Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, February 22, 2024)

 

Welcome to Thursday evenings at All Hallows.

What better way to keep a holy Lent than to pray for revival, to pray for the spiritual awakening of those who do not yet know Christ and to pray for the spiritual renewal of those who have set their feet upon the path of discipleship, who, hearing his call, have responded in repentance and faith and with Holy Spirit’s help seek to follow him.

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Krystin Getty’s “Join All the Glorious Names.”

Join all the glorious names of God
Made known over the earth.
No human speech nor angel's song
Could grasp our Saviour's worth.

How high, how wide, and how long is the love
He has shown.
No mind could measure the depths of the love
Freely found from His throne.

In Christ, the Father's heart is known,
His blood covers our shame.
His death released the dawn of grace,
New life is found in His name.

How high, how wide, and how long is the love
He has shown.
No mind could measure the depths of the love
Freely found from His throne.

How high, how wide, and how long is the love
How high, how wide, and how long is the love

Join all the glorious names of God
Made known over the earth.
No human speech nor angel's song
Could grasp our Saviour's worth.

How high, how wide, and how long is the love
He has shown.
No mind could measure the depths of the love
Freely found
How high, how wide, and how long is the love
He has shown.
No mind could measure the depths of the love
Freely found from His throne.

How high, how wide, and how long is the love
How high, how wide, and how long is the love
How high, how wide, and how long is the love
How high, how wide, and how long is the love

God has promised forgiveness
to all who truly repent,
turn to Christ in faith
and are themselves forgiving.

Let us confess our sins to God our Father.

Silence

Heavenly Father,
we have sinned against you and against our neighbour
in thought and word and deed,
through negligence, through weakness,
through our own deliberate fault;
by what we have done
and by what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry and repent of all our sins.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ who died for us,
forgive us all that is past;
and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.

Merciful Lord,
grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, 
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and serve you with a quiet mind;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear James Seddon’s “The Spirit Came, as Promised.”

1 The Spirit came, as promised,
in God's appointed hour;
and now to each believer
he comes in love and power:
and by his Holy Spirit,
God seals us as his own;
and through the Son and Spirit
makes access to his throne.

2 The Spirit makes our bodies
the temple of the Lord;
he binds us all together
in faith and true accord:
the Spirit in his greatness,
brings power from God above;
and with the Son and Father
dwells in our hearts in love.

3 He bids us live together
in unity and peace,
employ his gifts in blessing,
and let base passions cease:
we should not grieve the Spirit
by open sin or shame;
nor let our words and actions
deny his holy name.

4 The word, the Spirit's weapon,
will bring all sin to light;
and prayer, by his directing,
will add new joy and might:
be filled then with his Spirit,
live out God's will and word;
rejoice with hymns and singing,
make music to the Lord!

Let us pray.

Silence

Almighty God,
whose Son Jesus Christ fasted forty days in the wilderness,
and was tempted as we are, yet without sin:
Give us grace to discipline ourselves
in obedience to your Spirit;
and, as you know our weakness,
so may we know your power to save;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Ephesians 2: 1-10)

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Silence

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.
Thanks be to God.

How to Pray for Revival

In February of last year people were talking about what is now called the “Asbury Outpouring,” a movement of the Holy Spirit on the campus of Asbury University, in Wilmore, Kentucky. Some thought that it might be the beginning of a spiritual awakening or revival in North America. Others adopted a skeptical attitude toward what was happening. They equated the Asbury Outpouring with the tent revivals that were once common in the Bible Belt and pointed to the downside of these revival meetings. Their skepticism revealed a poor understanding of the difference between a revival and a revival meeting.

A revival and a revival meeting are not the same thing. A revival describes a time when interest in religion starts again in a stronger way than before. On the other hand, a revival meeting is a meeting or series of meetings organized to encourage this to happen.

Revival is like much needed rain on dry, parched land. What was dead and barren comes to life, grows, blossoms, and bears fruit.

Revival happens spontaneously. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Revival meetings, however, are intentional. They seek to use human means to encourage people to take a greater interest in religion or to persuade them to “make a decision for Christ,” “walk the sawdust trail” and to “pray the sinner’s prayer.”

Revival meetings do have a downside. Those who make a decision for Christ may act from a desire to please their family and the members of the church or they take that step because their friends and other peers are taking it. After they have made the decision, they may receive no follow-up.

As John Wesley discovered, many who had awakened in response to his field preaching, quickly fell back asleep again and reverted to their former state. For this reason, Wesley organized the early Methodists into societies and after discerning that they benefited from meeting together in smaller groups, organized them into classes and bands in which they watched over each other in love, encouraged each other, held each other accountable, and if and when needed rebuked each other.

God is the initiator of revival. We cannot initiate revival. All we can do is demonstrate an openness to the presence and power of God in the person of the Holy Spirit and invite God to make that presence and power known to us in a particular place and at a particular time. Everything else is God’s doing.

How do we demonstrate such an openness? How do we extend such an invitation?

1. Praise God for who is and thank God for the times of revival elsewhere now and in the past.

2. Examine ourselves, asking God to search us and show to us any unconfessed, unrepented sins.

3. Confess our sins to God and turn away from them and to Christ. Make a serious commitment to change our ways and then do what we have committed ourselves to doing.

4. Acknowledge our need for God’s presence and power in our lives. Pray that God will invigorate, strengthen, and confirm our faith in Christ and enable us to will and do what is pleasing and acceptable to him.

5. Pray not only for own spiritual renewal but also that of our church and our community, our nation, and the world. Pray for the spiritual awakening of those who do not yet believe.

6. Faithfully live out our Lord’s teaching in the world, obeying his commandments and doing what he told his first disciples to do.

7. Taking every opportunity to render further praise and thanks to God for what he has done, what he is doing, and what he will do.

The Asbury Outpouring showed a hunger among the younger generations to know God. The passage of time will reveal what effects it had on those whose lives it touched.

In his teaching Jesus compared the growth and spread of the Kingdom of God with yeast. Yeast are tiny living organisms that as they grow and reproduce in bread dough release carbon dioxide gas which causes the dough to increase in volume and size. Once the dough has risen sufficiently, it is formed into a loaf and baked into bread.

The point of this comparison was that God’s Kingdom expands in the same way. By carrying out Jesus’ command to make more disciples, the followers of Jesus, like yeast in bread dough, cause the Kingdom of God to expand. As their lives are transformed, they transform the world around them.

God’s Kingdom does not grow like the dar-al-Islam, the house of Islam, of the Islamic faith through the conquest of the dar-al-harb, the house of war, and the imposition of sharia, Islamic law, as some interpreters of that faith teach. It is not advanced by bloodshed, violence, the imprisonment and execution of Christians who do not subscribe to a particular brand of Christianity, and the cruel and barbaric treatment of the non-Christian population. While this has happened in the past and some who identify themelves as Christians would take that path in our time, it is not the way of Christ. 

God’s Kingdom expands as God working in people’s lives enables them to recognize their need for a Savior, to turn from sin to Jesus, and to live lives of obedience and love like Jesus.

God’s Kingdom is to be found where God truly reigns in people’s lives, where people have truly surrendered their lives to Christ. Revivals are one of God’s ways of accomplishing that end. Indeed, revivals are one of the ways that God extends grace to us, shows us his loving kindness.

With these thoughts in mind, let us commit ourselves to praying for revival not only during the season of Lent but throughout the year. Let us be like the inopportune widow who badgered the unjust judge until he settled her case in her favor. Like the man who had an unexpected guest arrive late at night, let us keep knocking at our neighbor’s door until he gets out of bed, unlocks the door, and gives us the bread we need. Let us persevere in prayer as Jesus taught, trusting in God’s goodness and mercy.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Trevor Hodge’s musical setting of Bessy Porter Ann Head’s “O Breath of Life, Come Sweeping through Us.”

1 O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
revive your church with life and power.
O Breath of life, come, cleanse, renew us,
and fit your church to meet this hour.

O Breath of love, come breathe within,
renewing thought and will and heart.
Come, love of Christ, afresh to win;
revive your church in every part.

2 O Wind of God, come bend us, break us,
till humbly we confess our need.
Then in your tenderness remake us;
revive, restore, for this we plead.

O Breath of love, come breathe within,
renewing thought and will and heart.
Come, love of Christ, afresh to win;
revive your church in every part.

Bridge
Revive us, Lord! Is zeal abating
while harvest fields are vast and white?
Revive us, Lord, the world is waiting,
equip your church to spread the light.

Final Chorus
O Breath of love, come breathe within,
renewing thought and will and heart.
Come, love of Christ, afresh to win;
revive your church in every part.
O Breath of love, come breathe within,
renewing thought and will and heart.
Come, love of Christ, afresh to win;
revive your church in every part.

Ending
O Breath of life, come sweeping through us,
revive your church with life and power.

Let us affirm with Christians across the ages what we believe about God
and his love for us.

We believe in one God,
who made us and loves all that is.
We believe in Jesus Christ,
God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was born, lived, died and rose again,
and is coming to call all to account.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
who calls, equips and sends out God’s people,
and brings all things to their true end.

This is our faith, the faith of the Church:

We believe in one God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Let us pray to the Lord with all our heart and with all our soul.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for all Christian people, that they may live in love and truth.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for all ministers of the Church, and for our brothers and
sisters in Christ.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for peace throughout the world, and for all governments.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for our neighbours and for all our friends.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for those who hate us as we pray for those who love us.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for refugees and prisoners, and for all who are exposed to the
dangers of travel.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for all sick people, for the sorrowful and the dying.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us pray for the abundance of the fruits of the earth, and that the
poor and hungry may receive a just share.
Lord, have mercy.

Let us remember our brothers and sisters who have entered into eternal
rest.
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.

Let us continue praying in a time of open prayer.

A period of open prayer follows.

The leader brings the period of open prayer to an end saying

Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Heavenly Father,
you have promised to hear
what we ask in the name of your Son:
we pray you to accept and answer our prayers,
not as we ask in our ignorance,
nor as we deserve in our sinfulness,
but as you know and love us in your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

As our Savior 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,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE

In darkness and in light,
in trouble and in joy,
help us, heavenly Father,
to trust your love,
to serve your purpose,
and to praise your name,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

May the almighty and merciful God,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
bless us and keep us
now and forever. Amen.

Open this link to hear Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s “Hoy Spirit, Living Breath of God.”

1 Holy Spirit, living Breath of God,
Breathe new life into my willing soul.
Bring the presence of the risen Lord
To renew my heart and make me whole.
Cause Your Word to come alive in me;
Give me faith for what I cannot see;
Give me passion for Your purity.
Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

2 Holy Spirit, come abide within;
May Your joy be seen in all I do—
Love enough to cover ev’ry sin
In each thought and deed and attitude,
Kindness to the greatest and the least,
Gentleness that sows the path of peace.
Turn my striving into works of grace.
Breath of God, show Christ in all I do.

3 Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,
Giving life to all that God has made,
Show Your power once again on earth;
Cause Your church to hunger for Your ways.
Let the fragrance of our prayers arise.
Lead us on the road of sacrifice
That in unity the face of Christ
Will be clear for all the world to see.

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

The peace of the Lord be always with you.
And also with you.