James T. Cleland - "An Old Sermon" (September 14, 1969) / Duke Chapel Recordings / Duke Digital Repository

(soft organ music)

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(faint voice talking)

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Beloved, let us now bow our heads,

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for our prayer of confession to Almighty God.

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Our Heavenly Father we are contrite in heart,

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as we pause now to make our confessions before thee.

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Thou knowest our hearts better than we know them,

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and yet, in spite of that

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we still need to express our sins in thy presence

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and with one another.

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To acknowledge that we have fallen far short,

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that we have not beaten our swords into plowshares

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nor our spears into pruning hooks.

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Nation still lifts up sword against nation,

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mankind still yearns to make war.

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We who call ourselves by thy name

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do not act as though we love our neighbors as ourselves,

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and we are more careful to protect our pride

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than we are to protect our character,

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and we admit this now in thy presence.

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We often expect of thee the impossible O' God.

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We have not been poor in spirit

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and yet we assume we shall enter the kingdom of heaven.

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We have not been very meek,

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and yet we act as though we expect to inherit the earth.

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We have not been merciful,

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but even now we are bold enough to ask for mercy.

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We have not been pure in heart

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and still we wonder why we do not see God,

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and we put the blame on thee O' Father,

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for being so hard to find,

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and sometimes say that thou hast died

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or are absent

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or have gone away.

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We often are unwilling to endure persecution

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for righteousness sake,

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and yet we claim the kingdom of heaven,

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but now our father in thy presence,

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we are aware of how wrong it all seems,

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how foolish and illogical,

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how we have estranged ourselves from thee,

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but we find grace in our hearts

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prompting us to repent

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and to seek thy forgiveness.

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Grant us more grace now that we may amend our ways,

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and live godly lives for thy name's honor and glory,

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through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen.

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The scriptures comfort us with a question,

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who is like unto God,

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who forgives sin

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and pardons our inequity?

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The answer implied of course is

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that there is no one who is like God in this respect,

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for He alone it is,

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who is completely pure and sinless

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and totally love

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and therefore able to forgive.

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Our hope lies in the assurance

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that He is this and that He does that.

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So be it,

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and now let us hear the reading of the word of God

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from the Old Testament.

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The Old Testament scripture reading

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will be taken from Exodus 3:1-6.

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"Now Moses was keeping the flock

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of his father-in-law Jethro,

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the priest of Midian,

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and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness

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and came to Horeb the mountain of God,

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and the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire

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out of the midst of a bush

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and he looked and lo the bush was burning

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and yet it was not consumed,

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and Moses said,

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"I will turn aside and see this great sight,

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why the bush is not burnt."

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When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see,

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God called to him out of the bush, "Moses, Moses,"

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and he said, "Here am I."

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Then God said, "Do not come near,

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put off your shoes from your feet

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for the place in which you are standing is holy ground."

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and he said, "I am the God of your father,

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the God of Abraham,

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the God of Isaac

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and the God of Jacob."

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and Moses hid his face,

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for he was afraid to look at God."

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(soft organ music)

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We are accustomed to substitution,

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when the football team is on the field

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and the game is being played,

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but occasionally is necessary to make substitutions

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on account of the team having been on the field

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when the team is going

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to give leadership in the service of worship in chapel.

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We're happy to have all of you here today for this service

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designed by and for primarily our football squad

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and Bob Morris our center

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was to have read the New Testament lesson today,

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but he was clouded pretty firmly on the nose

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yesterday in practice

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and this morning sounds as though he has a very deep

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and heavy cold

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and for that reason is not reading our New Testament lesson

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which is Luke 13,

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beginning with the 22nd verse.

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"Jesus went on his way through towns and villages,

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teaching and journeying towards Jerusalem,

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and someone said to him,

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"Lord, will those who are going to be saved be few?"

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He said to them,

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"Strive to enter by the narrow door,

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for many I tell you will seek to enter

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and will not be able,

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but once the householder has risen up and shut the door,

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you will begin to stand outside

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and knock at the door saying, "Lord, open to us."

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He will answer you,

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"I did not know where you come from."

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Then you will begin to say,

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"We ate and drank and your presence

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and you taught in our streets."

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but he would say,

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"I tell you,

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I do not know where you come from.

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Depart from me all you workers of inequity."

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Then you will weep and gnash your teeth,

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when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,

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and all the prophets in the kingdom of God

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and you yourselves thrust out.

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Man we'll come from the east

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and from the west

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and from the north and the south

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and we'll sit at table in the kingdom of God,

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and behold some who are last,

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will be first.

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Some who are first,

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will be last." Amen.

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(soft organ music)

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It has been traditional

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in the September preseason football practice times

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to have at the second one of our two services,

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a brief presentation

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of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

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This is as most of you know a national organization.

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The president of this national organization,

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this year now for the second year in a row

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has been Mr. William D. Murray,

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who lives in Durham,

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former head football coach at Duke University,

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and now executive secretary

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of the American Football Coaches Association.

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Many of America's greatest names in athletics,

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of all kinds of athletics,

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amateur and professional

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are among not only the members

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but the leaders of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

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We have a group here at Duke.

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The president of it is Nader Beydoun

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and he will be the second one

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to give a brief report this morning.

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The one who will give the first report

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is another member of our FCA here at Duke,

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who along with Nader Beydoun

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attended one of the now numerous national conferences

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of the FCA

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which were held this past summer.

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About 11 years ago,

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the FCA began with one small national conference

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in the summer

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and it now has 13 large national conferences.

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One of which was attended by these two fine young members

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of our football team.

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Wes Chesson will make the first report,

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and this will be followed by a report from Nader Beydoun.

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As Chaplin Wilson said Nader and I

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were fortunate enough this summer

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to attend the Fellowship of Christian Athletes conference

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at Black Mountain, North Carolina.

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I had heard for many years about these conferences,

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but due to various things popping up during the summer,

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I was unfortunate enough

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not to be able to attend until this past summer.

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One of the main advantages of these conferences

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is the opportunity you have to meet athletes

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from all over the country.

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There were boys there for Florida, Alabama, Texas

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and many other parts of the United States.

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I was fortunate enough to become friends

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and get to know many of the football players

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from the University of North Carolina

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and the University of South Carolina,

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and I think one of the main advantages

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of getting to know these guys

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is being able to sit down at these conferences

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and just talk about religious aspects

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and everyday problems

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and you could relate to boys that you knew

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who had the same problems you did

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and the same interest

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and the same ideas,

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and these were very worthwhile and very meaningful.

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Another part of the conference was the athletic competition

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and due to number of athletes that were there

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from many schools, high schools and colleges

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throughout the nation,

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the competition was very keen

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and there was plenty of athletic work going on

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at the end of the day

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you knew you found some good competition.

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The most important beneficial aspect of the conference,

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was the religious experience that one had there.

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The leaders and the speakers

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who were at the conference,

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were just tremendous as they spoke of Christ in their life,

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what He had meant in the course of events during their life

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and the experience they had,

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led one to look into his own life

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and find meaning and importance

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and just what Christ meant to him.

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When the conference was over,

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I looked back on it

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and I really hated to leave Black Mountain.

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It had been such a good week

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and I was looking forward to the opportunity of going again,

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and I think it's an experience which I shall never forget.

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and one I'm looking forward to again,

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perhaps this coming summer.

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The very first chance I had to attend a FCA conference

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was last January

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when I went out to Estes Park, Colorado.

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When I came back from that conference,

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I was pretty much inspired

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and I thought it was a very meaningful experience

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that I had no idea

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what a tremendous impact and experience like that

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could have on one's life

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so I attended another one,

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the one that Wes and I went to last June.

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It was one of a little greater capacity.

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I thought it was bigger

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and it was more well organized and all.

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There were about 500 or five to 600 athletes there

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from high school and college

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and they divided us up into about 28 huddle groups.

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Wes and I were the huddle leaders

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of our respective groups

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and these groups we would sit down

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and we would discuss,

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share each other's ideas

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and each other's thoughts

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about our spiritual life

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and you know, other phases of our life.

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These groups also serve

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like Wes said as our teams

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to create a kind of competition

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to take up our time during the day when we would have...

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And then later on at night

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we had the speakers

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and there were many famous celebrities there

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and professional athletes that spoke to us

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and this was very inspiring.

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I think they realized,

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the people who run the conference,

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I think they realized that there is a vacuum created

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in an athlete's life

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that only the competition could fill,

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whereas they made us realize

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I think that there is another vacuum

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that is created in a person's spiritual life,

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that as they put it

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running the great race of faith could fill.

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At the end of the conference,

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I think the most...

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The thing that stands out in my mind the most,

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was the very last meeting that we held,

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and the speaker at that meeting

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was a fellow by the name of Dr. Lauren Young.

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Many of you probably heard of him before

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because he is a Duke alumnus

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and ex track star here.

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We hope to have him speak at one of the FCA meetings

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sometime this fall.

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We hope as early as possible

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and I can't express how much I feel for this man,

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how much he has impressed me

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and the only thing I could do is just urge you,

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if at all possible

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to try and hear this man speak sometime.

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(soft organ music)

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The Lord be with you,

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And with your spirit.

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Let us pray.

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Almighty God, our heavenly father,

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we bless and justify thy holy name,

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for the gift of thy most dearly beloved son

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Jesus Christ our redeemer,

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and for all His apostles,

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prophets, martyrs, evangelists, teachers and pastors,

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whom He had sent below unto the world,

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for thy holy church universal,

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the ministry of the laity

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and the ministry of the ordained,

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we do give the hearty thanks,

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for the privilege which each one of us has,

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bearing witness to the saving grace of our Lord,

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we express our gratitude.

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We thank thee for life,

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for measure of health,

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for friends, for food, for clothing

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and for all the purposes of Christ

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which gives meaning to these earthly goods,

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we make our prayer of thanks in Jesus name, amen.

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God of our fathers,

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as we are acquire here in this place of worship,

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and in this time of worship,

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we ask for the fulfillment of our spiritual needs

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and of our physical needs.

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We have come to ask thee to be to us,

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what our fathers and grandfathers,

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and all of our forefathers,

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have testified that thou has been to them.

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For we too are a generation tossed about,

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by new storms, old uncertainties,

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great needs and challenges, frontiers,

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we need in our situation a basic security,

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which can come only from thee.

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In our day we long for justice,

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for order, for brotherhood

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and for peace.

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We need the strength to endure.

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We need strength to endure an athletic contest

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in trials of patients,

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in times of temptation

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and when leadership is demanded

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and is expected of us.

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Those who have gone before us

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as coaches and as teachers,

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as prophets, evangelists,

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scripture writers have said,

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that thou has been to them a pillar of cloud by day

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and a pillar of fire by night,

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That thou it's laid down actually.

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That thy word was a lamp under their feet

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and a light onto their path.

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O' God be that to us.

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We too are pilgrims and pioneers

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not able to predict even the end of this day,

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much less the end of our journey.

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Not knowing what we shall encounter along the way.

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O' God of the pilgrims and pioneers,

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lead us in paths of righteousness,

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for thy name's sake.

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Lead us in the paths of progress,

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of sane order

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and of peace

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and help us in our time

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and in our own place to see the burning bush

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and to know its meaning.

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Give us the grace to have the reverence

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which Moses had.

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Our fathers have said O' God

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that thou hast also been to them a friend.

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Their unseen companion in the journey.

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In whom they could confide and trust.

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Be that to us.

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Give us grace to make it possible for thee,

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to be that to us,

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for we to need friendship.

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While we bless thy name for earthly friends

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some of whom sit beside us here in chapel,

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others of whom roam with us,

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some are at home,

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all of whom by their care

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and beauty to our lives.

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Nevertheless we find a need to know a friendship

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beyond the earthly.

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To feel the everlasting arms beneath us

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and even to speak unto thee,

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as a man speaks with a friend.

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O' God as we think of our university this morning,

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of our city, our nation,

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of our whole world,

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we're driven to ask for the grace,

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which Christian faith offers.

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All of the graces which it offers.

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We need light.

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We have asked for and received thy forgiveness.

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We stand in need of love, of fairness,

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as we ponder the unrest in our own land

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and in the world,

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we pray for the forgiveness of those who incite trouble

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by their hot words.

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We pray for the forgiveness of those who incite trouble

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by their cold attitudes.

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Those who incite riots by in plain speech

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and those who incite riots by their greedy unconcern.

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Forgive give all of them O' God

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and forgive us,

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for our involvement.

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Help us to change what we can change in our time.

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What cannot be changed,

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help us to accept,

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and give us wisdom to know the difference.

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As we think of our sick,

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our confused, our poor, our lonely,

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our defeated, our orphans,

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we remember again,

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the testimony of our forefathers

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that thou has been to them,

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in those times, a savior,

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a great position, a healer,

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a heavenly father, a friend,

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be that now to us today,

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we ask in Christ's name,

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remembering thee words thee has taught us to use in prayer.

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Our father who art in heaven,

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Hallowed be thy name,

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thy kingdom come,

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thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Give us this day our daily bread

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and forgive us our trespasses

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as we forgive those who trespass against us

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and lead us not into temptation,

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but deliver us from evil,

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for thine is the kingdom

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and the power and the glory forever, amen.

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(soft organ music)

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Let the words of my mouth

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and the meditations of our hearts,

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be acceptable in thy sight,

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for Lord our strength and our redeemer, amen.

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It was last year when coach Hart

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asked if I would speak at our football Sunday service,

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in the chapel this September,

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and I agreed.

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It was 10 days ago

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when the chaplain asked me

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if I would speak this Sunday.

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I agreed on one condition.

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It would have to be an old sermon.

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This past week was the week that was, he agreed.

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Now it is an old sermon,

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it has been preached at Duke

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on the 28th of September 1947,

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on the 26th of November 1950,

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on the 26th of April 1957,

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on the 1st of March 1964,

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and now on the 15th of September 1969,

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and I would be embarrassed to tell you,

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in her many other pulpits,

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in America and overseas,

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confession is good for the soul

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but it's bad for the reputation.

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(congregation laughing)

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And I want to tell you before I get to it

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why I choose this particular sermon.

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I call it the Jack Kuhn's sermon.

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Now that name may not mean much to the athletes

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who are here at Duke just now,

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but to you older people who've been connected Duke

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it's a name you will never forget.

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I think he was a native of Maine.

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He certainly behaved like a Maniac.

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He graduated from Colby College

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with Latin, Greek and Mathematics in his degree,

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not because he wanted it,

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but that's what a BA carried in those days.

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Latin, Greek and math.

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He graduated early in the century

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and a week later pitched his first game,

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for the Philadelphia athletics.

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On the 1st of September, 1906

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he pitched and won a 24 in game

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against the Red Soxs.

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For one, you think they might've scored

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those three earlier for them,

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but they didn't.

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I think it's the longest game

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ever pitched by one person in the American league,

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the national league has equally it.

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In 1910, he pitched 13 shutouts

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and 12 one run games.

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In a world series

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he beat the Chicago Cubs three times in five days.

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I think he's the first man to have won three games

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in a world series.

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He came to Duke to coach in 1929 from Princeton

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and lived on the campus.

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The last entries you go toward the gymnasium,

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last entry on the right

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with his wife from everybody knew as Ms. Mary.

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She was Roman Catholic and he was a quacker.

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So he drove her down to mass

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and then sat outside the Catholic church

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and listened in on the Duke service,

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and he was a refashioned sermon christian,

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at least of my sermons

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I remember one Monday when I met him

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he said...

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(Man grunting)

and I said all right,

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what was wrong.

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He said, 'You won the game,

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but you didn't start hitting

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till there were two out in the eighth.

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You know one of those sermons

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where nothing happens for the last three minutes.

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I said to him, "Well, you're a lousy coach."

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He said "What do you mean?"

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I said, "I wasn't hitting.

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I was pitching."

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He believed that I preached only one good sermon,

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and this is it.

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It's a sermon on Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

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and he pretended he couldn't remember their names

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and called it that Tom Dick and Harry sermon,

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and two weeks after he died,

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I preached it here.

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He died in the 15th of April, 1957

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and the sermon Patty's inscription,

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now this sermon is dedicated to Jack coach Kuhns

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who died the 15th of April, 1957, age 74.

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I was coaching in those days,

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coaching the soccer team

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and we became good friends,

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We stayed great friends,

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and this is his sermon

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and I thought since it was athletic Sunday,

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I bring it to you once again.

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Now if any of you have heard it before

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and remember it,

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will you just tip toe out quietly

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or will you sleep quietly?

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Let the rest hear it.

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The sermon began when I was sitting back there

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during the summer, strange summer.

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I was here the whole time

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and I worshiped for 10 Sundays in succession

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in the Duke chapel

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and preached on but one of the Sundays,

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and so back there where the technician controls the voice,

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I sat for nine Sundays.

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I had a worm's eye view of the congregation

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instead of a bird's-eye view,

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and I was amazed at the attitude of some folk

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and surprised that the behavior of others,

46:08

careless, slovenly, lackadaisical, casual.

46:12

They were just not church broken

46:19

and for some reason,

46:23

certain words of scripture kept running through my mind.

46:24

I'm the God of Abraham,

46:29

God of Isaac,

46:31

the God of Jacob.

46:33

Now why should the persons beside me

46:35

in the name of the Duke chapel

46:38

and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their God

46:41

have joined hands in the stream of my consciousness?

46:45

Why was there such an association of ideas?

46:50

Well let's look at these three venerable patriarchs.

46:53

See if they can supply a reason.

46:56

They lived before the dawn of reputable history,

46:59

these three ancestors of the Jews.

47:03

They lived in the fertile crescent,

47:08

that inhabit the protection of land

47:10

that swings up the Tigris, Euphrates rivers,

47:12

crossed the mountains of Armenia,

47:16

down through Syria and Palestine,

47:18

across the Sinai desert into Egypt.

47:22

They are a father, a son,

47:26

and a grandson.

47:29

Three figures whom history may claim as genuine

47:31

but up whom legend has taken possession.

47:34

They're pictured for us by storytellers, by poets

47:39

and as a result they are as alive today

47:44

as they were in their own time.

47:46

Let me make the thumbnail sketches of them.

47:49

Abraham was a pioneer,

47:52

a man of itching feet.

47:55

I don't mean by that athlete's foot, no, no.

48:00

Just a man who broke trails for others to follow.

48:03

He never hungered for a fight

48:07

but he did do battle,

48:09

and that right well on occasion.

48:12

As it was said of one character in Homer's "Odyssey",

48:15

when he greatly thought he nobly dared,

48:18

that might be said of Abraham.

48:22

He was a soul of generosity,

48:24

a kind hearted man,

48:26

nothing mean about him.

48:28

Think of his treatment of his nephew Lot.

48:28

He took possession of the land

48:33

not by age, by position,

48:34

Abraham had the right to the first choice,

48:37

but he gave the first choice to Lot.

48:41

I don't know what you would have done,

48:44

but I know what I'd have done.

48:45

I had done what the Lot did,

48:47

choose the best land

48:49

and Abraham let him have it.

48:51

He's known in the Bible as the friend of God.

48:55

Now wouldn't you think that would be a common phrase

48:58

in the Bible?

49:00

To my best knowledge it's used only of Abraham,

49:02

the friend of God,

49:08

and when Paul,

49:09

Saint Paul tried to think of a man of faith,

49:10

he chose Abraham.

49:14

That's Abraham then,

49:16

a pioneer, of a soul of generosity

49:17

a devoutly religious man,

49:19

God was at the center of his life.

49:21

I am the God of Abraham.

49:24

Isaac was the son of Abraham

49:27

and a very different person.

49:28

He was a stay at home.

49:30

He had only two adventures in his life.

49:32

One when he found his wife,

49:35

one when he almost lost her,

49:38

and that was enough for Abraham.

49:40

He went home

49:42

and stayed put.

49:43

He had an infinite capacity for sitting still.

49:45

He's the first pacifist in the Bible.

49:49

Think of it in the incident of the wells.

49:51

He dug a well for his tribesmen.

49:53

Another tribe moved in

49:56

and said this is our well

49:57

and he said all right.

49:59

He dug a second,

50:01

other tribes moved in and claimed it,

50:01

he said all right.

50:03

He dug a third well

50:05

and when nobody moved in,

50:06

he called it Rehoboth, very well.

50:09

He was dominated by everyone,

50:14

his father overshadowed him,

50:16

his wife hand picked him

50:17

and his younger son cheated him,

50:19

but it never upset Isaac.

50:22

He had the mildest manners

50:25

and the gentlest heart

50:26

and as you might guess,

50:28

he was a religious conservative.

50:30

He did nothing exciting for God.

50:33

He worshiped his father's God,

50:37

he was brought up that way.

50:39

That's Isaac then,

50:41

a stay at home,

50:42

a gentle soul,

50:44

a religious conservative,

50:45

I am the God of Isaac.

50:47

Jacob was the son of Isaac

50:51

and a very different person from his father.

50:52

He was quite the political economists,

50:56

called an entrepreneur,

50:59

which is a highfalutin word for businessman.

51:02

Jacob was the first trader of the old Testament,

51:06

but the very helm of the Bible.

51:12

He even tried to get God into a partnership

51:16

by offering Him 10% of the gross receipts

51:20

if God would do all the work.

51:25

Now that's something.

51:27

I always hope that isn't the basis of the tie.

51:30

He was skimming, ambitious, self seeking,

51:34

yet he was steady, consistent.

51:38

He got what he wanted.

51:41

He was also a rascal.

51:44

Now this is a different point from businessman.

51:47

He was a businessman and a rascal.

51:50

He cheated this father,

51:55

he defrauded his brother,

51:57

he tricked his uncle.

52:00

His motto might well have been,

52:02

if the wattle will be gold,

52:03

let it be gold

52:06

and I'll help.

52:08

If I had to meet Jacob,

52:10

I'd leave my pocket book and my watch at home,

52:11

because after I met him I wouldn't have them.

52:16

I don't know how he'd get them,

52:20

but he'd get them.

52:22

That's a tribute from a Scott to a Jew.

52:24

(congregation laughing)

52:28

And he was a man of religious sensitivity.

52:31

Two of the most beautiful stories in the Bible

52:36

about the relationship between heaven and earth,

52:39

are told of Jacob.

52:42

Jacob's ladder at Bethel

52:45

and that tremendous scene

52:47

where he wrestles with the spirit of God

52:50

and refuses to let go until God blesses him

52:53

and God says,

52:56

"If I bless you, I shall lame you.".

52:57

He said, "Lame me but bless me."

53:00

He walked lame the rest of his life

53:03

but he walked with a new name.

53:05

A name that has come down to the present, Israel.

53:07

That's Jacob, a businessman and a rascal.

53:12

A man religious sensitivity,

53:16

I'm the God of Jacob.

53:17

Three very different men.

53:19

Pioneer, pacifist, a rascal.

53:22

If you had to put football jerseys on them

53:26

what colors would you use?

53:27

Crimson for Abraham

53:30

since red's in bad repute.

53:33

Neutral gray, very neutral, for Isaac.

53:36

He's far enough back

53:39

you'd never see it.

53:40

Jacob all black and white or turn that

53:42

not like a soccer Jersey.

53:45

Now we you notice this fact,

53:48

it's the one fact I want you to carry away.

53:49

These three different men had the same God,

53:52

and the same God had these three different men.

53:59

They were all religious.

54:04

Abraham devoutly so,

54:05

Isaac conservatively so,

54:07

Jacob sensitively so on occasion.

54:10

I who I'm the God of Abraham, the adventurer,

54:14

I'm also the God of Isaac that gentle man

54:17

and believe it or not of Jacob,

54:22

that lovable old rascal.

54:25

Do you grasp now why that text kept hunting me,

54:29

as I looked around at my fellow worshipers

54:32

in the Duke chapel.

54:34

Abraham sat over there.

54:36

Isaac sat over here.

54:39

Jacob sat all over the chapel.

54:42

I wasn't thinking of three historic characters

54:46

emboldened in the early pages of Genesis.

54:50

I was thinking of men and women,

54:53

yes women too,

54:56

worshiping around me in the 20th century,

54:58

a 20th century Abraham,

55:01

male and female,

55:02

a 20th century Isaac,

55:03

male and female,

55:05

a 20th century Jacob,

55:06

male and female.

55:07

I was thinking of you

55:09

and your brother

55:11

and his wife

55:13

and all the cousins

55:14

and the uncles and the aunts

55:15

all worshiping the one God,

55:17

I am still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

55:19

There have always been Abraham's in the church.

55:23

Thank God for them.

55:26

They are the spiritual pioneers,

55:28

men and women

55:30

who run interference for God.

55:30

Build roads between heaven and earth,

55:33

challenge legislatures in the name of God,

55:36

in perfect spiritual truth for men's welfare

55:40

and the amazing thing is,

55:43

the church has always found them.

55:45

That's Paul cleaving through the narrowness

55:49

of Judaistic Christianity

55:53

and giving us a heritage of freedom.

55:56

There's Luther loving the Roman Catholic church,

55:58

but having to oppose it again for the sake of freedom.

56:02

There's John Wesley,

56:06

finding a middle way he possibly could

56:08

between the stodgy Episcopalians

56:11

and the arthritic Presbyterians,

56:15

and didn't go right down

56:18

and not all Abrahams are clergyman.

56:19

They are layman,

56:23

man and women.

56:24

They want the church and the city and the country

56:26

which has foundations

56:29

whose builder and maker is God,

56:30

and still the God of Abraham.

56:32

They've always been Isaacs in the church

56:35

but God fought it.

56:37

They are good followers men and women

56:39

who are not much use except in the ranks,

56:41

but they are the ranks,

56:43

but not well known individually

56:45

because they're so numerous collectively.

56:47

They sing in the choir,

56:50

the person next to them has a good voice and can carry on

56:51

They're better ushers than they are deacons.

56:55

They wait tables,

56:58

they carry chairs,

57:00

they are never in the limelight.

57:01

I can give you a unique example

57:03

from my own church in Scotland.

57:04

We had a choir that was utterly unique.

57:06

It was so bad

57:10

we came to hear it every Sunday

57:11

wondering what can it do this Sunday?

57:14

And it always did something.

57:18

Every Sunday was a new high and low,

57:21

and we just sat in thaw,

57:26

in trans amused

57:29

and then one day,

57:31

a man who was over 18,

57:33

I don't remember his name,

57:35

we just called him old Archie,

57:37

left his pew near the back

57:39

and came down the aisle with his hymnbook,

57:42

shaken as he walked

57:45

and joined the choir to help.

57:47

and so embarrassed the congregation,

57:51

that we fired the organist,

57:55

got hold of a new choir

57:57

and three years from that date,

57:59

won first place,

58:02

for a choir in a church.

58:04

with a membership under 1000

58:07

in the Glasgow Musical Festival.

58:09

Isaac did it,

58:14

not Abraham, not Jacob,

58:15

Isaac over 18,

58:18

God used him

58:21

and there has always been Jacobs in the church,

58:23

and I believe we can say thank God for that.

58:26

Most folk are like him, spiritual mixtures.

58:29

How can I be generous, rascally and religious,

58:32

cheeking and kind.

58:36

You think of Saint Augustine,

58:37

the great father of the church

58:40

and also father of an illegitimate child.

58:43

Now he wasn't one because he was the other,

58:46

but he was both, Jacob.

58:49

John Newton so wild and dissolute as a youth

58:51

that he left England for Africa

58:55

because there was more room to sin.

58:57

Became an officer in the slave ship,

59:02

became a slave.

59:04

Was converted, turned his life around

59:06

and became the second founder of the Episcopal church,

59:08

and we sing his hymns.

59:12

Glorious things of the unspoken,

59:14

Zion city of our God.

59:14

How sweet the name of Jesus sounds

59:18

in a believer's ears.

59:21

Did you notice what Jesus said to the Jews

59:23

in the New Testament lesson,

59:25

that they'd be shut out of the kingdom,

59:28

and what big watch was men and women

59:31

coming from the north

59:34

from the south

59:35

from the east and the west,

59:35

that is non Jews

59:37

and sitting down in the kingdom

59:38

with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

59:41

So to be children of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

59:46

isn't a matter of genealogical pedigree,

59:48

it's a matter of the spirit.

59:52

So make up your mind what you are.

59:55

Are you an Abraham?

59:59

Pioneer, God needs you to be up front for Him.

1:00:01

Are you an Isaac?

1:00:05

Quiet person, God needs you, why?

1:00:07

To consolidate the gains that Abraham makes.

1:00:11

Are you a Jacob?

1:00:14

God needs you, why?

1:00:16

Because he needs heads,

1:00:17

as well as hearts.

1:00:19

When he'll ask you to put that head

1:00:21

under the control of love

1:00:24

because you see religion at its best

1:00:26

is not a song sung in unison,

1:00:28

it's a song sung in harmony,

1:00:32

which is more difficult and much richer.

1:00:35

It's the harmony of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

1:00:39

under the baton of the same God

1:00:43

for He's still the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

1:00:47

Let us pray.

1:00:54

O' thou who at the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,

1:00:55

we blessed thy holy name

1:01:00

in great thankfulness,

1:01:01

that thou at still the God

1:01:03

of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, amen.

1:01:05

(soft organ music)

1:01:13

James T. Cleland - "An Old Sermon" (September 14, 1969)

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