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[Silence] [Indistinct talking] We invoke thy special benediction upon the institution of the church, the home, and the school. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Good morning and welcome to the worship of God. Let us greet one another this morning. [Music] Now I want you to remain standing.

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You all have forgotten our order of worship. Let's remain standing. Number 18, revive us again. (soulful music)

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♪ We pray thee, O God ♪ ♪ For the sign of thy love ♪ ♪ For Jesus we pray ♪ ♪ That his mouth all of us ♪

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♪ Hallelujah and the glory ♪ ♪ Hallelujah, amen ♪ ♪ Hallelujah and the glory ♪ ♪ Revive us again ♪

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♪ We praise thee, O God ♪ ♪ For the spirit of life ♪ ♪ Who has shown us our Savior ♪ ♪ And scattered our minds ♪

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♪ Alleluia, thank the glory ♪ ♪ Alleluia, amen ♪ ♪ Alleluia, thank the glory ♪ ♪ In our thoughts again ♪

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- You may be seated. Rejoice in the Lord, all ye righteous, For praise is comely for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp.

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Sing unto him with the psaltery and with an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song. Play skillfully with the loud noise.

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For the word of the Lord is right and all his works are done in truth. He loveth righteousness and judgment. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

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By the word of the Lord were the heavens made And all the host of men by the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the sea together and heaped. He layeth up the depth and storehouses.

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Let the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake and it was done. He commanded and it stood fast.

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The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever for thoughts of his heart to all generations.

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Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord and the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. May the Lord bless to us the reading and hearing of his holy word as recorded in Psalm 33,

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the first 12 verses. May we bow where we are in our seats as we pray together. O gracious God, our Father, we thank you for the gift of this day, another expression of your grace, which is new every morning.

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As we celebrate the festival of the Christian home and focus upon parents and one mother, Oh, Father, husband and wife, we give you thanks for the manifestation of your Spirit in the lives of those who have gone on, for the contributions that they have made, and we thank you for the privilege of being channels of your love and of your grace.

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We pray that you would forgive us of our sins. Bless especially, we pray, those who are suffering in hospitals and in homes. Manifest your healing power to be your will. Give to them the faith, the trust in you as they experience the vicissitudes of this existence.

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Lord have mercy upon us and bless us. and use us this day to your glory in every way. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. (dramatic music)

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(howling) (sirens wailing) (dog whining) (dogs barking)

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(dog whining) (dog howling) (dogs barking) (dogs barking)

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(dog whimpering) (owl hooting) (upbeat music) (upbeat music)

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(upbeat music) (upbeat music) [music] (upbeat music)

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(upbeat music) (upbeat music) (upbeat music) [singing]

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[singing] [music] [music] [music]

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♪ Can't get up to the moon ♪ ♪ Can't get up to the moon ♪ ♪ All the places we've seen ♪ ♪ Can't get up to the moon ♪

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♪ Can't get up to the moon ♪ ♪ Can't get up to the moon ♪ ♪ Can't get up to the moon ♪ ♪ To make it all up ♪

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I really need your help. Just to be alone. Thank you, thank you, thank you for everything. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for everything. ♪ Don't you have some more ♪

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♪ To make it all go ♪ ♪ I need your help ♪ ♪ Just to make it all ♪ ♪ Take it back ♪

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♪ Take it back and go ♪ ♪ To the place where my heart is ♪ ♪ Take me back to New York ♪ ♪ Take me back to New York ♪

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♪ To the place where I first believed ♪ ♪ Take me back to New York ♪ ♪ Take me back to New York ♪ ♪ To the place where I first believed ♪

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♪ Take me back to New York ♪ ♪ Take me back to New York ♪ ♪ To the place where I first believed ♪ We worship the Lord now in the dedication of our gifts that every one of us give according

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to how the Lord has prospered you. We are in the midst of a budget year in which we have adopted the largest budget in our church history. The Budget Committee recommended a certain amount and then some people came and raised

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a man on the floor and some who voted to raise it haven't been contributing and it's very important that every person contributes. According to how the Lord has prospered him every church member has a responsibility of contributing so while we are here that last year we have raised this budget some forty thousand

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dollars that's a lot of money and if we raise it it means that everyone must according to his or her ability. So let us worship the Lord now through our giving. The cultivation of the grace of giving

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is a part of the work of Christ in our lives. This by our hands. Oh Lord, we bless your name as the giver of all life. We pray that you would possess our souls

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with your spirit so that we may not be possessed by our possessions. But give freely, cheerfully, sacrificially, and lovingly, in Jesus' name. Amen. [snorting] [coughing]

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[snorting] [snorting] [snorting] [snorting]

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[snorting] [snorting] There's an announcement at this time concerning our woman's day of service.

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Say, Sister Rio Griffin, if you'll come now. Good morning. I would just like to extend to each and every one of you a personal invitation to next Sunday which is going to be another great, valiant event here at Ebenezer. It will be the 41st observance of women's day. And if you'll see in the bulletin, we have

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a great challenge ahead of us. Our financial goal this year, $25,000 and our attendance 450 people. So we need your support. We need you to come out. Our special service at 3 will feature one of our own sister Agnes Rutter. So please join us for a great day next Sunday, May 19th,

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Women's Day. Women will be in charge all day, and we need your support. Thank you.

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- Thank you very much. - The funeral of Sister Olivia Nays will be held here at the church tomorrow at 2 p.m. Sister Olivia Nays was one of the oldest members

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this. [inaudible] 99, 99, 99 years of age. So she will need funeral hours here and until she arrives at the point where she couldn't come out, she was a very pyramid of faithfulness. She was faithful. Even the training union. We called our house every week to remind them to come to the training union. So she constitutes one of the warriors and she will be funeralized here at two o'clock let's remember this family in our prayers as we celebrate her home going

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brother Shaw is in the Black and Ridge Hospital and sister Bula Thompson is listed in the bulletin as being in David, say David she's not there look for her there yesterday and she's not there. I understand she's at Holy Cross. She's at home? All right. So you can disregard that in the bulletin. It's for us the place she's at home. Now Brother

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Benjamin McGill is in St. David's Hospital. He has undergone surgery and he's still there. And you will notice the others that are listed there in your bulletin. [Silence] We're going to ask that our guest will stand as your name is called and remain standing until you're greeted.

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Mrs. Cleo Carroll. Mrs. Cleo Carroll of Waco, Texas. St. John Baptist Church there. And she's visiting here today with her daughter, Sister Lee.

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All right, you remain standing please ma'am. Uh, Arliss Gardinas, Jr. of First Baptist Church. All right, do we have others worshiping with us who are not members of this church? If so, would you stand that we may recognize your presence?

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We are delighted to have you share with us in our services. We extend to you a warm welcome. We earnestly hope that this service will be a source of inspiration and strength to you. We're glad you're here.

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Now, will members of Ebenezer, near those persons standing, arise and give them a warm handshake. Thank you so much. Thank you Now we come to dedicate Infants as you might notice in your bulletin we're asking that those who have children that would be dedicated this time if you'll bring them forth

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[ambient noise] All right, I think we're good. If you'd like to answer here, sir, you may come and stand if you'd like. Come right up. Come right up.

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At this point in our worship of God, we give particular attention to God's gift of life in the birth of children. We have present parents, each family here presenting a child that is a gift of God. brother and sister Robert Graton who come presenting your child. What is the name of your child?

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Andrea Graton. Andrea Graton. And brother and sister Kristin Van Dyke come presenting their child. What is the name of your child? Forrest Albert Van Dyke. Forrest Albert Van Dyke. Children are a gift from God.

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You are but trustees. You have them somewhere as a loan, only for a brief time, in which you are to seek to have them grow into wholesome adults, to grow into maturity.

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Do you wish to present publicly your child to God in recognition of the high privilege and unique responsibility that God has granted to you? If you so promise you will answer we do. Do you recognize and solemnly declare your dependence upon Almighty God for the wisdom, help, and blessing you will need to guide and nurture your child? Do you promise and commit yourselves to teach your child the truths and obligations of the

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Christian faith and through purposeful prayer and exemplary lives seek to lead your child to personal faith in God and Jesus Christ? Now to you members of the congregation, you have heard these parents declare their desire to present their child to God and to dedicate themselves to the nurture of their child.

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They have also requested our commitment as God's people to assist them in their efforts. Do you acknowledge and accept the responsibility of assisting these parents in loving teaching and training their children in the ways of God so that each child may in due time receive Christ Jesus our Savior and Lord, if so, would you signify your acceptance of this responsibility by standing?

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May we bow our heads. Eternal God, our gracious Heavenly Father, as we bow reverently now in your presence as parents present their children Andrew Grattan and Albert Van Dyke we bless your name for the gift that is new life in each of these families and we pray that your spirit my God then that you may be present as the

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guide each of these homes so that each child may grow even as Jesus knew in wisdom, stature, and favor with God and man. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord calls his face to shine upon you. The Lord lift the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace now and always. Amen.

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Let us all say amen. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. (siren wailing)

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(siren wailing) [sirens] (siren wailing) (sirens blaring)

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(coughing) (coughing) (coughing) (coughing)

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(coughing) (coughing) (coughing) (crying)

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(baby crying) (coughing) (baby crying) (coyote howling)

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- I was young. ♪ As young as I recall ♪ ♪ Faithful was my little darling ♪ ♪ As I sat there yet ♪

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♪ Alone that day ♪ ♪ As I feel upon her knee ♪ ♪ In those days that used to be ♪ ♪ As she sang of God's amazing grace ♪

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♪ Mother was so good and kind ♪ ♪ As she told me I would find ♪ ♪ That another would share my grief and woe ♪ ♪ So I took her word ♪

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♪ And I sought the blessed Lord ♪ ♪ And today my mother's God is mine ♪ ♪ (whimsical music) ♪ At the closing of my sky

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♪ Christ will be ♪ My help and stay ♪ I shall meet ♪ My blessed mother

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♪ Face to face ♪ (whimsical music) ♪ I love you so ♪ ♪ Baby, I'm in love with you right there ♪

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♪ I am glad I trust you ♪ ♪ I love you ♪ (monster growling) (monster growling)

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(monster growling) (monkeys screeching) (monkeys chattering) (goat bleating)

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(berserk clicks) (goat bleats) to Psalm 33 and 12. For some time now we have been engaged in a sermon series

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based on the Book of Psalms, going through the book. And we come today to the 33rd member of the psalm. And verse 12 is the passage of Scripture, which is the basis of the message.

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"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. The people whom he has chosen as his heritage." Will you repeat those words after me? Blessed is the nation, as God is the Lord.

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The people whom he has chosen as his heritage. The subject of the message, let there be family. Let there be family. We come to know ourselves within the context of family life.

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The family circle I am on, nourished and nurtured. The family is first and foremost among social institutions. Being ever so humble, there is no place like home. Not across the ridge.

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Home is the place that when you have to go there, they have to take you in. Today, in a commercial way, there's a great deal of Memphis is set on Mother's Day. We in the Christian family have directly bestowed the celebration of the festival of the Christian home, focusing on Christian family life.

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And to focus on Christian family life is not only to honor Mother, the Queen of the home, of the home, but it is to focus our attention upon what constitutes a Christian family. To focus our attention on the celebration of those who have lived exemplary lives before us, and to somehow rededicate ourselves to those virtues that make for a good family

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life. Home and family are cherished words because they have to do with our fondest memories, our most coveted hopes. The Bible has a great deal to teach us about home and family life. We live in a time when it seems that the foundations of the home are threatened.

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threatened by permissiveness, threatened by irreverence, threatened by unfaithfulness. The biblical faith teaches us the values of the covenant community, that which binds us together in a spirit of solidarity, so that we are one people, called family, let there be family.

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Out of family relationship comes this word, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. Blessed be the people who honor the Lord as the ruler of their lives. Blessed is the family that honors the Lord as the head of the house." This word emerges in an atmosphere where there are many families, families with different

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different lifestyles, families with different belief orientations, families that worship different gods, because the Hebrew people are surrounded by other nations, and these nations somehow are not nations that are honored, but how about they serve? And yet, here is a word that not only was significant for the Hebrew people in ancient

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times, it has significance for us today. A pharmacist is aware of the fact that to be a part of a family is to have a unique relationship. He belongs to a peculiar people. People who are different. People who have a special niche in history. Every one of us is a part of a family and we ought never forget that.

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I can remember on numerous occasions that when I would be going out somewhere and before I left the house after having gotten dressed and everything, my mother would say, "Come in here, boy." And I would go in, and she said, "Now you're going out, but remember who you are." That's all she had to say. "Remember who you are." And somehow, in the midst of all of this, as we celebrate the family today, we have certain memories, some of those experiences we did not fully appreciate. when they, uh, being experienced.

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But as we look back on it, we can, uh, see that they had a great deal to do with shaping our lives for grace. I've heard many talk about, uh, going to the table for grace, and, uh, the prayer would just be too long. And, uh, they would be anxious to get the food, and sometimes, uh, uh, would have to be reprimanded.

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Uh, but, uh, my prayer came to be appreciated as the child grew older. This past week, I visited the Gatesville Correctional Institution for girls, women. I had read in an Austin newspaper something about a singles group, and she decided to write us. She had a letter the Lord to write us, and I read the letter and her meeting a few weeks ago.

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And so, I was in that vicinity, so I decided to go by and see her. And when I went in to see her, she, I think she was first of all shocked. She said, "Who could be coming to see me?" I don't have any family.

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Nobody cares about me. And when the word came down that she had guests, she was wondering who it could be. And she said to me,

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"You don't know just how much this means to me. To know that I have family, that there's someone else, somewhere else who cares about me." And there were tears in her eyes

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as she talked about family, identifying herself with our family, that it means being someone who cares, who's reaching out.

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"Oh yes," she said, "I'll make some mistakes." I'm here and I've learned a great lesson because I went astray. I thought I was, I thought I really had it made. I was popping pills and doing this and that and finally I ended up here.

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But they're family. So let there be family. What does that really mean? Oh, it's one thing, brothers and sisters, for us to come here

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Sunday after Sunday. Some of us, I notice, you know, when we, when I say even have a spirit of fellowship, because some of us come and sit in one place and we don't move around like nobody else. You know, we just come in, come, come in late, sit, get up, go out.

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But really what we're talking about is having a relationship. And really sometimes how you sit has to do with your relationship. People who don't want to be bothering anybody else, they come and sit as far from other people as they can. But somehow, somehow, we get closer together, and our physical arrangement, I think, ought to have something to do with our spiritual concern for each other.

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Family. Family. Family. Blessed is the nation, blessed is the people, blessed is the family whose God is the Lord. Now in the family, to which the son is referred,

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blessed, for it there is a recognition of God as creator. Family is not an accident. It does not appear by coincidence or happenstance. The family is a creation of God.

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We've had a hard struggle when we consider the black family. We've had a hard struggle. We came to this country in the midst of a struggle. Oh slave ships, we've had a hard struggle.

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Even now when we look at the black family, a large percentage of black children by a Our mothers have children that are at the time of infancy. We've learned a great deal. A report that was made over at the Civil Rights Conference

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a few weeks ago at the early day school of public affairs. They were talking about some progress they've made in that connection. Well, it used to be when I was a boy

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that many times older people would be boasting of the fact that a person gave birth to a 10 pound child. And they have discovered more and more that many times the risk involving both the child and the mother were greater and a considerable

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improvement has been made. But still when we look at the record, the infant mortality in the black family is still too high. So we still have a great deal of progress to make when it comes to this frequent birth. We look at the record and we see a rise in the child of teenage pregnancy. And this is not only true of the black family, it's true

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of all of the families in our nation and so we need to look at it here not only to look at it but to hear this word blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord blessed is the nation. Now the family that the psalmist is talking about is a family that honored the Lord and honoring the Lord as creator means first of all that we

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We recognize the fact that the family is the creation of God. Real family has to come through a relationship to God because family is the creation of God. It is one of the orders of God. It's so amazing when God said, "Let there be light and there was light, there was earth, there was sea, there was sky."

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But the same God who created this universe is the same God who brings into creation the family. We made Adam and Eve bone of bone. Adam said, "Bone of my bone," which means they had a relationship. But I decree that we're saying, "Let there be family."

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Let there be family. Oh, I know we live in a time when it's not very popular with many people to talk about marriage. I listened to an interview the other day with Betty Davis, And she was saying that her mother had told her that, uh, that, uh, marriage and sex went together.

00:33:29.080 - 00:33:45.080

And that just didn't make any sense to her. Well, if everybody thought something differently, we would tear down the whole structure of family life. Family life. That's at the very heart of our life together, our relationship as husband and wife and children.

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You know, we can read philosophy about a kind of order where people, uh, make, and then the children will be taken, and, uh, uh, formed out here, formed out there, and we have not a state. But to develop family life, according to the divine design, is to have a relationship not only one to another, but to have a relationship to God. Let there be family. Let there be family. Well, I know that there are many things that we ought to be concerned about.

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Black Enterprise in the most recent edition talks about the black mind power being some $150 billion. And hasten to point out that this proportionate amount of that is used for health and business. We spend a whole lot of our money trying to be pretty. And a great deal of it is spent on hair care, you know, genitals, and dying our hair, and doing all of those things.

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And that does wonderful things for people on the outside. That's wonderful. [unintelligible] Paramount among us men of people. God has set in solitary all of the families of the earth.

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God in his created genius says, "Let there be family." Let there be family. And so what makes family? It's more than blood, Towers.

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It's true that blood is thicker than water. But it's also true that the spirit, the spirit is mightier than the flesh. It is only when God brings into atoms the breath of life, it's only when God puts his spirit in atoms that he becomes a living soul.

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So it is God's spirit dwelling with us, working in us and through us, that makes family. Cain and Abel are brothers in the flesh. Cain cares Abel and then inquires of God,

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"Am I my brother's keeper?" God wants us to be family, really brother and sister, to be related to one another in his spirit.

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And when God is honored as creator, his spirit is the source of our being. His spirit orders our lives. Blessed is the nation whose God is in all.

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The nation is made up of family. Families are made up of individuals. and individuals have to be fashioned into a unit of social cohesiveness. They must be fashioned into solidarity. Blessed is the nation, his God is the Lord. So if our nation is to be strong, we must have strong family life.

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Strong family life. And President Carter took over as our leader. It is said that he called together the men of his time. [inaudible] Those who didn't have a good family life, those who were short enough, not married,

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they didn't have time to start straightening up. The press didn't take that too kindly. They said that this man here is so out of gear and some of those things, you know, with his faith. And where'd this man come from?

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You see, that's a departure from the rest of life. It's a departure from what the scripture really teaches about the covenant community. And somehow, somewhere along the way, if it's good for us to sort of come together and look at really what makes family anyway. What makes family?

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There are some people who are related to us by blood, that are as far from us as these sisters were. Oh, and family is like being blood, too. But there is nothing that really has in common. But to really have family is to somehow have a spirit that binds together, binds together family.

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[Unintelligible] God has created us. God somehow has called us into being. And he has called us to be family. That in fashioning our lives here as a church family,

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as fashioning our lives as separate units, that he has called us to be family. Let there be family. So it has to be my brothers and sisters in two relationships.

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First in the relationship of creation, and the second in the relationship of history. When God created the world, in seven days, He wrote it on the seventh day, and then there was the next day.

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A thing that was selected for the World Fair in Montreal in 1967 called Expo 67. Here is the eighth day. The eighth day. We have the seven days, but then the eighth day is when man begins to make his history. What do you do on the eighth day? So, the eighth day is important.

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We are also speaking about the eighth day. We are making our own history day by day. God has given us this day as a new day. And this is our eighth day. We're all going beyond that seventh day.

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We are writing a new history. But it's important when we're writing this new history that we recognize the hand of God in our lives. And we recognize that not only has God created us,

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but that God's hand is working in our lives. And that we must somehow permit him to guide us. Oh, his hand, is that whether we recognize it or not? Oh, how wonderful it is when we permit the hand to lead us,

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when we let the hand fashion us, when we let that ant strut in us, and we out of him, then family life, why do we do that? What does the bottle mean by family?

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It's really pulling off that covenant relationship where we make promises. A couple stand at the altar and make a commitment. It's there together, so Thomas loves you in significant himself.

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Thomas has his name there. For good times and in bad times, let me make this promise. That whatever one may have in life, that whatever we will be together, that together under the leadership of the Spirit of God, that's Christian marriage.

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Isn't that what we promised? And that is what makes a covenant relationship. And that covenant relationship is a relationship which one has not only to another, but to the Holy Other. We have it to God.

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And so people promise to be faithful to God in our relationships. All of our relationships, to be faithful to God. And the Bible says, "For the blessed A-P-S-E-D." That God somehow is faithful.

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That God is loyal. That God is steadfast. And He loves that we always depend on God. That's good news.

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That's good news. The only stumble we fail, as we look back we recognize, "Well, I may not have had the kind of husband of our life, "but I may not have been a kind of wife,

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"or a good-hearted man, or helped me to catch all "that I would like to have been. "I'll get to live my life all I want." We can all somehow look back and we can rejoice

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and we can appreciate many of the things that happen in family life. And one thing is certain that in the midst of it all, God has been steadfast in his love. That God has never changed! God has always been there!

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He's always there. And that's what it means to have a good family life. To know that there is one who's always there. I look back on this day, I can remember it really difficult times. But even in the midst of it all, when I had one outfit to wear, one pair of pants and a shirt,

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mother would wash it at night, and get up at night, the next morning, so I could wear it to school, and sometimes it would be a little bit happening, but as I go on, it's good. And whenever I was on prime, even though she was only

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making eight bars a week, but she would take off to be there on any great program day. And I was there. And I came up knowing that even though I didn't have this

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and I didn't have that, that mother was always there. Always there! I like that girl always! That you can do it always!

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That's real home! All that you can leave! Well, that's the way it goes, yeah. Whatever we have seen that is good in our fathers and mothers and fathers

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is an expression, is a manifestation of the love of God. And who blessed, who never... Blessed with the God of honor,

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blessed with the God of honor, blessed with His love, that's a blessing, a blessing to the person who has a blessing, to the person who receives it.

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Blessed is a nation who is God. Thank you. Come now, I have an invitation. We extend a tribute to the church.

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The blessed... Through Jesus Christ our Savior is Lord and Lord. Hymn number 220, the sound sing that hymn. God will take care of you.

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It's a hymn of faith. Knowing that when we trust him, we're faithful to him. And we don't have to worry about what he'll do. He'll see us through.

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(upbeat music) [Music] [Music] (funky music)

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[Music] (electronic music) (electronic music) [music]

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[Music] (upbeat music) [Music] (upbeat music)

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(upbeat music) (upbeat music) [Music] (chirping)

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(siren blaring) [Music] [Music] (siren blaring)

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[music] Almighty God, our gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you for this divine word. Let there be family.

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Let there be solidarity. Let there be wholeness. Let there be right relations among us. Let there be family.

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Bless us with your spirit that we may truly honor you as the creator of our lives, so that, motivated by your spirit, together we might write a new history on the eighth day.

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The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. Lord lift up the light of his countenance upon you and give you peace now and always. Amen.

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