Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, April 14, 2024)

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

This Sunday is the Third Sunday of Easter. All around us in the Northern Hemisphere are the signs of spring—flowers, nesting birds, unfurling leaves. It is a time to celebrate not only the new life we see around us but most importantly the New Life that God gives to those who believe in his Son.

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

Christ is risen.
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!

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!

Trusting God’s forgiveness and kindness, let us confess
our sins in penitence and faith.

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 Joe Payne’s “Lord, Have Mercy (Kyrie).”

Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy,
Christ, have mercy,
Lord, have mercy on us.

[Instrumental interlude]

Lord, have mercy,
(Lord, have mercy,)
Christ, have mercy,
(Christ, have mercy,)
Lord, have mercy on us.
(Lord, have mercy on us.)

Lord, have mercy,
(Lord, have mercy,)
Christ, have mercy,
(Christ, have mercy,)
(Lord, have mercy on us.
(Lord, have mercy on us.)

[Instrumental interlude]

Lord, have mercy,
(Lord, have mercy,)
Christ, have mercy,
(Christ, have mercy,)
Lord, have mercy on us.
(Lord, have mercy on us.)

Lord, have mercy,
(Lord, have mercy,)
Christ, have mercy,
(Christ, have mercy,)
Lord, have mercy on us.
(Lord, have mercy on us.)

[Instrumental interlude]

Lord, have mercy,
(Lord, have mercy,)
Christ, have mercy,
(Christ, have mercy,)
Lord, have mercy on us.
(Lord, have mercy on us.)

Lord, have mercy,
(Lord, have mercy,)
Christ, have mercy,
(Christ, have mercy,)
Lord, have mercy on us.
(Lord, have mercy on us.)

Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s “Glory to God” from Beneath the Tree of Life.

Glory to God, glory to God,
glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people on earth.

1 Lord God, heavenly King,
almighty God and Father,
we worship you, we give you thanks,
we praise you for your glory.

Glory to God, glory to God,
glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people on earth.

2 Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father,
Lord God, Lamb of God,
you take away the sin of the world:
have mercy on us;
you are seated at the right hand of the Father,
receive our prayer.

Glory to God, glory to God,
glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people on earth.

3 For you alone are the Holy One,
you alone are the Lord,
you alone are the Most High,
Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit,
in the glory of God the Father.

Glory to God, glory to God,
glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people,
peace to God’s people on earth.

Let us pray

Silence

Almighty Father,
who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples
with the sight of the risen Lord:
Give us such knowledge of his presence with us,
that we may be strengthened
and sustained by his risen life
and serve you continually in righteousness and truth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament (Acts 3:12-19)

When Peter saw the people, he said to them, “Fellow Israelites, why are you surprised at this, and why do you stare at us? Do you think that it was by means of our own power or godliness that we made this man walk? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has given divine glory to his Servant Jesus. But you handed him over to the authorities, and you rejected him in Pilate's presence, even after Pilate had decided to set him free. He was holy and good, but you rejected him, and instead you asked Pilate to do you the favor of turning loose a murderer. You killed the one who leads to life, but God raised him from death—and we are witnesses to this. It was the power of his name that gave strength to this lame man. What you see and know was done by faith in his name; it was faith in Jesus that has made him well, as you can all see.

“And now, my friends, I know that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was due to your ignorance. God announced long ago through all the prophets that his Messiah had to suffer; and he made it come true in this way. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins.

Silence

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear James McDonald, Philip Percival, and Alanna Glover’s “Lead Us in Your Truth.”

Verse 1
God of earth and heaven, maker of mankind
You spoke creation into life
Your word at the beginning, breaking through the dark
You wrote your law upon our hearts

Chorus
Lead us in your truth, God, teach us of your grace
Change us by your Spirit to live for you
Fill us with your love, Lord, guide us in your ways
The words you speak are faithful and ever true, help us live for you

Verse 2
Came to dwell among us, from the Father’s side
The glory of our Saviour Christ
Author of salvation, full of truth and grace
You speak the words of lasting life

Chorus
Lead us in your truth, God, teach us of your grace
Change us by your Spirit to live for you
Fill us with your love, Lord, guide us in your ways
The words you speak are faithful and ever true, help us live for you

Verse 3
The grass will fade and wither, flowers wilt and fall
Your word endures forevermore
Your promises unchanging, your wisdom never fails
Calling us to stand by faith

Final Chorus
Lead us in your truth, God, teach us of your grace
Change us by your Spirit to live for you
Fill us with your love, Lord, guide us in your ways
The words you speak are faithful and ever true, help us live for you
Lead us in your truth, God, teach us of your grace
Change us by your Spirit to live for you
Fill us with your love, Lord, guide us in your ways
The words you speak are faithful and ever true, help us live for you
Help us live for you

A reading from the New Testament (Luke 24:36-48)

While the two were telling them this, suddenly the Lord himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

They were terrified, thinking that they were seeing a ghost. But he said to them, “Why are you alarmed? Why are these doubts coming up in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet, and see that it is I myself. Feel me, and you will know, for a ghost doesn't have flesh and bones, as you can see I have.”

He said this and showed them his hands and his feet. They still could not believe, they were so full of joy and wonder; so he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of cooked fish, which he took and ate in their presence.

Then he said to them, “These are the very things I told you about while I was still with you: everything written about me in the Law of Moses, the writings of the prophets, and the Psalms had to come true.”

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “This is what is written: the Messiah must suffer and must rise from death three days later, and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Silence

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

A Changed Heart Leads to a Changed Life

“…and in his name the message about repentance and the forgiveness of sins must be preached to all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.” With these words the risen Jesus commissioned his disciples to continue his mission in the world, a mission which he entrusted not only to them but also to every succeeding generation of disciples to carry out until his return.

The message about repentance and forgiveness of sins is the message that Peter preaches in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that he will forgive your sins.” In this particular case, Peter is calling upon those whom he is addressing to repent of having freed a murderer and sent the Messiah to the cross in the murderer’s place, of rejecting God’s Anointed, God himself in the person of the Son, in one of the harshest ways that was possible—by demanding his crucifixion.

What then does it mean to repent? To repent goes beyond feeling regret or remorse for having done something or failed to do something. To repent is to have a change of heart that results in a change in our attitudes, way of thinking, and actions. In the reading from the Acts of the Apostles Peter is not just calling upon those whom he is addressing to feel bad about demanding Jesus’ crucifixion. He is calling upon them to hate their rejection of Jesus, to believe that he was indeed the Messiah, and to accept him as their Saviour and Lord,

When we repent, we recognize that we have adopted the wrong attitudes, our way of thinking is wrong, and that we have been acting wrongly. We turn away from sin and turn to God.

Perhaps you are thinking to yourself, “What does repenting have to do with me?” “I go to church and Sunday school when I am able.” “I’m taking care of my elderly parents.” “I haven’t murdered anyone.” “I’m not cheating on my spouse with someone else.” “I haven’t embezzled money from my company.” “I don’t bad-mouth anyone behind their back.” “I don’t feel sexual desire for my neighbour’s teenage daughter or son.” “I keep my nose clean and stay out of trouble.”

We are apt to think of sin in terms of a moral failure, a criminal act, or some other wrongdoing. While such wrongdoings fall within the definition of sin, sin is more than something said or done. It is a set of attitudes and a way of thinking. Sin, at its heart, is the rejection of God.

For Christians repentance, the act of repenting, is not a one time act. It is something that we do throughout our lives. We examine ourselves for the various ways we are rejecting God in our lives, not only in our actions and inactions but also in our attitudes and way of thinking. We ask the Holy Spirit to search every part of our life, including the thoughts and desires we hide from ourselves, and show them to us. We then ask God for his forgiveness. We ask God to help us to turn from a particular way we are rejecting him and to align our wills more closely to his.

Among the ways that we discern sin in our lives is to examine our lives through the lens of Jesus’ teachings. How are we faring at being holy as God is holy? How are we faring at loving our enemies and treating others as we would wish them to treat us? How are we faring at not judging others too severely and making allowances for them? How are we faring at forgiving others? How are we faring at obeying the Great Commandment—loving God with the totality of our being and loving other people as we love ourselves? How are we faring at embodying the Great Compassion, treating others as we would treat Jesus himself, caring for the needy and living justly. How are we faring at carrying out the Great Commission, going where Jesus sends us, making disciples,, and proclaiming the good news to all nations? How we faring at loving one another as Jesus loves us? What is keeping us from being more successful in these areas—what attitudes on our part, what way of thinking?

For Methodists, John Wesley’s first two general rules, both derived from Scripture, may be helpful in this regard. “Do no harm.” “Do good.” How are we faring at doing no harm? How are we faring at doing good? What is holding us back? What attitudes? What way of thinking?

We do not always recognize the ways we may be doing harm to ourselves or to others. For example, we may fail to shed our misperceptions of others. Instead, we cling to these misperceptions and let them influence how we treat them. We may find fault with what others are doing even though they are doing nothing wrong.

We may give preferential treatment to some people over others, favoring them even though circumstances do not warrant it. We may give them the benefit of the doubt while withholding it from others.

Where a particular individual is concerned, we may give full rein to our negativity bias, the propensity to give much more attention and far greater weight to negative information about someone than to positive information, even when the negative information is inaccurate or the product of someone else’s imagination.

This psychological phenomenon explains why we have difficulty in changing our mind about someone once we have formed a negative opinion of them. It also explains why the effects of a traumatic experience can linger for such a long time as they do. When we interact with someone else, we are more likely to notice the negative things and recollect them more vividly later on. We may feel the sting of unkind words or a snub for days, even weeks.

While all Christians are “works in progress,” that is, God is working in our lives to conform us to the likeness of Jesus, this knowledge is not a license to ignore how our attitudes, way of thinking, and actions may affect others. While we have no control over how they choose to react, we do have control over the things we do or say which trigger their reaction. This itself is not license to be insensitive to how they may react.

If we are to grow as Christians, to be fully open to God’s transforming grace, we need to develop our self-awareness and our empathy for others. We need to be able to recognize our own shortcomings and weaknesses and to be able to share someone else’s feelings and experiences by imagining what it would be like in that person’s situation.

God calls Christians to a life of repentance and faith, obedience and love. This is our calling wherever we are in our journey in the Christian faith.

Silence

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

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Paul Wigmore’s “Your Feet, O Lord, Have Walked This Earth.”

1 Your feet, O Lord, have walked this earth,
your knees have knelt among its shade,
teach us to tread your path of love,
and kneel where broken words are made.

2 Your hands have held the hand of death,
your side, the spear with evil bright;
take hold, and raise us from the wrong
that with such ease may seem the right.

3 Your breast was steeped in pain of love
when Judas thought to still your heart;
who dare betray the Son of God?
Who tear such love and life apart?

4 Your face looked down from that high cross,
and we, O Lord, were there in kind;
shine on us now from your bright throne,
and light our hands and hearts and mind.

5 So may our life of faith be lit
with gleams from your celestial grace
till faith no longer lends its light
and we adore you face to face.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Let us pray for the Church and for the world, 

giving thanks for God’s goodness.

Those present pray responsively.

Particular intercessions and thanksgivings may be offered before any section.

Periods of silence may be kept.

Blessed are you eternal God,
to be praised and glorified for ever.

Heavenly Father, hear us as we pray for the unity of the Church.
May we all be one that the world may believe.

Grant that every member of the Church
may truly and humbly serve you;
that your name may be glorified by everyone.

We remember those who have died.
Father, into your hands we commend them.

(Remembering N)
We praise you for all your saints
who have entered your eternal glory.
May we also come to share your heavenly kingdom.

Have compassion on those who suffer or are in
grief or trouble;
that they may be delivered from their distress.

Look with your kindness on our homes and families.
Grant that your love may grow in our hearts.

Make us alive to the needs of our community.
Help us to share one another’s joys and burdens.

Inspire and lead those who hold authority
in the nations of the world.
Guide us and all people in the way of justice and peace.

Strengthen all who minister in Christ’s name.
Give us courage to proclaim your Gospel.

Those present may pray for their own needs in sllence.


Praise to you, abundant God,
for when we ask, you give;
when we seek, you show the way.
When we knock, you answer.
Praise to you for your unfailing grace.
Make us now your faithful people.
Amen.

As our Saviour taught us, 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

Holy and everliving God,
by your power we are created
and by your love we are redeemed;
guide and strengthen us by your Spirit,
that we may give ourselves to your service,
and live each day in love to one another and to you,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The almighty and merciful God bless us
and keep us now and for ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Rob Smith’s “Undivided.”

1 Give me an undivided heart
That I might fear your name
Teach me to walk in righteous paths
And follow in your ways
For you are gracious and forgiving
Hear, O Lord, and answer me

2 Give me an undivided mind
That I might love your word
Help me to hunger for your voice
And know your Spirit’s sword
For you are good, your truth unchanging
Life is found in serving you

Undivided – I want to live for you
Single-minded – all that I say, all that I do
Sanctify me, take me and make me new
That I might live for Christ, my Lord

3 Give me an undivided love
For all that you desire
Make me a living sacrifice
Ignite in me your fire
For you, O Lord, are God eternal
All my ways are known to you

Undivided – I want to live for you
Single-minded – all that I say, all that I do
Sanctify me, take me and make me new
That I might live for Christ, my Lord

Undivided – counting my gains as loss
Single-minded – whatever the pain, whatever the cost
Sanctify me, help me take up my cross
And live for him who died for me

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

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