Brenda Kirton - Sermon Untitled (January 8, 1995)
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| ("Angels We Have Heard On High" by the bell choir) | 0:00 | |
| - | Grace to you and peace from God, our Father, | 0:56 |
| and the Lord Jesus Christ. | 0:59 | |
| Welcome to the service of worship for the first Sunday | 1:01 | |
| following the Epiphany. | 1:04 | |
| We are very pleased to have with us today as guest musicians | 1:06 | |
| the bell choir from the First Baptist Church of Henderson | 1:10 | |
| under the direction of Mr. Philip Young. | 1:14 | |
| I call your attention to the announcements in the bulletin | 1:18 | |
| and remind you of an additional worship service scheduled | 1:22 | |
| for next Sunday evening at 6:30 here in the chapel | 1:25 | |
| as part of the university's observance | 1:29 | |
| of the Dr. Martin Luther King weekend. | 1:31 | |
| The service will be at 6:30, the preacher will be | 1:35 | |
| the Reverend Bernice King, daughter of Dr. King, | 1:38 | |
| and music will be provided by the Modern Black Mass Choir. | 1:42 | |
| Will you please stand for the call to worship. | 1:51 | |
| The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. | 2:00 | |
| Congregation | And also with you. | 2:04 |
| - | The splendor of Christ shines upon us. | 2:05 |
| Congregation | Praise the Lord. | 2:08 |
| ("We Three Kings" organ introduction) | 2:11 | |
| ♪ We three kings of orient are ♪ | 2:57 | |
| ♪ Bearing gifts we traverse afar ♪ | 3:01 | |
| ♪ Field and fountain, moor and mountain ♪ | 3:07 | |
| ♪ Following yonder star ♪ | 3:12 | |
| ♪ Oh, star of wonder, star of night ♪ | 3:17 | |
| ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ | 3:25 | |
| ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ | 3:30 | |
| ♪ Guide with thy perfect light ♪ | 3:36 | |
| ♪ Born a King on Bethlehem's plain ♪ | 3:43 | |
| ♪ Gold I bring to crown him again ♪ | 3:48 | |
| ♪ King for ever, ceasing never ♪ | 3:53 | |
| ♪ Over us all to reign ♪ | 3:59 | |
| ♪ Oh, star of wonder, star of night ♪ | 4:05 | |
| ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ | 4:13 | |
| ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ | 4:18 | |
| ♪ Guide with thy perfect light ♪ | 4:23 | |
| ♪ Frankincense to offer have I, ♪ | 4:31 | |
| ♪ Incense owns a Deity nigh ♪ | 4:36 | |
| ♪ Prayer and praising, voices raising ♪ | 4:41 | |
| ♪ Worshiping God most high ♪ | 4:48 | |
| ♪ Oh, star of wonder, star of night ♪ | 4:52 | |
| ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ | 5:00 | |
| ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ | 5:05 | |
| ♪ Guide with thy perfect light ♪ | 5:11 | |
| ♪ Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume ♪ | 5:19 | |
| ♪ Breathes of life of gathering gloom ♪ | 5:24 | |
| ♪ Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying ♪ | 5:29 | |
| ♪ Sealed in the stone-cold tomb ♪ | 5:36 | |
| ♪ Oh, star of wonder, star of night ♪ | 5:42 | |
| ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ | 5:50 | |
| ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ | 5:56 | |
| ♪ Guide with thy perfect light ♪ | 6:01 | |
| ♪ Glorious now behold Him arise ♪ | 6:09 | |
| ♪ King and God and Sacrifice ♪ | 6:13 | |
| ♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 6:18 | |
| ♪ Earth to heaven replies ♪ | 6:25 | |
| ♪ Oh, star of wonder, star of night ♪ | 6:30 | |
| ♪ Star with royal beauty bright ♪ | 6:38 | |
| ♪ Westward leading, still proceeding ♪ | 6:43 | |
| ♪ Guide with thy perfect light ♪ | 6:48 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 6:58 |
| Eternal God, at the baptism of Jesus you revealed him | 7:02 | |
| to be your son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit. | 7:06 | |
| Keep your children, born of water and the spirit, | 7:11 | |
| faithful to their calling and may we who have been | 7:15 | |
| baptized in his name never turn away from the world, | 7:19 | |
| but reach out in love to rescue the wayward. | 7:24 | |
| By the mercy of Christ, our Lord, who lives | 7:27 | |
| and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, amen. | 7:30 | |
| - | Let us pray together the prayer for illumination | 7:45 |
| as found in your bulletin. | 7:48 | |
| Let us pray. | 7:52 | |
| - | [With Congregation] Open our hearts and minds, oh God, | 7:54 |
| by the power of your Holy Spirit | 7:56 | |
| so that as the word is read and proclaimed | 7:59 | |
| we may hear with joy this day, amen. | 8:02 | |
| The first lesson is from Luke 3:15-17 and 21-22. | 8:09 | |
| As the people were filled with expectation | 8:18 | |
| and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John | 8:21 | |
| whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them | 8:24 | |
| by saying, I baptize you with water but one who is more | 8:28 | |
| powerful than I is coming. | 8:33 | |
| I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. | 8:35 | |
| He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. | 8:40 | |
| His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his | 8:44 | |
| threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his grainery. | 8:47 | |
| But the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. | 8:53 | |
| Now, when all the people were baptized and when Jesus also | 8:57 | |
| had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened | 8:59 | |
| and the Holy Spirit descended upon him | 9:04 | |
| in bodily form like a dove. | 9:06 | |
| And a voice came from heaven, you are my son, the beloved. | 9:10 | |
| With you I am well pleased. | 9:15 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 9:18 | |
| Thanks be to God. | 9:20 | |
| Please stand and let us read responsively, Psalm 29 | 9:23 | |
| as found on page 761 in the hymnal. | 9:27 | |
| We'll follow this with the Gloria printed in the bulletin. | 9:30 | |
| Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, | 9:38 | |
| ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. | 9:41 | |
| Congregation | Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; | 9:45 |
| worship the Lord in holy splendor. | 9:48 | |
| - | The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; | 9:52 |
| the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. | 9:55 | |
| Congregation | The voice of the Lord is powerful; | 9:59 |
| the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. | 10:03 | |
| - | The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars. | 10:06 |
| Congregation | The Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon. | 10:09 |
| - | The Lord makes Lebanon to skip like a calf, | 10:13 |
| and Sirion like a young, wild ox. | 10:16 | |
| - | The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire. | 10:19 |
| Timothy | The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness. | 10:24 |
| - | The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. | 10:28 |
| - | The voice of the Lord makes the oaks to whirl | 10:31 |
| and strips the forests bare. | 10:34 | |
| Congregation | And in his temple all cry, glory. | 10:37 |
| - | The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; | 10:41 |
| the Lord sits enthroned as ruler forever. | 10:44 | |
| Congregation | May the Lord give strength to his people. | 10:47 |
| May the Lord bless his people with peace. | 10:51 | |
| ♪ Glory be to God in heaven ♪ | 11:02 | |
| ♪ Praise to the redeemer, God ♪ | 11:10 | |
| ♪ Glory be to Christ, the Savior ♪ | 11:17 | |
| ♪ Ever man and ever God ♪ | 11:24 | |
| ♪ As it was in the beginning ♪ | 11:31 | |
| ♪ Now and ever more shall be ♪ | 11:39 | |
| ("Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella" by the bell choir) | 12:01 | |
| - | The Old Testament lesson is taken from | 14:34 |
| the book of Isaiah 43:1-7. | 14:36 | |
| But now thus, says the Lord, he who created you, oh Jacob, | 14:44 | |
| he who formed you, oh Israel. | 14:48 | |
| Do not fear for I have redeemed you. | 14:51 | |
| I have called you by name, you are mine. | 14:54 | |
| When you pass through the waters, I will be with you | 14:58 | |
| and through the waters, through the rivers, | 15:01 | |
| they shall not overwhelm you. | 15:03 | |
| When you walk through fire you shall not be burned | 15:06 | |
| and the flame shall not consume you. | 15:09 | |
| For I am the Lord your God, the holy one of Israel, | 15:12 | |
| your Savior. | 15:16 | |
| I give Egypt as your ransom, | 15:19 | |
| Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you | 15:21 | |
| because you are precious in my sight and honored | 15:25 | |
| and I love you. | 15:29 | |
| I give people in return for you, | 15:30 | |
| nations in exchange for you life. | 15:33 | |
| Do not fear, for I am with you. | 15:36 | |
| I will bring your offspring from the east | 15:39 | |
| and from the west I will gather you up. | 15:42 | |
| I will say to the north, give them up, | 15:46 | |
| and to the south, do not withhold. | 15:48 | |
| Bring my sons from far away and my daughters | 15:51 | |
| from the end of the earth. | 15:54 | |
| Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created | 15:56 | |
| for my glory, whom I formed and made. | 15:59 | |
| This is the word of the Lord. | 16:04 | |
| Thanks be to God. | 16:06 | |
| - | Christian friends, I bring you greeting in the name | 16:25 |
| of our Father, in the name of the Son and the Holy Spirit. | 16:30 | |
| I am especially grateful for this opportunity. | 16:35 | |
| Especially joyful when I have the opportunity to | 16:41 | |
| share with Dr. Paula Gilbert, who I said only this morning | 16:47 | |
| while we were talking, is in many ways responsible for me | 16:54 | |
| being a Duke graduate. | 16:59 | |
| At that time, Paula worked as a recruiter for the | 17:00 | |
| Divinity School and she has been a source of inspiration. | 17:05 | |
| For many here in Duke Chapel I continue to give thanks | 17:11 | |
| to God for this opportunity of serving in this environment | 17:15 | |
| especially to members of the congregation. | 17:21 | |
| Today as I share with you the word of God, | 17:25 | |
| I would like us to meditate on the portion of scripture | 17:29 | |
| taken from Isaiah 43:1-7. | 17:34 | |
| We find ourselves at the beginning of a new year. | 17:45 | |
| A time when New Year's resolutions | 17:51 | |
| are still very fresh on our lips. | 17:54 | |
| Many of us are a bit apprehensive | 17:59 | |
| and fearful about what the new year will bring. | 18:03 | |
| The year is only eight days old. | 18:09 | |
| But alas, already we have challenges to face, | 18:13 | |
| new challenges, misfortune and unpleasant circumstances | 18:20 | |
| have already struck. | 18:28 | |
| For example, some members in our congregation here | 18:31 | |
| are attending their wounds as they mourn the passing | 18:36 | |
| of young, innocent lives. | 18:43 | |
| An unpleasant accident that occurred in Haiti | 18:47 | |
| while they lived out their commitment to missions | 18:51 | |
| and reaching out and bringing the message of hope | 18:57 | |
| and resurrection to others in our hemisphere. | 19:01 | |
| I spent Christmas in Guyana with my family. | 19:08 | |
| And it was wonderful to be in the tropical weather. | 19:18 | |
| To experience the 60s and the 70s at Christmastime. | 19:23 | |
| I know for some of you that is not exciting. | 19:28 | |
| Some children say it's not Christmas | 19:32 | |
| unless they see the white stuff. | 19:34 | |
| But for me, where I long for the summer and the sunshine, | 19:38 | |
| it was heavenly to be home. | 19:45 | |
| However, the economical and political climate in Guyana | 19:49 | |
| is not so heavenly. | 19:55 | |
| There is a climate of fear and uncertainty. | 20:01 | |
| Even among the well educated and the so-called middle class. | 20:09 | |
| They too live daily in the fear of being able to provide | 20:16 | |
| the basic necessities for their families. | 20:24 | |
| I recall not so long ago in Guyana | 20:30 | |
| when the dollar was strong | 20:35 | |
| and when the rate of exchange was | 20:38 | |
| two Guyana dollars to one U.S. dollar. | 20:41 | |
| Today it's 142 Guiana dollars to one U.S. | 20:48 | |
| And you did not hear me incorrectly. | 20:56 | |
| It is 142 to one. | 20:59 | |
| Upon my return in the U.S. | 21:04 | |
| I was reminded that the climate | 21:09 | |
| in Guyana is just a microcosmic reflection | 21:12 | |
| of what is taking place in our hemisphere. | 21:17 | |
| I learned from the news that the Mexican pesos | 21:23 | |
| had been devalued. | 21:28 | |
| And how adversarially this devaluation | 21:32 | |
| may affect the stock market. | 21:36 | |
| The people in Mexico and North American businessmen | 21:40 | |
| are fearful. | 21:45 | |
| Fearful of how the devaluation of the pesos | 21:48 | |
| will effect their daily lives. | 21:51 | |
| Throughout the hemisphere there is similar fear. | 21:55 | |
| Recently all the nations except for one in this hemisphere | 22:03 | |
| met recently in Miami at a conference of the Americas | 22:11 | |
| to discuss economic stability. | 22:17 | |
| Today for many of us, currency devaluation, | 22:26 | |
| economic stabilization and structural adjustment programs | 22:33 | |
| are abstract concepts. | 22:38 | |
| But for those of us who live in developing countries, | 22:42 | |
| their impacts are devastating. | 22:47 | |
| For example, when I was home I visited | 22:53 | |
| a very dear friend of mine. | 22:58 | |
| Before I had left Guyana we had worked together | 23:02 | |
| in the public service. | 23:05 | |
| It was great seeing her since we had not had | 23:08 | |
| the opportunity to visit each other about nine years. | 23:11 | |
| We went out and we talked at length about everything | 23:17 | |
| and about everyone we knew. | 23:22 | |
| How she was doing. | 23:23 | |
| She had gone on to school, she had gotten her master's | 23:25 | |
| in agriculture development and she was | 23:28 | |
| working with an Agri bank. | 23:31 | |
| And I thought, oh, things are going great. | 23:32 | |
| But as we got to the economic situation | 23:36 | |
| it was painful to learn | 23:41 | |
| that her salary of $10,000, | 23:48 | |
| Guyanese that is, per month, | 23:53 | |
| is not sufficient to pay her monthly rent | 23:59 | |
| which is more than twice her salary. | 24:06 | |
| A direct result of devaluation. | 24:11 | |
| Her monthly rent is 25,000 Guyanese dollar. | 24:14 | |
| If your rent is more than your salary, | 24:27 | |
| what do you do for food? | 24:32 | |
| And she's not living above her means. | 24:35 | |
| Her living space is a bottom flat, as we call it back home, | 24:40 | |
| with basics. | 24:47 | |
| But she is middle-class. | 24:50 | |
| A junior bank manager. | 24:54 | |
| It brought me to tears. | 25:00 | |
| But amidst those tears | 25:04 | |
| she reminded me | 25:09 | |
| there is still community. | 25:12 | |
| And it's because of such community that she still makes it. | 25:17 | |
| In our text today, the children of Israel | 25:28 | |
| are in Babylonian captivity. | 25:33 | |
| They have been crying desperately for God's redemption. | 25:40 | |
| And finally a redemption was on its way. | 25:48 | |
| They were at the threshold of a new day. | 25:55 | |
| But they did not know what to do with it. | 26:03 | |
| This redemption brought with it fear and trepidation. | 26:09 | |
| Babylon was about to fall as they had prayed. | 26:17 | |
| On every side there was victory. | 26:23 | |
| But the poor, crushed Israelites were terrified | 26:27 | |
| of the very thing they had so long prayed for. | 26:31 | |
| The chaos seemed too great, | 26:37 | |
| the tumult so bewildering, | 26:41 | |
| the confusion so puzzling, | 26:45 | |
| the demands of the moments so mountainous. | 26:49 | |
| To have dreams for the future, | 26:56 | |
| to have nursed lofty visions of tomorrow, | 27:01 | |
| to have labored and sacrificed, | 27:07 | |
| to make those dreams and vision a reality | 27:10 | |
| and then to watch them twisted out of design, | 27:15 | |
| cruelly broken by some unkind circumstances | 27:21 | |
| or betrayed and destroyed by some harsh, | 27:26 | |
| uncaring bureaucracy or person is enough to make | 27:30 | |
| the best among us despair and grow disillusioned | 27:37 | |
| and cynical. | 27:42 | |
| But to give up on life because of fear | 27:45 | |
| is for us to enter into an understanding of what | 27:54 | |
| the children of Israel were saying when the prophet | 27:58 | |
| Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 21:4. | 28:03 | |
| The twilight we longed for has been turned into trembling. | 28:08 | |
| The Old Testament uses a fear often indicate | 28:18 | |
| the all to familiar feeling of terror. | 28:24 | |
| Adam and Eve fled from God in the Garden of Eden. | 28:30 | |
| Adam explained later, I heard you in the garden. | 28:35 | |
| And I was afraid because I was naked. | 28:44 | |
| The basic cause of fear is the awareness of vulnerability. | 28:50 | |
| Because of sin or because of the perceived power | 28:58 | |
| of another to do harm. | 29:03 | |
| Fear is often portrayed as aroused by | 29:07 | |
| intellectual anticipation of what might happen. | 29:11 | |
| At times such anticipation does not create terror | 29:18 | |
| but finds expression in worry and anxiety. | 29:24 | |
| Fear causes us to look upon our circumstances in life | 29:32 | |
| as barriers to attainment. | 29:37 | |
| But too often the perceived barriers are really open doors | 29:42 | |
| of opportunities. | 29:47 | |
| I am fully aware that open doors come with opposition. | 29:51 | |
| The writer of First Corinthians 16:9 says, | 29:58 | |
| a great door and effectual is open unto me. | 30:03 | |
| And there are many adversaries. | 30:09 | |
| There is an opportunity in every difficulty, | 30:15 | |
| a difficulty in every opportunity. | 30:21 | |
| But that is why so many blessings are missed. | 30:27 | |
| So many heights left unscaled. | 30:32 | |
| So many fine chapters of service left unwritten. | 30:36 | |
| Most of the finest foreign missionaries | 30:42 | |
| are those who never went. | 30:46 | |
| They heard the call, they felt the urge, | 30:51 | |
| they were keen to go, | 30:59 | |
| they saw an open door, | 31:03 | |
| they saw also adversities, obstacles, | 31:07 | |
| heard discouragements. | 31:15 | |
| There was hesitation. | 31:18 | |
| There was fear. | 31:21 | |
| The vision faded and the grand vocation was never fulfilled. | 31:24 | |
| It's not that people who yield to fear lack faith. | 31:36 | |
| Often they have faith. | 31:43 | |
| But only a short-term faith. | 31:47 | |
| The kind of faith that causes them to flare up with | 31:52 | |
| fine enthusiasm over some planned project of theirs, | 31:56 | |
| some excellent cause of life's prospect. | 32:01 | |
| They firm up their plans, blow on their hands, | 32:05 | |
| and hope to get it done tomorrow. | 32:11 | |
| Or the next tomorrow or a row of tomorrows. | 32:16 | |
| But alas, tomorrow never comes for some | 32:23 | |
| because of unforeseen circumstances. | 32:30 | |
| Such as the change in political climate | 32:35 | |
| or reorganization of the workplace | 32:40 | |
| or simply because of the carelessness on somebody's part. | 32:43 | |
| Jesus knew of such short-term faith. | 32:50 | |
| He addressed this in his parable of the sower. | 32:56 | |
| He said that such seed grew. | 33:02 | |
| But they died when they were exposed to the scorching sun | 33:10 | |
| because the roots had not pushed down | 33:16 | |
| far enough to the water. | 33:19 | |
| Friends, | 33:25 | |
| as we look to the future, what we need is faith. | 33:30 | |
| As we embark on '95, | 33:39 | |
| what we need is a long-term faith. | 33:44 | |
| The kind of faith that is rooted and grounded in God. | 33:49 | |
| The kind of faith that has long vision of the future, | 33:55 | |
| that breeds patience. | 34:00 | |
| And with that patience, hope | 34:04 | |
| that with God all things are possible for us | 34:09 | |
| in God's good time. | 34:14 | |
| It is not easy to have such faith. | 34:19 | |
| It is not easy to say to somebody | 34:24 | |
| or to have somebody say to us, wait. | 34:27 | |
| What person said to God, during Isaiah's time, | 34:35 | |
| they're still saying yet, let God make speed. | 34:41 | |
| Let God hasten the work that we may see it. | 34:48 | |
| This is a very human response to grim situations. | 34:55 | |
| Even with the gloom of this new year | 35:04 | |
| as many of us in this hemisphere face gloominess, | 35:11 | |
| let us not despair. | 35:18 | |
| For despair only breeds hopelessness | 35:22 | |
| which is the mother of impotence. | 35:28 | |
| Second, Isaiah reminds us, fear not | 35:33 | |
| for I have redeemed you. | 35:41 | |
| I have called you by my name, you are mine. | 35:45 | |
| Christian friends, | 35:52 | |
| the antidote to fear is the fear of God. | 35:57 | |
| This is a fear | 36:04 | |
| that donates reverence and awe to God. | 36:09 | |
| We who fear God recognize God as the ultimate reality. | 36:15 | |
| And we respond to God as such. | 36:24 | |
| The writer of the wisdom literature says to us, | 36:29 | |
| fear is the beginning of knowledge, | 36:33 | |
| that is, taking God into account is the foundation | 36:37 | |
| of a holy life. | 36:44 | |
| Fear is expressed by walking in God's ways, | 36:47 | |
| by loving God and serving God with all our hearts | 36:52 | |
| and with all our souls. | 36:58 | |
| To fear God means to recognize God as creator | 37:02 | |
| and to know that God's plan stands forever. | 37:07 | |
| Thus, those of us who fear God can say with the Psalmist, | 37:14 | |
| we wait in hope for the Lord, God is our help | 37:20 | |
| and our shield. | 37:26 | |
| I read a story of a woman who was stricken with paralysis. | 37:31 | |
| She had been stricken since she was a girl. | 37:38 | |
| She made a new friend, someone who had just moved into town | 37:45 | |
| and the person went to visit her. | 37:49 | |
| And this friend, wanting to say something appropriately | 37:54 | |
| sympathetic remarked, | 37:58 | |
| affliction does so color life. | 38:04 | |
| Yes, said the paralytic quietly. | 38:09 | |
| And I propose to choose the color. | 38:14 | |
| I pray that God would give us such faith | 38:19 | |
| that we can believe even at the beginning of a new year | 38:25 | |
| with all the circumstances around us | 38:30 | |
| that we are not consumed by our circumstances. | 38:34 | |
| Last year we were fearful of what would happen with national | 38:41 | |
| healthcare reform but our nation failed in its attempt to | 38:47 | |
| legislate healthcare reform at a national or a state level. | 38:54 | |
| This year our fears are about the de facto healthcare reform | 39:02 | |
| that has penetrated the local market | 39:08 | |
| and has challenged leadership especially in medical centers | 39:12 | |
| like ours, to engage in right-sizing initiative | 39:16 | |
| that would threaten job security for many of our workers | 39:23 | |
| in the medical center. | 39:31 | |
| Let us be reminded that God has not promised us a | 39:34 | |
| trouble free life | 39:39 | |
| but God has promised us abiding present | 39:42 | |
| and strength not merely to sustain us | 39:48 | |
| but also to help us to live creatively and well | 39:54 | |
| amidst the changing fortune of our circumstances | 39:59 | |
| As we embark on a new semester, here in this institution, | 40:05 | |
| we must face more uncertainties. | 40:13 | |
| For the students who are coming back it will be new friends, | 40:17 | |
| new classes. | 40:22 | |
| For the seasoned faculty it would be | 40:25 | |
| making old material interesting. | 40:28 | |
| For the administrators, meeting growing needs | 40:31 | |
| while heeding budgetary constraints. | 40:36 | |
| As we face the uncertainties of the year | 40:41 | |
| I would like to ask, like the Apostle Paul, | 40:45 | |
| what can separate you from the love of Christ? | 40:50 | |
| Can affliction or hardship? | 40:55 | |
| Can persecution, hunger, | 41:01 | |
| nakedness, peril of the sword? | 41:06 | |
| Let us be reminded that Jesus contended | 41:14 | |
| with evils in all forms. | 41:19 | |
| He faced crises of great proportions | 41:23 | |
| that were calculated to make him grow weary and to give up. | 41:27 | |
| But he remained faithful to his mission. | 41:33 | |
| One asks, whence then did amazing strength of courage | 41:40 | |
| and unfailing sense of triumph? | 41:45 | |
| Surely it was in his daily renewal of his trust in God | 41:50 | |
| as he conversed with the Father and meditated on his will | 41:59 | |
| in those frequent retreats. | 42:04 | |
| But it was also in his ability to live | 42:08 | |
| in religious community. | 42:12 | |
| Such a community was essential for his earthly ministry. | 42:16 | |
| You recall that his final hour approached, | 42:22 | |
| when he went up to pray, he took with him three disciples | 42:25 | |
| and asked them to tarry with him. | 42:32 | |
| And when they fell asleep he rebuked them. | 42:35 | |
| On this, the first Sunday after Epiphany, | 42:41 | |
| when we celebrate and commemorate the baptism of the Lord | 42:46 | |
| we are invited to renew our own baptismal vows | 42:53 | |
| so that we can heed the call to inner sanctuary | 42:59 | |
| but also the call to live faithfully in Christian community. | 43:07 | |
| For it's as we find strength in community | 43:13 | |
| and quietness in God that we can face the challenges | 43:17 | |
| of this day and hear clearly the words of second Isaiah, | 43:23 | |
| fear not for I have redeemed you, | 43:30 | |
| I have called you by my name. | 43:37 | |
| You are mine. | 43:41 | |
| When you pass through the waters I'll be with you. | 43:44 | |
| And through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you. | 43:49 | |
| And when you walk through fire, you shall not be burned | 43:55 | |
| and the flame shall not consume you for I am the Lord, | 44:00 | |
| your God, the holy one of Israel, | 44:06 | |
| your Savior. | 44:12 | |
| God bless you. | 44:14 | |
| ("Away In The Manger" organ introduction) | 44:25 | |
| ♪ Away in a manger, no crib for His bed ♪ | 45:02 | |
| ♪ The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head ♪ | 45:10 | |
| ♪ The stars in the sky look down where He lay ♪ | 45:18 | |
| ♪ The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay ♪ | 45:27 | |
| ♪ The cattle are lowing, the baby awakes ♪ | 45:39 | |
| ♪ But little Lord Jesus no crying He makes ♪ | 45:47 | |
| ♪ I love Thee, Lord Jesus, look down from the sky ♪ | 45:54 | |
| ♪ And stay by my cradle 'til morning is nigh ♪ | 46:03 | |
| ♪ Be near me, Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay ♪ | 46:14 | |
| ♪ Close by me forever and love me, I pray ♪ | 46:21 | |
| ♪ Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care ♪ | 46:30 | |
| ♪ And fit us for Heaven To live with Thee there ♪ | 46:38 | |
| Paula | The Lord be with you. | 46:51 |
| Congregation | And also with you. | 46:53 |
| - | Let us pray. | 46:55 |
| Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, | 47:07 | |
| begotten of the Father before all worlds, | 47:12 | |
| God of God, light of light, very God of very God, | 47:15 | |
| hear us as we pray to you this day. | 47:21 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 47:24 | |
| Oh Christ, by your epiphany, light has shown on us | 47:30 | |
| to assure us of the fullness of salvation. | 47:35 | |
| Grant your light to all whom we shall encounter today. | 47:39 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 47:44 | |
| Oh Christ, you humbled yourself and received baptism | 47:49 | |
| at your servant's hands, showing us the way of humility. | 47:53 | |
| Grant us to serve humbly all the days of our life. | 47:57 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 48:02 | |
| Oh Christ, by your baptism you washed away every impurity | 48:07 | |
| making us children of the Father. | 48:11 | |
| Grant the grace of adoption as God's children | 48:14 | |
| to all who are searching for him. | 48:17 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 48:21 | |
| Oh Christ, by your baptism you sanctified the creation | 48:26 | |
| and opened the way of repentance | 48:30 | |
| and new life to all who are baptized. | 48:32 | |
| Make us instruments of your gospel in the world. | 48:35 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 48:41 | |
| Oh Christ, by your baptism you revealed the Trinity. | 48:46 | |
| Your Father calling you his beloved son, | 48:50 | |
| through the Spirit descending upon you. | 48:53 | |
| Renew a spirit of true worship in the royal priesthood | 48:56 | |
| of all the baptized. | 49:00 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 49:02 | |
| Oh Christ, from the waters of your baptism | 49:07 | |
| you rose up to fulfill your ministry, | 49:10 | |
| to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release | 49:13 | |
| to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, | 49:17 | |
| to set at liberty those who are oppressed | 49:21 | |
| and to heal the sick and feed the hungry. | 49:24 | |
| Empower us who are called by your name to go forth this day | 49:27 | |
| to take up the ministries to which you have called us | 49:32 | |
| that we might serve you faithfully. | 49:36 | |
| Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer. | 49:39 | |
| Oh Christ, made manifest as the true light of God, | 49:44 | |
| gladden our hearts on the joyful morning of your glory. | 49:48 | |
| Call us by our name on the great day of your coming | 49:52 | |
| and give us grace to offer unending praise | 49:57 | |
| with all the host of heaven, now and forever, amen. | 50:00 | |
| The author of the book of Hebrews reminds us | 50:08 | |
| not to neglect to do good and to share what we have, | 50:12 | |
| for such offerings are pleasing to God. | 50:16 | |
| Let us now offer both our lives | 50:21 | |
| and our gifts to Almighty God. | 50:23 | |
| (Christmas carols by the bell choir) | 50:34 | |
| ♪ Praise God, from whom all blessing flow ♪ | 56:55 | |
| ♪ Praise God, all creatures here below ♪ | 57:01 | |
| ♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 57:07 | |
| ♪ Praise God, the Father, Lord of Hosts ♪ | 57:14 | |
| ♪ Praise God, Son, and Holy Ghost ♪ | 57:20 | |
| ♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 57:26 | |
| ♪ Alleluia, alleluia ♪ | 57:32 | |
| ♪ Alleluia ♪ | 57:38 | |
| - | Let us pray. | 57:48 |
| God of heaven and earth, you call us to come in humility | 57:50 | |
| before you, bringing the offering of our very selves. | 57:55 | |
| As you reveal Jesus to be your son in his baptism | 57:59 | |
| at the hand of John, so you claimed our lives in baptism, | 58:03 | |
| that we might die to sin and be raised with him to new life. | 58:08 | |
| By your Spirit, confirm in our hearts the witness | 58:13 | |
| that Christ is Savior of the world and our own Lord. | 58:16 | |
| Accept all we have and all that we are, oh God, | 58:21 | |
| in the service of Jesus Christ and strengthen us | 58:25 | |
| with your Spirit's power. | 58:29 | |
| We make this our prayer in the name of Jesus the Christ | 58:32 | |
| who taught us to say as we pray. | 58:36 | |
| Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | 58:40 | |
| Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth | 58:45 | |
| as it is in heaven. | 58:49 | |
| Give us this day our daily bread | 58:51 | |
| and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those | 58:54 | |
| who trespass against us. | 58:58 | |
| And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. | 59:01 | |
| For thine is the kingdom, and the power | 59:06 | |
| and the glory forever, amen. | 59:09 | |
| ("Joy To The World" organ introduction) | 59:16 | |
| ♪ Joy to the world, the Lord has come ♪ | 59:44 | |
| ♪ Let earth receive her King ♪ | 59:50 | |
| ♪ Let every heart prepare Him room ♪ | 59:55 | |
| ♪ And heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing ♪ | 1:00:01 | |
| ♪ And heaven, and heaven and nature sing ♪ | 1:00:07 | |
| ♪ Joy to the world, the Savior reigns ♪ | 1:00:15 | |
| ♪ Let all their songs employ ♪ | 1:00:20 | |
| ♪ While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains ♪ | 1:00:25 | |
| ♪ Repeat the sounding joy, repeat the sounding joy ♪ | 1:00:30 | |
| ♪ Repeat, repeat the sounding joy ♪ | 1:00:36 | |
| ♪ No more let sins and sorrows grow ♪ | 1:00:44 | |
| ♪ Nor thorns infest the ground ♪ | 1:00:49 | |
| ♪ He comes to make His blessings flow ♪ | 1:00:54 | |
| ♪ Far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found ♪ | 1:01:00 | |
| ♪ Far as, far as the curse is found ♪ | 1:01:06 | |
| ♪ He rules the world with truth and grace ♪ | 1:01:14 | |
| ♪ And makes the nations prove ♪ | 1:01:19 | |
| ♪ The glories of His righteousness ♪ | 1:01:25 | |
| ♪ And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love ♪ | 1:01:31 | |
| ♪ And wonders, wonders of His love ♪ | 1:01:37 | |
| - | The Lord says to you, fear not for you are God's redeemed. | 1:02:09 |
| Go forth from this place in the knowledge | 1:02:14 | |
| of that power of God to redeem and save us. | 1:02:17 | |
| And may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, | 1:02:21 | |
| the love of God and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit | 1:02:24 | |
| be with you this day and forevermore, amen. | 1:02:28 | |
| (classical organ music) | 1:02:41 |