Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, March 17, 2024)


Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

This Sunday, the Fifth Sunday is Lent, is known as Passion Sunday. In today's reading we find Jesus and his disciples on their way to Jerusalem where Jesus will suffer and die on the cross. Although Jesus explains to his disciples why he must go to Jerusalem, they do not appear to grasp quite what he is saying. It does not fit with what they have been expecting Jesus as the Messiah to do. 

In many ways we are like the twelve. What Jesus tells us is often not what we want to hear. We wish Jesus to say something else. When that happens, we may be tempted to imagine him saying what we want to hear. But to be a true disciple of Jesus we must follow his teaching and example and not the imaginings of a deceitful heart. 

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Shaw’s arrangement of HERE IS LOVE for flute and piano.

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Praise God, in His holy place,
praise Him for His wondrous ways.
Praise Him under open skies,
praise Him for His power and might.
Praise the Lord of all creation.

Verse 2 
Praise Him with a trumpet blast,
praise Him with a cymbal crash.
Praise Him with your tambourines,
praise Him, dance with flutes and strings.
Praise the Lord with celebration.

Chorus
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Saviour.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Saviour.

Verse 3 
Every creature with a voice;
praise the living God, rejoice!
All creation far and near
make a joyful noise and cheer!
Praise the Lord, our God and Saviour.

Final Chorus
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Savior.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Saviour.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Savior.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Saviour.

[Instrumental interlude]

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Savior.
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
praise the Lord our God and Saviour.

Open this like in a new tab to hear Andy Clark’s “We Lift Our Voices (For the Lord Is Good).”

Verse 1
We lift our voices to the Lord most high,
with joyful singing we will glorify
the great creator, the author of all life.
We are his people and he is our God,
he always guides us in his ways with love:
let joyful praises come fill this place, in song.

Chorus
For the Lord is good!
We shout for joy because
the Lord is good!
He rules the earth with everlasting love:
how good is our God!

Verse 2
Enter His presence with a thankful heart,
enter his courts and let the praises start,
give God the glory, for he deserves it all.
All of creation lives to worship God,
we were created as an act of love:
let adoration flow from this place, in song.

Chorus
For the Lord is good!
We shout for joy because
the Lord is good!
He rules the earth with everlasting love:
how good is our God!
For the Lord is good!
We shout for joy because
the Lord is good!
He rules the earth with everlasting love:
how good is our God!

Verse 3
Faithful God, never ending goodness,
ever flowing kindness.
You are faithful, God, you are good.
Faithful God, never ending goodness,
ever flowing kindness.
You are faithful, God, you are good.

Final Chorus
For the Lord is good!
We shout for joy because
the Lord is good!
He rules the earth with everlasting love:
how good is our God!
For the Lord is good!
We shout for joy because
the Lord is good!
He rules the earth with everlasting love:
how good is our God!
How good is our God!
How good is our God!
How good is our God!

Open this link in a new tab to hear Jim Cooper and Brian Wooten’s "Song of Moses, Rev. 15:3-4."

Great and marvelous are Your deeds
Oh, Lord God Almighty
Great and marvelous are Your deeds
Oh, Lord God Almighty
Just and true are Your ways
Oh, King of the Ages
Who shall not fear, oh Lord
And glorify Your name

For You alone
You alone are Holy
All nations will come
And worship before You, Lord
For You alone
You alone are Holy
All nations will come
And worship before You, Lord
(Your righteousness has been revealed)
You alone are Holy
Holy

Great and marvelous are Your deeds
Oh, Lord God Almighty
Great and marvelous are Your deeds
Oh, Lord God Almighty
Just and true are Your ways
Oh, King of the Ages
Who shall not fear, oh Lord
And glorify Your name

For You alone
You alone are Holy
All nations will come
And worship before You, Lord
For You alone
You alone are Holy
All nations will come
And worship before You, Lord
(Your righteousness has been revealed)
You alone are Holy
Holy

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

Almighty and merciful God
we have sinned against you,
in thought, word and deed.
We have not loved you with all our heart.
We have not loved others as our Saviour Christ loves us.
We are truly sorry.
In your mercy forgive what we have been,
help us to amend what we are,
and direct what we shall be;
that we may delight in your will
and walk in your ways;
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 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 Michael Frye’s “Be the Centre.”

Verse 1
Jesus be the centre
Be my source, be my light
Jesus

Verse 2
Jesus be the centre
Be my hope, be my song
Jesus

Chorus
Be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live
Jesus, Jesus

Verse 3
Jesus be my vision
Be my path, be my guide
Jesus

Final Chorus
Be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live
Jesus, Jesus
Be the fire in my heart
Be the wind in these sails
Be the reason that I live
Jesus, Jesus

Let us pray.

Silence

Most merciful God,
who by the death and resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ
delivered and saved the world:
Grant that by faith in him who suffered on the cross,
we may triumph in the power of his victory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Mark 10:32-45)

They were now on the way up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were filled with awe, and the people following behind were overwhelmed with fear. Taking the twelve disciples aside, Jesus once more began to describe everything that was about to happen to him. “Listen,” he said, “we’re going up to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law. They will sentence him to die and hand him over to the Romans. They will mock him, spit on him, flog him with a whip, and kill him, but after three days he will rise again.”

Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”

“What is your request?” he asked.

They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”

“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”

Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”

When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Silence

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s “We Are Many Parts.”

Chorus
We are many parts
We are all one body
And the gifts we have
We are given to share
May the spirit of love, make us one indeed
One, the love that we share
One, our hope in despair
One, the cross that we bear

Verse 1
God of all, we look to You
We would be Your servants true
Let us be Your love for all the world

Chorus
We are many parts
We are all one body
And the gifts we have
We are given to share
May the spirit of love, make us one indeed
One, the love that we share
One, our hope in despair
One, the cross that we bear

Verse 2 
So my pain is pain for you
In my joy is my joy too;
All is brought together in the Lord

Chorus
We are many parts
We are all one body
And the gifts we have
We are given to share
May the spirit of love, make us one indeed
One, the love that we share
One, our hope in despair
One, the cross that we bear

Verse 3 
All you seekers great and small
Seek the greatest gift of all
If you love, then you will know the Lord

Chorus
We are many parts
We are all one body
And the gifts we have
We are given to share
May the spirit of love, make us one indeed
One, the love that we share
One, our hope in despair
One, the cross that we bear

What Did Jesus Teach about Leadership?

Strongman political leaders and authoritarianism is an age-old problem. In every age unscrupulous political leaders will seek to gain unlimited power over other people and to use it cruelly and unfairly. Among such leaders in the last century were Benedicto Mussolini, Adolf Hitler, Francisco Franco, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, Idi Amin, Augusto Pinochet, Pol Pot, Saddam Hussein, and Muammar Gaddafi. Among the latest crop of these leaders are Vladimir Putin, Victor Orban, Recep Erdoğan, and Kim Jong Un. In his political maneuvering as well as his speeches and public statements the presumptive Republican candidate for President, has evidenced a strong desire to join their ranks.

Historians, psychologists, sociologists, and others who have studied strongman leaders have identified a number of reasons why they appeal to some people. Among these reasons are changes in the standards or ways of human behavior in society; disruptions to the economy; mass migration of people from poorer, politically unstable regions to wealthier, more politically stable ones; decline in the size and influence of a particular segment of the population; and changes in the climate. Strongmen are adept at recognizing people’s biases and fears and exploiting them. While they may give the appearance of having other people’s interests at heart, in actuality the only interests that matter to them are their own.

The appeal of the strongman may explain at least in part why the people of Israel clamored for a king like the other nations around them, rejecting their one true King—God. The generation of Israelites who had suffered harsh oppression under the pharaoh of Egypt were long dead and those who clamored for a king had not experienced the unfair and cruel way that pharaohs and other rulers like them treated people.

Through the prophet Samuel God warned the people of Israel that they would regret their wish for a king. However, the Israelites dismissed the warning and clamored even louder for a king. God acceded to their wish and directed Samual to anoint Saul as the first king of Israel. The story of the people of Israel from that point on is the story of the consequences that they suffered for choosing a human king over God. The kingdom of Israel would split into two kingdoms, Samaria in the north and Judaea in the south. The kings of the two kingdoms were frequently unfaithful to God and led their people astray. They relied on foreign allies for their defense rather than God. 

The Assyrians would invade the northern kingdom, conqueror it, and deport a large part of its population. They would settle people from another part of their empire in the land. The southern kingdom would eventually fall to the Babylonians who took into captivity that part of the population which did not flee to Egypt. While Jerusalem would be restored during the reign of King Cyrus, Judaea did not recover its independence.

By the time Jesus was born, what had been the kingdom of Israel had been ruled by several different foreign powers. Following Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection Judaea would become a Roman province, and Jerusalem would be razed to the ground. The destruction of Herod’s Temple as Jesus had predicted would come to pass. A Roman city would be built on the site of Jerusalem with temples to the Roman gods.

At the time Jesus began his ministry, the Jews were awaiting the Messiah, the Christ in Greek, literally the Anointed One, whose appearance was prophesized in the Old Testament. They believed that the Messiah would be a king like David, the second king of Israel, and the Messiah would restore the kingdom of Israel to its former greatness.

Instead of a human king, they got the One True King, God himself in the person of the Son, in the person of Jesus. Jesus was not what they were expecting. Even after Jesus explained to his disciples the purpose of his going to Jerusalem, they clung to the idea that he was intending to restore the kingdom of Israel. He would make Israel great again. This belief is what appears to have motivated James and John to make the request they made and explains why the other ten disciples became angry with them.

Jesus’s response may not have been what they were hoping for. Jesus tells them that they will suffer as he is about to suffer but he does not have the right to say who will sit on his right or his left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen. Some New Testament commentators view the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus as the ones God had chosen.

Jesus then gathers the disciples together and gives them a very important teaching, a teaching to which those who profess to be Jesus’ followers in this day and time and place need give their attention too. “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

By no stretch of the imagination is Jesus affirming strongman leaders and the way they treat people. Rather he is telling his disciples not to be like them. His disciples are to act differently from the way they do. Those wishing to lead their fellow disciples must serve them. Those who want to be first among his followers must be slave of everyone else. I suspect that there was some disappointed looks and nervous shuffling of feet while Jesus was talking. 

Implicit in this teaching is that Jesus’ disciples are not to treat people the way strongman leaders do, and they also are not to approve of such treatment or to give their support to it.

As Jesus pointed to his disciples’ attention at another time and in another place, no one can serve two lords. They will love one and hate the other. This truth applies to strongmen as well as money. We can serve God or a particular strongman. We cannot serve both.

It may be tempting to deceive ourselves into believing that in serving a strongman, we are serving God. We would not be the first to deceive ourselves in this way. However, if we think about, what we are doing is serving an idol in God’s place, a creature instead of the Creator.

Psalm 146 offers this piece of advice to us.

“Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them.
But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He made heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever."

It is piece of advice that the people of Israel failed to heed on a number of occasions and suffered the consequences of not paying attention to it. What happened to them is a warning to us regarding what can happen to us if we put our trust in human leaders instead of God. As Jesus at times said, "Let those who have ears hear." 

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Richard Gillard’s “The Servant Song.”

Verse 1
Brother, sister, let me serve you
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.

Verse 2
We are pilgrims on a journey,
we’re companions on the road;
we are here to help each other
walk the mile and bear the load.

Verse 3
I will hold the Christ-light for you
in the night-time of your fear;
I will hold my hand out to you,
speak the peace you long to hear.

Verse 4
I will weep when you are weeping,
when you laugh I'll laugh with you;
I will share your joy and sorrow
till we've seen this journey through.

Verse 5
When we sing to God in heaven,
we shall find such harmony,
born of all we've known together
of Christ's love and agony.

Verse 6
Brother, sister, let me serve you
let me be as Christ to you;
pray that I may have the grace
to let you be my servant too.

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 for the Church and the world.

Almighty and everliving God,
hear the prayers which we offer in faith and love:

For peace, and for your salvation to be known throughout the world …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church
and for the unity of all Christian people …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who serve and lead in your Church,
for pastors, elders, and other ministers …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all your people, growing in the faith of Christ,
and passing it on to generations yet to come …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who live and work in this community …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For families, and for those who live alone …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who are sick in body or in mind,
and for those who care for them …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all in authority,
and especially for our President …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For all who have been entrusted with the responsibility of government …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

For those who work for peace, justice and righteousness throughout the
world …
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.

Rejoicing in the fellowship of your holy apostles and martyrs, and of all
your servants departed this life in your faith and fear, we commend ourselves and one another and our whole life to you, Lord God; through 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

Almighty God,
we thank you for the gift of your holy word.
May it be a lantern to our feet,
a light to our paths,
and strength to our lives.
Take and use us
to love and serve all people
in the power of the Holy Spirit
and in the name of your Son
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 in a new tab to hear Matt Osgood’s “Send Us Out.”

Verse 1
Send us out in the power of your Spirit,
to shine your light in the way we live.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit,
as we’ve received, may we freely give.

Chorus
Send us out,
send us out,
send us out for your glory.
Let all we do
be praise to you;
send us out for your glory

Verse 2
Send us out in the power of your Spirit
to show your love everywhere we go.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit,
Lord, fill us up so we overflow.

Chorus
Send us out,
send us out,
send us out for your glory.
Let all we do
be praise to you;
send us out for your glory

Bridge
We're laying down our lives,
a living sacrifice,
we're living for your glory and your praise.
We’re taking up our cross,
we’ve counted up the cost,
we're living for your glory and your praise.

Final Chorus
Send us out,
send us out,
send us out for your glory.
Let all we do
be praise to you;
send us out for your glory
Send us out,
send us out,
send us out for your glory.
Let all we do
be praise to you;
send us out for your glory
send us out for your glory
send us out for your glory

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

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

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