Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, May 4, 2023)
DRAWING NEAR TO GOD
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Gathering Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Dan Schute’s “Glory and Praise to our God.”
Glory and praise to our God
Who alone gives light to our days
Many are the blessings He bears
To those who trust in His ways
1 We the daughters and sons of Him
Who built the valleys and plains
Praise the wonders our God has done
In every heart that sings
Glory and praise to our God
Who alone gives light to our days
Many are the blessings He bears
To those who trust in His ways
2 In His wisdom He strengthens us
Like gold that's tested in fire
Though the power of sin prevails
Our God is there to save
Glory and praise to our God
Who alone gives light to our days
Many are the blessings He bears
To those who trust in His ways
3 God has watered our barren land
And spent His merciful rain
Now our rivers of life run full
For anyone to drink
Glory and praise to our God
Who alone gives light to our days
Many are the blessings He bears
To those who trust in His ways
Song of Praise:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Josh Blakesly’s “Cry Out with Joy (Isaiah 12).”
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
1 Indeed God is my savior.
I am confident and sure.
He is my courage. I am not afraid.
My strength comes from the Lord.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
2 Give thanks and praise to the Lord.
Cry out among the nations.
With joy you will draw living water
from the fountain of salvation.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
Sing praise to God.
Proclaim his glorious deeds.
Zion, shout for joy and fall on your knees.
Fall on your knees.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
Song of Adoration:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Lisa Glasgow’s “We Behold You Most Holy One.”
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
Holy, holy Lord, you are holy
Worthy, worthy, you are the great I Am
All honor and power be unto you
As we behold you, Jesus the Lamb
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
Holy, holy Lord, you are holy
Worthy, worthy, you are the great I Am
All honor and power be unto you
As we behold you, Jesus the Lamb
Holy, holy Lord, you are holy
Worthy, worthy, you are the great I Am
All honor and power be unto you
As we behold you, Jesus the Lamb
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us pray.
You have called us by our name,
Song of Praise:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Josh Blakesly’s “Cry Out with Joy (Isaiah 12).”
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
1 Indeed God is my savior.
I am confident and sure.
He is my courage. I am not afraid.
My strength comes from the Lord.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
2 Give thanks and praise to the Lord.
Cry out among the nations.
With joy you will draw living water
from the fountain of salvation.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
Sing praise to God.
Proclaim his glorious deeds.
Zion, shout for joy and fall on your knees.
Fall on your knees.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you.
Cry out with joy
for the Holy One is among you
Song of Adoration:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Lisa Glasgow’s “We Behold You Most Holy One.”
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
Holy, holy Lord, you are holy
Worthy, worthy, you are the great I Am
All honor and power be unto you
As we behold you, Jesus the Lamb
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
Holy, holy Lord, you are holy
Worthy, worthy, you are the great I Am
All honor and power be unto you
As we behold you, Jesus the Lamb
Holy, holy Lord, you are holy
Worthy, worthy, you are the great I Am
All honor and power be unto you
As we behold you, Jesus the Lamb
We behold you, Most Holy One
We behold you, Lamb on the throne
As we worship you in reverent fear
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
We behold you, Jesus our Lord
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us pray.
Silence
O God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the good shepherd of your people;
help us when we hear his voice
to know him who calls us each by name,
and to follow were he leads;
who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HEARING GOD’S WORD
A reading from the New Testament (Ephesians 5: 15-20)
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Silence
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
This evening’s reading is a short passage from the apostle Paul’s letter to a group of believers at Ephesus. Paul urges them to be careful how they live. He cautions them against living like fools and urges them to live like those who are wise. He goes on to tell them to make the most of the opportunities which come their way even though they may be living in evil days. He warns them against acting without thinking and urges them to understand what the Lord wants them to do.
It is reasonable to believe that Paul ‘s thoughts about fools and wise people were shaped by the Hebrew Bible, our Old Testament. Paul had been a devote Jew and a Pharisee and he was a student of the Hebrew Bible. To get an idea of what Paul had in mind, let us take a brief look at what the Old Testament says about fools and wise people.
Psalm 51 tells us that fools deny God’s existence. They are corrupt and do evil things. None of them does good. From the Book of Proverbs, we learn that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1). They are destroyed by their own complacency.
While the wise are glad to be instructed, babbling fools fall flat on their faces (Proverbs 10). They do not treasure knowledge like the wise. Rather they invite disaster upon themselves with their babbling. They slander others. Their hearts are worthless. They are destroyed by their lack of common sense. They enjoy doing wrong.
They belittle their neighbors (Proverbs 11).
They think their own way is right and don’t listen to others (Proverbs 12). They are quick to lose their temper. The wise, on the other hand, stay calm if they are insulted. The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge. Fools broadcast their foolishness.
Wise people think before they act (Proverbs 13). Fools don’t and brag about their foolishness. They refuse to turn from evil to attain their dreams. Those who walk with the wise become wise themselves. Those who associate with fools only get in trouble.
Fools injure themselves with their own words (Proverbs 14). No knowledge is found on their lips, and they are best avoided. They deceive themselves, thinking that they know what is going on when they don’t. They ridicule guilt. Unlike the godly, they do not acknowledge it or seek reconciliation. While the wise are cautious and avoid danger, they are reckless and overconfident and plunge ahead. Their efforts yield only foolishness.
Their mouths belch out foolishness (Psalm 15). They do not learn from correction. They have no good advice to give. They have no appetite for knowledge and feed on trash.
I am going to stop here. This, I believe, gives us an idea of what Paul is talking about.
If you want to learn more about what the Old Testament says about fools and wise people, go to biblegateway.com, enter “fool” in the search engine, select a Bible translation—I selected the New Living Translation (NLT)—and click the search icon. Do the same with “wise.”
As for the days being evil, this description fits all periods in human history to date, based upon the archeological record as well as recorded history. What Paul is telling the Ephesians is to take advantage of what their present circumstances offer to live as disciples of Jesus and not put off doing anything until better times. There will be no better time than now.
One of the things that can be learned from what the Old Testament says about fools and wise people and foolishness and wisdom is that wise people seek to learn what God wants them to do and then to do it. They think about how they are going to act before they act and whether their actions will show honor and respect to God. The foolish, on the other hand, give no thought to what they are about to do. Consequently, they do things that do not honor and respect God. This appears to be what Paul has in mind when he talks about the Ephesian believers' understanding what the Lord wants them to do instead of acting thoughtlessly.
How then does what Paul is saying apply to us? Our situation, while it may differ in a number of ways from that of the believers at Ephesus, is not so different from theirs that what Paul wrote has no application to us. We certainly need to be careful how we live. The way we live shows how seriously we take the teaching and example of Jesus and bears witness to our faith in him.
Christians live in a goldfish bowl. Other people pay more attention to our actions than they do to our words. They are quick to note any inconsistency between what we say and what we do. While they may not be Christians themselves, they may have some idea of what Jesus taught and did and they recognize when our words and actions do not conform to his teaching and example.
Due to the negativity bias other people are quick to focus upon what they perceive to be the negative qualities of our character and to overlook our positive qualities. They will judge us not by our many good deeds but by our evil ones even though they may be few in number.
We too would be wise to make the best of the opportunities that come our way and not wait for better opportunities to come. Life is filled with uncertainties, and we are called to be disciples of Jesus in the here and now, not in some other place and at some other time.
Before we act, we also need to give thought to the consequences of our actions. We need to consider the truths and precepts Jesus taught and the example he set in deciding what we are going to do. Regrettably the Great Commandment has become a platitude for many Christians. To love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves, however, are rightfully the chief guiding principles for a disciple of Jesus Christ. Showing compassion, kindness, and forgiveness, pursuing holiness, and practicing godliness are all outworkings of these two principles.
One of my favorite children’s book series with which I became acquainted late in life is Lucy M Boston’s Green Knowe series. On a visit to the library of my university earlier this week I pulled her An Enemy at Green Knowe off the shelf and was perusing its pages. One passage caught my attention. It referred to the prayer books that old ladies use to “put good before evil.” We do the same with our way of life and the choices that we make. We put good before evil. We put Jesus before everything else. Even ourselves.
Silence
Hymn of Response:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell’s “You Have Called Us by Our Name.”
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You have chosen us
O God,
whose Son Jesus Christ is the good shepherd of your people;
help us when we hear his voice
to know him who calls us each by name,
and to follow were he leads;
who with you and the Holy Spirit
lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
HEARING GOD’S WORD
A reading from the New Testament (Ephesians 5: 15-20)
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Silence
This is the word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Put Good Before Evil
This evening’s reading is a short passage from the apostle Paul’s letter to a group of believers at Ephesus. Paul urges them to be careful how they live. He cautions them against living like fools and urges them to live like those who are wise. He goes on to tell them to make the most of the opportunities which come their way even though they may be living in evil days. He warns them against acting without thinking and urges them to understand what the Lord wants them to do.
It is reasonable to believe that Paul ‘s thoughts about fools and wise people were shaped by the Hebrew Bible, our Old Testament. Paul had been a devote Jew and a Pharisee and he was a student of the Hebrew Bible. To get an idea of what Paul had in mind, let us take a brief look at what the Old Testament says about fools and wise people.
Psalm 51 tells us that fools deny God’s existence. They are corrupt and do evil things. None of them does good. From the Book of Proverbs, we learn that the fear of the Lord is the foundation of true knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline (Proverbs 1). They are destroyed by their own complacency.
While the wise are glad to be instructed, babbling fools fall flat on their faces (Proverbs 10). They do not treasure knowledge like the wise. Rather they invite disaster upon themselves with their babbling. They slander others. Their hearts are worthless. They are destroyed by their lack of common sense. They enjoy doing wrong.
They belittle their neighbors (Proverbs 11).
They think their own way is right and don’t listen to others (Proverbs 12). They are quick to lose their temper. The wise, on the other hand, stay calm if they are insulted. The wise don’t make a show of their knowledge. Fools broadcast their foolishness.
Wise people think before they act (Proverbs 13). Fools don’t and brag about their foolishness. They refuse to turn from evil to attain their dreams. Those who walk with the wise become wise themselves. Those who associate with fools only get in trouble.
Fools injure themselves with their own words (Proverbs 14). No knowledge is found on their lips, and they are best avoided. They deceive themselves, thinking that they know what is going on when they don’t. They ridicule guilt. Unlike the godly, they do not acknowledge it or seek reconciliation. While the wise are cautious and avoid danger, they are reckless and overconfident and plunge ahead. Their efforts yield only foolishness.
Their mouths belch out foolishness (Psalm 15). They do not learn from correction. They have no good advice to give. They have no appetite for knowledge and feed on trash.
I am going to stop here. This, I believe, gives us an idea of what Paul is talking about.
If you want to learn more about what the Old Testament says about fools and wise people, go to biblegateway.com, enter “fool” in the search engine, select a Bible translation—I selected the New Living Translation (NLT)—and click the search icon. Do the same with “wise.”
As for the days being evil, this description fits all periods in human history to date, based upon the archeological record as well as recorded history. What Paul is telling the Ephesians is to take advantage of what their present circumstances offer to live as disciples of Jesus and not put off doing anything until better times. There will be no better time than now.
One of the things that can be learned from what the Old Testament says about fools and wise people and foolishness and wisdom is that wise people seek to learn what God wants them to do and then to do it. They think about how they are going to act before they act and whether their actions will show honor and respect to God. The foolish, on the other hand, give no thought to what they are about to do. Consequently, they do things that do not honor and respect God. This appears to be what Paul has in mind when he talks about the Ephesian believers' understanding what the Lord wants them to do instead of acting thoughtlessly.
How then does what Paul is saying apply to us? Our situation, while it may differ in a number of ways from that of the believers at Ephesus, is not so different from theirs that what Paul wrote has no application to us. We certainly need to be careful how we live. The way we live shows how seriously we take the teaching and example of Jesus and bears witness to our faith in him.
Christians live in a goldfish bowl. Other people pay more attention to our actions than they do to our words. They are quick to note any inconsistency between what we say and what we do. While they may not be Christians themselves, they may have some idea of what Jesus taught and did and they recognize when our words and actions do not conform to his teaching and example.
Due to the negativity bias other people are quick to focus upon what they perceive to be the negative qualities of our character and to overlook our positive qualities. They will judge us not by our many good deeds but by our evil ones even though they may be few in number.
We too would be wise to make the best of the opportunities that come our way and not wait for better opportunities to come. Life is filled with uncertainties, and we are called to be disciples of Jesus in the here and now, not in some other place and at some other time.
Before we act, we also need to give thought to the consequences of our actions. We need to consider the truths and precepts Jesus taught and the example he set in deciding what we are going to do. Regrettably the Great Commandment has become a platitude for many Christians. To love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and to love our neighbor as ourselves, however, are rightfully the chief guiding principles for a disciple of Jesus Christ. Showing compassion, kindness, and forgiveness, pursuing holiness, and practicing godliness are all outworkings of these two principles.
One of my favorite children’s book series with which I became acquainted late in life is Lucy M Boston’s Green Knowe series. On a visit to the library of my university earlier this week I pulled her An Enemy at Green Knowe off the shelf and was perusing its pages. One passage caught my attention. It referred to the prayer books that old ladies use to “put good before evil.” We do the same with our way of life and the choices that we make. We put good before evil. We put Jesus before everything else. Even ourselves.
Silence
Hymn of Response:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Bernadette Farrell’s “You Have Called Us by Our Name.”
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You have chosen us
to be members of your family.
In your love you have created
In your love you have created
us to live in unity.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You will lead us to your light,
walk before us through the night.
You will guide us on our journey.
You will keep our vision bright.
You have called us by our name,
You will lead us to your light,
walk before us through the night.
You will guide us on our journey.
You will keep our vision bright.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You will hold us when we fall,
give new strength to hear your call.
You will never be beyond us,
for your love is all in all.
You have called us by our name,
You will hold us when we fall,
give new strength to hear your call.
You will never be beyond us,
for your love is all in all.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
You will nourish, you will lead,
giving ev'ry gift we need,
for your reign will be established
from the smallest of all seeds.
You have called us by our name,
You will nourish, you will lead,
giving ev'ry gift we need,
for your reign will be established
from the smallest of all seeds.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
Through our sharing here today
may our faith and life convey.
Christ our light and Christ our vision,
Christ our purpose, Christ our way.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
PRAYING FOR GOD’S WORLD
Concerns and Prayers:
Any person may offer a brief prayer of intercession, petition, or thanksgiving after each bidding.
After each prayer, the leader may conclude: God of mercy and all may respond: Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all people and the Church throughout the world.
Let us pray for the preservation of the earth…
Let us pray for peace and shared prosperity…
Let us pray for our nation…
Let us pray for the Church and its mission…
Let u pray for ourselves and our community…
Let us pray for those in need…
Let us give thanks for the faithfully departed…
Other biddings may be added.
Eternal God and Father,
you have promised to hear those who pray
in the name of your Son.
Grant that what we have asked in faith
we may obtain according your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As our Saviour taught his disciples, we pray:
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
Let us pray.
Lord our God, we give you thanks
because you have delivered us from the
power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of
your Son.
Grant that, as by his resurrection
we are brought to new life,
so by his continued reign in us
we may be brought to eternal joy;
through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Closing Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Martin Leckebusch’s "Called by Christ to Be Disciples.”
1 Called by Christ to be disciples
every day in every place,
we are not to hide as hermits
but to spread the way of grace;
citizens of heaven’s kingdom,
though this world is where we live,
as we serve a faithful Master,
faithful service may we give.
Richly varied are our pathways,
many callings we pursue:
may we use our gifts and talents
always, Lord, to honor you;
so in government or commerce,
college, hospice, farm, or home,
whether volunteers or earning,
may we see your kingdom come.
Hard decisions may confront us,
urging us to compromise;
still obedience is our watchword—
make us strong and make us wise!
Secular is turned to sacred,
made a precious offering,
as our daily lives are fashioned
in submission to our King.
May the God of hope fill us
with all joy and peace in believing
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. Amen.
Choral Benediction:
Open this link to hear Lee Fisher’s Go in Peace, Go in Love.”
Go in peace, go in love
May the Lord be at your side
Go in peace, go in love
May he ever be your guide
May his grace overflow
And his mercy be upon you
Go in peace, go in love
Now and evermore
Go in peace, go in love
May the Lord be at your side
Go in peace, go in love
May he ever be your guide
May his grace overflow
And his mercy be upon you
Go in peace, go in love
Now and evermore
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Through our sharing here today
may our faith and life convey.
Christ our light and Christ our vision,
Christ our purpose, Christ our way.
You have called us by our name,
we belong to you.
You have called us by our name
and we are yours.
PRAYING FOR GOD’S WORLD
Concerns and Prayers:
Any person may offer a brief prayer of intercession, petition, or thanksgiving after each bidding.
After each prayer, the leader may conclude: God of mercy and all may respond: Hear our prayer.
Let us pray for all people and the Church throughout the world.
Let us pray for the preservation of the earth…
Let us pray for peace and shared prosperity…
Let us pray for our nation…
Let us pray for the Church and its mission…
Let u pray for ourselves and our community…
Let us pray for those in need…
Let us give thanks for the faithfully departed…
Other biddings may be added.
Eternal God and Father,
you have promised to hear those who pray
in the name of your Son.
Grant that what we have asked in faith
we may obtain according your will;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
As our Saviour taught his disciples, we pray:
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
Let us pray.
Lord our God, we give you thanks
because you have delivered us from the
power of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of
your Son.
Grant that, as by his resurrection
we are brought to new life,
so by his continued reign in us
we may be brought to eternal joy;
through the same Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Closing Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Martin Leckebusch’s "Called by Christ to Be Disciples.”
1 Called by Christ to be disciples
every day in every place,
we are not to hide as hermits
but to spread the way of grace;
citizens of heaven’s kingdom,
though this world is where we live,
as we serve a faithful Master,
faithful service may we give.
Richly varied are our pathways,
many callings we pursue:
may we use our gifts and talents
always, Lord, to honor you;
so in government or commerce,
college, hospice, farm, or home,
whether volunteers or earning,
may we see your kingdom come.
Hard decisions may confront us,
urging us to compromise;
still obedience is our watchword—
make us strong and make us wise!
Secular is turned to sacred,
made a precious offering,
as our daily lives are fashioned
in submission to our King.
May the God of hope fill us
with all joy and peace in believing
through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Amen. Amen.
Choral Benediction:
Open this link to hear Lee Fisher’s Go in Peace, Go in Love.”
Go in peace, go in love
May the Lord be at your side
Go in peace, go in love
May he ever be your guide
May his grace overflow
And his mercy be upon you
Go in peace, go in love
Now and evermore
Go in peace, go in love
May the Lord be at your side
Go in peace, go in love
May he ever be your guide
May his grace overflow
And his mercy be upon you
Go in peace, go in love
Now and evermore
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Amen
Comments
Post a Comment