James W. Ferree - "What Is the Goal of Life?" (August 24, 1980)

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-	Duke University Chapel Service of Worship	0:04
	August 24th 1980.	0:07
	(solemn music)	0:17
-	From out of my heart I praise thee	14:35
	this morning with my song.	14:39
	Give thee thanks both here today	14:43
	and all my whole life long.	14:48
	Please rise.	14:52
	(organ music)	14:55
	Let us together confess our sins.	17:54
	Please be seated.	17:57
	Oh lord holy and righteous God,	18:04
	we acknowledge before you that we do not fear you	18:08
	and that we do not love you above all things.	18:13
	We do not delight in prayer	18:18
	nor take pleasure in your word.	18:21
	We do not really love our neighbor.	18:24
	We lack the confidence that should accompany	18:28
	our Christian profession.	18:31
	Our hearts are divided,	18:34
	crossed by doubts and guilty desires.	18:37
	We accuse ourselves before you oh God.	18:41
	We implore you, whose nature and whose name is love,	18:45
	to forgive us, and in forgiving, to heal us	18:51
	so that in our lives something will finally be changed.	18:57
	Amen.	19:03
	Be of good cheer.	19:23
	Our God is a just God.	19:28
	Our God is a loving God.	19:32
	Our God is a forgiving God.	19:38
	Let us give thanks for God is good,	19:45
	and God's love is everlasting.	19:48
	Thanks be to God, whose love has made us.	19:52
	Thanks be to God, whose mercy forgives us.	19:57
	Thanks be to God whose promise secures us, amen.	20:02
	Good morning.	20:12
	On behalf of the Duke University ministerial community	20:15
	I welcome each of you to the chapel.	20:22
	And I pray that your worship experience this morning	20:28
	will prove uplifting,	20:35
	will prove enlightening,	20:39
	and inspirational.	20:43
	I have one announcement to make.	20:46
	You are cordially invited	20:55
	to an informal recital	20:59
	by Donna Sparks playing the flute	21:02
	and Janet Yarborough playing the tuba	21:07
	with Patricia Davis and David Wheeden, pianist.	21:12
	At a concert this afternoon August 24th at three PM	21:19
	in the rehearsal hall of the Mary Duke Biddle Music Building	21:25
	on the East Campus of Duke University.	21:30
	Works by Honegger, Hindemith, Van Auld, Block and Cling	21:35
	will be performed, and there will be a reception	21:40
	immediately following.	21:44
	We welcome to Duke Chapel today	21:58
	the Reverend James W Firee,	22:03
	a native of Randleman North Carolina.	22:08
	Reverend Firee received his bachelor of arts degree	22:14
	from Livingston College,	22:17
	and his master of divinity degree from Hood Seminary	22:20
	in Salisbury North Carolina.	22:24
	He served as district superintendent of	22:28
	the eastern district of the North Carolina	22:31
	Virginia Conference of the United Methodist Church	22:34
	from 1965 until 1968.	22:37
	And from 1969 through 1974,	22:42
	he served as associate program director	22:46
	of the Conference Council on Ministries	22:50
	of the Western North Carolina Conference.	22:53
	Reverend Firee is presently serving	22:57
	as district superintendent of the Gastonia District,	22:59
	Western North Carolina Conference	23:05
	of the United Methodist Church.	23:08
	Reverend Firee is married to Mrs Nancy Moore Firee	23:11
	and they are the parents of two children,	23:15
	James and Jaffe, and Jaffe I believe is	23:18
	a matriculating freshman today	23:22
	over at North Carolina Central, our prayers are with her.	23:24
	We look forward to the message that Reverend Firee	23:28
	will bring to us this morning.	23:31
	Let us pray.	23:41
	Prepare our hearts oh lord	23:46
	to accept your word.	23:50
	Silence in us any voice but your own.	23:55
	That hearing, we may also obey your will,	24:01
	through Jesus Christ our lord, amen.	24:08
	The Old Testament lesson	24:17
	is taken from the book of Isaiah,	24:20
	chapter 22, verses 15 through 23.	24:24
	Thus says the lord, lord God of hosts,	24:33
	come, go to this steward to Shebna	24:38
	who is over at the household, and say to him	24:43
	what have you to do here?	24:50
	And whom have you here that you have	24:53
	hewn here a tomb for yourself?	24:58
	You who hew a tomb on the height	25:02
	and carve a habitation for yourself in the rock.	25:07
	Behold the lord will hurl you away violently	25:12
	oh you strong man.	25:16
	He will seize firm hold on you and whirl you round and round	25:20
	and throw you like a ball into a wide land	25:28
	and there you shall die.	25:31
	And there shall be your splendid chariots.	25:35
	You shame of your master's house.	25:39
	I will thrust you from your office	25:44
	and you will be cast down from your station.	25:47
	In that day I will call my servant Eliakim,	25:53
	son of Hilkiah	25:59
	and I will clothe him with your robe	26:02
	and will bind your girdle on him	26:04
	and will commit your authority to his head.	26:08
	And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem	26:15
	and to the house of Judah.	26:21
	And I will place on his shoulder	26:25
	the key of the house of David.	26:27
	He shall open and none shall shut.	26:32
	And he shall shut and none shall open.	26:37
	And I will fasten him like a peg in a sure place.	26:43
	And he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.	26:49
	Here ends the reading from the Old Testament, amen.	26:57
	Please rise for the reading of the gospel.	27:02
	The gospel lesson	27:09
	is taken from the book of Matthew	27:12
	chapter 16,	27:16
	verses 13 through 28.	27:19
	Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi	27:26
	he asked his disciples	27:32
	who do men say that the Son of Man is?	27:36
	And they said, some say John the Baptist.	27:42
	Others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah,	27:48
	all one of the prophets.	27:52
	He said to them,	27:56
	but who do you say that I am?	27:59
	Simon Peter replied, you are the Christ,	28:04
	the son of the living God!	28:07
	And Jesus answered him, blessed are you Simon bar Jonah	28:12
	for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you	28:18
	but my father who is in heaven.	28:22
	And I tell you, you are Peter.	28:26
	And on this rock I will build my church	28:30
	and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.	28:33
	I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven	28:38
	and whatever you bind on Earth	28:43
	shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on Earth	28:45
	shall be loosed in heaven.	28:50
	Then Jesus strictly charged the disciples	28:55
	to tell no one that he was the Christ.	29:00
	From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples	29:07
	that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things	29:12
	from the elders and chief priest and scribes,	29:17
	and be killed.	29:22
	And on the third day be raised.	29:24
	And Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying	29:29
	God forbid lord!	29:32
	This shall never happen to you!	29:35
	But he turned and said to Peter, get behind me Satan!	29:40
	You are a hindrance to me!	29:46
	For you are not on the side of God but of men.	29:49
	Then Jesus told his disciples,	29:58
	if any man would come after me,	30:03
	let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.	30:08
	For whoever would save his life will lose it.	30:15
	And whoever loses his life for my sake will find it!	30:21
	For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world	30:29
	and forfeits his life!	30:33
	Or what shall a man give in return for his life?	30:37
	For the Son of Man is to come with his angels	30:44
	and the glory of his father and then he will repay	30:47
	every man for what he has done.	30:50
	Truly I say to you, there are some standing here	30:52
	who will not taste death before they see	30:56
	the Son of Man coming in his kingdom,	30:59
	amen.	31:05
	(organ playing)	31:07
-	For our message today,	32:18
	I read a few days ago a statement	32:22
	from one of the upper room magazines.	32:26
	There were a few pointy questions and statements	32:32
	that I'd like to share with you	32:36
	in the beginning of this message today.	32:40
	Have you ever felt trapped between two worlds?	32:45
	Have you ever wished you could hide in the past?	32:50
	Perhaps escape to the future	32:55
	or just change things simply by pretending?	32:59
	It's a game that most of us have played	33:05
	at one time or another.	33:10
	The pressure of daily realities	33:16
	tempts us to play many games that have bad endings.	33:20
	My brothers and sisters, Jesus talked about	33:27
	a dimension of truth	33:29
	and reality that can save us.	33:33
	Save us from hiding in the past.	33:38
	Save us from running to the future.	33:44
	And save us from having to pretend about who we are.	33:48
	Our worship leader this morning	33:59
	read the New Testament scripture.	34:02
	I'm sure that we heard	34:07
	and heard well.	34:10
	Jesus saying to his own disciples who have gathered	34:14
	on that occasion, if anyone wishes to be a follower of mine,	34:20
	he must leave self behind.	34:26
	He must take up his cross and come with me.	34:30
	Whoever cares for his own safety is lost,	34:35
	but if a man will let himself be lost for my sake,	34:38
	he'll find his true self.	34:43
	What will a man gain by winning the whole world	34:46
	at the cost of his true self?	34:49
	Or what can he give that will buy that true self back?	34:52
	I want to	34:57
	propose	35:00
	two or three questions that I want you	35:03
	to ponder, to think about.	35:06
	First of all, what is the purpose of life?	35:10
	What purpose does God have from our life?	35:14
	What purpose has each day as it comes?	35:21
	And what are the long range goals of my existence?	35:28
	Since the beginning of human history,	35:34
	philosophers, theologians,	35:38
	as well as every individual who reflects on life at all	35:42
	has asked the question, what is the meaning of life?	35:47
	James, one of the apostles writes that	35:53
	life is like a vapor, that it is for a little while	35:56
	then it vanishes away.	36:00
	Let me hasten to say that life is given,	36:03
	none of us choose it.	36:06
	And let me say that it's up to each of us to decide	36:09
	if this gift is an unfortunate accident	36:15
	or a glorious blessing	36:20
	with many possibilities and opportunities.	36:22
	Does life actually have a goal?	36:27
	Does life actually have meaning and purpose?	36:29
	Is there some real meaning in life?	36:32
	Is there some central meaning?	36:36
	Are there some experiences that pulls all of life together?	36:39
	Let me begin by saying	36:49
	that life has its beginning in a pre-rational state.	36:53
	You see the ability to reason,	36:57
	to learn to choose wisely develop slowly.	37:00
	Most people accept the major values and goals	37:05
	taught by their society without any real	37:09
	examination of them.	37:12
	That is, many of us accept things as they are.	37:14
	Very seldom do we start to examine where we are going,	37:19
	what we are doing.	37:23
	Along with having to read the Bible in the upper room	37:26
	and all the mail that comes into one's office every day.	37:31
	I find time sometimes to read some of the simple cartoons.	37:37
	I read one the other day	37:40
	about a man and a woman who were traveling	37:43
	on a beautiful interstate highway.	37:46
	And they had been going for hours	37:49
	enjoying the beautiful scenery of a highway.	37:51
	The cartoon showed that they had stopped	37:56
	and they were reading the map.	37:58
	And the wife saying to her husband,	38:02
	I knew we were going in the wrong direction,	38:03
	but we were making such good time.	38:06
	It was Socrates who said the unexamined life	38:10
	is not worth living.	38:13
	That one has to stop sometimes	38:15
	to see if you're going in the right direction.	38:18
	How many persons	38:24
	in our nation challenge the belief that success,	38:27
	pleasure, prosperity, financial gain	38:31
	are the real goals of life?	38:35
	On a number of occasions, Jesus indicated	38:39
	that one has to lose life in order to find it.	38:41
	Jesus did not say that	38:46
	a specific goal such as happiness,	38:48
	peace of mind or financial prosperity is the end of life.	38:51
	He defines the goal of life as a process of becoming.	38:56
	It's a way of life to be lived,	39:01
	a way of life to be lived with God,	39:03
	because God gives meaning and purpose to our existence.	39:05
	Now let us	39:11
	consider some of the meanings of this style of life.	39:14
	First it requires one to use his freedom of choice.	39:20
	You see, one has to choose to become	39:26
	a follower of Jesus Christ.	39:28
	It does not automatically happen.	39:30
	No amount of going to church, no amount of service	39:34
	or giving will make one a follower of Jesus Christ	39:39
	unless at some point one decides that Christ	39:44
	is the lord of his life!	39:47
	That in him he sees the value by which he wishes to live.	39:50
	Somewhere along the line one has to have	39:55
	a personal encounter with Christ.	39:57
	One develops his freedom as he uses choice.	40:02
	If one only accepts,	40:07
	if one only conforms, he has no freedom.	40:10
	In the statement about losing life, therefore,	40:15
	Jesus is saying to us,	40:17
	to choose the fashion in which you will live.	40:20
	If anyone would come after me, he says,	40:23
	let him be willing to deny himself and take up his cross	40:27
	and follow me, he has to make the choice.	40:31
	The second factor in the statement is	40:36
	that choosing involves a willingness to struggle and suffer.	40:39
	There is a risk in following Jesus Christ.	40:43
	And Jesus did not call his disciples to ease and plenty,	40:48
	to bank accounts and having a good time.	40:53
	He stated that one must take up his cross.	40:56
	They were not to choose the way of least resistance	41:01
	but the way of struggle and effort.	41:04
	The easy style of life is to conform,	41:07
	to do as everyone else does, right or wrong.	41:11
	It's much harder to stand up and to be counted,	41:16
	especially for that which runs counter	41:18
	to the prevailing values of the day.	41:21
	And yet only through struggle and effort	41:25
	any significant achievements are accomplished.	41:29
	One develops his ability through hard work.	41:35
	In 1960	41:40
	the general board of education of the Methodist church then	41:43
	published a little book entitled	41:47
	The Foundation for Christian Teachings	41:50
	In the Methodist Church.	41:52
	In one place, the author made this statement.	41:55
	"Human life was not intended primarily	42:00
	"for ease and comfort but for growth and greatness.	42:03
	"We find God in the midst of life's deepest struggles	42:07
	"and aspirations, seeking to give newness	42:12
	"of life and spirit.	42:15
	"The Christian not only asks why,	42:18
	"in the presence of loss and suffering,	42:22
	"or when death comes, or when illness comes, but how?	42:25
	"How can I best show forth my faith in God?	42:29
	"In the midst of life's demanding experiences."	42:32
	If I had to sum up,	42:37
	with one word what I believe Jesus was saying	42:41
	is the goal of life, I would call it creative.	42:43
	You see one is creative when he chooses to assert himself	42:48
	over against those elements in his environment	42:54
	that would conquer him	42:58
	and force him to conform.	43:00
	Those elements are both inside and outside of us.	43:05
	One is creative when he can affirm that I know	43:08
	in whom I believe.	43:12
	And I'm persuaded that he's able to keep	43:14
	all that I've committed unto him until that day.	43:16
	What a person is,	43:22
	he achieves through the cause that he makes his own.	43:25
	The great figures of the Christian faith	43:32
	have been those who have found in the gospel	43:35
	the good news or cause in which to lose themselves.	43:38
	And yet in the very process of losing themselves,	43:44
	they've found life.	43:46
	They've developed what was unique in their lives,	43:48
	they found happiness and joy, peace of mind.	43:50
	If one is willing to lose his life,	43:54
	he'll find what life is all about.	43:57
	The apostle Paul was heard saying,	44:01
	I count everything lost for the joy	44:05
	for the sake of knowing Christ Jesus my lord.	44:07
	Jesus stated whoever cares for his own safety is lost.	44:13
	This seems to be contrary to all that we are taught	44:19
	about self-preservation about saving our own lives.	44:23
	However it is an essential principle of creativity.	44:28
	If a person constantly says others may not like me	44:33
	if I speak the truth, or if I follow Christian principles,	44:35
	if I stand up for what is right and just	44:39
	and peace in the world.	44:41
	He hems in the truth to protect his own safety.	44:45
	When Jesus pointed out	44:51
	that life must be invested	44:55
	to be found, to have eternal meaning and joy,	44:59
	he did not mean that it could be given	45:04
	to just any concern or interest,	45:06
	any organization or institution.	45:09
	The point in his statement is this.	45:14
	If any man will let himself be lost for my sake,	45:15
	he'll find his true self.	45:21
	The emphasis is on myself.	45:24
	If our losing then, is to have Christian content,	45:27
	if it's to have meaning, if it's to have	45:31
	everlasting meaning,	45:34
	it must consist of three principles	45:38
	that I want to mention to you very briefly.	45:39
	First then we will relate our lives to God	45:45
	who is the creator, the redeemer,	45:47
	the sustainer of the universe.	45:51
	Then we must participate in regular periods of both	45:54
	public and private worship.	45:57
	As we enter into fellowship with him,	46:00
	we discover that his highest revealing of himself	46:03
	was in the life and teaching of Jesus Christ.	46:07
	That God actually made himself known through Jesus.	46:12
	Jesus said that God is like a shepherd that	46:18
	when a little sheep is lost,	46:21
	that he seeks to find that one.	46:24
	Not only did he reveal truth in Jesus Christ,	46:29
	but also power by which individuals	46:33
	can be transformed, changed.	46:35
	And as Paul says, it's a power through which	46:38
	persons can become new creatures in Christ,	46:41
	where the old passes out and where there is a new life,	46:44
	new commitment, new joy, new inspiration.	46:48
	When there is new life in him,	46:53
	we can affirm that I can do all things	46:55
	in Christ who strengthens me.	46:58
	When your life	47:02
	is dominated by the power of Christ,	47:05
	you will discover a second factor of love.	47:08
	And this love is not selfish	47:13
	or seeking to gain the world.	47:17
	It's that kind of love	47:20
	that Paul talked about that is patient and kind.	47:24
	That kind of love that has good manners,	47:29
	that kind of love that says good morning, may I help you?	47:32
	That kind of love.	47:36
	I read another cartoon	47:41
	about Charlie Brown and Lucy.	47:46
	Lucy said to Charlie Brown one morning,	47:51
	she said Charlie when I grow up I want to study people.	47:56
	I want to study, I want to know about people.	48:01
	And Charlie said, that's good Lucy	48:06
	that you love people, you want to know about them	48:08
	because you want to help them, that's good!	48:11
	And she said no Charlie, I don't love people.	48:14
	And I don't plan to help anybody.	48:17
	I'm just nosy and that's the reason I want to study people.	48:19
	I'm talking about love that's patient and kind,	48:24
	love, an approach to life whereby one recognizes	48:30
	all persons as children of God.	48:34
	And thus having infinite worth.	48:38
	This love called Christian love allows each person	48:40
	to develop what is unique in his own life.	48:43
	So often, we expect others to speak our language	48:47
	to accept our lifestyle, to respond the way we respond.	48:53
	Christian love means that we do not dominate others	48:59
	and we do not allow them to dominate us.	49:04
	It simply means that we don't allow other people to use us!	49:09
	To be possessed by Christian love,	49:16
	one is willing to allow each person to be	49:19
	the center of uniqueness, to make his own choice,	49:22
	have his own freedom, his own ideas.	49:27
	When Jesus said pray for an enemy,	49:32
	it was because this is the way	49:37
	we can learn to live together	49:39
	without violence to one another.	49:43
	Christian love means that	49:46
	fellowship becomes more important than having things.	49:48
	Jesus always placed persons first,	49:55
	they came before laws and institutions.	49:58
	This is not true always today.	50:02
	In most instances, the machine or the organization	50:06
	is more important than persons.	50:09
	Jesus said if any man would come after me,	50:12
	if any man would come after me, not laws,	50:15
	not organizations, not institutions.	50:18
	A third factor	50:24
	is service to others.	50:28
	As we lose ourselves	50:30
	in service to others,	50:34
	we actually find that which makes our own lives	50:36
	have meaning and purpose.	50:40
	As we give ourselves to God in Christ,	50:43
	we develop what is unique in ourselves.	50:46
	Jesus said one day	50:50
	to a crowd that had gathered around him,	50:55
	he said if you are kind to such little one in my name	51:00
	you not only please God, but you serve me.	51:07
	Service, Christian service is a matter of being kind	51:11
	to some little one.	51:16
	The more we serve others, the more we serve God	51:19
	and the more we develop our own lives.	51:21
	Service is not a matter of some great act or deed	51:25
	that makes the headlines.	51:29
	Service consists of small deeds from the heart	51:31
	day by day week after week and year after year.	51:35
	Service is a matter of not being a priest or a Levite.	51:40
	But service is a matter of being a good Samaritan.	51:44
	I'm sure	51:49
	that this is the type of action Jesus meant	51:51
	when he said whoever cares for his own safety is lost.	51:53
	But if a man will let himself be lost for my sake,	51:58
	he will find his true self.	52:01
	What will a man gain by winning the whole world	52:04
	at the cost of his true self?	52:07
	Yes,	52:10
	what is the meaning of life?	52:11
	Does life actually have a purpose?	52:14
	And my brothers and sisters,	52:17
	as we face the realities of today,	52:20
	Jesus gives us that dimension of truth.	52:24
	If you would follow me he says.	52:28
	That's no pretending, that's actually following him.	52:32
	You'll find life, you'll find purpose and meaning	52:37
	to all of your life that brings joy and inspiration.	52:40
	As you seek to live day by day.	52:44
	In the name of the father and the son	52:48
	and the holy spirit amen.	52:50
	(organ music)	53:01
-	Let us remain standing while we affirm what we believe.	55:56
	We believe in God who has created and is creating,	56:01
	who has come in the truly human Jesus	56:07
	to reconcile and make new,	56:10
	who works in us and others by the spirit.	56:13
	We trust God who calls us to be the church,	56:18
	to celebrate life and its fullness,	56:23
	to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil,	56:26
	to proclaim Jesus crucified and risen,	56:32
	our judge and our hope.	56:37
	In life, in death, in life beyond death,	56:40
	God is with us, we are not alone.	56:44
	Thanks be to God.	56:49
	The lord be with you.	56:51
	(crowd murmuring)	56:54
	Let us pray and be seated.
	Almighty God	57:06
	(baby cooing)
	Thou who art the wisdom of the ages,	57:13
	the strength of the moment,	57:18
	the source of salvation always.	57:23
	Thou with whom we journey the night	57:29
	to meet the dawn of a new day, we pray this prayer.	57:32
	For a world in turmoil,	57:39
	a nation rife with strife,	57:43
	communities and families with war with each other,	57:47
	we pray for peace.	57:51
	For a world, a nation, communities and families	57:56
	divided ideologically, divided politically, economically,	58:01
	racially and every other way,	58:06
	we pray for unity.	58:10
	For the hungry in Africa,	58:15
	for the hungry in America.	58:18
	For the hungry in Asia and throughout the world,	58:21
	we pray for a fair share	58:27
	of Earth's abundant supply.	58:32
	For the downtrodden and captive, the oppressed,	58:37
	we pray for uplifting and release.	58:42
	Amid economic hard times, we pray for the prosperity that	58:48
	only love can bring.	58:54
	For those who harbor feelings of inadequacy and loneliness,	59:00
	we pray dear God for wholeness and comfort.	59:08
	For those whose bodies and minds are filled	59:15
	and wracked with pain, we pray for healing!	59:19
	For the trials and challenges of daily living,	59:27
	we pray for strength and the will to endure.	59:34
	For the faithless we pray for faith.	59:42
	And for us all,	59:48
	we pray for mercy.	59:51
	God have mercy upon our souls.	59:55
	As we pray the prayer that Christ Jesus taught us to pray,	1:00:01
	our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name	1:00:06
	thy kingdom come, thy will be done	1:00:13
	on Earth as it is in heaven.	1:00:17
	Give us this day our daily bread,	1:00:20
	and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those	1:00:23
	who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation	1:00:27
	but deliver us from evil for thine is the kingdom	1:00:33
	and the power and the glory	1:00:38
	forever, amen.	1:00:42
	(organ music)	1:01:05
	Oh great God giver of all life and all things,	1:08:24
	we bring these gifts to the altar	1:08:30
	as tokens of our thanksgiving,	1:08:34
	as an expression	1:08:39
	in honor of the many blessings bestowed upon us.	1:08:43
	Use them,	1:08:48
	bless them,	1:08:51
	consecrate them	1:08:54
	oh lord of hosts, amen.	1:08:56
	(organ music)	1:09:03
	And now my Christian friends,	1:11:42
	may the grace of God and the sweet communion	1:11:46
	of the holy spirit rest, rule,	1:11:49
	and abide with you all henceforth now	1:11:53
	and forevermore,	1:11:57
	amen.	1:12:01
	(organ music)	1:12:06

Item Info

Title:

James W. Ferree - "What Is the Goal of Life?" (August 24, 1980)

Description:

It is a foundational question to wonder whether life has a meaning or purpose. We are only able to find meaning in life through the choice to follow Jesus. This choice, however, necessitates a willingness to struggle and to suffer, as Jesus said, we must lose our lives in order to find them. In order for this losing to have Christian content it must adhere to three principles: 1.) We must relate our lives to God; 2.) We must participate in regular public and private worship; 3.) We must be in service to others. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 32:18. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 52:54.
Key quotation: “[Jesus] defines the goal of life as a process of becoming. It’s a way of life to be lived, a way of life to be lived with God, because God gives meaning and purpose to our existence.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4q52fv0n

Date:

August 24, 1980

Speaker:

Ferree, James W.

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 RR-1109
ref7430_wuc
uachapelsermaud
duke:320506
dcrau001988
ark:/87924/r4q52fv0n
0b55f627-c863-4ef0-bb22-e365263a435e

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.

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James W. Ferree - "What Is the Goal of Life?" (August 24, 1980)

Transcript

Item Info

Duke University Archives

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