind of a beautiful thing that happens | 39:57 | |
| here in the 21st chapter because there they bring the knife | 39:59 | |
| and they touch it to the future procreating powers. | 40:03 | |
| This knife of covenant to the future procreating powers | 40:07 | |
| of a beautiful little eight-day-old boy. | 40:12 | |
| Her own husband had known the same knife | 40:15 | |
| at 99 years of age. | 40:18 | |
| But something was new in the world. | 40:21 | |
| And God would everywhere proclaim a covenant | 40:23 | |
| and touch procreation and creativity | 40:26 | |
| with a wonderful possibility and barrenness, | 40:29 | |
| well, barrenness would fade away because God got to say | 40:32 | |
| what happened when we are filled with the Spirit. | 40:37 | |
| Yes, said Conrad Aiken, | 40:41 | |
| the bread we ate was more than bread | 40:43 | |
| and the music we played was more than music. | 40:48 | |
| (organ music) | 41:02 | |
| (all singing) | 41:23 | |
| - | The Lord be with you. | 43:06 |
| (congregation responding) | 43:08 | |
| Let us pray. | 43:10 | |
| You may be seated. | 43:11 | |
| Oh Lord, our God, the author and giver of all good things, | 43:25 | |
| we thank You for all Your mercy and for Your loving care | 43:31 | |
| over all Your creatures. | 43:36 | |
| We bless You for the gift of life | 43:39 | |
| and for the renewal of life. | 43:41 | |
| We give thanks for the many times and places in our lives | 43:44 | |
| when we have been empty, barren, dried out, | 43:49 | |
| and You have come upon us to fill us with Your Spirit | 43:55 | |
| and renew us with Your love. | 43:59 | |
| Come among us once again this morning. | 44:03 | |
| Touch us in all the dried out places of our lives | 44:07 | |
| that we might bring forth Your fruit. | 44:12 | |
| Send Your creative healing Spirit to bind up | 44:16 | |
| all the brokenness in our lives | 44:20 | |
| that we might be made whole in You. | 44:23 | |
| We pray especially for those who suffer trauma | 44:28 | |
| in body or mind, that they may be healed. | 44:32 | |
| For those whose livelihood is insecure, | 44:37 | |
| the overworked, the hungry, the unemployed, | 44:41 | |
| the destitute, that they may know security | 44:46 | |
| of body and mind. | 44:50 | |
| For little children who surround Thee, | 44:53 | |
| hide them from Your love and beauty | 44:55 | |
| that they may be valued as Your own beloved children. | 44:59 | |
| For those who have to bear their burdens alone, | 45:05 | |
| that they may know true Christian fellowship | 45:09 | |
| and the communion of Your Spirit. | 45:13 | |
| For those who have lost loved ones, | 45:18 | |
| that they may be comforted | 45:21 | |
| and know the hope of eternal life. | 45:24 | |
| For those who are in doubt and anguish of soul, | 45:28 | |
| that they may find peace. | 45:32 | |
| For those who suffer through their own wrong-doing, | 45:36 | |
| that they may experience the freedom of forgiveness. | 45:41 | |
| For those who suffer as a result of the wrong-doing | 45:46 | |
| of others, that they too may experience the freedom | 45:49 | |
| of forgiveness as well as the assurance of Your justice. | 45:54 | |
| Lord, these are but some of the barren and broken places | 46:01 | |
| in our lives. | 46:05 | |
| There are others that remain before You. | 46:07 | |
| Come among us, Lord. | 46:24 | |
| Come, that we might be filled with Your Spirit | 46:26 | |
| and bound with your love. | 46:30 | |
| Like Sarah and Abraham, move us from barrenness | 46:33 | |
| to fullness, that we might bear fruit as Your people | 46:39 | |
| and Your servants for a hurting world. | 46:44 | |
| In the name Christ, who also shows us what it means | 46:48 | |
| to be emptied that we might be filled, amen. | 46:52 | |
| Let us offer ourselves and our gifts | 47:01 | |
| with thanksgiving to the Lord. | 47:03 | |
| (organ music) | 47:09 | |
| (choir singing) | 48:10 | |
| (organ music) | 50:31 | |
| ♪ Praise God, from whom all blessings flow ♪ | 51:37 | |
| ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ | 51:44 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 51:50 | |
| ♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ♪ | 51:58 | |
| ♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 52:04 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 52:11 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 52:18 | |
| ♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 52:24 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 52:38 |
| Almighty God, giver of every good and perfect gift, | 52:40 | |
| teach us to render to You all that we have | 52:45 | |
| and all that we are that we may praise You | 52:49 | |
| not with our lips only, but with our whole lives, | 52:52 | |
| turning the duty, the sorrows, and the joys of all our days | 52:57 | |
| into a living sacrifice to You as we are filled | 53:04 | |
| with Your Spirit. | 53:07 | |
| Through our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray... | 53:09 | |
| All | Our Father who art in heaven, | 53:13 |
| hallowed be Thy name. | 53:16 | |
| Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done | 53:18 | |
| on earth as it is in heaven. | 53:21 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread | 53:24 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those | 53:27 | |
| who trespass against us. | 53:31 | |
| And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. | 53:33 | |
| For Thine is the kingdom and the power | 53:38 | |
| the glory forever, amen. | 53:41 | |
| (organ music) | 53:47 | |
| ♪ The Church's one foundation ♪ | 54:28 | |
| ♪ Is Jesus Christ her Lord ♪ | 54:33 | |
| ♪ She is His new creation ♪ | 54:38 | |
| ♪ By water and the Word ♪ | 54:43 | |
| ♪ From heaven He came and sought her ♪ | 54:49 | |
| ♪ To be His holy Bride ♪ | 54:54 | |
| ♪ With His own blood ♪ | 54:59 | |
| (video cutting out) | 55:02 | |
| (everyone singing) | 55:37 | |
| Dean Brazzel | Go forth in peace. | 58:22 |
| The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ... | 58:24 |