Robert T. Young - Thanksgiving Service (November 22, 1979)
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Transcript
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- | Thanksgiving service, Thursday November 22nd, 1979, | 0:05 |
Duke Chapel. | 0:10 | |
(slow organ music) | 0:15 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 3:29 | |
(gentle organ music) | 3:39 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 3:52 | |
(gentle organ music) | 4:01 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 4:14 | |
(gentle organ music) | 4:23 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 4:35 | |
(gentle organ music) | 4:43 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 4:57 | |
(gentle organ music) | 5:04 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 5:11 | |
(gentle organ music) | 5:19 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 5:26 | |
(gentle organ music) | 5:30 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 5:34 | |
(gentle organ music) | 5:37 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 5:42 | |
(gentle organ music) | 5:46 | |
(dramatic organ music) | 5:59 | |
(gentle organ music) | 6:10 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 6:49 | |
- | Please stand. | 11:11 |
(congregation shuffling) | 11:13 | |
God, be merciful unto us and bless us. | 11:23 | |
- | Cause your face to shine on us, oh Lord. | 11:29 |
- | Then, let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. | 11:34 |
- | Let us worship God in spirit and in truth. | 11:39 |
- | Our hymn is Number 21 from our hymn book, | 11:45 |
please join us in singing this hymn. | 11:48 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 11:53 | |
(congregation softly singing) | 12:27 | |
Let us pray from our bulletin in our hands. | 14:43 | |
Most Gracious God, | 14:48 | |
by who's appointment the seasons come and go. | 14:51 | |
And, who makes the fruits of the earth | 14:55 | |
to minister to the needs of all people. | 14:57 | |
We offer You our thanksgivings, | 15:02 | |
that You have brought us through the course of another year. | 15:04 | |
And, that according to Your promise, | 15:10 | |
seed time and harvest have not failed. | 15:13 | |
At the remembrance of Your life-sustaining power, | 15:17 | |
we offer unto You ourselves, | 15:22 | |
and pray that as we are fed by Your Spirit, | 15:27 | |
we may be instruments of love throughout the world. | 15:32 | |
Oh, God, we praise You and give thanks to You | 15:38 | |
for Your bountiful providence. | 15:43 | |
For all the blessings, and all the hopes of life, | 15:46 | |
above all we praise and adore You, | 15:50 | |
for the light which shines in the darkness. | 15:53 | |
Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. | 15:56 | |
Let the memory of Your goodness fill our hearts with joy | 16:00 | |
and thanks, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen. | 16:04 | |
Let us hear the lessons as our outline | 16:12 | |
on our bulletin before us. | 16:17 | |
From the Old Testament: | 16:20 | |
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He's good, | 16:23 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 16:28 | |
Oh, give thanks to the God of gods, | 16:33 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 16:37 | |
Oh, give thanks to the Lord of lords, | 16:41 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 16:44 | |
To Him alone does great wonders, | 16:48 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 16:52 | |
To Him, who by understanding made the heavens, | 16:57 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 17:01 | |
To Him who spread out the earth upon the waters, | 17:06 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 17:11 | |
It is He who remembered us in our low estate, | 17:17 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 17:23 | |
And, rescued us from our fools, | 17:27 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 17:30 | |
He who gives food to all flesh, | 17:35 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 17:39 | |
Oh, give thanks to the God of heaven, | 17:44 | |
for His steadfast love endures forever. | 17:49 | |
And, from the epistle: | 17:57 | |
So we are always of good courage, | 18:04 | |
for we know that while we are at home in the body, | 18:12 | |
we are away from the Lord. | 18:13 | |
For, we walk by faith and not by sight, | 18:20 | |
we are of good courage. | 18:25 | |
And, we would rather be away from the body, | 18:27 | |
and at home with the Lord. | 18:30 | |
So, whether we are at home or away, | 18:33 | |
we make it our aim to please him. | 18:38 | |
For, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, | 18:42 | |
so that each one may receive good or evil, | 18:47 | |
according to what he has done in the body. | 18:51 | |
Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, | 18:56 | |
we persuade men, but what we are is known to God. | 19:00 | |
And, I hope is known also to your conscious. | 19:07 | |
We are not commending ourselves to you again, | 19:11 | |
but giving you cause to be proud of us, | 19:15 | |
so that you may be able to answer those | 19:19 | |
who pride themselves on man's position, | 19:22 | |
and not on his heart. | 19:27 | |
And, please stand for the reading from the Gospel: | 19:33 | |
And, he told them a parable, saying, | 19:47 | |
"The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully, | 19:51 | |
"and he thought to himself, | 19:56 | |
"'What shall I do? | 19:59 | |
"'I have nowhere to store my crops.' | 20:00 | |
"And, he said, 'I will do this. | 20:04 | |
"'I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, | 20:08 | |
"'and there I will store my grain and my goods. | 20:11 | |
(baby crying) | 20:15 | |
"'And, I will say to my soul, | 20:16 | |
"'"Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years, | 20:19 | |
"'"Take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' | 20:23 | |
"But, God said to him, | 20:28 | |
"'Fool, this night your soul is required of you. | 20:31 | |
"'And, the things you have prepared, whose will they be? | 20:37 | |
"'So is he who lays up treasure for himself, | 20:43 | |
"'and is not rich toward God.' | 20:47 | |
And he said to his disciples, | 20:51 | |
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, | 20:54 | |
"what you shall eat, about your body what you shall put on, | 21:00 | |
"for life is more than food, | 21:05 | |
"and the body more than clothing. | 21:07 | |
"Consider the ravens, they neither sow nor reap. | 21:12 | |
"They have neither storehouse nor barn, | 21:17 | |
"yet God fees them. | 21:21 | |
"Of how much more value are you than birds? | 21:24 | |
"And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit | 21:28 | |
"to his span of life? | 21:31 | |
"If then, you are not able to do as small a thing as that, | 21:34 | |
"why are you anxious about the rest? | 21:40 | |
"Consider the lilies, how they grow. | 21:44 | |
"They neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, | 21:48 | |
"even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed | 21:53 | |
"like one of these. | 21:57 | |
"But, if God so clothes the grass which is alive | 22:00 | |
"in the field today, and tomorrow is gone into the oven, | 22:04 | |
"how much more will he clothe you, oh men of little faith? | 22:09 | |
"And, do not seek what you are to eat | 22:15 | |
"and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind, | 22:19 | |
"for all the nations, the world, seek these things, | 22:24 | |
"and your Father knows you need them. | 22:29 | |
"Instead, seek His Kingdom, | 22:33 | |
"and these things shall be yours as well." | 22:39 | |
We shall sing now from 792 in our hymnbook, | 22:50 | |
the Gloria Patri. | 22:55 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 22:58 | |
(congregation softly singing) | 23:12 | |
- | Be seated, please. | 23:42 |
(priest clearing throat) | 23:52 | |
In view of circumstances, | 23:58 | |
as they have changed significantly | 24:00 | |
in the last few days, | 24:05 | |
I share with you this morning not a meditation entitled, | 24:10 | |
"Thank God, Thank God for Life." | 24:13 | |
But, a meditation simply entitled, | 24:18 | |
"Thanksgiving Meditation, | 24:21 | |
November 22, 1979." | 24:24 | |
The verse of scripture that I would like to use | 24:29 | |
is found in Psalms 24, verse one. | 24:33 | |
"The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof. | 24:38 | |
"The world and those who dwell therein." | 24:47 | |
In the name of the Lord our God who creates us, | 24:55 | |
redeems us, and sustains us, Amen. | 24:58 | |
Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a grave moment for all of us | 25:06 | |
in the United States. | 25:10 | |
This day, indeed, is a serious and perilous moment | 25:14 | |
for all of us on the earth. | 25:19 | |
We have not lived in such a volatile, threatening, | 25:24 | |
dangerous moment as this, since World War Two ended. | 25:28 | |
Surely, life-threatening forces | 25:36 | |
are swirling around us, | 25:39 | |
threatening to overpower us and engulf us | 25:43 | |
in frightening, fearful ways. | 25:47 | |
Thanksgiving Day, for those who have lived before us, | 25:52 | |
and for us, has been a time for giving thanks. | 25:55 | |
So it is, today. | 26:03 | |
But we come to give thanks today | 26:08 | |
with fresh and disturbing scenes in our minds, | 26:09 | |
and deep heaviness on our heart. | 26:14 | |
Thanksgiving for us in this country is a national holiday, | 26:19 | |
it is a time for both sacred and secular remembrance | 26:22 | |
and recommitment. | 26:27 | |
Remembrance of how God has blessed us and sustained us | 26:30 | |
in the past, and recommitment to the heritage | 26:33 | |
and values that have had and still have | 26:37 | |
ultimate significance to us: | 26:40 | |
freedom, human dignity, sacrifice. | 26:43 | |
Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a time of remembrance. | 26:50 | |
A time for us to remind ourselves | 26:55 | |
of our heritage as Americans, | 26:57 | |
our personal, political and spiritual heritage. | 27:00 | |
This is, still, the land of the free, | 27:05 | |
and the home of the brave. | 27:10 | |
Our heritage has assured us of freedom, | 27:14 | |
freedom of speech, freedom of press, | 27:17 | |
freedom of religion, freedom of assembly. | 27:20 | |
Our heritage is great, | 27:25 | |
it is important to all of us, to each of us. | 27:27 | |
It is our very life, our past, our present and our future. | 27:32 | |
We know and experience freedom, freedom as a people, | 27:38 | |
in this country as in no other country | 27:43 | |
on the face of the earth today. | 27:46 | |
So let us, one-by-one and altogether, give thanks to God | 27:51 | |
for the freedoms we are privileged to know and to live. | 27:55 | |
Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a moment of national concern. | 28:02 | |
Concern not just over the burning of our flags, | 28:08 | |
though that has not been seen without resentment. | 28:14 | |
Concern not just over the epithets thrown at our president | 28:21 | |
and our country, though that has been embarrassing. | 28:24 | |
Concern not just over the hatred and venom | 28:30 | |
that have poured out toward us, | 28:32 | |
though that has been disturbing. | 28:35 | |
Concern, surely, not just over the loss of 5% of our oil | 28:38 | |
and energy supplies, though there was a point | 28:42 | |
just a few days ago, | 28:45 | |
when that seemed awfully, awfully important. | 28:46 | |
Concern not just over the violation of international law | 28:51 | |
and the breach of international agreements, | 28:54 | |
though that may indeed be threatening to the whole world. | 28:56 | |
Concern not just over the seizure of buildings | 29:01 | |
and grounds and records, though that may be | 29:04 | |
both revealing and damaging. | 29:06 | |
My friends in Christ, Thanksgiving Day 1979 | 29:12 | |
is a moment of national concern for us, for all of us. | 29:16 | |
Concern because the very lives and wellbeing of our people | 29:22 | |
have been threatened. | 29:26 | |
Concern, surely, for the 13 who, some of you may have seen | 29:28 | |
on television, and some of us heard on the radio, | 29:33 | |
have just landed and been welcomed home | 29:37 | |
by the Secretary of State at Andrews Air Force Base. | 29:39 | |
But more importantly, concern for the 49, | 29:42 | |
who still live in fear and terror. | 29:45 | |
Concern because many of our fellow human beings | 29:50 | |
have been trapped, have had their freedoms taken away, | 29:53 | |
and their very lives jeopardized. | 29:56 | |
Concern because many of us feel victimized, | 30:01 | |
insulted, and degraded by the impetuous tirades | 30:06 | |
of self-seeking political leaders. | 30:10 | |
Concern because many Americans feel that we as a people | 30:16 | |
have been vilified, castigated, put down, defamed, | 30:19 | |
used, abused, accused, | 30:24 | |
and feel that our patience | 30:28 | |
and goodwill have been taken advantage of. | 30:30 | |
Concern because, not only are the lives | 30:35 | |
of our fellow citizens in mortal danger, | 30:38 | |
but who we are as a people, | 30:42 | |
and what we stand for as a nation, | 30:44 | |
are being disgraced and defamed. | 30:47 | |
As a people, individual men, women, boys and girls, | 30:51 | |
we are not a war-mad, power-hungry, manipulating, | 30:55 | |
self-seeking, take advantage of our neighbors, | 30:59 | |
put down others for the sake of ourselves kind of people. | 31:02 | |
And I think we all resent being wildly | 31:06 | |
and madly portrayed this way. | 31:08 | |
Thanksgiving Day 1979 is a somber, | 31:10 | |
grave moment for us. | 31:14 | |
It is a moment for giving thanks for the heritage we have, | 31:19 | |
a heritage of freedom, human rights and human dignity. | 31:23 | |
A moment for remembering that our freedoms have come | 31:29 | |
at great sacrifice for those who have lived and died | 31:31 | |
before us, our heritage and freedom have come at great cost, | 31:34 | |
if not to us, then to others. | 31:39 | |
A moment for us as Christians, and for us as Americans, | 31:43 | |
not only to remember and give thanks, | 31:46 | |
but also a moment for us to come together in unity. | 31:49 | |
A unity important for us to show, | 31:53 | |
for our leaders to know, | 31:57 | |
and for the rest of the world to be cognizant of. | 31:59 | |
Thanksgiving Day 1979, as we give thanks, | 32:04 | |
we also need to share and to show a unity of purpose. | 32:10 | |
That we will indeed protect and support one another | 32:16 | |
in time of threat and adversity, | 32:19 | |
and that the life of any one of our fellow Americans | 32:22 | |
is of ultimate importance to all of us. | 32:24 | |
And our purpose is to safeguard the wellbeing | 32:28 | |
of any one or all who belong to us. | 32:31 | |
A unity of will, | 32:36 | |
that when pushed and pushed and pushed, | 32:39 | |
or when embarrassed over and over and over, | 32:42 | |
or when threatened again and again and again, | 32:45 | |
our will as a people, as individuals, and as one people, | 32:48 | |
can become united and unflinching. | 32:51 | |
We will stand together. | 32:55 | |
A unity of sacrifice. | 33:00 | |
That when necessary and essential, | 33:03 | |
we can and will sacrifice in any and every way necessary | 33:05 | |
to preserve life and human dignity, | 33:09 | |
and the freedom we feel is essential for us, | 33:11 | |
and for all God's children. | 33:14 | |
When sacrifice is required, any sacrifice, | 33:17 | |
we as a people can and will respond as one people, | 33:20 | |
in word and deed. | 33:24 | |
A unity in prayer. | 33:28 | |
Because, very simply, my friends, | 33:32 | |
we as Christians do believe that God answers prayers. | 33:34 | |
A unity that says to ourselves and to all the world | 33:41 | |
that we really are a God-fearing, God-loving people. | 33:44 | |
That we really do believe that God is the ruler, even yet. | 33:48 | |
That prayer and praise and worship really do belong, | 33:53 | |
ultimately, to God and to God alone. | 33:56 | |
And, that prayer, when earnestly and faithfully offered | 33:59 | |
to God, is answered. | 34:02 | |
And so, we come today, | 34:08 | |
at a terrifying and threatening moment | 34:11 | |
in the life and history of our nation and world, | 34:13 | |
to bow down and to give thanks to God. | 34:17 | |
To remember and celebrate our freedom and our heritage, | 34:24 | |
dealing with human dignity, a freedom and a heritage | 34:29 | |
that have blessed us all. | 34:32 | |
We come together to bow down to express our concern | 34:35 | |
about what is happening to our people and to us as a nation, | 34:38 | |
and indeed, to the world. | 34:41 | |
We come together to demonstrate our unity, | 34:45 | |
our oneness of purpose, of will, of sacrifice and of prayer. | 34:47 | |
We come remembering and giving thanks. | 34:53 | |
We come pleading | 34:56 | |
that God will deliver all peoples caught up | 35:00 | |
in the frenzied, frightening, mad turmoil, | 35:03 | |
and pleading that God's Spirit of peace and goodwill | 35:08 | |
and reconciliation, in some miraculous way, | 35:13 | |
in which perhaps only God's power can | 35:17 | |
rescue us. | 35:22 | |
That power will become manifest in our world. | 35:25 | |
Let me close with some words from the Psalmist. | 35:31 | |
"The earth is the Lord's | 35:37 | |
and the fullness thereof, | 35:41 | |
"and the world and all who dwell therein. | 35:45 | |
"Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? | 35:52 | |
"And who shall stand in his Holy Place? | 35:56 | |
"He who has clean hands and a pure heart, | 36:00 | |
"he will receive blessing from the Lord, | 36:05 | |
"and vindication from the God of his salvation." | 36:07 | |
And from Psalms 44, | 36:14 | |
"We have heard with our ears, oh God, | 36:17 | |
"our fathers have told us what deeds Thou didst perform | 36:21 | |
"in their days, in the days of old." | 36:26 | |
And from Psalms 22, | 36:33 | |
"In Thee, oh God, our fathers trusted, | 36:36 | |
"they trusted and Thou didst deliver them. | 36:40 | |
"To Thee, they cried and were saved, | 36:45 | |
"in Thee, they trusted and were not disappointed." | 36:49 | |
Truly as John Donne once wrote, | 36:57 | |
"No man, that is, no one is an island, | 37:01 | |
entire of itself." | 37:06 | |
No one stands alone, especially today. | 37:09 | |
Everyone is a piece of the same continent, | 37:14 | |
a part of the mainland. | 37:18 | |
We are all God's children, | 37:22 | |
this is God's earth. | 37:25 | |
Let us together with one voice today pray, | 37:29 | |
and pray fervently that God's will will be done. | 37:33 | |
And that we will become one family under God, | 37:39 | |
living in peace and goodwill, | 37:43 | |
from this time forth and forevermore. | 37:46 | |
And to God be the praise and the glory, | 37:51 | |
world without end, Amen and Amen. | 37:55 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 38:16 | |
- | Remain standing for the affirmation of faith. | 41:39 |
Number 740 from our hymnbooks. | 41:44 | |
It's a morning affirmation. | 41:49 | |
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, | 41:55 | |
"there is one true church, | 41:59 | |
"an apostolic church and universal, | 42:03 | |
"whose Holy Faith let us now declare. | 42:06 | |
"We believe in God, the Father, infinite in wisdom, | 42:10 | |
"power and love, whose mercy is over His works, | 42:15 | |
"and whose Will is ever directed to His children's good. | 42:21 | |
"We believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Son of Man, | 42:26 | |
"the gift of the Father's unfailing grace, | 42:32 | |
"the ground of our hope, and the promise of our deliverance | 42:35 | |
"from sin and death. | 42:40 | |
"We believe in the Holy Spirit, | 42:42 | |
"as a divine presence in our lives. | 42:45 | |
"Whereby, we are kept in perpetual remembrance | 42:48 | |
"of the truth of Christ, and find strength and help | 42:51 | |
"in time of need. | 42:55 | |
"We believe that this faith should manifest itself | 42:58 | |
"in the service of love, as set forth in the example | 43:02 | |
"of our blessed Lord, to the end that the Kingdom of God | 43:06 | |
"may come upon earth, amen." | 43:11 | |
You may be seated. | 43:17 | |
The Lord be with you. | 43:37 | |
(congregation murmuring) | 43:40 | |
And, let us pray. | 43:42 | |
(paper rustling) | 43:43 | |
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, | 43:49 | |
the God of all nations, all tongues, | 43:54 | |
all peoples, yea of the haves and the have-nots, | 44:01 | |
of the learned and the unlearned, | 44:08 | |
Thou who has called us out of the darkness, | 44:12 | |
into Thy marvelous light, we give Thee thanks and praise, | 44:17 | |
on this Thanksgiving Day, 1979. | 44:25 | |
And, let us pray prayers of thanksgiving. | 44:32 | |
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, | 44:35 | |
we thank Thee for the faith of our Founding Fathers, | 44:39 | |
who somehow risked their lives | 44:45 | |
through the wilderness of the sea, | 44:49 | |
amongst wild beasts, with the cold, the heat, and the chill, | 44:52 | |
we thank Thee for their stick-to-itiveness. | 45:00 | |
We thank Thee for the freedom of worship, | 45:06 | |
of assembly, of the press, and yea, | 45:10 | |
for the freedom in our religious persuasions. | 45:16 | |
We thank Thee for health, for jobs, | 45:21 | |
for the skills which make us useful and helpful | 45:27 | |
in this land of ours. | 45:32 | |
We thank Thee for the educational and other institutions | 45:35 | |
which help in our growth and development. | 45:40 | |
We thank Thee for the faith, and the toil, | 45:45 | |
and the sacrifice of the disinherited, | 45:48 | |
of the blacks and other minorities, | 45:55 | |
of women and other persons against whom we discriminate. | 45:59 | |
We thank You for those who built bridges, | 46:06 | |
and the canals, cleared the land, | 46:10 | |
and gave this nation years of free labor. | 46:15 | |
And, we thank Thee for the defenders of freedom. | 46:22 | |
We thank Thee for Sojourner Truth, for James Reed, | 46:27 | |
for Martin Luther King, Jr., for Harriet Tubman, | 46:34 | |
for Mr. Till, for Mr. Evers. | 46:40 | |
We thank Thee for Levi Kauffman, | 46:46 | |
one of the major characters in the Underground Railroad. | 46:50 | |
For Andy Young, for Booker Washington. | 46:55 | |
For others who held high, and for some who hold high, | 46:58 | |
the torch of freedom. | 47:06 | |
Let us pray prayers of confession. | 47:10 | |
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, we confess | 47:14 | |
that we do not take all of our resources seriously. | 47:20 | |
And, that silence is often our only way of speaking. | 47:28 | |
We confess our dedication to a fake neutrality, | 47:34 | |
taking sides for good nor evil, | 47:41 | |
and thereby allowing evil its way. | 47:45 | |
We confess a lifestyle based upon caste, race, age and sex, | 47:50 | |
and even sometimes our favorite religion. | 48:02 | |
We confess the lack of thanksgiving in our hearts, | 48:06 | |
and thankfulness for the variety of persons | 48:13 | |
You've put upon this land. | 48:19 | |
We confess our raping of our environment, | 48:22 | |
poisoning our air and our water, | 48:29 | |
and wasting our human and natural resources. | 48:33 | |
We confess that we come together, often only to worship, | 48:39 | |
but live and work miles apart. | 48:47 | |
Forgive us, we pray, for our waywardness, | 48:52 | |
and our sinfulness on this, Thy Thanksgiving Day. | 48:57 | |
And, let us send up petitions unto God. | 49:04 | |
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, | 49:08 | |
grant unto us this day a deeper sense of thankfulness, | 49:12 | |
sympathy for the weak and defenseless, | 49:19 | |
freedom for those who are held hostage, | 49:24 | |
justice in the universities. | 49:28 | |
Save us from war and even another war. | 49:32 | |
And, save us from the passions and fears, | 49:39 | |
and all which would make us less servants, | 49:43 | |
and less ambassadors of Thine. | 49:49 | |
And, let us rededicate ourselves under God. | 49:54 | |
Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, | 49:59 | |
we offer Thee, on this Thanksgiving Day, | 50:03 | |
our talents, our money, our sacrifice of time and energy, | 50:07 | |
to the end that Thy Will will be known, | 50:15 | |
and Thy Will will be accepted unto the ends of the earth. | 50:19 | |
Accept this, our praise, accept these, our gifts, | 50:25 | |
accept this, our sacrifice, for we offer it, | 50:30 | |
acknowledging Thee as the true giver of all. | 50:35 | |
And, in dedication unto Thee: | 50:42 | |
Stony the road we trod, | 50:43 | |
bitter the chastening rod, | 50:51 | |
felt in the days when hope unborn had died. | 50:53 | |
Yet, with a steady beat, | 50:59 | |
have not our weary feet come to the place, | 51:02 | |
for which our fathers sighed? | 51:07 | |
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, | 51:12 | |
we have come, treading our path | 51:19 | |
through the blood of the slaughtered, | 51:24 | |
out of the gloomy past, till we now stand at last, | 51:28 | |
where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. | 51:35 | |
God of our weary years, | 51:43 | |
God of our silent tears, | 51:47 | |
Thou who has brought us thus far on the way, | 51:51 | |
Thou has by Thy might, lead us into the light. | 51:57 | |
Keep us forever in the path, we pray, | 52:03 | |
lest our feet stray from the places where we met Thee. | 52:09 | |
Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, | 52:16 | |
we forget Thee. | 52:20 | |
Shadowed beneath Thy hand, may we forever stand | 52:36 | |
true to our God, true to our native land. | 52:46 | |
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, | 52:56 | |
who taught us to pray this prayer, | 53:01 | |
that we shall pray together, | 53:08 | |
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name, | 53:10 | |
Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as in heaven. | 53:15 | |
Give us today our daily bread, | 53:23 | |
forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. | 53:26 | |
Save us for the time of trial, and deliver us from evil, | 53:33 | |
for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are Yours, | 53:41 | |
now and forever, amen. | 53:47 | |
Let us worship God with our offerings. | 53:53 | |
(baby crying) | 53:59 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 54:01 | |
Accept these, our gifts, and may they bring hope | 1:01:12 | |
and joy and encouragement to those who receive them, | 1:01:18 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. | 1:01:23 | |
(lectern echoing) | 1:01:35 | |
Let us pray. | 1:02:01 | |
Oh, Lord, for all Your blessings in creation, | 1:02:03 | |
for all the beauty of earth and sky and sea, | 1:02:09 | |
for Your manifold works, | 1:02:14 | |
and the wisdom with which You have made them all. | 1:02:17 | |
- | We thank You, oh God. | 1:02:21 |
- | For all the happiness of our earthly life, | 1:02:23 |
for our peaceful homes and healthful days, | 1:02:28 | |
for our powers of mind and body, | 1:02:32 | |
for our faithful friends, | 1:02:37 | |
for the joy of loving and being loved. | 1:02:40 | |
- | We thank You, oh God. | 1:02:44 |
- | For the revelation of Your love, | 1:02:46 |
and for the newness of life in our Savior, | 1:02:48 | |
for the blessings brought to us by Your Holy Church, | 1:02:53 | |
and for our fellowship with You in Christ. | 1:02:58 | |
- | We thank You, oh God. | 1:03:02 |
- | Strengthen and encourage all who, | 1:03:05 |
by reason of temptation, hardness of circumstances, | 1:03:08 | |
or personal loss, find it difficult to be thankful | 1:03:13 | |
and praise Your Holy Name. | 1:03:18 | |
- | We beseech You, oh Lord. | 1:03:21 |
- | Inspire all who are seeking to improve life, | 1:03:24 |
and to give courage and devotion to all who do the work | 1:03:29 | |
of everyday, and all who seek to restore prosperity | 1:03:33 | |
and peace to our world. | 1:03:38 | |
- | We beseech You, oh Lord. | 1:03:42 |
- | Give us, oh God, a vision of truth and justice, | 1:03:45 |
that we may work together to overcome the darkness | 1:03:52 | |
which we create, and that we may serve You | 1:03:56 | |
in unity and peace as a people of service and love. | 1:03:59 | |
- | Thanks be to God, whose love has made us. | 1:04:07 |
Thanks be to God, whose grace sustains us | 1:04:12 | |
Thanks be to God, for His presence makes us, amen. | 1:04:16 | |
- | Our hymn is Number 55, Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. | 1:04:21 |
(upbeat organ music) | 1:04:27 | |
(congregation softly singing) | 1:05:04 | |
The God of all power, of all might, the God of the earth, | 1:07:47 | |
and the God of all persons who dwell upon this earth, | 1:07:54 | |
be with you and among you, | 1:07:59 | |
going before you and behind you and alongside you, | 1:08:02 | |
giving you genuine thanks, helping you bear your burdens, | 1:08:06 | |
helping you make your changes and your choices, | 1:08:12 | |
and helping you live out the rest of your lives | 1:08:16 | |
a day of Thanksgiving unto Him. | 1:08:19 | |
Today, tomorrow and everyday and till the end comes, | 1:08:22 | |
through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. | 1:08:27 | |
(upbeat organ music) | 1:08:32 |
Item Info
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