Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, April 2, 2023)
Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows. The best description of All Hallows Murray is an online gathering place for Christians and those exploring the Christian faith. The services of praise, proclamation, and prayer that are offered on this blogsite are not intended to replace those of a local church but are offered for the benefit of those who are unable to attend a local church for any reason, who may be traveling, or who wish to test the water before taking the plunge, or who otherwise may benefit from them.
DRAWING NEAR TO GOD
Opening Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl Tuttle’s “Hosanna in the Highest.”
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest!
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna in the highest!
Lord, we lift up your name with hearts full of praise;
Be exalted, O lord my God! Hosanna in the highest!
Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Glory, glory, glory to the King of kings!
Lord, we lift up your name with hearts full of praise;
Be exalted, O lord my God! Glory to the King of kings!
Introduction:
We are gathered together as the family of God
in our heavenly Father’s presence
to offer praise and thanksgiving
to ask forgiveness of our sins
to hear and receive God’s holy Word
to pray for the needs of the world
and to seek God’s grace
that through Jesus Christ our Lord
and in the power of the Holy Spirit
we may give ourselves to God’s service.
Prayers of Penitence and Forgiveness:
Return to the Lord, who will have mercy:
to our God, who will richly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)
A time of silence is kept, followed by this Kyrie
Open this link in a new tab to hear Ted Kim and Cindy Rethmeier’s “Kyrie Eleison”
For the things we’ve done and left undone
For the ways we’ve wandered from your heart
Forgive us, we pray
Forgive us, we pray
For the idols we put on Your throne
For the loves we choose above Your own
Forgive us, we pray
Forgive us, we pray
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
in our heavenly Father’s presence
to offer praise and thanksgiving
to ask forgiveness of our sins
to hear and receive God’s holy Word
to pray for the needs of the world
and to seek God’s grace
that through Jesus Christ our Lord
and in the power of the Holy Spirit
we may give ourselves to God’s service.
Prayers of Penitence and Forgiveness:
Return to the Lord, who will have mercy:
to our God, who will richly pardon. (Isaiah 55:7)
A time of silence is kept, followed by this Kyrie
Open this link in a new tab to hear Ted Kim and Cindy Rethmeier’s “Kyrie Eleison”
For the things we’ve done and left undone
For the ways we’ve wandered from your heart
Forgive us, we pray
Forgive us, we pray
For the idols we put on Your throne
For the loves we choose above Your own
Forgive us, we pray
Forgive us, we pray
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
For the lies that we clutch to our chests
For the fear that wants to steal our breath
Forgive us, we pray
And give us Your grace
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Bridge:
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
After the Kyrie, a short silence is kept before saying
May the Lord forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are
and direct what we shall be,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song of Praise
Open this link in a new tab to hear Sarah Hart’s “Great and Wonderful Lord.”
1 You are holy, you are Lord,
and your works are wonderful,
great and strong Most High almighty.
2 You are Father, you are king,
good and wise, true and living.
You are peace and rest abiding.
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Wonderful Lord.
3 You are beauty, you are friend,
our protector, you defend.
You are hope and faith, our Savior.
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh wonderful Lord
Oh you are wonderful Lord
4 You are mercy, you are love,
all we need, more than enough,
for in you is life everlasting.
Oh you are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh you are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh wonderful, Lord.
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Wonderful Lord,
wonderful Lord
so so wonderful.
The Collect of the Day:
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
For the lies that we clutch to our chests
For the fear that wants to steal our breath
Forgive us, we pray
And give us Your grace
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Bridge:
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Forgiving God, forgiving us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on us, on us
After the Kyrie, a short silence is kept before saying
May the Lord forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are
and direct what we shall be,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Song of Praise
Open this link in a new tab to hear Sarah Hart’s “Great and Wonderful Lord.”
1 You are holy, you are Lord,
and your works are wonderful,
great and strong Most High almighty.
2 You are Father, you are king,
good and wise, true and living.
You are peace and rest abiding.
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Wonderful Lord.
3 You are beauty, you are friend,
our protector, you defend.
You are hope and faith, our Savior.
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh wonderful Lord
Oh you are wonderful Lord
4 You are mercy, you are love,
all we need, more than enough,
for in you is life everlasting.
Oh you are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh you are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Oh wonderful, Lord.
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
You are great and wonderful, Lord.
(You are great and wonderful.)
Wonderful Lord,
wonderful Lord
so so wonderful.
The Collect of the Day:
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us pray.
Silence
God of all,
you gave your only begotten Son
to take the form of a servant,
and to be obedient even to death on a cross;
give us the same mind that was in Christ Jesus
that, sharing in his humility,
we may come to be with him in his glory,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
HEARING GOD’S WORD
Scripture Reading:
A reading from the New Testament (Philippians 2: 5-11)
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Silence
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
This Sunday, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of what is known as Holy Week, the second and last week of the two weeks of Passiontide, the last two weeks of Lent for churches that observe the penitential season of Lent. Passiontide commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus. On Palm Sunday Christians around the world recall Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, they recall the meal that Jesus ate with his disciples on the night of his betrayal and arrest, his washing of their feet, and his institution of the Lord’s Supper. On Good Friday they recall the events that followed his arrest—his trial, his mocking and scourging, his crucifixion and death, and his burial in a borrowed tomb.
This Sunday is called Psalm Sunday because Jesus’ disciples waved palm branches and strewed them on the road in front of him with their outer garments when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. Since earliest times the Church has marked this Sunday with processions in which parishioners wave leafy tree branches in imitation of the disciples. In Medieval England the procession was led by a wooden donkey on wheels which bore a monstrance, a vessel in which a consecrated eucharistic host is carried in processions. Since it was believed that Christ was substantively present in the host, it was believed that Jesus himself was riding on the wooden donkey at the head of the procession. Since palm trees did not grow in England, the people waved willow branches. The willow tree from which they cut the branches would come to be called the palm willow. At the time of the English Reformation Palm Sunday processions were abolished along with the practices of carrying about the sacramental bread and worshiping it and were not revived until the nineteenth century.
One of the things with which people struggle is not only the ignominiousness of Jesus’ death but also the needfulness of his dying. In the ancient Roman world crucifixion was considered such a disgraceful and shameful form of execution, it is rarely mentioned in the surviving literature of the time or even in personal writings such as letters, diaries, and commonplace books. It was reserved for common criminals and traitors.
Jews believed that anyone who was hung from a tree, was cursed by God. This is part explains their objection to Pilate’s order that a sign bearing the words, “King of the Jews” in several languages be nailed above Jesus’ head on the cross. It was a serious embarrassment to the Jews. In their minds God would not allow such a thing to happen to their king or to the Messiah. It would prove to be a significant obstacle to their believing that Jesus was God’s Anointed One, his Christ, their Messiah.
In our time people struggle with the idea that God would permit such a cruel death to happen to Jesus and question the purpose of his dying. Some go as far as accusing God as being a child abuser. They cannot reconcile in their minds the biblical teaching that God is love with the biblical teaching that Jesus’ suffering and death were necessary for our salvation. A loving God would not send his own Son to the cross, they argue, and therefore by their own logic, the God of the Bible cannot be a loving God and consequently is not worthy of their respect, trust, or obedience. It is in this manner that they rationalize their rejection of God.
While we may not fully understand the necessity of Jesus’ dying, one thing is very clear from the New Testament narrative. These words in today’s reading are key: “…he humbled himself….” Jesus was not the unwilling victim of an unloving God. When he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, he knew that he was riding to his death. His disciples knew that Jesus was going to his death. It was not an unfortunate development that might have been avoided or averted. It was Jesus’ choice. Jesus was acting on his own volition. He may not have known what would be the manner of his death but he knew as did the disciples that death waited for him in Jerusalem.
Jesus appeared to see his death as an ultimate act of love. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
As disciples of Jesus, it behooves us to see Jesus’ death in the same way as Jesus did. As well as seeing his death as an act of love, Jesus saw it as needful and purposeful. In the eternal scheme of things that God in the person of the Son, in the person of Jesus, should experience human suffering and death was integral to the reconciliation of God and humankind, to a better relationship between God and ourselves. Jesus talked about going out of our way for others. God in Jesus’ suffering and death demonstrated that he was willing to go out of the way for us.
We may never fully grasp the purpose and need for Jesus’ death. However, several things did come about as a result of his death. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead has given us the hope that one day we too will rise to new life. Jesus did not just appear to a handful of his close disciples on one occasion but to a large number of people on several different occasions. When people have put their trust and confidence in Jesus and have patterned their lives on the truths and principles he taught and the example he set, they have done much good and made the world a better place. They have indeed been light and salt as Jesus taught them to be.
The Lord bless you.
Let us pray.
Silence
God of all,
you gave your only begotten Son
to take the form of a servant,
and to be obedient even to death on a cross;
give us the same mind that was in Christ Jesus
that, sharing in his humility,
we may come to be with him in his glory,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
HEARING GOD’S WORD
Scripture Reading:
A reading from the New Testament (Philippians 2: 5-11)
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Silence
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
He Humbled Himself
This Sunday, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of what is known as Holy Week, the second and last week of the two weeks of Passiontide, the last two weeks of Lent for churches that observe the penitential season of Lent. Passiontide commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus. On Palm Sunday Christians around the world recall Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, they recall the meal that Jesus ate with his disciples on the night of his betrayal and arrest, his washing of their feet, and his institution of the Lord’s Supper. On Good Friday they recall the events that followed his arrest—his trial, his mocking and scourging, his crucifixion and death, and his burial in a borrowed tomb.
This Sunday is called Psalm Sunday because Jesus’ disciples waved palm branches and strewed them on the road in front of him with their outer garments when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt. Since earliest times the Church has marked this Sunday with processions in which parishioners wave leafy tree branches in imitation of the disciples. In Medieval England the procession was led by a wooden donkey on wheels which bore a monstrance, a vessel in which a consecrated eucharistic host is carried in processions. Since it was believed that Christ was substantively present in the host, it was believed that Jesus himself was riding on the wooden donkey at the head of the procession. Since palm trees did not grow in England, the people waved willow branches. The willow tree from which they cut the branches would come to be called the palm willow. At the time of the English Reformation Palm Sunday processions were abolished along with the practices of carrying about the sacramental bread and worshiping it and were not revived until the nineteenth century.
One of the things with which people struggle is not only the ignominiousness of Jesus’ death but also the needfulness of his dying. In the ancient Roman world crucifixion was considered such a disgraceful and shameful form of execution, it is rarely mentioned in the surviving literature of the time or even in personal writings such as letters, diaries, and commonplace books. It was reserved for common criminals and traitors.
Jews believed that anyone who was hung from a tree, was cursed by God. This is part explains their objection to Pilate’s order that a sign bearing the words, “King of the Jews” in several languages be nailed above Jesus’ head on the cross. It was a serious embarrassment to the Jews. In their minds God would not allow such a thing to happen to their king or to the Messiah. It would prove to be a significant obstacle to their believing that Jesus was God’s Anointed One, his Christ, their Messiah.
In our time people struggle with the idea that God would permit such a cruel death to happen to Jesus and question the purpose of his dying. Some go as far as accusing God as being a child abuser. They cannot reconcile in their minds the biblical teaching that God is love with the biblical teaching that Jesus’ suffering and death were necessary for our salvation. A loving God would not send his own Son to the cross, they argue, and therefore by their own logic, the God of the Bible cannot be a loving God and consequently is not worthy of their respect, trust, or obedience. It is in this manner that they rationalize their rejection of God.
While we may not fully understand the necessity of Jesus’ dying, one thing is very clear from the New Testament narrative. These words in today’s reading are key: “…he humbled himself….” Jesus was not the unwilling victim of an unloving God. When he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt, he knew that he was riding to his death. His disciples knew that Jesus was going to his death. It was not an unfortunate development that might have been avoided or averted. It was Jesus’ choice. Jesus was acting on his own volition. He may not have known what would be the manner of his death but he knew as did the disciples that death waited for him in Jerusalem.
Jesus appeared to see his death as an ultimate act of love. “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13).
As disciples of Jesus, it behooves us to see Jesus’ death in the same way as Jesus did. As well as seeing his death as an act of love, Jesus saw it as needful and purposeful. In the eternal scheme of things that God in the person of the Son, in the person of Jesus, should experience human suffering and death was integral to the reconciliation of God and humankind, to a better relationship between God and ourselves. Jesus talked about going out of our way for others. God in Jesus’ suffering and death demonstrated that he was willing to go out of the way for us.
We may never fully grasp the purpose and need for Jesus’ death. However, several things did come about as a result of his death. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead has given us the hope that one day we too will rise to new life. Jesus did not just appear to a handful of his close disciples on one occasion but to a large number of people on several different occasions. When people have put their trust and confidence in Jesus and have patterned their lives on the truths and principles he taught and the example he set, they have done much good and made the world a better place. They have indeed been light and salt as Jesus taught them to be.
Jesus put a high value on compassion, forgiveness, generosity, honesty, kindness, love, open-handedness, patience, respect for others, trustworthiness, and self-control. One can appreciate Jesus’ positive influence when one considers how callous, uncaring, and brutal the ancient Roman world was, the conditions in countries where religious beliefs and practices promote a different set of values, and how our own society might have become and still may become without the moderating effect of that influence.
It may be difficult for us to imagine the blood lust of the Roman crowds that flocked to the arena to view with delight men fighting to the death and wild beasts killing women and children and devouring them while loud music was played on the water organ. Unwanted babies were left to die on trash heaps. There was an ongoing trade in these abandoned babies. Girl babies found in a garbage dump were sold to brothels and raised as prostitutes. Boy babies would be deliberately crippled or blinded and were forced to beg from a young age. Romans who owned slaves could do whatever they liked with their slaves, whatever their age and whatever their sex. They could use them to gratify their sadistic or sexual pleasure.
In India in the bad old days, widows were burned alive with their dead husbands, a practice called suttee. Now in many parts of India they treated as if they are dead once their husbands die. The thugees, devotees of the goddess of death, Kali, at one time strangled travelers as sacrificial offerings to their deity. To this day young girls are sold to temples to be temple prostitutes. Despite efforts to dismantle the Indian caste system, it still influences people’s lives in modern-day India. Arranged marriages are not uncommon with young girls being married to men much older than themselves. Young girls are also sold into servitude.
The cults of a number of Hindu deities teach that the worshipers of these deities must suffer pain in approaching their deity to make offerings and prayers, forcing them to crawl on their bare hands and knees on rough surfaces. Hindu extremists not only maintain that there should be no other religion beside Hinduism practiced in India but also have beaten adherents of other religions with iron rods, destroyed their homes, and driven them from their villages. The police have done nothing.
In Pakistan and other Muslim countries where Islam's harsh sharia law prevails in many parts of the country, honor killing is practiced. Family members, often teen age girls and young women, are murdered by other family members for doing anything the murderers believe has sullied the family’s honor. The murderers may only be distantly related to the victim.
It may be difficult for us to imagine the blood lust of the Roman crowds that flocked to the arena to view with delight men fighting to the death and wild beasts killing women and children and devouring them while loud music was played on the water organ. Unwanted babies were left to die on trash heaps. There was an ongoing trade in these abandoned babies. Girl babies found in a garbage dump were sold to brothels and raised as prostitutes. Boy babies would be deliberately crippled or blinded and were forced to beg from a young age. Romans who owned slaves could do whatever they liked with their slaves, whatever their age and whatever their sex. They could use them to gratify their sadistic or sexual pleasure.
In India in the bad old days, widows were burned alive with their dead husbands, a practice called suttee. Now in many parts of India they treated as if they are dead once their husbands die. The thugees, devotees of the goddess of death, Kali, at one time strangled travelers as sacrificial offerings to their deity. To this day young girls are sold to temples to be temple prostitutes. Despite efforts to dismantle the Indian caste system, it still influences people’s lives in modern-day India. Arranged marriages are not uncommon with young girls being married to men much older than themselves. Young girls are also sold into servitude.
The cults of a number of Hindu deities teach that the worshipers of these deities must suffer pain in approaching their deity to make offerings and prayers, forcing them to crawl on their bare hands and knees on rough surfaces. Hindu extremists not only maintain that there should be no other religion beside Hinduism practiced in India but also have beaten adherents of other religions with iron rods, destroyed their homes, and driven them from their villages. The police have done nothing.
In Pakistan and other Muslim countries where Islam's harsh sharia law prevails in many parts of the country, honor killing is practiced. Family members, often teen age girls and young women, are murdered by other family members for doing anything the murderers believe has sullied the family’s honor. The murderers may only be distantly related to the victim.
Stoning is practiced as a form of capital punishment for certain violations of sharia law. The manner in which woman are executed is far more brutal than the manner in which men are executed. They forced to stand upright in a hole so that only their head is above the ground. The hole is filled with dirt to prevent them from moving and the small stones are thrown at their heads until they die from their injuries. Men are only buried up to their waists and larger stones are used in their execution, quickly bludgeoning them to death.
Women have also been bricked into their own houses without food, water, or air and left to die for other violations of sharia law. Thieves still have their right hand cut off for their first stealing offense.
In parts of the United States and the European Union and in Canada, assisted suicide and euthanasia laws have been enacted, permitting so-called mercy killing of the terminally ill, physically disabled, intellectually impaired, and severely depressed, children as well as adults. These laws reflect a lowering of the value that society places on human life. This devaluing of human life is traceable to the declining Judeo-Christian influence in these countries, an influence in which Jesus' teaching plays a significant part.
While those who identified themselves as Christians have not always lived their lives in accordance with Jesus’ teaching and example, Christians who have made a genuine effort to follow in his footsteps have helped to transform the world to the betterment of all humankind. They may have not lived perfect lives but they did their best to live according to his teaching and example in their generation, to do no harm, to shun the various forms of evil-doing to which humankind is prone, and to do good to others. While we may not fully understand why Jesus needed to suffer and die, it was not entirely a bad thing. As God has done with other seemingly bad situations, God took it and redeemed it, brought tremendous good out of one act of evil. Let us keep that in mind as we recall this week the events that led to Jesus’ suffering and death and prepare to celebrate on Easter Day Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Silence
Song of Response:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s “My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness.”
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow'r upon my heart.
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev'ry promise is enough
For ev'ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev'ry thought is love.
For ev'ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him,
To love and follow him.
PRAYING FOR GOD’S WORLD
In parts of the United States and the European Union and in Canada, assisted suicide and euthanasia laws have been enacted, permitting so-called mercy killing of the terminally ill, physically disabled, intellectually impaired, and severely depressed, children as well as adults. These laws reflect a lowering of the value that society places on human life. This devaluing of human life is traceable to the declining Judeo-Christian influence in these countries, an influence in which Jesus' teaching plays a significant part.
While those who identified themselves as Christians have not always lived their lives in accordance with Jesus’ teaching and example, Christians who have made a genuine effort to follow in his footsteps have helped to transform the world to the betterment of all humankind. They may have not lived perfect lives but they did their best to live according to his teaching and example in their generation, to do no harm, to shun the various forms of evil-doing to which humankind is prone, and to do good to others. While we may not fully understand why Jesus needed to suffer and die, it was not entirely a bad thing. As God has done with other seemingly bad situations, God took it and redeemed it, brought tremendous good out of one act of evil. Let us keep that in mind as we recall this week the events that led to Jesus’ suffering and death and prepare to celebrate on Easter Day Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
Silence
Song of Response:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s “My Heart Is Filled With Thankfulness.”
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who bore my pain;
Who plumbed the depths of my disgrace
And gave me life again;
Who crushed my curse of sinfulness
And clothed me in His light
And wrote His law of righteousness
With pow'r upon my heart.
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To Him who walks beside;
Who floods my weaknesses with strength
And causes fears to fly;
Whose ev'ry promise is enough
For ev'ry step I take,
Sustaining me with arms of love
And crowning me with grace.
My heart is filled with thankfulness
To him who reigns above,
Whose wisdom is my perfect peace,
Whose ev'ry thought is love.
For ev'ry day I have on earth
Is given by the King;
So I will give my life, my all,
To love and follow him,
To love and follow him.
PRAYING FOR GOD’S WORLD
Concerns and Prayers
A short pause for silent prayer may be made after each response. The bidding in brackets [ ] may be omitted.
Let us implore the all-holy and ever-blessed Trinity to show mercy and grace to us and to all people.
O God the Father, have mercy upon us:
O God the Father, have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, have mercy upon us:
O God the Son, have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us:
O God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us.
Stretch out your hand upon us, O Lord, and save us; raise us up and defend us.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the peace that comes from above, and for the salvation of our souls.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the peace of the whole world, and for the welfare and unity of the Church of God.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the conversion of those who do not yet believe or have fallen into error.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for our country, for this place [or city], for this district, and for all that live in it.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all Christian people throughout the world.
Lord, have mercy.
[Let us pray for all Christian princes and governors, especially our Sovereign Lord, King Charles.]
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all in authority in this land, especially those in this county [or city or place].
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all who minister in Christ's Church, especially for N. our pastor.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all who are traveling by land, sea, or air.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for steadfastness in the faith for our brothers and sisters in other lands.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all who are sick or suffering, in mind, body, or state of life.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for quiet, peaceful lives, free from temptation and sin, and for a joyful reunion with all our loved ones in heaven at life’s end.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray that we may faithfully represent Christ in the world and to the world.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the faithful departed.
Lord, have mercy.
(Other biddings may be added here.)
Lord, you have given us grace to agree in these prayers, and you have promised that when two or three ask together in your name you will grant their requests. Fulfil now, Lord, our desires and prayers as may be best for us. Grant us in this life, knowledge of your truth and in the age to come, life eternal. Amen.
And now as our Savior Christ taught us, we are bold to say:
A short pause for silent prayer may be made after each response. The bidding in brackets [ ] may be omitted.
Let us implore the all-holy and ever-blessed Trinity to show mercy and grace to us and to all people.
O God the Father, have mercy upon us:
O God the Father, have mercy upon us.
O God the Son, have mercy upon us:
O God the Son, have mercy upon us.
O God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us:
O God the Holy Spirit, have mercy upon us.
Stretch out your hand upon us, O Lord, and save us; raise us up and defend us.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the peace that comes from above, and for the salvation of our souls.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the peace of the whole world, and for the welfare and unity of the Church of God.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the conversion of those who do not yet believe or have fallen into error.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for our country, for this place [or city], for this district, and for all that live in it.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all Christian people throughout the world.
Lord, have mercy.
[Let us pray for all Christian princes and governors, especially our Sovereign Lord, King Charles.]
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all in authority in this land, especially those in this county [or city or place].
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all who minister in Christ's Church, especially for N. our pastor.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all who are traveling by land, sea, or air.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for steadfastness in the faith for our brothers and sisters in other lands.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for all who are sick or suffering, in mind, body, or state of life.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for quiet, peaceful lives, free from temptation and sin, and for a joyful reunion with all our loved ones in heaven at life’s end.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray that we may faithfully represent Christ in the world and to the world.
Lord, have mercy.
Let us pray for the faithful departed.
Lord, have mercy.
(Other biddings may be added here.)
Lord, you have given us grace to agree in these prayers, and you have promised that when two or three ask together in your name you will grant their requests. Fulfil now, Lord, our desires and prayers as may be best for us. Grant us in this life, knowledge of your truth and in the age to come, life eternal. Amen.
And now as our Savior Christ taught us, we are bold to say:
Our Father, who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
GOING OUT TO SERVE
Closing Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Janet Vogt’s “We Are Yours, O Lord.”
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
1 We are in this world, but not of this world.
We forget we are called by Christ.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
2 Help us to be kind to those in our lives
and to everyone we meet.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
3 Teach us in your ways for all our days.
Let us hear your unspoken voice.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
4 Live within us, Lord, so we might be
your light for all to see.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
5 Ever may we praise your holiest name
for all you have given us.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord,
we are yours, O Lord.
Benediction:
May the Lord bless us and keep us,
May the Lord make his face to shine on us and be gracious to us,
May the Lord look on us with kindness and give us peace. Amen.
Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
GOING OUT TO SERVE
Closing Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Janet Vogt’s “We Are Yours, O Lord.”
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
1 We are in this world, but not of this world.
We forget we are called by Christ.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
2 Help us to be kind to those in our lives
and to everyone we meet.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
3 Teach us in your ways for all our days.
Let us hear your unspoken voice.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
4 Live within us, Lord, so we might be
your light for all to see.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord.
5 Ever may we praise your holiest name
for all you have given us.
Help us to remember who and what we are:
we are yours, O Lord,
we are yours, O Lord.
Benediction:
May the Lord bless us and keep us,
May the Lord make his face to shine on us and be gracious to us,
May the Lord look on us with kindness and give us peace. Amen.
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