Debra K. Brazzel - "Freedom?" (May 28, 1995)

Download
- Rights
- Limited Re-Use
  CC BY-NC 4.0
  More Rights Info
- Files (1)
- MP4
- Please be patient with media downloads. They are often large files.
Share

Embed Code
<iframe src='//idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4mw28v97?embed=true' height='500px' width='100%' frameborder='0' marginwidth='0' marginheight='0' scrolling='no' allowfullscreen></iframe>
Permalink

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4mw28v97
Skip to Item Info

Loading the media player...

Files for this Item

Transcript

Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.

-	Good morning.	0:11
	We'd like to welcome you to Duke Chapel.	0:12
	Today, at 5:00 p.m., there will be an organ recital	0:15
	in the chapel, and we hope you will be able to come	0:20
	to hear Mr. Bobby King.	0:22
	Immediately following the service today,	0:25
	there will be a reception in the chapel basement,	0:27
	hosted by the congregation at Duke Chapel.	0:30
	We'd also like to extend a special word of thanks	0:33
	and welcome to our Duke summer chapel choir,	0:36
	the membership is open and no auditions are necessary	0:38
	for those who are interested in singing for the summer.	0:42
	Let us continue our worship as you stand for the greeting.	0:46
	Create in me a clean heart, O God.	0:54
Congregation	And renew a right spirit within me.	0:58
-	Open my lips, O Lord.	1:01
Congregation	And my mouth shall proclaim your praise.	1:03
	(processional organ music)	1:09
	♪ Love divine, all loves excelling ♪	1:47
	♪ Joy of heaven, to earth come down ♪	1:52
	♪ Fix in us thy humble dwelling ♪	1:57
	♪ All thy faithful mercies crown ♪	2:02
	♪ Jesus thou art all compassion ♪	2:07
	♪ Pure, unbounded love thou art ♪	2:12
	♪ Visit us with thy salvation ♪	2:17
	♪ Enter every trembling heart ♪	2:22
	♪ Breathe, O breathe thy loving Spirit ♪	2:29
	♪ Into every troubled breast ♪	2:34
	♪ Let us all in thee inherit ♪	2:39
	♪ Let us find that second rest ♪	2:44
	♪ Take away our bent to sinning ♪	2:49
	♪ Alpha and Omega be ♪	2:54
	♪ End of faith, as its beginning ♪	2:59
	♪ Set our hearts at liberty ♪	3:04
	♪ Come, Almighty to deliver ♪	3:12
	♪ Let us all thy life receive ♪	3:17
	♪ Suddenly return and never ♪	3:22
	♪ Nevermore thy temples leave ♪	3:27
	♪ Thee we would be always blessing ♪	3:33
	♪ Serve thee as thy hosts above ♪	3:37
	♪ Pray and praise thee without ceasing ♪	3:42
	♪ Glory in thy perfect love ♪	3:47
	♪ Finish, then, thy new creation ♪	4:12
	♪ Pure and spotless let us be ♪	4:17
	♪ Let us see thy great salvation ♪	4:22
	♪ Perfectly restored in thee ♪	4:28
	♪ Changed from glory into glory ♪	4:32
	♪ Till in heaven we take our place ♪	4:38
	♪ Till we cast our crowns before thee ♪	4:43
	♪ Lost in wonder, love, and praise ♪	4:48
-	Let us pray together the prayer of confession,	5:00
	found on page 890 in the hymnal.	5:02
	Let us pray.	5:13
All	Most merciful God,	5:15
	we confess that we have sinned against you	5:17
	in thought, word, and deed,	5:20
	by what we have done, and by what we have left undone.	5:23
	We have not loved you with our whole heart;	5:28
	we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.	5:31
	We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.	5:34
	For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,	5:39
	have mercy on us and forgive us;	5:42
	that we may delight in your will,	5:45
	and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name.	5:47
	Amen.	5:51
-	Almighty God, have mercy on us.	6:01
	Forgive all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ.	6:04
	Strengthen us in all goodness.	6:08
	And by the power of the Holy Spirit,	6:11
	keep us in eternal life.	6:14
	Amen.	6:17
	Please be seated.	6:18
-	Let us pray together the prayer for illumination.	6:27
All	Open our hearts and minds, O God.	6:31
	By the power of your Holy Spirit.	6:35
	So that as the word of God proclaimed	6:37
	we may hear your message (mumbles) this day.	6:41
-	The gospel lesson is from the book of John.	6:46
	Chapter 17, verses 20 through 26.	6:49
	I ask not only on behalf of these,	6:54
	but also on behalf of those who will believe in me	6:57
	through their word, that they may all be one,	7:00
	as you, Father, are in me and I am in you.	7:05
	May they also be in us, so that the world may believe	7:09
	that you have sent me.	7:14
	The glory that you have given me,	7:16
	I have given them so that they may be one, as we are one.	7:19
	I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one	7:25
	so that the world may know that you have sent me	7:30
	and have loved them, even as you have loved me.	7:34
	Father, I desire that these also whom you have given me	7:39
	may be with me where I am to see my glory,	7:44
	which you have given me, because you loved me	7:48
	before the foundation of the world.	7:52
	Righteous Father, the world does not know you.	7:55
	But I know you and these know that you have sent me.	7:59
	I made your name known to them and I will make it known	8:04
	so that the love with which you have loved me	8:09
	may be in them and I in them.	8:12
	This is the word of the Lord.	8:16
All	Thanks be to God.	8:19
-	The second lesson is from the book of Acts,	8:23
	chapter 16, verses 16 through 34.	8:26
	One day, as we were going to the place of prayer,	8:31
	we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination	8:34
	and brought her owners a great deal	8:39
	of money by fortune telling.	8:41
	While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out,	8:44
	"These men are slaves of the most high God,	8:48
	"who proclaim to you a way of salvation."	8:52
	She kept doing this for many days,	8:56
	but Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit,	8:59
	"I order you to come out of her."	9:04
	And it came out that very hour.	9:07
	But when her owners saw that their hope of making money	9:10
	was gone, they seized Paul and Silas, and dragged them	9:14
	into the marketplace before the authorities.	9:18
	When they had brought them before the magistrates,	9:22
	they said, "These men are disturbing our city.	9:25
	"They are Jews and are advocating customs	9:29
	"that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe."	9:32
	The crowd joined in attacking them.	9:37
	And the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing	9:40
	and ordered them beaten with rods.	9:43
	After they had given them a severe flogging,	9:46
	they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer	9:50
	to keep them securely.	9:53
	Following these instructions, he put them	9:55
	in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.	9:58
	About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying	10:03
	and singing hymns to God and the prisoners	10:07
	were listening to them.	10:10
	Suddenly, there was an earthquake so violent	10:12
	that the foundations of the prison were shaken	10:15
	and immediately all the doors opened	10:18
	and everyone's chains were unfastened.	10:21
	When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors	10:26
	were wide open, he drew his sword	10:29
	and was about to kill himself since he supposed	10:32
	that the prisoners had escaped.	10:36
	But Paul shouted in a loud voice,	10:39
	"Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."	10:42
	The jailer called for lights and rushing in,	10:46
	he fell down, trembling before Paul and Silas.	10:50
	Then, he brought them outside and said,	10:54
	"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"	10:57
	They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus,	11:01
	"and you will be saved, you and your household."	11:05
	They spoke the word of the Lord to him	11:09
	and to all who were in his house.	11:12
	At the same hour of the night,	11:15
	he took them and washed their wounds.	11:18
	Then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.	11:21
	He brought them up into the house and set food before them.	11:26
	And he and his household rejoiced	11:30
	that he had become a believer in God.	11:33
	This is the word of the Lord.	11:38
All	Thanks be to God.	11:41
-	This weekend, we celebrate Memorial Day.	11:57
	It is a time to remember the men and women	12:01
	who gave their lives to protect our freedom.	12:03
	And while, for many, Memorial Day	12:07
	has become a mini-vacation, a time to take the kids	12:09
	to the beach, or catch up around the house,	12:13
	it is important that we not forget the meaning of this day.	12:16
	This year, we've had commemorations	12:21
	of the 50-year anniversary of the end of World War II.	12:23
	And the 20-year anniversary	12:27
	of the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam.	12:29
	The pictures, the stories of lives touched	12:32
	and lives lost have reminded us that freedom	12:36
	is bought at a high cost.	12:40
	A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to be	12:45
	in Kostroma, Russia on May 9th,	12:47
	for the 50th anniversary of VE Day.	12:51
	Victory in Europe.	12:54
	I was part of a church delegation	12:56
	of Americans, British and Russians.	12:58
	Standing in the midst of thousands of war veterans,	13:02
	many of them decorated from chest all across their chest,	13:05
	from shoulder to shoulder.	13:09
	It was a moment that I will never forget.	13:12
	As I looked into the faces of the men, women and children	13:15
	that were gathered there, it was clear	13:19
	that no family had been left unscathed	13:21
	through the 27 million people who had died in Russia.	13:25
	Freedom had been hard-won in Russia.	13:30
	And then lost from within.	13:34
	Freedom cannot be taken for granted.	13:38
	In the story from Acts, Paul and Silas experienced	13:44
	what it was like to lose their physical freedom.	13:48
	They were in Philippi, staying with Lydia,	13:52
	a prominent, wealthy woman, who was	13:55
	their first convert in the area.	13:57
	Things had been going well, but one day,	14:00
	when they were at the place of prayer,	14:03
	they met a slave girl who was possessed by a spirit.	14:05
	Because she could tell people's fortunes,	14:09
	she made a lot of money for her owners,	14:11
	who hired her out to read palms.	14:14
	And she started following Paul and Silas,	14:16
	yelling things at them and shouting things about them.	14:19
	She was a picture of enslavement.	14:22
	We would probably call it mental illness.	14:25
	Schizophrenia.	14:27
	Some demon which held her in the grip of its power.	14:29
	Sometimes, our freedom is threatened	14:34
	by the spirits which control us.	14:35
	Mental illness, addictions.	14:38
	Anything which we want to get free of but can't.	14:40
	She was under the power of a spirit	14:45
	over which she had no control.	14:47
	And in one of the most interesting healings	14:49
	in scripture, Paul cured her, not so much out of compassion,	14:52
	but irritation at her ranting.	14:57
	You're bugging me.	15:00
	Spirit, come out of her.	15:01
	Be free in the name of Christ.	15:02
	Finally, she was free.	15:05
	Free of the spirit which controlled her,	15:07
	yet not completely free.	15:11
	She was still a slave.	15:13
	Someone's property.	15:14
	And when her owner saw that they could no longer	15:16
	use her for gain, they were furious.	15:18
	They seized Paul and Silas and dragged them	15:21
	into the city square before the magistrates.	15:24
	Paul and Silas were accused, not of taking	15:28
	away their means of making a profit.	15:31
	No, that would be crass, as is common with vested interest.	15:33
	The men hid their real motives	15:38
	behind their pious nationalistic charges.	15:41
	They accused them of being foreigners.	15:45
	Jews, who stirred up the people	15:47
	and advocated illegal customs.	15:50
	There was obviously a good bit of anti-Semitic feeling	15:54
	in the area, because the crowd eagerly joined	15:57
	the attack against them.	16:00
	And without a trial, without being given a chance	16:02
	to speak a word in their own defense,	16:04
	Paul and Silas were stripped, beaten severely,	16:07
	and thrown into jail.	16:11
	To make sure that they were secure,	16:13
	the jailer placed them in the innermost cell of the prison,	16:16
	and shackled their arms and legs to the wall,	16:19
	their backs and chests bleeding after the flogging.	16:22
	We can only imagine the pain they endured.	16:26
	Paul and Silas knew what it was like	16:30
	to lose their physical freedom.	16:33
	Anyone who has been incarcerated can talk about the horror,	16:35
	the dehumanizing feeling of being locked up.	16:40
	In the past 20 years, we've imprisoned more of our citizens	16:44
	than any other industrialized nation besides South Africa.	16:47
	A lot of people in America have heard the bars	16:52
	slamming shut behind them.	16:56
	But that is only one way that physical freedom is lost.	16:59
	Poverty is another.	17:04
	People living on the edge know what it's like	17:06
	to have their choices stripped away from them, one by one.	17:08
	To sleep in the bed assigned to them,	17:12
	to eat what they're served, to wear what they're given.	17:14
	Dignity is hard to maintain when you have no power,	17:18
	no freedom to choose.	17:21
	War is another way that freedom is lost.	17:25
	We've all seen the horrifying images.	17:28
	Hundreds of thousands of Rwandans fleeing their homes,	17:31
	fleeing mass murder.	17:34
	Women and children dodging bullets in Bosnia.	17:36
	War cuts off access to everyday normal human life	17:40
	and focuses all energy, all resources on survival.	17:44
	There's no freedom when you're living	17:48
	in fear, war, poverty, incarceration.	17:50
	These may seem distant from us.	17:55
	Something that happens to other people,	17:58
	other places in the world, but sometimes,	17:59
	we face the loss of freedom due	18:03
	to illness an accident, even old age.	18:05
	My mother-in-law has had MS for 25 years.	18:10
	She has seen her physical freedom slip away,	18:14
	one by one, until now she is dependent upon others	18:16
	for every aspect of her physical existence.	18:20
	It's a hard thing, losing your physical freedom,	18:23
	or watching someone you love lose theirs,	18:27
	knowing that you're powerless to prevent it.	18:30
	But there are other ways that we can be stripped	18:33
	of our freedom, too.	18:35
	There are mental, emotional and spiritual prisons	18:37
	that can bind us just as securely	18:40
	as the darkest, deepest jail.	18:43
	Greed can get hold of us, like a tapeworm,	18:47
	eating away at us from the inside,	18:50
	driving an insatiable desire for more.	18:53
	The slave girl's owners were driven by greed.	18:57
	Their desire for profit was more important to them	19:00
	than this young girl or the two men that they had beaten	19:04
	within an inch of their lives.	19:07
	Greed can lead people to do inhuman things.	19:09
	Another mental trap is the desire for power.	19:15
	Power itself is neutral.	19:19
	It can be used for good or for evil.	19:20
	But the powerful can easily become puffed up	19:24
	with their own importance, losing sight	19:27
	of the responsibilities that accompany power.	19:29
	The magistrates abused the power of their office	19:33
	to inflict injury and pain without due process or justice.	19:36
	They were later called to give an account of their actions	19:42
	and to make a public apology to Paul and Silas.	19:44
	You see, the powerful often delude themselves	19:49
	into thinking they're free to use their power	19:51
	in any way they choose.	19:53
	But inevitably, the abuse of power leads to consequences	19:56
	and all must one day give an accounting for their actions.	20:01
	But there are other things that limit our freedom.	20:07
	Like blindly following the crowd,	20:09
	not bothering to find out all the facts.	20:12
	In this story, the crowd was quick to seek fault	20:16
	and place blame on Paul and Silas.	20:20
	It was enough that they were labeled.	20:22
	Labeled Jew, rabble-rouser, troublemaker, foreigner.	20:25
	We're familiar with labels.	20:31
	Illegal immigrant.	20:34
	Jack-booted government thug.	20:36
	Baby-killer.	20:38
	Right-wing fanatic.	20:40
	Femi-Nazi.	20:42
	Para-military zealot.	20:43
	Labels.	20:46
	Broad generalizations trap us into simplistic falsehoods.	20:48
	They rob us of our ability to understand the complexities	20:53
	of issues and of the need to treat	20:56
	each other like human beings.	20:59
	We also get trapped by our willingness	21:03
	to pass off responsibility to someone else.	21:05
	I'm not responsible my company	21:09
	is dumping waste in the river.	21:12
	I just work here.	21:13
	Somebody was just following orders	21:17
	when Paul and Silas were beaten.	21:19
	The jailer was just following orders	21:22
	when he shackled their legs and arms.	21:25
	The Nazis were just following orders	21:27
	when the men, women and children	21:29
	were led into the gas chambers.	21:32
	Every time we passively accept injustice, we participate	21:33
	in it and we give away our power to change it.	21:38
	Another kind of prison that gets hold of us is despair.	21:43
	When the jailer thought that all the prisoners had escaped	21:48
	and that he would be held responsible,	21:51
	he was ready to end his own life.	21:53
	Sometimes, when we're faced with failure,	21:56
	disappointment or loss, it seems more than we can bear.	21:59
	And we're threatened from within	22:05
	even more than from without.	22:07
	Human beings can survive many hardships,	22:10
	but perhaps the most terrible hardship of all is despair.	22:13
	This is what makes the story of Paul	22:19
	and Silas imprisoned so extraordinary.	22:22
	At midnight, when the darkest darkness of the night	22:25
	was at its deepest point, we would've expected them	22:30
	to be gripped by despair, moaning in pain.	22:34
	But instead, they were singing loudly,	22:38
	having a prayer meeting in the prison.	22:41
	Even though they had been stripped, beaten and jailed,	22:45
	hands and legs spread, shackled to the walls.	22:49
	Yet, they were free.	22:53
	The earth heaved, the prison shook, the doors flew open,	22:57
	and everyone's chains fell off.	23:00
	In the words of Isaiah, he has sent me	23:04
	to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight	23:07
	to the blind, to let the oppressed go free.	23:11
	The power of God is revealed in this story	23:16
	as the power to release the captives.	23:20
	The next morning, Paul and Silas did get released	23:24
	from jail, but even if they hadn't, they were free.	23:27
	Freer than the men who seized them.	23:34
	Freer than the men who sentenced them.	23:37
	Freer than the men who beat them.	23:40
	Freer than the man who jailed them.	23:42
	By the end of this story, everyone who first appeared	23:46
	to be free, the girl's owners, the magistrates,	23:50
	the floggers, the jailer, is revealed in their slavery.	23:53
	And everyone who at first appeared to be enslaved,	23:58
	the girl, Paul and Silas, is revealed to be free.	24:01
	When he saw what had happened, the eyes	24:08
	of the jailer were opened and he sought	24:11
	out the prisoners to ask for freedom.	24:13
	What do I have to do to be saved?	24:16
	What do I have to do to be free?	24:18
	They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.	24:22
	"Put your trust on Him.	24:26
	"Put your hope on Him.	24:28
	"Put your life on Him."	24:30
	Believe on Him through, in His freedom,	24:33
	accepted physical bondage and death	24:38
	in order that nothing would have the power	24:40
	to separate us from the love of God.	24:43
	This story reveals a God who seeks our physical freedom.	24:48
	The chains of all the prisoners were broken loose.	24:53
	But even more radically, this is a God who desires	24:57
	for us to have mental, emotional and spiritual freedom.	25:01
	This is the God who through Christ enters	25:05
	into the darkest night to find us.	25:07
	This is the God who sends an earthquake	25:11
	to shake loose the foundations	25:14
	of our prisons and release our shackles.	25:17
	Whether you're trapped by physical pain,	25:21
	poverty, greed, anger, self condemnation,	25:24
	hatred, addiction, arrogance, despair.	25:28
	Whatever binds you can be cut loose	25:33
	by the power and love of God in Jesus Christ.	25:37
	In this love, we find the power	25:42
	to be released of all that shackles us.	25:45
	In this love, we find the hope	25:48
	that can sing in the face of the darkest night.	25:51
	As we receive the sacrament of Holy Communion,	25:57
	it is a tangible reminder that our freedom in God	26:01
	has been bought at a great price.	26:05
	Through the love of Christ in this body and in this bread,	26:09
	the power of God can set us free.	26:14
	And then, we shall be free indeed.	26:17
	Amen.	26:22
-	The Lord be with you.	26:39
Congregation	And also with you.	26:41
-	Let us pray.	26:42
	With all our heart and with all our mind,	26:47
	let us pray to the Lord, saying	26:50
	Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.	26:52
	For the church throughout the world,	26:58
	that it may faithfully proclaim the gospel of Christ,	27:00
	and that all Christian people may be united in truth,	27:04
	live together in your love, and reveal your glory,	27:08
	Lord, in your mercy.	27:13
All	Hear our prayer.	27:16
-	For those who do not yet believe,	27:19
	for those drawing near the light of faith,	27:22
	and for those whose faith has dimmed,	27:25
	that they may come to the knowledge of your truth,	27:28
	Lord, in your mercy.	27:32
All	Hear our prayer.	27:34
-	For the leaders of the nations,	27:38
	that they may govern with wisdom.	27:40
	And that they may encourage peace and justice	27:42
	among their people and among all nations and peoples.	27:45
	And for the peoples of Bosnia, that they may live in peace.	27:50
	Lord, in your mercy,	27:55
All	Hear our prayer.	27:58
-	For the city of Durham, and those	28:01
	who live, study and work here.	28:04
	For the rich and the poor.	28:09
	For the elderly and the young.	28:12
	For men and women.	28:15
	That they may know your good will for all.	28:18
	Lord, in your mercy,	28:23
All	Hear our prayer.	28:25
-	For those who are poor and oppressed.	28:29
	For those unemployed and destitute.	28:32
	For prisoners and captives and for all who remember	28:36
	and care for them, that they may find courage	28:41
	and comfort in your steadfast love.	28:44
	Lord in your mercy,	28:48
All	Hear our prayer.	28:51
-	For the aged, the infirm, the sick and the suffering.	28:56
	That they may be delivered from their distress.	29:01
	Lord in your mercy,	29:06
All	Hear our prayer.	29:08
-	For all who have died in the communion of your church.	29:11
	And for those whose faith is known	29:15
	to you alone, we give you thanks.	29:17
	May we be faithful like those who have gone before us.	29:20
	And bring us at last to the joy of your heavenly kingdom.	29:24
	Lord, in your mercy,	29:30
All	Hear our prayer.	29:33
-	Eternal God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth,	29:36
	accept the prayers of your people	29:41
	and strengthen us to do your will.	29:44
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord.	29:47
	Amen.	29:50
	The peace of the Lord be with you.	29:52
Congregation	And also with you.	29:55
-	Let us offer one another signs of God's peace.	29:56
	With gladness, let us present the gifts of our life	30:20
	and our labors to the Lord.	30:23
	(organ hymn music)	30:28
	♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪	32:03
	♪ And thou givest them their meat ♪	32:13
	♪ In due season ♪	32:18
	♪ The eyes of all wait upon thee ♪	32:25
	♪ And thou givest them their meat ♪	32:34
	♪ In due season ♪	32:39
	♪ Thou openest thine hand ♪	32:47
	♪ And satisfiest the desire ♪	32:53
	♪ Of every living thing ♪	32:58
	♪ Of every living thing ♪	33:03
	♪ Of every living thing ♪	33:08
	♪ The eyes of all ♪	33:18
	♪ Wait upon thee ♪	33:23
	♪ And thou givest them their meat ♪	33:30
	♪ In due season ♪	33:36
	♪ The eyes of all ♪	33:42
	♪ Wait upon thee ♪	33:46
	♪ And thou givest them their meat ♪	33:52
	♪ In due season ♪	33:58
	♪ The eyes of all ♪	34:07
	♪ Wait upon thee ♪	34:14
	♪ Wait ♪	34:20
	♪ Upon thee ♪	34:26
	(organ music)	34:41
	♪ Praise God from Whom all blessings flow ♪	35:54
	♪ Praise Him all creatures here below ♪	36:01
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	36:08
	♪ Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ♪	36:16
	♪ Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. ♪	36:23
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	36:29
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	36:36
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	36:43
Debra	The Lord be with you.	36:56
Congregation	And also with you.	36:58
Debra	Lift up your heart.	36:59
Congregation	We lift them up to the Lord.	37:01
Debra	Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.	37:03
Congregation	It is right to give our thanks and praise.	37:05
-	It is right, and a good and joyful thing,	37:08
	always and everywhere to give thanks to you,	37:12
	Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth.	37:15
	You formed us in your image	37:19
	and breathed into us the breath of life.	37:21
	When we turned away, and our love failed,	37:24
	your love remained steadfast.	37:26
	You delivered us from captivity,	37:29
	made covenant to be our sovereign God,	37:32
	brought us to a land flowing with milk and honey,	37:35
	and set before us the way of life.	37:38
	And so with your people on earth	37:42
	and all the company of heaven,	37:43
	we praise your name and join their unending hymn.	37:45
	(organ music)	37:49
	♪ Holy, holy, holy Lord ♪	37:57
	♪ God of power and might ♪	38:02
	♪ Heaven and earth are full of your glory ♪	38:06
	♪ Hosanna in the highest ♪	38:11
	♪ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. ♪	38:16
	♪ Hosanna in the highest. ♪	38:22
-	Holy are you, and blessed is your Son Jesus Christ.	38:35
	Your Spirit anointed him to preach good news to the poor,	38:39
	to proclaim release to the captives	38:42
	and recovering of sight to the blind,	38:45
	to set at liberty those who are oppressed,	38:48
	and to announce that the time had come	38:51
	when you would save your people.	38:53
	He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and ate with sinners.	38:55
	By the baptism of his suffering, death, and resurrection	38:59
	you gave birth to your Church,	39:04
	delivered us from slavery to sin and death,	39:06
	and made with us a new covenant by water and the Spirit.	39:09
	By your great mercy, we have been born anew	39:14
	to a living hope, through the resurrection	39:16
	of your son from the dead and to an inheritance	39:19
	which is imperishable, undefiled and unfading.	39:22
	Once, we were no people, but now we are your people,	39:26
	declaring your wonderful deeds in Christ,	39:31
	who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light.	39:34
	When the Lord Jesus ascended, he promised	39:38
	to be with us always, in the power	39:40
	of your Word and Holy Spirit.	39:43
	On the night in which he gave himself up for us,	39:46
	he took bread, gave thanks to you, broke the bread,	39:48
	gave it to his disciples, and said,	39:52
	"Take, eat; this is my body given for you.	39:55
	"Do this in remembrance of me."	39:58
	And when the supper was over, he took the cup,	40:02
	gave thanks to you, gave it to his disciples, and said,	40:05
	"Drink from this, all of you, for this is the blood	40:08
	of the new covenant, poured out for you and for many	40:11
	for the forgiveness of sins.	40:14
	Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."	40:16
	And so, in remembrance of these your mighty acts	40:26
	in Jesus Christ, we offer ourselves in praise	40:29
	and thanksgiving as a holy and living sacrifice,	40:32
	in union with Christ's offering for us,	40:37
	as we proclaim the mystery of faith.	40:39
	(organ music)	40:42
	♪ Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again ♪	40:47
-	Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here,	41:00
	and on these gifts of bread and wine.	41:02
	Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ,	41:05
	that we may be for the world the body of Christ,	41:08
	redeemed by his blood.	41:11
	By your Spirit make us one with Christ,	41:13
	one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world,	41:16
	until Christ comes in final victory	41:20
	and we feast at his heavenly banquet.	41:23
	Through your Son Jesus Christ,	41:26
	with the Holy Spirit in your holy Church,	41:29
	all honor and glory is yours, almighty God, now and forever.	41:31
	(organ music)	41:36
	♪ Amen, amen, amen ♪	41:40
All	Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	41:54
	Thy kingdom come.	41:59
	Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.	42:00
	Give us this day our daily bread,	42:04
	and forgive us our trespasses,	42:07
	as we forgive those who trespass against us,	42:09
	and lead us not into temptation,	42:12
	but deliver us from evil.	42:15
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power,	42:17
	and the glory, forever.	42:19
	Amen.	42:21
-	When we break the bread, it is a sharing	42:25
	in the body of Christ.	42:28
	When we drink from the cup, it is a sharing	42:34
	in the blood of Christ, which cleanses us	42:37
	from all sin and gives us new life.	42:40
	The body of Christ.	42:48
	Come now and feast at the Lord's table.	43:25
	(organ music)	43:29
	(congregational hymn singing)	43:59
	(choral singing)	48:33
-	Please stand for the prayer.	51:33
	Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery	51:42
	in which you have given yourself to us.	51:46
	Grant that we may go into the world	51:49
	in the strength of your Spirit,	51:51
	to give ourselves for others,	51:53
	in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.	51:55
	Amen.	51:58
	(organ music)	52:01
	♪ God of grace and God of glory ♪	52:39
	♪ On thy people pour thy power ♪	52:45
	♪ Crown the ancient church's story ♪	52:50
	♪ Bring its bud to glorious flower ♪	52:56
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	53:01
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	53:06
	♪ For the facing of this hour ♪	53:12
	♪ Lo the hosts of evil round us ♪	53:20
	♪ Scorn thy Christ, assail his ways ♪	53:25
	♪ From the fears that long have bound us ♪	53:31
	♪ Free our hearts to love and praise ♪	53:36
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	53:42
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	53:47
	♪ For the living of these days ♪	53:53
	♪ Cure thy children's warring madness ♪	54:01
	♪ Bend our pride to thy control ♪	54:07
	♪ Shame our wanton, selfish gladness ♪	54:13
	♪ Rich in things and poor in soul ♪	54:18
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	54:24
	♪ Lest we miss thy kingdom's goal ♪	54:30
	♪ Lest we miss thy kingdom's goal ♪	54:36
	♪ Save us from weak resignation ♪	54:44
	♪ To the evils we deplore ♪	54:50
	♪ Let the search for thy salvation ♪	54:56
	♪ Be our glory evermore ♪	55:02
	♪ Grant us wisdom, grant us courage ♪	55:08
	♪ Serving thee whom we adore ♪	55:14
	♪ Serving thee whom we adore ♪	55:20
-	Go forth in the power and the freedom of God.	55:34
	May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God,	55:37
	and the communion of the Holy Spirit	55:40
	be with you and keep you.	55:43
	Amen.	55:45
	♪ Alleluia, amen, amen ♪	55:48
	(organ music)	55:59

Item Info

Title:

Debra K. Brazzel - "Freedom?" (May 28, 1995)

Description:

Sermon start time: 11:57. Sermon end time: 26:23.
Through an ironic reversal of appearances in which those who seemed free are revealed to be enslaved and those who seemed enslaved were free, the story of Paul and Silas' rescuing of the slave girl and their subsequent imprisonment displays a picture of God as the great liberator who desires to free us from our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual prisons. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Key quotation: “This story reveals a God who seeks our physical freedom––the chains of all the prisoner were broken loose. But even more radically, this is a God who desires for us to have mental, emotional, and spiritual freedom. This is the God who, through Christ, enters into the darkest night to find us. This is the God who sends an earthquake to shake loose the foundations of our prisons and release our shackles.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4mw28v97

Date:

May 28, 1995

Speaker:

Brazzel, Debra K.

Biblical Book:

Acts

Chapter and Verse:

Acts 16:16-34

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0426
ref9584_bam
uachapelsermaud
duke:321633
dcrmv001404
ark:/87924/r4mw28v97
9480778c-4a20-4226-92c7-9a326d01fb8f

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings, 1954-2005

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

CC BY-NC 4.0

Rights Note:

This recording may contain 3rd party materials, such as music or readings that are therefore not covered by the Creative Commons license indicated here. For more information see https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

Sponsor:

Sponsor this Digital Collection

Debra K. Brazzel - "Freedom?" (May 28, 1995)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

More Info & Options