Living While Dying
The Revd Dr Paul Walter, October 2, 2011About The Revd Dr Paul Walter: Paul Walter was Senior Rector of Church of the Resurrection from October of 2004 to April of 2012, at which time he retired. Prior to this, he was the rector of Good Shepherd Episcopal Church from August of 1996. Paul grew up in Colorado and after graduating from Yale with a degree in History, he became a successful international businessman living in the United States and abroad. In 1972, Paul and his wife Susan lost their third child while living in Tehran, Iran, and it was through a Christian couple who befriended them during this time of grief and loneliness that they came to know and believe in Jesus. During the next four years, Paul began to sense a call to ministry and in 1976 he entered Oxford University and obtained a Masters in Theology. After his graduation, Paul was ordained in the Episcopal church and ministered from that time in a number of locations in the United States. His heart has always been in missions, however, and he has served in a number of high profile positions in addition to earning his Doctor of Missiology degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Paul met his wife, Susan Goddard, in a choir in New York City. They have been married over forty years and have three adult children. Daughter Carolyn is a senior producer near Atlanta, Georgia. Son Matthew, who is married and has six children, has served as an Anglican missionary in Amman, Jordan and is now an associate priest in Ocala Florida. Son Peter is a businessman in Charlotte, North Carolina. Susan, who is now retired from her career as a veterinarian, forms an essential part of Paul’s ministry.
Part of the Sunday Sermon series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
Introduction
To that mysterious realm where each shall take
Thou go not, like the quarry-slave at night,
Scourged by his dungeon; but, sustain'd and soothed
By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave,
Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch
About him, and lies down to pleasant dreams.
Thanatopsis William Cullen Bryant
Living While Dying
- Isaiah 25:1-9
Living with the Tension: Trouble vs Hope
- Psalm 23
Comforted by Rod and Staff
- Ephesians 4:1-9
Prayer and thought life which promote peace
- Matthew 22:1-14
An attitude to honor an invitation to Joy
Conclusion
| Earlier: | Same day: | Later: |
|---|---|---|
| « Signs of Opposing Jesus | None | What God Wills » |
Isaiah 25:1-9
25:1 O Lord, you are my God;
I will exalt you; I will praise your name,
for you have done wonderful things,
plans formed of old, faithful and sure.
2 For you have made the city a heap,
the fortified city a ruin;
the foreigners' palace is a city no more;
it will never be rebuilt.
3 Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;
cities of ruthless nations will fear you.
4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor,
a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;
for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,
5 like heat in a dry place.
You subdue the noise of the foreigners;
as heat by the shade of a cloud,
so the song of the ruthless is put down.
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
7 And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
8 He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day,
“Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” (ESV)
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. (ESV)
Ephesians 4:1-9
4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,
“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
and he gave gifts to men.”
9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? (ESV)
Matthew 22:1-14
22:1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.
11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.” (ESV)
