William H. Willimon - "Get Ready for a Fight" (August 21, 1994)
Loading the media player...
Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
- | Karen Tucker for being our organist this morning. | 0:00 |
She has helped us out frequently this summer. | 0:03 | |
She's a professor at the Divinity School, | 0:06 | |
teaching in areas of worship, but she is obviously | 0:09 | |
a multi-talented person, and we thank her | 0:12 | |
for her presence with us this summer. | 0:14 | |
Next Sunday, the school year begins here in Duke Chapel, | 0:18 | |
with a glorious service for orientation Sunday. | 0:22 | |
Please note the note in the bulletin | 0:26 | |
about our choir auditions. | 0:29 | |
Let us stand for the greeting. | 0:33 | |
Come to this place of God's visitation and blessing. | 0:38 | |
Every one is welcome here. | 0:41 | |
(congregation mumbling) | 0:44 | |
In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, | 0:51 | |
slave nor free, male nor female. | 0:54 | |
(congregation mumbling) | 0:57 | |
We gather to celebrate God's revelation in Jesus, | 1:04 | |
while others worship the same God in other ways. | 1:07 | |
(congregation mumbling) | 1:11 | |
(lively organ music) | 1:20 | |
♪ A mighty fortress is our God ♪ | 2:04 | |
♪ A bulwark never failing ♪ | 2:10 | |
♪ Our helper, He amid the flood ♪ | 2:17 | |
♪ Of mortal ills prevailing ♪ | 2:24 | |
♪ For still our ancient foe ♪ | 2:32 | |
♪ Doth seek to work us woe ♪ | 2:38 | |
♪ His craft and power are great ♪ | 2:43 | |
♪ And armed with cruel hate ♪ | 2:50 | |
♪ On Earth is not his equal ♪ | 2:56 | |
♪ Did we in our strength confide ♪ | 3:05 | |
♪ Our striving would be losing ♪ | 3:13 | |
♪ Were not the right man or side ♪ | 3:21 | |
♪ The man of God's own choosing ♪ | 3:27 | |
♪ You ask who that may be ♪ | 3:35 | |
♪ Christ Jesus it is he ♪ | 3:41 | |
♪ Lord Sabaoth his name ♪ | 3:48 | |
♪ From age to age the same ♪ | 3:54 | |
♪ And he must win the battle ♪ | 4:01 | |
♪ And though this world with devils filled ♪ | 4:11 | |
♪ Should threaten to undo us ♪ | 4:18 | |
♪ We will not fear for God has willed ♪ | 4:26 | |
♪ His truth to triumph through us ♪ | 4:33 | |
♪ The prince of darkness grim ♪ | 4:41 | |
♪ We tremble not for him ♪ | 4:48 | |
♪ His rage we can endure ♪ | 4:54 | |
♪ For lo his doom is sure ♪ | 5:01 | |
♪ One little word shall fell him ♪ | 5:07 | |
♪ That word above all earthly powers ♪ | 5:17 | |
♪ No thanks to them abideth ♪ | 5:24 | |
♪ The spirit and the gifts are ours ♪ | 5:32 | |
♪ Through him who with us sideth ♪ | 5:39 | |
♪ Let goods and kindred go ♪ | 5:48 | |
♪ This mortal life also ♪ | 5:54 | |
♪ The body they may kill ♪ | 6:01 | |
♪ God's truth abideth still ♪ | 6:08 | |
♪ His kingdom is forever. ♪ | 6:15 | |
- | Let us pray. | 6:29 |
Oh God, you have created us for yourself. | 6:33 | |
You have made our minds restless until they embrace | 6:37 | |
your purpose as our own. | 6:41 | |
Our hearts aimless, until they adopt your will as our own. | 6:43 | |
And our hands profitless, until they seize your task | 6:50 | |
as our own. | 6:55 | |
We praise you in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, | 6:58 | |
in whom you have revealed the person you created us to be. | 7:01 | |
Let your revelation never cease, until our minds and hearts | 7:07 | |
and hands, are wholly committed to your service, amen. | 7:12 | |
You may be seated. | 7:20 | |
- | Please join me together | 7:32 |
as we pray the Prayer for Illumination. | 7:33 | |
All | Open our hearts and minds | 7:37 |
Oh God, by the power of your Holy Spirit, | 7:40 | |
so that as the word is read and proclaimed, | 7:44 | |
we might hear your message with joy this day, amen. | 7:47 | |
- | A reading from the gospel, according to Saint John. | 7:54 |
Chapter six, versus 56 through 69. | 7:57 | |
"Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood, abide in me. | 8:02 | |
"And I in them, just as the living father sent me. | 8:06 | |
"And I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me | 8:10 | |
"will live because of me. | 8:14 | |
"This is the bread that came down from Heaven, | 8:16 | |
"not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. | 8:19 | |
"But the one who eats this bread will live forever." | 8:23 | |
He said these things while he was teaching | 8:27 | |
in the Synagogue at Capernaum. | 8:29 | |
When many of his disciples heard it, they said, | 8:32 | |
"This teaching is difficult. | 8:35 | |
"Who can accept it?" | 8:37 | |
But Jesus, being aware | 8:38 | |
that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, | 8:40 | |
"Does this offend you? | 8:44 | |
"Then what if you were to see the Son of Man | 8:46 | |
"ascending to where he was before?" | 8:48 | |
"It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is useless. | 8:51 | |
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. | 8:56 | |
"But among you, there are some who do not believe." | 9:00 | |
For Jesus knew from the first, who were the ones | 9:04 | |
that did not believe and who was the one | 9:06 | |
that would betray him. | 9:09 | |
And he said, "For this reason, I have told you | 9:10 | |
"that no one can come to me, | 9:14 | |
"unless it is granted by the Father." | 9:16 | |
Because of this, many of his disciples turned back | 9:19 | |
and no longer went about with him. | 9:22 | |
So Jesus asked the 12, "Do you also wish to go away?" | 9:25 | |
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom can we go? | 9:30 | |
"You have the eternal words of life. | 9:35 | |
"We have come to believe and know | 9:38 | |
"that you are the holy one of God." | 9:41 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 9:44 | |
Congregation | Praise be to God. | 9:46 |
- | Today's Psalm is number 84, | 9:54 |
found on page 805 in your hymnal. | 9:56 | |
Please stand and sing the Psalm responsively. | 9:59 | |
♪ How lovely is your dwelling place, oh Lord of Hosts ♪ | 10:14 | |
♪ My soul longs, faints for the courts of the Lord ♪ | 10:21 | |
♪ My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God ♪ | 10:31 | |
♪ Oh God of hosts, my ruler and my God ♪ | 10:40 | |
♪ At your alters even the sparrow finds a home ♪ | 10:47 | |
♪ And the swallow a nest for herself ♪ | 10:54 | |
♪ where she may lay her young ♪ | 10:58 | |
♪ Blessed are those who dwell in your house ♪ | 11:03 | |
♪ Ever singing your praise ♪ | 11:10 | |
♪ Blessed are those whose strength is in you ♪ | 11:16 | |
♪ And om whose hearts are the highways to Zion ♪ | 11:22 | |
♪ As they go through the valley of tears ♪ | 11:29 | |
♪ They make it a place of springs ♪ | 11:35 | |
♪ The early rain also covers it with pools ♪ | 11:38 | |
♪ They go from strength to strength ♪ | 11:45 | |
♪ The God of gods will be seen in Zion ♪ | 11:50 | |
♪ Oh Lord God of Hosts, hear my prayer ♪ | 11:57 | |
♪ Give ear, oh God of Jacob ♪ | 12:03 | |
♪ Behold our shield, oh God ♪ | 12:09 | |
♪ Look upon the face of your anointed ♪ | 12:15 | |
♪ For a day in your courts is better ♪ | 12:22 | |
♪ Than a thousand elsewhere ♪ | 12:27 | |
♪ I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God ♪ | 12:32 | |
♪ Than dwell in the tents of wickedness ♪ | 12:41 | |
♪ For the Lord God is a sun and shield ♪ | 12:48 | |
♪ And bestows favor and honor ♪ | 12:54 | |
♪ No good thing does the Lord withhold ♪ | 13:00 | |
♪ From those who walk uprightly ♪ | 13:06 | |
♪ Oh Lord of Hosts blessed are those who trust in you ♪ | 13:12 | |
(tranquil organ music) | 13:26 | |
(congregation singing) | 13:34 | |
- | You may be seated. | 14:21 |
(tranquil organ music) | 14:55 | |
(soloists singing in foreign language) | 15:10 | |
- | The Epistle lesson for today | 19:36 |
is from Ephesians 6. | 19:39 | |
Finally, be strong in the Lord | 19:44 | |
and in the strength of his might. | 19:46 | |
Put on the whole armor of God | 19:49 | |
that you may be able to stand against the wiles | 19:51 | |
of the Devil | 19:54 | |
for we are not contending against flesh and blood | 19:56 | |
but against the principalities, | 19:59 | |
against the powers, against the world rulers | 20:01 | |
of this present darkness, | 20:04 | |
against the spiritual host | 20:06 | |
of wickedness in the heavenly places. | 20:08 | |
Therefore take the whole armor of God | 20:12 | |
that you may be able to withstand the evil day | 20:16 | |
and having done all to stand, | 20:19 | |
stand therefore having girded your loins | 20:23 | |
with truth and having put on the breastplate | 20:27 | |
of righteousness and having shod your feet | 20:30 | |
with the equipment of the Gospel of peace. | 20:32 | |
Besides all these, taking the shield of faith | 20:37 | |
with which you can quench the flaming darts | 20:42 | |
of the evil one | 20:44 | |
and take the helmet of salvation | 20:45 | |
and the sword of the spirit | 20:47 | |
which is the word of God. | 20:50 | |
Pray at all times in the spirit | 20:53 | |
with all prayer and supplication. | 20:55 | |
To that end, keep alert with all perseverance | 20:57 | |
making supplication for all the saints. | 21:00 | |
And also for me | 21:04 | |
that utterance may be given me in opening my mouth boldly | 21:06 | |
to proclaim the mystery of the Gospel | 21:10 | |
for which I am an ambassador in chains | 21:14 | |
that I may declare it boldly as I ought to speak. | 21:19 | |
This is the word of the Lord. | 21:26 | |
Congregation | Thanks be to God. | 21:29 |
- | Be strong in the Lord. | 21:33 |
Put on the whole armor of God | 21:37 | |
that you may be able to stand. | 21:40 | |
Now, one of the reasons that we love the Bible, | 21:45 | |
one of the reasons we keep reading it over | 21:49 | |
and over again | 21:51 | |
is that you find that it's not the same Bible. | 21:54 | |
Oh, it's the same words | 22:00 | |
but we're not the same readers. | 22:03 | |
And that accounts for why many you've had the experience | 22:06 | |
of hearing some biblical text | 22:10 | |
over and over again | 22:14 | |
and yet there is that moment | 22:17 | |
when you hear that text | 22:19 | |
as if for the first time. | 22:21 | |
There are texts, there are biblical stories | 22:23 | |
that mean absolutely nothing to you at 19 | 22:26 | |
but you wake up at 30 | 22:29 | |
and it's as if a hand reaches out | 22:31 | |
and grabs you by the neck | 22:34 | |
and shakes you up and down. | 22:35 | |
And you're changed. | 22:38 | |
The world is re-described accurately. | 22:41 | |
And that's one reason we keep reading scripture. | 22:46 | |
And for me, this describes my own impression | 22:52 | |
with Ephesians 6. | 22:56 | |
Ephesians 6 has never been one | 23:00 | |
of my favorite passages of scripture. | 23:02 | |
All this talk about the sword | 23:04 | |
and the shield and taking the armor of God | 23:06 | |
and I think it's because of the opinion engendered in me | 23:09 | |
in college ROTC toward the U.S. Army. | 23:13 | |
I was in ROTC | 23:18 | |
I eventually was commissioned a first lieutenant | 23:19 | |
in the armored division | 23:21 | |
even though I never saw a tank. | 23:23 | |
And I have often wondered | 23:26 | |
what on Earth is all this talk | 23:28 | |
about these military metaphors of the sword and the shield | 23:29 | |
and the armament. | 23:33 | |
And what does that have to do with the religion | 23:34 | |
of the prince of peace? | 23:36 | |
I am uncomfortable as mixing of these crusading metaphors | 23:40 | |
with the religion of Jesus. | 23:44 | |
And yet, it may be | 23:49 | |
that we've come again to the right time | 23:53 | |
to hear this scripture right. | 23:57 | |
I met him about this time of the year. | 24:03 | |
It was his first week. | 24:06 | |
New student on the Duke campus. | 24:09 | |
First year student, freshman | 24:11 | |
and I could tell he was a little tentative, | 24:13 | |
a little anxious about being a new student here on campus | 24:16 | |
and we talked | 24:20 | |
and when I saw him about three weeks later | 24:22 | |
and I asked him, "Well, how are you fitting in | 24:25 | |
"in the university? | 24:27 | |
"How are things going?" | 24:28 | |
And he said, "Fine, I really like it. | 24:29 | |
"I'm really liking the place." | 24:31 | |
And he said, | 24:34 | |
"I'm really finding it quite an amazing experience." | 24:35 | |
And I said, "In what way is it an amazing experience?" | 24:39 | |
He said, "Well, take just this morning. | 24:42 | |
"I went to breakfast in the U Room | 24:44 | |
"and it was eight o'clock and the place was filled | 24:48 | |
"right before morning classes and I had to look around | 24:51 | |
"to get a table | 24:53 | |
"and I saw this guy sitting over at a table, | 24:54 | |
"I asked him if I could sit with him. | 24:56 | |
"He said yes. | 24:58 | |
"We sat down, we are our cornflakes in silence | 24:59 | |
"and then he asked me well, | 25:02 | |
"what year are you here at Duke? | 25:04 | |
"And I said that I was a freshman. | 25:07 | |
"And he said well, I'm a freshman too. | 25:09 | |
"And we started talking | 25:12 | |
"and he asked me the same question you asked, | 25:13 | |
"how do you like it here at the university? | 25:15 | |
"And I said well, fine. | 25:17 | |
"Of course, there's been things to adjust to | 25:19 | |
"and there've been things that I've encountered | 25:22 | |
"that make me kind of uncomfortable | 25:24 | |
"but I'm dealing with that. | 25:26 | |
"He asked me well, what are the things | 25:29 | |
"that you've been dealing with that kind | 25:31 | |
"of make you uncomfortable. | 25:32 | |
"I said, well, I guess I kinda look | 25:35 | |
"at things differently than a lot of people around here. | 25:38 | |
"You see, I'm a Christian." | 25:41 | |
With that he said this guy drops his fork, | 25:46 | |
his mouth drops open | 25:48 | |
and he says, "I don't believe that. | 25:50 | |
"You, a Christian?" | 25:53 | |
He said, "That's unbelievable, I'm a Christian too. | 25:54 | |
(congregation laughing) | 25:57 | |
"Right here at breakfast in the university | 25:58 | |
"run into a Christian, I can't believe that. | 26:01 | |
"Well, we exchanged phone numbers | 26:05 | |
"and all of sudden we'd have to get together again." | 26:07 | |
Now I tell you, that conversation | 26:10 | |
would not have been held here 30 years ago. | 26:13 | |
20 years ago. | 26:18 | |
I tell you something, | 26:20 | |
something is new. | 26:22 | |
There has been a kind of seismic shift | 26:23 | |
in American public life | 26:26 | |
and things are different for us. | 26:28 | |
I'm wondering, maybe this Ephesians 6, | 26:33 | |
telling you don't go out there unarmed, | 26:39 | |
don't go out there ill-equipped, | 26:42 | |
you better get your sword and a shield, | 26:44 | |
I'm wondering if that kind of talk makes more sense | 26:45 | |
to people say of today's younger generation | 26:50 | |
than it did to my generation? | 26:56 | |
'Cause I grew up in Bible Belt Greenville, South Carolina | 27:00 | |
where home and church and school | 27:03 | |
all worked together in a vast conspiracy, | 27:05 | |
to kind of make us Christian. | 27:08 | |
Being Christian was kind of the normal, | 27:11 | |
natural American thing to do. | 27:12 | |
You became Christian just by drinking the water, | 27:14 | |
breathing the air. | 27:16 | |
You couldn't even buy a gallon of gas on Sunday morning | 27:18 | |
when Sunday school was in session. | 27:20 | |
I don't think my parents ever worried | 27:23 | |
about whether or not I would grow up Christian. | 27:25 | |
It was the only game in town. | 27:27 | |
And yet I woke up a few years ago | 27:31 | |
and realized that whether or not my parents | 27:32 | |
were justified in believing that, | 27:34 | |
I don't meet anybody who believes that today. | 27:36 | |
I don't meet any young parents, | 27:41 | |
Baptists, Pentecostals, Roman Catholics, Lutherans. | 27:43 | |
I just don't meet anybody who thinks their children | 27:46 | |
will grow up affirming this faith | 27:49 | |
just by living in a certain neighborhood | 27:52 | |
and drinking the water, | 27:54 | |
breathing the air. | 27:55 | |
There is a new sense | 27:57 | |
that if our young will affirm this faith, | 27:58 | |
it will be as a kind of counter-cultural act. | 28:02 | |
We'll have to be intentional about it. | 28:06 | |
And so suddenly this talk of defensive armament begins | 28:10 | |
to make sense. | 28:15 | |
But we're not contending just against flesh and blood, | 28:18 | |
we're contending, it's like there's something, | 28:21 | |
somebody in charge of some kind of an assault | 28:25 | |
against the faith. | 28:28 | |
You better not go out there unarmed. | 28:29 | |
And from what I can observe, | 28:33 | |
main line liberal Protestantism | 28:35 | |
has been the last to get the message of this. | 28:37 | |
That the world has shifted, | 28:41 | |
that that comfortable arrangement we once had | 28:44 | |
with this culture has ended. | 28:46 | |
There'll be no more props or free passes or crutches | 28:49 | |
for the church. | 28:53 | |
If our young grow up affirming this faith, | 28:54 | |
we'll have to do it to them. | 28:58 | |
We'll have to be intentional about it. | 29:00 | |
Of course, I woke up this week | 29:05 | |
to be informed by Bob Booth, | 29:07 | |
on Good Morning America | 29:09 | |
that I was fortunate enough to live | 29:10 | |
in the best city in the United States. | 29:12 | |
(congregation laughing) | 29:15 | |
And I confess, I went through the day a little depressed | 29:17 | |
worrying about the people like in Des Moines. | 29:19 | |
If this is the best place anyway, | 29:21 | |
(congregation laughing) | 29:25 | |
even in this good place, | 29:27 | |
increasing numbers of people | 29:32 | |
are starting to feel like that freshman, | 29:33 | |
like it's if you're Christian, | 29:35 | |
it's like you're a member of some kind | 29:37 | |
of new minority faith. | 29:39 | |
It's no longer the natural, normal thing to do. | 29:42 | |
I was out in Texas speaking | 29:46 | |
and after my series of sermons, | 29:48 | |
we had a kind of discussion session | 29:50 | |
and during the discussion session, | 29:52 | |
my host preacher said to me | 29:55 | |
with the laypeople there, | 29:58 | |
"You know, you seem to have such a negative view of culture. | 30:00 | |
"You seem to have such a negative view of the world." | 30:04 | |
And I said "Well, yes, I'm from South Carolina. | 30:07 | |
"Maybe that has something to do with it. | 30:10 | |
"But okay, maybe this is a great place to live | 30:13 | |
"but I notice you have a burglar alarm on your church. | 30:16 | |
"Let's turn it off tonight | 30:20 | |
"and just see if Wichita Falls is a great place to live." | 30:21 | |
I think we're just reading the situation a bit differently. | 30:25 | |
On the way out, after the discussion, | 30:30 | |
I passed a group of women in animated conversation. | 30:34 | |
One of the group said to me, | 30:38 | |
"We're talking about you." | 30:40 | |
I said, "What?" | 30:41 | |
And she said, "Well, we don't know | 30:42 | |
"that you preachers know how tough it is out there." | 30:46 | |
"Tough?" | 30:51 | |
She said, "Yeah. | 30:54 | |
"We're all public school teachers here in town. | 30:54 | |
"And we don't know if you know what it's like. | 30:59 | |
"I'm talking about a sixth grader on heroin. | 31:03 | |
"I'm talking about an eighth grader | 31:06 | |
"who's been abandoned by her parents | 31:08 | |
"both of whom are physicians in Wichita Falls. | 31:10 | |
"I'm talking about that kind of thing." | 31:13 | |
and I said, "Well, your preacher thinks | 31:18 | |
"this is a great place to live." | 31:20 | |
And said, "Yeah, he's never been in a middle school | 31:21 | |
"in his life. | 31:23 | |
"He doesn't know." | 31:24 | |
I said, "Well, get back in there | 31:26 | |
"and tell your minister what you need to survive." | 31:27 | |
You come to church on Sunday morning, | 31:34 | |
we're talking about the birds and the bees | 31:35 | |
and the flowers | 31:37 | |
and you're thinking about what you'll encounter | 31:38 | |
on Monday morning in the office. | 31:40 | |
I thought about those teachers | 31:44 | |
when a little later I was in a church | 31:47 | |
where this woman told me | 31:49 | |
that she was the convener | 31:50 | |
of the public school teachers prayer group. | 31:51 | |
Meets every Wednesday morning in that church at six o'clock. | 31:55 | |
They have prayer, somebody presents a case study | 31:58 | |
from some aspect of her work | 32:03 | |
that calls into question her faith, | 32:07 | |
her ethical responsibilities of Christian | 32:10 | |
and then they pray for God to give them strength | 32:12 | |
to resist in an inhuman situation. | 32:16 | |
I predict, you heard it here first, | 32:22 | |
I predict that is the wave of the future | 32:25 | |
for the American church. | 32:29 | |
It's as if we're up against something. | 32:33 | |
And so a popular book this year | 32:38 | |
has been by Yale Law professor, Stephen Carter. | 32:40 | |
"The Culture of Disbelief." | 32:43 | |
And Carter analyzing legal decisions | 32:47 | |
in the last couple of decades looking at the treatment | 32:50 | |
of religion and the media says, | 32:53 | |
we live in a culture of disbelief | 32:55 | |
where it's as if there's a sort of policing function | 32:58 | |
in the media | 33:02 | |
on TV, in the movies, in our law courts | 33:04 | |
which makes sure that if religion is spoken of in public, | 33:09 | |
it is mostly as a matter of ridicule. | 33:13 | |
If you look at court briefs about religion, | 33:19 | |
Carter says it is as if there is only one explanation | 33:22 | |
that there are still people running loose | 33:25 | |
who honor God | 33:27 | |
and that is they are mentally unbalanced in some way | 33:28 | |
and need to be protected from themselves. | 33:32 | |
And I recall years ago, William Buckley saying, | 33:36 | |
"It maybe at a nice dinner party in the northeast | 33:39 | |
"you can bring up religion around the dinner table once | 33:43 | |
"but if you bring it up twice, | 33:47 | |
"you will never be invited back to dinner." | 33:49 | |
The culture of disbelief. | 33:54 | |
Even in my nice number one city, Durham, | 34:00 | |
middle-class, manicured neighborhood, | 34:04 | |
there is an increasing awareness | 34:07 | |
on Sunday morning that we're moving | 34:09 | |
to something different than the rest of the world. | 34:13 | |
It's as if the world is buying a different set of goods, | 34:16 | |
marching to the beat of a different drummer. | 34:19 | |
These words from Ephesians, | 34:27 | |
the writer says were written in chains. | 34:30 | |
The writer to the Ephesians wrote these words in jail, | 34:34 | |
the source of some of the best early Christian writing. | 34:37 | |
His world looked at Christians then | 34:41 | |
and saw in them a challenge | 34:43 | |
to the way the world does business. | 34:45 | |
Our world looks at us and deals with us | 34:48 | |
not by throwing us in jail | 34:51 | |
but rather by ignoring, ridiculing us | 34:52 | |
but still, we're up against something. | 34:57 | |
You better not go out of those doors unarmed. | 35:01 | |
A recent study of college students | 35:07 | |
who became involved | 35:11 | |
in harmful religious cults said | 35:12 | |
that the one thread running through the history | 35:16 | |
of these students' lives | 35:22 | |
was that they came to college | 35:24 | |
with very little religious education, | 35:27 | |
with very little sophisticated understanding | 35:31 | |
about religious faith, | 35:34 | |
very little grounding | 35:36 | |
and this, the study said, left them peculiarly vulnerable | 35:39 | |
for the first religious claims | 35:44 | |
that came blowing through town | 35:46 | |
promising to overwhelm their great sense of inadequacy. | 35:49 | |
You better not go out there unarmed. | 35:55 | |
In fact, I'm saying that's probably a reason | 35:58 | |
that you've gotten out of bed | 36:02 | |
and come over today. | 36:03 | |
You're seeking to be equipped | 36:06 | |
and my role as a preacher | 36:09 | |
is not as it once might have been | 36:11 | |
to sort of helpfully nudge basically nice people | 36:14 | |
toward basically good majority American goals. | 36:17 | |
My job is to give you a shield and a buckler | 36:22 | |
and a sword and armament. | 36:25 | |
Notice that all the armament mentioned here in Ephesians | 36:29 | |
is mainly of a defensive nature. | 36:31 | |
What you need to resist. | 36:34 | |
There is a new awareness | 36:36 | |
that as you go about your life Monday through Saturday, | 36:39 | |
you're up against something. | 36:42 | |
So pray for me. | 36:47 | |
Pray that I might speak the word of God boldly | 36:49 | |
and pray for yourselves that you might be given the grace | 36:55 | |
to resist, to go against the grain, | 37:01 | |
to be named by other powers | 37:05 | |
than the principalities and powers | 37:08 | |
which have us in their grip. | 37:10 | |
Pray that we might speak the word of God | 37:12 | |
with a new boldness. | 37:16 | |
Amen. | 37:21 | |
(tranquil organ music) | 37:34 | |
(congregation singing) | 38:10 | |
Preacher | The Lord be with you. | 40:57 |
Congregation | And also with you. | 40:58 |
- | Let us pray. | 41:00 |
You may be seated. | 41:01 | |
Oh God, your word of centuries ago reaches our ears. | 41:12 | |
Speaking in images that are sometimes foreign | 41:18 | |
but sometimes so familiar we are stunned | 41:23 | |
by their power. | 41:26 | |
Be strong in the Lord. | 41:29 | |
Put on the whole armor of God | 41:32 | |
that you may be able to stand. | 41:35 | |
We hear these words spoken in triumph | 41:40 | |
by one in chains. | 41:43 | |
Beaten but not broken, | 41:45 | |
persecuted but not forsaken. | 41:49 | |
Quite honestly we don't know whether to be terrified | 41:54 | |
or comforted by these words. | 41:57 | |
They terrify us | 42:03 | |
because they proclaim the reality | 42:04 | |
that following Jesus is not always easy. | 42:06 | |
We want it to be easy, | 42:11 | |
we want our Christianity to be something pleasant | 42:14 | |
that completes a full and productive life. | 42:17 | |
We want a world where everyone holds Christian values, | 42:22 | |
even if they don't hold Christian beliefs. | 42:26 | |
We want a gentle, caring world, | 42:29 | |
characterized by politeness, if not love. | 42:33 | |
But that's not the world we live in. | 42:39 | |
In fact, it is often a hostile, brutal world. | 42:41 | |
At best, it has become indifferent | 42:46 | |
to Christian beliefs, | 42:48 | |
at worst, openly antagonistic. | 42:50 | |
We don't want to need the armor of God | 42:56 | |
but it is promised to us nevertheless | 43:00 | |
for times such as these. | 43:03 | |
For times when violence is a daily fact of reality | 43:07 | |
and human life is held cheaply. | 43:11 | |
For times when value systems conflict | 43:16 | |
and Christian beliefs are considered naive and ignorant. | 43:19 | |
For times when our planet | 43:26 | |
and our very existence is endangered | 43:28 | |
by self-serving, callous exploitation. | 43:30 | |
For times when power is sought for its own sake | 43:36 | |
and wielded as a weapon. | 43:40 | |
For times when our economic, cultural | 43:45 | |
and spiritual survival are threatened | 43:47 | |
from without and within. | 43:50 | |
For times when the power of evil seems so strong | 43:55 | |
and the power of peace so inadequate. | 43:58 | |
For times like these | 44:04 | |
when we are at risk of dangers, real and imagined | 44:06 | |
which we name before you. | 44:12 | |
The promise of strength | 44:21 | |
and protection in the midst of danger | 44:22 | |
is a bittersweet word of comfort. | 44:25 | |
It opens our eyes to the reality | 44:27 | |
of the world we live in | 44:30 | |
yet also assures us that no matter what, | 44:32 | |
we are never alone. | 44:36 | |
We may be beaten but not broken, | 44:38 | |
persecuted but not forsaken. | 44:41 | |
Give us courage to face the world with confidence | 44:47 | |
guided by your truth, | 44:50 | |
emboldened by your spirit. | 44:52 | |
Help us stand firmly against evil | 44:57 | |
in whatever forms we find it | 44:59 | |
and help us live as those who display love | 45:02 | |
as a shield of strength | 45:06 | |
to a world which finds love in oddity. | 45:08 | |
Through Jesus Christ our Lord | 45:13 | |
who shows us the triumphant power of love. | 45:16 | |
Amen. | 45:20 | |
Let us offer ourselves | 45:24 | |
and our gifts in thanksgiving to the Lord. | 45:26 | |
(tranquil organ music) | 45:35 | |
(lively organ music) | 46:25 | |
♪ The Lord is Christ given ♪ | 46:42 | |
(soloists singing) | 46:46 | |
♪ The Lord is Christ given ♪ | 46:54 | |
(soloists singing) | 46:57 | |
♪ My salvation ♪ | 49:39 | |
(lively organ music) | 50:07 | |
♪ Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow ♪ | 50:57 | |
♪ Praise Him, all creatures here below ♪ | 51:03 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 51:09 | |
♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ♪ | 51:17 | |
♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 51:23 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 51:30 | |
♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ | 51:36 | |
♪ Hallelujah ♪ | 51:43 | |
- | Let us pray. | 51:55 |
Almighty God, giver of every good and perfect gift, | 51:58 | |
teach us to render to you all that we have | 52:03 | |
and all that we are | 52:07 | |
that we may praise you not with our lips only | 52:09 | |
but with our whole lives, | 52:13 | |
resisting evil with the armor of love | 52:16 | |
that we may turn the duties, | 52:21 | |
the sorrows and the joys of all our days | 52:22 | |
into a living sacrifice to you | 52:27 | |
through our Savior Jesus Christ | 52:31 | |
who taught us to pray. | 52:34 | |
All | Our Father, who art in Heaven, | 52:36 |
hallowed by thy name, | 52:39 | |
thy kingdom come, thy will be done | 52:41 | |
on Earth as it in Heaven. | 52:44 | |
Give us this day our daily bread | 52:47 | |
and forgive us our trespasses | 52:50 | |
as we forgive those | 52:52 | |
who trespass against us | 52:54 | |
and lead us not into temptation | 52:56 | |
but deliver us from evil | 52:59 | |
for thine is the kingdom, and the power | 53:01 | |
and the glory forever. | 53:05 | |
Amen. | 53:06 | |
(lively organ music) | 53:10 | |
♪ Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love ♪ | 53:47 | |
♪ Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee ♪ | 53:56 | |
♪ Opening to the sun above ♪ | 54:00 | |
♪ Melt the clouds of sin and sadness ♪ | 54:05 | |
♪ Drive the dark of doubt away ♪ | 54:10 | |
♪ Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day ♪ | 54:14 | |
♪ All Thy works with joy surround Thee ♪ | 54:27 | |
♪ Earth and Heaven reflect Thy rays ♪ | 54:31 | |
♪ Stars and angels sing around Thee ♪ | 54:36 | |
♪ Center of unbroken praise ♪ | 54:41 | |
♪ Field and forest, vale and mountain ♪ | 54:46 | |
♪ Flowery meadow, flashing sea ♪ | 54:51 | |
♪ Singing bird and flowing fountain call us ♪ | 54:55 | |
♪ To rejoice in Thee ♪ | 55:01 | |
♪ Thou art giving and forgiving ♪ | 55:08 | |
♪ Ever blessing, ever blessed ♪ | 55:12 | |
♪ Wellspring of the joy of living ♪ | 55:17 | |
♪ Ocean depth of happy rest ♪ | 55:22 | |
♪ Thou our Father, Christ our Brother ♪ | 55:27 | |
♪ All who live in love are Thine ♪ | 55:32 | |
♪ Teach us how to love each other ♪ | 55:36 | |
♪ Lift us to the joy divine ♪ | 55:41 | |
♪ Mortals, join the happy chorus ♪ | 55:49 | |
♪ Which the morning stars began ♪ | 55:54 | |
♪ Father love is reigning o'er us ♪ | 55:59 | |
♪ Brother love binds man to man ♪ | 56:04 | |
♪ Ever singing, march we onward ♪ | 56:09 | |
♪ Victors in the midst of strife ♪ | 56:13 | |
♪ Joyful music leads us Sunward in the triumph song of life ♪ | 56:18 | |
- | Let us pray. | 56:34 |
The Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, | 56:36 | |
the love of God | 56:37 | |
and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you now | 56:39 | |
and always, amen. | 56:42 | |
(lively organ music) | 56:46 |
Item Info
The preservation of the Duke University Libraries Digital Collections and the Duke Digital Repository programs are supported in part by the Lowell and Eileen Aptman Digital Preservation Fund