Hall hallelu You hallelu hallu hallu hallelujah hallelujah you [Applause] this is the day that the Lord has made let us be glad and rejoice in it I was glad when they said unto me let us go into the house of the Lord for God has shown thee what is good and what does
The Lord require of thee but to do justly to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God good morning morning we welcome you this morning to the Andrew ranking Memorial Chapel here in Crampton Auditorium and we pray God’s blessings upon you as we seek to worship Our God
In spirit and in truth I’m going to ask now M line Carter and member of the friends of the Chapel to come at this time to light our Unity candle there we [Applause] go Miss NATO fero a graduate assistant here in the office of the Dina Chapel
Will come now and lead us to through today’s service good morning morning it is a privilege to see all of your lovely faces you’re looking beautiful out there greetings to everyone here in person and our wonderful viewers online thank you to krampton Auditorium Spotlight holy hands interpreting services whut staff for
Your support in today’s service service I also would like to say thank you to our bell ringer Christopher Fowler I think he’s like our cousin or something Mr Fowler is a junior chemical engineering major from Houston Texas by way of Jackson Mississippi thank you Reverend Christopher Bonner a
Graduate assistant in the office of the dean of the chapel will be reading our scripture following Reverend Bonner will be a musical selection by the Andrew r Memorial Chapel choir a song titled lift every voice and sing directed by Dr Eric op good morning Chapel family this week’s scripture comes from
1 Corinthians chapter 16: 13 and 14 and I’ll be reading from the new revised Standard Version updated Edition and it reads keep a stand firm in the faith be courageous be strong let all that you do be done in love this is the word of God for the
People of God thanks be to God every sing heaven Every LIF every voice and sing aong s the Rising of our new day be let us on let us on to Victory the ch the days with not oury to the for our father we come been we have comeing our through the blood of the slaugh the be pass till stand when the W Is God of our We God of Our Th All Th keep us For In we PR bless from the places are God where we bless our heart drunk with the wine of the world For Sh may we forever stand true to our god true to our [Applause] Name amen what a beautiful rendition thank you again to the Andrew Ranken Memorial Chapa choir at this time I’d like to focus our attention on the bulletin offerings will be collected at the end of service there is also a QR code and Link information provided on how to participate in giving
Digitally if you are watching virtually you may also contribute by visiting giving. howard. edu Ranken Chapel we thank you in advance a special thank you to Tavia Jolie Lee a junior chemistry major you’re here okay and sociology minor from Egg Harbor Township New Jersey by way of South Philadelphia Pennsylvania who serves as
A speaker assistant at this time we’ll have Miss dumani Rodriguez the president of the Howard University Chapel assistance she will join us to give a warm welcome and to announce all of our calls to Chapel if you are participating in a call to Chapel please join us at the left side
Of the stage thank you and enjoy the remainder of the service good morning Chapel family um oh my goodness I’m so sorry we welcome to you to join us every Monday with Dean Richardson online and every Wednesday in the little chapel in Carnegie building more information regarding our programming is listed in
Your bulletin or you may speak to Chapel ass after service may all CA please rise today’s call to chaples will be from Howard University Community Choir AP capai National honorary band Fraternity Incorporated Ada Omega chapter Howard University student ambassadors Marlin spard re Research Center the hilltop and women of the
Mecca and y’all may come at this time good morning everyone my name is Ryan Hawk and I am a senior criminology major psychology minor from El Paso Texas and I have the honor of serving as the president of the Howard University community choir also known as
HCC I am here this morning to invite you all to our joy night entitled in his presence our joy night is a time for Fellowship praise and worship and it’s going to be all undignified praise our joy night will be taking place this Saturday February 10th in the
Blackburn Basement the doors will open at 6: p.m. and we will start promptly at 6:30 there will be more information on our Instagram so be on the lookout and I’ll also be here after service to answer any questions thank you and we’re looking forward to seeing you good
Morning I’ve always wanted to do that my name is India web and I’m humbled to serve as the managing editor of the hilltop thank you I stand before you with immense pride and joy as we celebrate a remarkable milestone in both journalism and education the hilltop Howard University’s student newspaper in the
Nation’s oldest black Collegiate newspaper has reached its inent year over the past 100 years the hilltop has been more than a newspaper it’s been a voice a heartbeat and a testament to the rich Legacy of Howard University from its Inception in 1924 by Zoro Neil huren and Eugene King The Hilltop has
Furiously chronicled the stories challenges and triumphs of our community reflecting the dynamic spirit that defines us all this weekend we came together not just to commemorate the past but to celebrate the present and envision our future on behalf of myself editor and chief Jasper Smith editorial advisor Keith L Alexander and the rest
Of the Centennial committee want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been a part of this incredible journey to the dedicated staff past and present who has poured their passion into every word photo layout meeting correction box and every other Nuance that just comes with the
Job thank you for being the driving force behind the hilltops Legacy one thing I’ve learned throughout this process is that there are Howard Alum but there are Hilltop Alum too to The Faculty advisers and mentors who have nurtured and guided generations of student journalists thank you for your wisdom and unwavering support and
To our readers all of you the Howard University Community the DC community and all of those who have engaged with the hilltop over the years your curiosity feedback and loyalty have fueled our mission may our next 100 Years be filled with continued excellence the spirit of our Founders
And a commitment to truth that resonates across Generations thank you and may God bless you [Applause] all Dean Richardson said the members of The Hilltop can stand and be acknowledge right [Applause] now good morning Chapel family my name is Alexis Williams and I’m a Junior Honor Sports Medicine major
Psychology minor from Charles City Virginia and I serve as this year’s Howard University student ambassador president and hello everyone my name is John Kendrick I am a sophomore political science and criminology double major from Indianapolis Indiana and this year I serve as the chair of the Howard University student ambassador week the
Howard University student ambassadors serve as the official student representatives for Howard University and prospective students we conduct campus tours for perspective students families and schools around the country our student ambassador family would like to invite all current students to our upcoming recruitment week entitled stepping into the mecca
Throughout this week we will be hosting many events that will allow students to Showcase their love and knowledge of how our University while also getting to know our amazing student ambassadors will all current student ambassadors please stand we hope to see all of you there at our student ambassador week thank you
Good morning and happy Sunday my name is Jamal mcir and I am a senior computer science major classical food minor from Detroit Michigan and I currently serve as the Adega chapter president of c cap good morning my name is Ian clil and I am a junior mechanical engineering
Major music and Mathematics double minor from Newport News Virginia by way of Baton Rouge Louisiana and I am currently serving as the ad Omega chapters by president of programs 40 years ago on this day February 4th 1984 eight men charted the historically black chapter the it Omega
Chapter here on the campus of Howard University one of the more impactful chapters to Capa cap aside these men had a vision for organization based on the principles of Brotherhood musicianship leadership and service to the Howard University University band programs we the brothers of kaasi believe that service to the college and university
Band programs Foster responsibility loyalty and Leadership that Spirit of Brotherhood is enhanced by the participation in Band program that music is a universal language and truly degrad to the Arts and that through fraternal participation each member will strive for the highest we have planned a week of events
And celebration of our Charter day we invite you to come out to our events for the rest of the week starting tomorrow with our very own Kaa capai alumni speaker Forum located in the band room in the basement of the college of fine arts Tuesday we’ll have a financial
Literacy Workshop located in lock Hall Wednesday begins our biwe weekly study hall program uh located in the Band Room Thursday we’ll host an open mic night at San Kofa Friday we’ll be hosting a game night in the axis game room and Saturday will end the week with the skate night
At Lanham Skate Center you can find more details on our Instagram page at _ KK side the Ed Omega chapter has stood the test of time through 40 outstanding years of service to all how University band programs and also service to bands in the DMV area creating memorable
Moments on campus of how University University and even making history on the national and District levels in honor of our CH today I would now like to recognize all brothers and attendance to please stand thank [Applause] you good morning and happy Black History Month everybody my name is Camille Ross I’m a senior
History major from Philadelphia Pennsylvania uh you may know me uh from my previous col Chapel as the student facilitator to radical reads book club we are meeting at 3: to 4: today in the Carnegie basement so if you’re interested in that you can ask me about that too but today I’m bringing
Greetings from the Morland spring gar Research Center for those not in the know the Morland spring gar Research Center is the most revered special collection on the global black experience we are one of the largest privately owned in the world and it’s right here on Howard’s campus and we’re
Opening tomorrow we’ve had a short oh we’ve had a short Hiatus for the month of January but we will now be open from 9 to 4: from Monday to Saturday and from 1:30 to 5:30 on Sundays if you have any research questions or want to learn more about the research center and its
Divisions you can ask me after service or you can follow us on Instagram X Morland hu or go to the website at msrc howard.edu and I’ll see you at the reading room sometime [Applause] soon good morning morning happy first Sunday of the month and happy Black History Month
As well my name is Jordan Ingram I’m a junior Health Sciences major chemistry minor from Harford County Connecticut and I serve as the secretary for women of the Mecca and my name is s shanell I’m a junior human development major psychology minor from Harvard County Connecticut and I serve as
Communications chair for women of the Mecca in addition to representing New England today we proudly represent Howard University’s women of the mecca a student L organization with a mission to honor educate Advocate and connect with all women identifying students here on campus we host a variety of events and programming throughout the year
Including book talks our annual mentorship program and our her story Week full of events to commemorate women’s history month during the C during the month of March to stay connected with us we recommend following our Instagram page at women of the mecca with the letter X substituting the E and
Women as that is where most of our updated information will be shared like our upcoming Valentine a fundraiser taking place this week we hope to see your lovely faces at some of our events and on behalf of women of the Mecca’s eboard we wish you all a successful and
Fulfilling spring semester and a special congratulations to all graduating seniors we thank you in the chapel assistants for welcoming us today have a blessed week thank [Applause] you hi I would like to thank all the organizations that had calls today thank you and now it’s time for the quote of
The week it reads there are two things everybody got to find out for themselves they got to find out about love and they got to find out about living and this is said by Zora Neil Hurston I hope all of you enjoy service and remember you can join Chapel assistants every Friday at
5:00 p.m. in the little chapel in Carnegie building thank [Applause] you let’s give God thanks once again for these marvelous organizations I want to acknowledge again uh the celebration of 100 years for the [Applause] Hilltop I see a few of my classmates I won um maybe I will mention
In the 70s I see Mr Donald Temple Mr chony Man Manson and they will remember when we would be on campus and wait for the hilltop to come out and run out to Douglas and other places and sit down and to read the hilltop and um Hilltop is something else back
Then and they still are but we give God thanks U for the work that you’re doing and I see our vice president Dr Cynthia ever uh please stand that we can acknowledge you for the Work and yesterday we celebrated with so many p p priz winners in the audience and if they’re here today please stand Mr Alexander if you’re here my my Mr Alexander thank you so much and what a tremendous tremendous experience um we need to celebrate uh that uh Milestone
It’s so significant and um you often hear me say that what happens at Howard University has um applications not just for Howard University but for the nation and the world and the hilltop is responsible for getting making that happen so let’s give God thanks and in honor of that um one of my
Favorite um quotes and experiences was erer Hurston your founder um took place in Ranken Chapel many many years ago she was a freshman and she writes about an experience that she had at the chapel and she talks about how the platform um was packed with distinguished faculty and students standing shoulder the
Shoulder and she whispered something to the spirit of Howard University and I’d like for us to do that this morning I’m like the students first stand let all the students stand current students and I’d like to um for you to repeat what I call a prayer but she this is what the word
Said Misty Eyes after no no you don’t have to say that part but say this part but Misty Eyes she whispered zorelle Hurston whispered to the spirit of Howard University and these are the the words she said I want you to repeat after me you have taken me in you have taken me
In I am a tiny bit of your greatness I bit of your greatness I swear to you I swear to you that I shall never make you ashamed of me I shall never make you ashamed of me thank you you may be [Applause] seated then she goes on to say my soul
Stood on tiptoe and stretched out to take in all that it meant and she would remember so I was careful to do my classwork and be worthy to stand under the shadow of the hovering Spirit of Howard I felt the ladder under my feet let’s say amen amen amen let us
Prepare now our hearts and our minds for prayer The morning when I Your dear Lord my pray oh Lorde my PR keep me safe within your Heart Your for Glor de Lord here my pray let us Pray Ask the friend for love says the poet ask again for I have learned that every heart will receive what it prays for the most Lord if these words are true and I believe they are then help us oh God to know what we should pray for help us to know what is in our hearts to know what we truly want and need Make us not afraid to ask for clarity to know what we’re thinking and and feeling Lord we’re often not sure so search Us Now search our secret places where we where we hide our fears where we hide our deepest desires even from ourselves search us this
Morning search us so that we will know what keeps us from doing what you’ve already placed in our hearts to Do as you search us cause us to be patient and and gentle gentle with ourselves and to stop harassing ourselves with guilt over what has passed and what we cannot change remind us oh God that that you are a Healer more than you are a Judge Lord help us and and teach us how to listen to our hearts help us to to trust our hearts And forgive us Lord forgive us for listening to voices that keep reminding us of our weaknesses and failures but not our successes or Our Hope or your hope for us voices that that make us willing to walk away from our dreams and to fit into places where we know we don’t
Belong and we places that we have outgrown own voices that are that are causing us to settle for lesser things come now Lord help us to believe in ourselves again help us to believe in your power to heal and we thank you now we thank you for all that you have already
Done the many blessings that we too often take for granted especially the gift of life now oh God amid war and rumors of more Wars we give to you you are very sick nation in the nations of your world give us courage this morning give us the courage to speak
Truth to all who are using your name to to justify genocide racism greed and the condemnation of people because of whom they choose to love be placed now in your hands all that we struggle with and all that we struggle against we give to you the people in our
Lives who need so much more than we could ever provide and we ask that you heal us Lord Heal us now now Dr thy still dos of quietness until all our striving cease take from our souls The Strain and the stress and let all ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace in Jesus name we pray amen I love the Lord he heard My Cry and Pity grow long as I live while TR [Laughter] R i Hast to Is throne oh I love the Lord I love the Lord yes he heard My Cry he heard he heard my cry and he pied yes he pied he pied every grown and P grown GR long as I live while TR rise while troubles rise W they rise I will hasten I will hasten to his throne i h His throne his throne I hasten to his throne hasten to I’ll hasten to his throne I’ll hasten to his throne I hasten to his throne I’ll hasten to his throne I’ll hasten To th amen we are indeed excited and blessed to have as our preacher the Reverend Dr ebony Marshall Turman who is the associate professor of theology African-American religion and African-American studies at Yale University Divinity School she is the only rist constructive Theologian in religious ethicist on faculty at Yale
University and this one many may not understand but I know how significant this is the only black Theologian to be internally promoted to the rank of associate professor in the history of the [Applause] institution a first career concert dancer and ordained National Baptist preacher her research interest Spann the
Varieties of the 20th and 21st century in US theological liberalism most especially black and women’s theological social ethical and Theo athetic Traditions a Trailblazer in church and the academy she is the youngest woman to be named assistant minister of the historic Aban Baptist Church in New York
City and the second woman to preside over the ordinances in its 215 year history you can [Applause] clap with all of that she is one of our nation’s most outstanding and effective features we are blessed to have her back with us and we ask that you pray for her
As she comes to bring us a word from the Lord follow me in selection from the Chapa Choir God is the solarist Sabrina Jones under the direction of Dr Eric P we will be blessed to experience the preaching and the ministry of Dr Tur God Is my Protection God Is my all and All God Is my light in darkness Oh God is he is my all and all God Is Of Say God is say my God is God is he is my home and all my God he is my [Applause] Own God my joy in the time of sorrow Oh he is my all and all oh God God Is my today and tomorrow God my God is he is my all and oh God iseng He he Promise Oh saying God is God is say my God is is say God is he is my all and all he is my rock my protection and all and all and all and all and all he is my oh my God is my is my today my tomorrow is my
All my joy in the time of Sorrow he is my all and all he is my All he is my own [Applause] oh The Lord is my light and my salvation Whom Shall I Fear Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid when the wicked came against me to devour My Flesh they stumbled and they fell though an host encamp against me my heart will not fear though War break out
Against me in this will I be confident one thing have I desired of the Lord and that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in God’s
Temple for in the time of trouble God will hide me in his Pavilion in the secret of his Tabernacle will he hide me he will set me up upon a rock and now shall my head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me when my father and my mother forsake me then
The Lord will take me up wait on the Lord young people and be of good courage and God will strengthen thine heart wait I say on the Lord I give honor today to God because God is the head of my life God is the first and the
Last the beginning and the end the Greek New Testament tells us that God is the alpha Kai Omega God is the author and the finisher of my faith to God be the glory great things God has done to the president of this most distinguished institution uh Ben Vincent II to your
Faculty and staff to of course the dean of this historic Chapel Dean Bernard Richardson PhD give it up to God for him Dean I’ve been blessed over the years by your academic Ministry and I am grateful for the invitation to be be present with you
Again uh the first time I was here well not here I worshiped with you virtually during the height of the covid-19 pandemic when we were all preaching from home but I am glad uh to be in the service one more time to the chapel staff to all of the chapel assistants
Especially my dear sister Tavia to Joseph Dillard and darell n hand handling my uh administrative needs during this visit special shout out word of acknowledgement to uh the new Dean of the Divinity School Dr kinata Gilbert and faculty colleagues who serve alongside of him to all of the students
Who are worshiping today and all of the members of the body of Christ to the Friends of God who find themselves here this morning I bring greetings from the campus of Yale University Divinity School and offer them to you today as I would any other day in the name of the
Creator the Christ and the Holy Ghost good morning I’m struggling with my voice this morning as you probably can hear so I ask that you would pray with me as we turn our attention to this morning’s scripture that is found in the New Testament the letter to the church at
Philippi Philippians chapter 3 beginning at verse 4B I’m reading from the new King James version of the book Philippians chapter 3 beginning at verse 4B it is a familiar passage of scripture and one that is especially relevant for us today it reads on this wives if anyone else
Thinks she may have confidence in the flesh I more so circumcised The Eighth Day of the stock of Israel of The Tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of the Hebrews concerning the law of Pharisee concerning Zeal persecuting the church concerning the righteousness which is in the law blameless but what things were gained to
Me these I have counted loss for Christ yet indeed I also count all things lost for the Excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish that I may gain Christ and be
Found in him not having my own righteousness which is from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness which is from God by faith that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings being conformed to his death
If by any means I may attain the resurrection of the Dead not that I have already attained or am already perfected but I press I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me Brethren I do not count myself to have
Apprehended but this one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the mark for the prize of the High Calling of God God in Christ Jesus the word of the Lord is blessed won’t you pray with
Me Monday we held it together Wednesday we had stormy weather Friday we prayed it all better but Sunday we heard the good news news hide me now oh God behind your cross that the waiting congregation might not see the woman of God but in this preaching hour they might see
Jesus and decide to follow him this is your disciples prayer in Jesus name and the people of God said amen gathered as we are this morning in the heart of Howard University the mecca of black education certainly certainly we know that every day presents an opportunity to celebrate and to
Commemorate the contributions of black people to the world but on this first Sunday in black history month I would like to underscore such influence by speaking with you on very very familiar theme I would think keep your eyes on the prize some of you few of you since I’m a geriatric Millennial
Now but some of you may remember that Landmark documentary series eyes on the prize it first premiered on the public Broad Broadcasting Service PBS in January of 1987 I was a very very young child at the time but I distinctly remember my mother she insisted that my brothers and
I sit in front of the television every night of this series so much for this new wave of gentle parenting and screen time limits my mother was like sit in front of the TV and we had to sit in front of the TV every night to watch this documentary
Footage and she wanted us to know in watching she wanted us to know for ourselves what had precipitated the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955 and she wanted us to see for ourselves what Jim Crowe and his children looked like as they violently harassed black children who just wanted
To go to school amidst the battle against educational aparted in Little Rock Arkansas she wanted us to understand for ourselves the fortitude of black life that emerged within the intricacies of the fight for the franchise in Mississippi so Dreadful and horrific that it would compel one Fanny ler to
Say I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired my mother wanted us to grasp the malevolence of racist policing and political maneuvering that advanced one Bloody Sunday marching from Selma to Montgomery and the birth story of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and after every turbulent chaotic violent segment
Of the worst of times that this documentary series displayed the steady strength and unrelenting composure of this song adapted from negro hity uh to propel the movement forward would replay keep your eyes on the prize and hold on but the truth is that sometimes it
Feels so much easier to just let go my four-year-old twins sing along with the Frozen Disney princess Let It Go but this is Not Mere Child’s Play even for the best of us the brightest the fittest the strongest the most well-educated the most accomplished of us sometimes it just feels easier to
Just let go we don’t even have to look at this week’s news report or economic Outlook or political disaster to know that black people in this nation and across the globe continue to be tormented by the Rabid tentacles of Western colonization and its shameful compulsion for theft and acquisition the
Tagline for European settler colonialism and its concomitant Logics of genocide rape and slavery should be stealing since 1492 even though we think that we’ve come a long way from the American slavocracy first established Dante vaita on the coast of Jamestown 1619 even though we think H that we’ve
Come a long way from the NAT of the spectacle of lynching Meed out on the bodies of black men and women and children at the whim and fancy uh of the Logics of white supremacy at the turn of the 20th century even though we think young people that that we have come a
Long way from the bastardized politics of Jim and Jane crow that terrorized our people in the mid to late 20th century it’s 2024 and the aspiration to white power is still shooting up our churches it’s still kneeling on our necks it’s still as fixating us in our communities it’s
Still dismantling the black vote it’s still still carrying crosses and Confederate flags on the capital grounds this very School amongst the broad spectrum of historically black colleges and universities was founded in 1867 because even the best of us the black scholar the black student couldn’t get a fair Shake it’s
2024 and for the most part we are still unwanted wanted in their schools we are still unwanted in their corporations except as heads of diversity we are still unwanted in their conference rooms on their pitches in their courtrooms and sisters we are even unwanted in their
Pulpits huh the Rope of the Lynch mop uh White robes and uh burning crosses look a lot different these days Sometimes they come with TIY torches and Trump Flags but the signs and symbols of white power are almost imperceptible sometimes it’s a gun and a shield that’s used to shoot down black
Children like dogs in the street while at other times it’s a hot mic and soap box upon which they stand to demonize Black Life by BL Banning books from schools and rendering illegal the teachings of black history which is American history for decades H they lock
Black children up for love it or hate it the Ingenuity of a nickel bag amidst the nihilistic threat of poverty but every day I tell you every day we are still subject to the insipid and unimaginative racism sexism misogyny ableism narcissism greed ruthlessness self-centered uh punitive retaliation ative mechanisms braggadocious self-
Supremacist motifs and outright lies of a con man from Queens uh he’s the real thug the real hoodlum the real fraud the real gangster the real mobster the real criminal the real Crook and he’s running for president again and he just might win uh we don’t even have time to touch
Upon the terror that compels Palestinian genocide happening right now uh the dismantling of Reproductive Rights uh the dismantling of queer and trans rights uh the dismantling of affirmative action but I sto by today uh because sometimes uh the Ridiculousness of it all the absurdity of it all the preposterousness of it all the
Irrationality the farce of this so-called one nation under God is enough to make you want to let go the absurdity the absurdity dean the absurdity of it all makes me wonder how in the world did we get here I I just saw the documentary footage but some of you were
There and if you weren’t there in Selma in Montgomery in Albany here in Washington DC maybe your mother or your father your grandmother or your grandfather was there and after all the work that they put into transforming this nation and this world given all the Blood Sweat and Tears that they shed
Over the past several centuries how in the world did we get here H the insinuations of the question on the floor is not limited to the social or political and economic Realms some of the some of us are asking this very question about our relationship yeah we’ve heard it said love is patient
And love is kind it keeps no record of wrong but you woke up this morning looked over and wondered how in the world did I get here maybe for you it’s a dead-end job or a financial Wildfire from all of those student loans or a spiritual desert and though it is written cast
Your cares upon Him for he cares for you you find yourself wondering from time to time how did I get here huh maybe your personal life is falling apart you look good in your t-shirts and your sweat but maybe your personal life is falling apart maybe your health is failing maybe your mind
Is unraveling and though you’ve heard it said be anxious for nothing but but in all things through prayer and supplication and Thanksgiving make your request known unto God After all you’ve done and all the work you have put in to hold things together to hold it down to
To make something of yourself before you can find your way to your prayer closet you find yourself wondering how in the world did I get here Paul is considering this very question as he writes to the church at Philippi from Death Row Paul by this time had been through
It he had been beaten five times each time with 40 Lashes he had been caned three times with rods he had survived a stoning and three shipwrecks and now he is languishing in prison awaiting uh the certainty of a guilty verdict and his senten sentencing to death and as he
Reflect refs on the desolation of the present circumstances how in the world did I get here he cannot help but to rehearse his own human prowess he says I was circumcised on the eighth day how did I get here I’m from the stock of Israel The Tribe of Benjamin a Hebrew of
Hebrews concerning the law I’m a Pharisee concerning Zeal persecuting the church concerning the righteousness which is in the law I am blameless he says I am the best of the best the brightest of the brightest the strongest of the strong I am a Pharisee a prosecutor blameless before God’s law if
Anyone should have confidence in the flesh that things should look much better than they look right now it should be me and we know we know how this is because like Paul we sometimes can get caught up in the prowess of our own flesh caught up in the dexterity of our own material
Realities thinking more highly of ourselves and our capacities than we ought to a biggy small says it like this we get high off our own Supply but then after recounting how great things were out of nowhere Paul makes a sharp turn in his thinking and says but what things
Were gained to me in Christ I count it all lost and here he begins to remind the church the people of God that in the face of certain kinds of evil the great black woman is Theologian Dolores s Williams would call it the demarchy of this world to the church at Ephesus Paul
Would say it like this we fight not against flesh and blood but against powers and principalities spiritual wickedness in high places in the face of certain kinds of evil in this world that threatens to beat us down and break us up and walk us to death’s doorstep uh
Our material prowess alone uh will not save us when things start to fall apart and we find ourselves walking through the valley of the shadow of death when even V begins to dismantle the legislation that our foreparents died for and that we’ve been working to uphold for decades when the world tells
Us every day that black lives our lives do not matter and all we want to do is throw in the towel and let go Paul reminds the church in moments like these that it is not about what you know it’s not about your material trophies your degrees your pedigree where you’re from your
Employment history it’s just not about what you know but it’s about who you know ah the song says do you know a man uh From Galilee Paul says uh that I may know him uh that I may know the fellowship uh of his sufferings that I may know uh the power of his
Resurrection for when we know him in the Midnight Hour when your back is against the wall when the devil is on your Trail when they come for you at school uh when they come for you at work uh when they come for your children uh when they send hate
Mail uh to your inbox when they hang newses uh in front of your office door when we know him in spite of the dire realities of our present Circle circumstances uh when we know the Lord uh we have Assurance H the song says Blessed Assurance uh Jesus uh is mine uh
We have Assurance uh that God is with us uh in our suffering uh Isaiah said he was wounded uh for our transgressors he was bruised uh for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace is upon him and by his stripes uh we are healed uh
No matter how bad it gets uh and it’s going to get worse uh before it gets better uh when we know him uh we are assured uh that God will never leave us uh nor forsake us uh and with this assurance uh Paul says through it all
There’s only one thing left to do he says we’ve got to press uh toward the mark uh of the high calling in Christ Jesus uh let me say this and and I’m through when I was a kid my mother was a bit of a fitness
Buff she wanted us to be strong in body and in mind and in spirit she bought us fitness equipment enrolled Us in sports programs and exhorted us to play outside so we might go grow strong in our interactions with the weight of the world around us well one particular year she bought
My brothers I distinctly remember a bench press a bench press and every day my brothers would gather at the exercise machine so they could test each other and see how strong they really were I was just a little sister so I had to stand on the sidelines and watch you
Know cuz patriarchy but I remember this one time when my brother laid down on the bench and uh he uh decided that he was going to test himself and and see how much he could actually press and and he he prepared himself to to lift the weights
And my eldest brother uh was standing over him to spot him and so my brother who was laying down on the bench he he lifted the weight and he brought the weight down to wish chest but when he got there he realized that the weight was too heavy to Bear he realized that
The weight that he had brought down onto his chest was crushing him and he did not have the strength to lift the weight that was on him and when I saw what was happening from the sidelines I interceded by calling out for my mother I said Mom I’mma come and and while I
Was calling out for my mother he’s a mother to the motherless as I was calling out to my mother my eldest brother who had been standing over the bench press he he he had been standing there and spotting him the whole time he reached down and he helped my brother to
Press the weight up off of his chest and put that weight back in its place now I don’t want to bore you with boring childhood memories but I came to tell somebody who is feeling devastated who is feeling demoralized who is feeling debilitated by the weight of the world
Today that Beyond prayer and fasting the only way to confront this kind of evil the only way to put this kind of evil back in its place uhhh is to keep your eyes on the prize and keep pressing uh and we press uh marching and singing and
Chanting and praying and dying in we press as sisters and brothers reading and researching and speaking and writing and counseling and advocating we press knowing uh that when the load gets too heavy to bear in our own prowess uh not only do we have a parent in God uh a
Mother to the motherless and a father to the fatherless uh not only do we have a parent in God uh uh to whom we can cry out uh my God my God why hast Thou forsaken me but we have a brother uh Paul says he’s the firstborn of many
Brethren HHH we have a brother and it’s Black History Month uh so I dare say he’s an African brother uh out of Egypt uh I have called my son he was born in the poverty of a barn and died a slave uh on a cross uh at the hands of State
Sanctioned uh violence with his hands up and his mama watching uh from afar in the 19th century uh Bishop Henry mcneel Turner H said it like this God is a negro in the 20th century uh James how cone said it like this God is black uh
But the Bible says uh in the Revelation to John of pmos that his hair was as wool and his skin was as bronze oh we press I say uh knowing that we have a brother uh who is standing over us uh spotting us they call him Yeshua Ben
Yosef uh they call him the lion of Judah the rose of Sharon his name is Jesus oh oh uh it is Jesus uh oh it is Jesus it’s Jesus uh in my soul and our brother is seated at the right hand of the father and the father and the son are watching
Over us uh spotting us as we press uh and when the weight of the world uh gets too heavy to Bear they’re ready to give us a portion of their power that’s the spirit uh that comes from above so that through the godhead uh your mother can’t
Do it uh your father can’t do it uh the preacher can’t do it uh the Elder can’t do it uh your man can’t do it uh your boo can’t do it uh but through the power of the godhead uh that’s through the Father the Son uh and the Holy Spirit uh
Uh it’s through them that the words of the Covenant are fulfilled when I am weak um then uh I am strong are you weak uh and heavy laden uh cumbered with a load of care uh precious savior still my refuge take it uh to the Lord in prayer
We can’t let go young people our ancestors are leaning over the balconies of Heaven There is a bison contingent there Paulie Murray third Good Marshall zor Neil Hurston Elijah Cummings Vernon Jordan Tony Morrison Benjamin hooks Mary Francis Barry Chad Wick bosan Jesse Norman Azie Davis Gloria Richardson
There is a bising contingent there these are they uh who have come through the Great Tribulation and whose robes have been washed uh in the blood of the lamb and they’re leaning over the balconies of Heaven Howard telling you to keep your eye on the prize and hold on fight
On press on I’m pressing on the upward way uh New Heights I’m gaining every day still praying as I’m onward bound Lord plant my feet on higher ground [Applause] My You The of my strength you are the strength of my life My let us receive now our benediction Eternal God we give you thanks for this day and for the presence and guidance of your spirit we give you thanks for the transaction of your spirit in this place we ask now as we go from this place but never from your presence into the
Highways and byways of the world that you would go with us ever reminding us to keep holding on to keep fighting on and to keep pressing toward the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus we bless you oh God and now may the power and Glory of Jesus Christ rest Rule and
Abide with us here now henceforth and even forever more World Without End Amen Amen Am [Applause] Oh Hallelujah worthy to be praise Hallelujah you’re worthy to be prais Hallelujah your worthy to be prais Hallelujah your wory to be prais
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