Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, May 11, 2023)
Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows. When Jesus ascended into heaven, he left behind disciples to be stand ins for him until he returned again. He entrusted to them the task of spreading the good news of God's love and making more disciples so that all who heard the good news would be reconciled to God.
DRAWING NEAR TO GOD
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
Gathering Song:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s “Let Us Build a House Where Love Can Dwell.”
1 Let us build a house where love can dwell
and all can safely live,
a place where saints and children tell
a place where saints and children tell
how hearts learn to forgive.
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
Built of hopes and dreams and visions,
rock of faith and vault of grace;
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome,
All are welcome,
All are welcome,
All are welcome,
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
here the love of Christ shall end divisions:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
2 Let us build a house where prophets speak,
2 Let us build a house where prophets speak,
and words are strong and true,
where all God’s children dare to seek
where all God’s children dare to seek
to dream God’s reign anew.
Here the cross shall stand as witness
Here the cross shall stand as witness
and as symbol of God’s grace;
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
here as one we claim the faith of Jesus:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
3 Let us build a house where love is found
3 Let us build a house where love is found
in water, wine, and wheat:
a banquet hall on holy ground
a banquet hall on holy ground
where peace and justice meet.
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
Here the love of God, through Jesus,
is revealed in time and space;
as we share in Christ the feast that free us:
as we share in Christ the feast that free us:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
4 Let us build a house where hands will reach
4 Let us build a house where hands will reach
beyond the wood and stone
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
to heal and strengthen, serve and teach,
and live the Word they’ve known.
Here the outcast and the stranger
Here the outcast and the stranger
bear the image of God’s face;
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
let us bring an end to fear and danger:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place.
5 Let us build a house where all are named,
5 Let us build a house where all are named,
their songs and visions heard
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
and loved and treasured, taught and claimed
as words within the Word.
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
Built of tears and cries and laughter,
prayers of faith and songs of grace,
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
let this house proclaim from floor to rafter:
All are welcome,
all are welcome,
all are welcome in this place
Song of Praise:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tim Chester, Liv Chapman, Philip Percival, James McDonald, and Alanna Glover’s “Apostles Creed.”
1 I believe in God the Father, mighty and eternal Lord
He alone is the creator, forming all things by his word
I believe in our Lord Jesus, God’s own Son who came to earth
Born a man, by the Spirit, by a virgin given birth
Sing praise to the Father, to the Spirit and the Son
Sing praise to our holy God, forever three in one
2 I believe that Jesus suffered, on the cross he bore my shame
I believe that he was buried, then triumphant rose again
Glorified, he has ascended, seated at the Father’s side
He will come again in judgement, justice will be satisfied
Sing praise to the Father, to the Spirit and the Son
Sing praise to our holy God, forever three in one
3 I believe the Holy Spirit comes to us from Christ above
I believe the church is holy, one communion in God's love
I believe I am forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ
I believe in resurrection and in everlasting life
Sing praise to the Father, to the Spirit and the Son
Sing praise to our holy God, forever three in one
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us pray.
Silence
Saving God,
who called your Church to witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love.
that all who hear it may be reconciled to you;
through him who died for us and rose again
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
HEARING GOD’S WORD
A reading from the New Testament (1 Peter 2: 11-17)
I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul. Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.
For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good. For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do. Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God's slaves. Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor.
Silence
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The moral failure of priests and pastors as done untold damage to the public image of Christianity in our time. However, we cannot lay the blame for Christianity’s damaged public image entirely at the feet of the clergy. Ordinary Christians in the way they conduct themselves have not done a sterling job of representing Jesus to the world. It has been long observed that many Christians live in a manner barely distinguishable from their neighbors who are not Christians.
On social media, on the internet, some individuals who claim to be Christians spread unproven allegations and peddle conspiracy theories. Others advocate the use of violence against various groups against whom they have grievances, real and imagined. These individuals may be a fringe element and do not represent Christians as a whole. However, they are quite vocal in expressing their opinions and complaints and consequently gain a lot of attention.
Peter’s words appear to have fallen on deaf ears if they have been read to them or propounded to them in a sermon. Instead of countering the different stereotypes non-Christians have about Christians, they are reinforcing these stereotypes and contributing to a negative view of Christianity and its adherents.
Psychologists tell us that people are apt to quickly form a negative opinion of a group, based upon the attitudes, thinking, and behavior of a few members of that group. They will then look for things that support their negative perceptions of that group. They will give far greater attention to negative things that they hear about the group than they will positive things. While the group may do a lot of good, they will focus on anything bad that members of the group do. They will exaggerate its seriousness, extent, and consequences. They will imagine that the group is doing bad things when it is not. It is this tendency in people, in themselves as well as others, that Christians must contend with on a daily basis. It can be a significant barrier, or obstacle, to the task that Jesus has entrusted to his disciples, telling people about Jesus and making more disciples.
This said, I must point out that while Jesus warns his disciples that they may face opposition, he is not saying that everyone will be hostile to his disciples as we may be tempted to believe. This belief is sometimes used to justify not tempering what we say when talking to others out of the belief that they are invariably going to reject what we say. Using milder language may gain a hearing for us as may genuinely listening to the other person. God is working in the hearts of the people around us. Some of them are going to be more open and receptive than others. How we treat them may help them to become more open and receptive. We want to keep communication going between ourselves and them and not shut it down.
Exercising care in how Christians conduct themselves, in how they live their lives, is a recurrent theme in the New Testament. Every Christian is a representative of Jesus, an ambassador for Jesus, not just ordained elders and deacons and licensed local pastors. We are expected to embody what Jesus taught and to follow the example he set. This means that we need to keep a close watch on not only our behavior but also our attitudes and our ways of thinking. Our behavior, our attitudes, and our ways of thinking are tied to each other. One affects the others.
When the apostle Peter refers to “bodily passions” in this evening’s reading, he is not exclusively referring to sexual or romantic attraction. He is warning us how the entire range of our desires and feelings can lead us astray. They tempt us to make the wrong decisions, decisions that will later regret. This Peter knew from experience. Peter’s own fear caused him to deny Jesus three times. After he rose from the dead, Jesus would forgive Peter and commission him to act as a shepherd to his fellow disciples. As we learn from reading Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, Peter’s fear of the disapproval of his fellow Jews would cause him to distance himself from the Gentiles whom he had been telling about Jesus.
Our conduct should be so exemplary that people who have no religion or who belong to a religion that is not Christianity will have no choice but recognize our good deeds when they accuse us of doing evil. They won’t be able to ignore our good deeds. Instead, they will praise God for all the good we have done.
Peter also urges us to “submit to every human authority.” He certainly does encourage us to be combative and defiant as a number of church leaders were in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this reaction was presented as a defense of the religious freedom of their churches, it often had more to do with the personalities of the individual church leaders and their proclivity to become involved in disagreements and arguments, their unwillingness to entertain any view other than their own, their insistence on always being right, their tendency to dismiss the concerns of others, and their desire to draw public attention to themselves—what Peter calls “bodily passions” and the apostle Paul “works of the flesh.”
In a few cases such as in Nevada the government appeared to be applying one standard to casinos and another to religious organizations but in most instances the public health measures, including restrictions on large gatherings, which the local governing authorities sought to impose were reasonable under the circumstances. What Peter is urging us to do is to establish and maintain good relations with the governing authorities at all levels and to work cooperatively with them when and where we can. He is not telling us to compromise our Christian beliefs and values. What he does encourage us to do is to take steps to be seen as a benefit to the community. Christians can silence their critics by doing good things.
Peter urges us not to abuse our freedom and to use it to hide evil. What he as in mind is the mistaken notion which some Christians have that they are freed by grace from any moral and ethical restraints. John Wesley who founded the Methodist movement strongly criticized this notion. He taught the necessity of obeying the moral law as contained in the Ten Commandments and mentioned by Jesus in his teaching.
Peter goes on to urge us to live in complete submission to God. He sums up how we should live with this dictum, “Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor.” For modern-day Christians living in North America Peter’s instruction to respect the Emperor applies to the governing authorities of the locality, the state or province, and the country in which we live.
The most important lesson that we can take away from this evening’s reading is the attitudes we display, our ways of thinking, our behavior, our words and our actions, our way of life, can affect those around us and influence their perceptions of us. If we want to have a positive impact on others, upon the community in which we live, upon the larger world, we need to be attentive to these areas of our life. They do matter and they can make a difference.
We cannot talk about love of others and show no respect for others, much less love for them. People will see right through our hypocrisy. As the old saying goes, “actions speak louder than words.” Psychologists tell us that 90% of human communication is non-verbal—body language, eye contact, and our actions. If we are going to be genuine representatives and ambassadors of our Lord, Christians must communicate God’s love with actions as well as words. Neither is enough by itself.
Silence.
Song of Response:
Open this link to hear David Ogden’s “Christ Has No Body Now But Yours.”
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He sees
Yours are the feet with which He walks
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He sees
Yours are the feet with which He walks
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He sees
Yours are the feet with which He walks
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
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 E. 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.
2 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.
3 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.
Song of Praise:
Open this link in a new tab to hear Tim Chester, Liv Chapman, Philip Percival, James McDonald, and Alanna Glover’s “Apostles Creed.”
1 I believe in God the Father, mighty and eternal Lord
He alone is the creator, forming all things by his word
I believe in our Lord Jesus, God’s own Son who came to earth
Born a man, by the Spirit, by a virgin given birth
Sing praise to the Father, to the Spirit and the Son
Sing praise to our holy God, forever three in one
2 I believe that Jesus suffered, on the cross he bore my shame
I believe that he was buried, then triumphant rose again
Glorified, he has ascended, seated at the Father’s side
He will come again in judgement, justice will be satisfied
Sing praise to the Father, to the Spirit and the Son
Sing praise to our holy God, forever three in one
3 I believe the Holy Spirit comes to us from Christ above
I believe the church is holy, one communion in God's love
I believe I am forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ
I believe in resurrection and in everlasting life
Sing praise to the Father, to the Spirit and the Son
Sing praise to our holy God, forever three in one
The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.
Let us pray.
Silence
Saving God,
who called your Church to witness
that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love.
that all who hear it may be reconciled to you;
through him who died for us and rose again
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
HEARING GOD’S WORD
A reading from the New Testament (1 Peter 2: 11-17)
I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul. Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.
For the sake of the Lord submit yourselves to every human authority: to the Emperor, who is the supreme authority, and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good. For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do. Live as free people; do not, however, use your freedom to cover up any evil, but live as God's slaves. Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor.
Silence
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
How to Be Genuine Representatives and Ambassadors of Jesus
The moral failure of priests and pastors as done untold damage to the public image of Christianity in our time. However, we cannot lay the blame for Christianity’s damaged public image entirely at the feet of the clergy. Ordinary Christians in the way they conduct themselves have not done a sterling job of representing Jesus to the world. It has been long observed that many Christians live in a manner barely distinguishable from their neighbors who are not Christians.
On social media, on the internet, some individuals who claim to be Christians spread unproven allegations and peddle conspiracy theories. Others advocate the use of violence against various groups against whom they have grievances, real and imagined. These individuals may be a fringe element and do not represent Christians as a whole. However, they are quite vocal in expressing their opinions and complaints and consequently gain a lot of attention.
Peter’s words appear to have fallen on deaf ears if they have been read to them or propounded to them in a sermon. Instead of countering the different stereotypes non-Christians have about Christians, they are reinforcing these stereotypes and contributing to a negative view of Christianity and its adherents.
Psychologists tell us that people are apt to quickly form a negative opinion of a group, based upon the attitudes, thinking, and behavior of a few members of that group. They will then look for things that support their negative perceptions of that group. They will give far greater attention to negative things that they hear about the group than they will positive things. While the group may do a lot of good, they will focus on anything bad that members of the group do. They will exaggerate its seriousness, extent, and consequences. They will imagine that the group is doing bad things when it is not. It is this tendency in people, in themselves as well as others, that Christians must contend with on a daily basis. It can be a significant barrier, or obstacle, to the task that Jesus has entrusted to his disciples, telling people about Jesus and making more disciples.
This said, I must point out that while Jesus warns his disciples that they may face opposition, he is not saying that everyone will be hostile to his disciples as we may be tempted to believe. This belief is sometimes used to justify not tempering what we say when talking to others out of the belief that they are invariably going to reject what we say. Using milder language may gain a hearing for us as may genuinely listening to the other person. God is working in the hearts of the people around us. Some of them are going to be more open and receptive than others. How we treat them may help them to become more open and receptive. We want to keep communication going between ourselves and them and not shut it down.
Exercising care in how Christians conduct themselves, in how they live their lives, is a recurrent theme in the New Testament. Every Christian is a representative of Jesus, an ambassador for Jesus, not just ordained elders and deacons and licensed local pastors. We are expected to embody what Jesus taught and to follow the example he set. This means that we need to keep a close watch on not only our behavior but also our attitudes and our ways of thinking. Our behavior, our attitudes, and our ways of thinking are tied to each other. One affects the others.
When the apostle Peter refers to “bodily passions” in this evening’s reading, he is not exclusively referring to sexual or romantic attraction. He is warning us how the entire range of our desires and feelings can lead us astray. They tempt us to make the wrong decisions, decisions that will later regret. This Peter knew from experience. Peter’s own fear caused him to deny Jesus three times. After he rose from the dead, Jesus would forgive Peter and commission him to act as a shepherd to his fellow disciples. As we learn from reading Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, Peter’s fear of the disapproval of his fellow Jews would cause him to distance himself from the Gentiles whom he had been telling about Jesus.
Our conduct should be so exemplary that people who have no religion or who belong to a religion that is not Christianity will have no choice but recognize our good deeds when they accuse us of doing evil. They won’t be able to ignore our good deeds. Instead, they will praise God for all the good we have done.
Peter also urges us to “submit to every human authority.” He certainly does encourage us to be combative and defiant as a number of church leaders were in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. While this reaction was presented as a defense of the religious freedom of their churches, it often had more to do with the personalities of the individual church leaders and their proclivity to become involved in disagreements and arguments, their unwillingness to entertain any view other than their own, their insistence on always being right, their tendency to dismiss the concerns of others, and their desire to draw public attention to themselves—what Peter calls “bodily passions” and the apostle Paul “works of the flesh.”
In a few cases such as in Nevada the government appeared to be applying one standard to casinos and another to religious organizations but in most instances the public health measures, including restrictions on large gatherings, which the local governing authorities sought to impose were reasonable under the circumstances. What Peter is urging us to do is to establish and maintain good relations with the governing authorities at all levels and to work cooperatively with them when and where we can. He is not telling us to compromise our Christian beliefs and values. What he does encourage us to do is to take steps to be seen as a benefit to the community. Christians can silence their critics by doing good things.
Peter urges us not to abuse our freedom and to use it to hide evil. What he as in mind is the mistaken notion which some Christians have that they are freed by grace from any moral and ethical restraints. John Wesley who founded the Methodist movement strongly criticized this notion. He taught the necessity of obeying the moral law as contained in the Ten Commandments and mentioned by Jesus in his teaching.
Peter goes on to urge us to live in complete submission to God. He sums up how we should live with this dictum, “Respect everyone, love other believers, honor God, and respect the Emperor.” For modern-day Christians living in North America Peter’s instruction to respect the Emperor applies to the governing authorities of the locality, the state or province, and the country in which we live.
The most important lesson that we can take away from this evening’s reading is the attitudes we display, our ways of thinking, our behavior, our words and our actions, our way of life, can affect those around us and influence their perceptions of us. If we want to have a positive impact on others, upon the community in which we live, upon the larger world, we need to be attentive to these areas of our life. They do matter and they can make a difference.
We cannot talk about love of others and show no respect for others, much less love for them. People will see right through our hypocrisy. As the old saying goes, “actions speak louder than words.” Psychologists tell us that 90% of human communication is non-verbal—body language, eye contact, and our actions. If we are going to be genuine representatives and ambassadors of our Lord, Christians must communicate God’s love with actions as well as words. Neither is enough by itself.
Silence.
Song of Response:
Open this link to hear David Ogden’s “Christ Has No Body Now But Yours.”
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He sees
Yours are the feet with which He walks
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He sees
Yours are the feet with which He walks
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes with which He sees
Yours are the feet with which He walks
Yours are the hands with which He blesses all the world
Yours are the hands
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 E. 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.
2 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.
3 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.
Let us praise the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
God is worthy to be praised and exalted for ever.
May the almighty and merciful God bless us and keep us.
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
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