Sundays at All Hallows (Sunday, April 7, 2024)

Welcome to Sundays at All Hallows.

This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Easter. It concludes the Octave of Easter, a period of eight days that began on the First Sunday of Easter: Easter Day. In the Western Church it has historically been called White Sunday, Quasimodo Sunday, Bright Sunday, and Low Sunday.

John Wesley, an Anglican minister, a leading figure in the Eighteenth Century Evangelical Revival, and the founder of the Methodist Movement, received Holy Communion not just on Easter Day, the premier Communion Sunday in the Church of England, but also on every day of the Octave of Easter. It was Wesley’s practice to receive communion every four or five days and more often at Christmas and Easter. Wesley encouraged Methodists to celebrate the Lord’s Supper every week.

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

The Lord be with you.
The Lord bless you.

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear Shirley Erena Murray’s “Fresh as the Morning.”

1 God of the Bible, God in the Gospel,
hope seen in Jesus, hope yet to come,
you are our centre, daylight or darkness,
freedom or prison, you are our home.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.

2 God in our struggles, God in our hunger,
suffering with us, taking our part,
still you empow’r us, mothering Spirit,
feeding, sustaining, from your own heart.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.

3 Those without status, those who are nothing,
you have made royal, gifted with rights,
chosen as partners, midwives of justice,
birthing new systems, lighting new lights.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.

4. Not by your finger, not by your anger
will our world order change in a day,
but by your people, fearless and faithful,
small paper lanterns, lighting the way.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.

5 Hope we must carry, shining and certain
through all our turmoil, terror and loss,
bonding us gladly one to the other,
till our world changes facing the Cross.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.

Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.
Fresh as the morning, sure as the sunrise,
God always faithful, you do not change.

Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden,
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name,
through Christ our Lord. Amen

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like it: Love your neighbor as you love yourself. The whole Law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets depend on these two commandments.
Lord, have mercy on us: and write your law in our hearts by your Holy Spirit.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Paul Inwood’s “Holy Is God (Psalm 117).”

Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.

1 Sing the Lord’s praise, ev’ry nation,
Give him all honor and glory.
Strong is his love for his people,
His faithfulness is eternal.

Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
(Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.)

2 Praise to the Father almighty,
Praise to his Son, Christ the Lord;
Praise to the life giving Spirit;
Both now and forever, Amen
(Praise to the Father almighty,
Praise to his son, Christ the Lord;
Praise to the life giving Spirit;
Both now and forever, Amen)

Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
(Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.)
Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.
(Holy is God, holy and strong!
God everliving, alleluia.)

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 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,
you have given your only Son to die for our sins
and to rise again for our justification:
Grant us so to put away the leaven
of malice and wickedness
that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth;
through the merits of your Son
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

Open this link in a new tab to hear Keith Getty and Stuart Townend’s “Speak, O Lord.”

1 Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your holy Word
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory

2 Teach us, Lord, full obedience
Holy reverence, true humility
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity
Cause our faith to rise, cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority
Words of pow'r that can never fail
Let their truth prevail over unbelief

3 Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity
And by grace, we'll stand on Your promises
And by faith, we'll walk as You walk with us
Speak, O Lord, 'til Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory

A reading from the New Testament (1 John 5:1-6)

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Messiah is a child of God; and whoever loves a father loves his child also. This is how we know that we love God's children: it is by loving God and obeying his commands. For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us, because every child of God is able to defeat the world. And we win the victory over the world by means of our faith. Who can defeat the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Jesus Christ is the one who came with the water of his baptism and the blood of his death. He came not only with the water, but with both the water and the blood. And the Spirit himself testifies that this is true, because the Spirit is truth.

Silence

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

“Perfected in Love”

In today’s reading John connects loving God with obeying God’ commands. If we read this passage in isolation from the rest of the letter, we might be left wondering to which commands John is referring—all the commands God gave to Moses for the people of Israel, just the Ten Commandments, or something else.

If we have read the entire letter, however, we would know that John is referring to God’s commands to believe in his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as Christ commanded us (1 John 3: 23). We would have also read that “our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action” (1 John 3:18).

We would have read:

“…let us love one another, because love comes from God. Whoever loves is a child of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. And God showed his love for us by sending his only Son into the world, so that we might have life through him. This is what love is: it is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the means by which our sins are forgiven” (1 John 4:7-10).

We would have further read:

“We love because God first loved us. If we say we love God, but hate others, we are liars. For we cannot love God, whom we have not seen, if we do not love others, whom we have seen. The command that Christ has given us is this: whoever loves God must love others also” (1 John 4: 19-21).

A good practice in interpreting Scripture is to look at the context of the passage, the passages that precede and follow the passage, and even the entire book, gospel, or letter. Both the immediate context and the larger context will provide clues to what the writer is saying and means and what God is telling us through the passage. They will also help us to apply the passage to ourselves.

What we can conclude from today’s reading and from its larger context is that those who are truly children of God will love like God does. They will show compassion, kindness, and forgiveness toward all people, toward the members of the family of faith in particular but also toward everyone else. Their love of God will be reflected in their faith in Jesus Christ and their love of others.

To love like God is to sympathize with the suffering and misfortune of others and to wish to help them. When we show the kind of love that God shows, we do not close our hearts to people in need or trouble. We do not dehumanize them and dismissively refer to them as animals. We are generous, helpful, and caring toward other people. We are considerate of their feelings, and we are able imagine what it would be like to be in their shoes.. We do not view ourselves as superior to other people and treat them in an extremely unkind and unpleasant way. We are not quick to judge people severely. We make allowances for them. Whenever possible, we give them the benefit of the doubt. We do not harbor grudges against other people, and whenever practicable, we seek to be reconciled with those with whom we have experienced a falling-out. Essentially we treat others the way that Jesus taught the disciples to treat them.

This may not be the standard by which it is acceptable to live in our day and time, but it is the standard by which the followers of Jesus Christ are expected to live. It is not a hard standard as John points out. The followers of Jesus Christ as children of God are able to “defeat the world” as John puts it because God is always at work in us enabling us to be willing and able to obey his own purpose (Philippians 2:13). Having opened for us the way to salvation through Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection, and awakened and aroused in us a living faith in his Son, God does not leave us to our own devices to muddle along the best that we can in our own strength. God gives us the Holy Spirit and transforms us into the likeness of the Son. As we live Jesus’ teaching and employ the means of grace, God renews his image in us. In John’ words, we “are perfected in love.”

Silence

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear Michael Perry’s “I Believe in God the Father.”

1 I believe in God the Father
who created heaven and earth,
holding all things in his power,
bringing light and life to birth.

2 I believe in God the Savior,
Son of Man and Lord most high,
crucified to be redeemer,
raised to life that death may die.

3 I believe in God the Spirit,
wind of heaven and flame of fire,
pledge of all that we inherit,
sent to comfort and inspire.

4 Honor, glory, might and merit
be to God, and God alone!
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
One-in-Three and Three-in-One.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Open this link in a new tab to hear Mark Patterson‘s setting of the Prayer of St. Richard of Chichester, “Guide Us, Lord.”

1 Guide us through these days. O Lord;
help us seek your way,
trusting you as you lead us with love,
teach us again to pray.

Help us to know you more clearly,
help us to love you more dearly,
help us to follow you more nearly, day by day, day by day.
Guide us, Lord, we pray.

2 Guide us through these days. O Lord;
help us seek your way,
seeking wisdom from your word,
strengthen our tender faith.

Help us to know you more clearly,
help us to love you more dearly,
help us to follow you more nearly, day by day, day by day.
Guide us, Lord, we pray.

Bridge
When we stray and fall to sin
help us find your path again;
draw us closer in your fellowship of love.

Help us to know you more clearly,
help us to love you more dearly,
help us to follow you more nearly, day by day, day by day.
Guide us, Lord, we pray.

Ending
Lead us, teach us.
Guide us, Lord, we pray.

Let us pray for all people and the Church throughout the world.

Let us pray for peace in the life of the world, let us pray for God’s peace:

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who suffer injury, sickness, and loss…, let us pray for all the afflicted:

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all who are struggling to meet their basic needs, let us pray for all who are seeking to help them.

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let pray for all who wield authority and influence, let us pray for all who exercise power:

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all whom we have wronged, let us pray for all who hate us:

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for all ordained elders and licensed local pastors and for all who serve Christ in his church, let us pray for all God’s people:

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let us pray for ourselves and each other, our families, those with whom we work or learn, our neighbors, and our friends , let us pray for all whom God has placed in our lives:

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Intercessions may be offered by anyone present.

Let us pray for….

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

Let us give thanks for all in whom Christ has been honored,
(especially….)

(pause)

we bring our prayer to you.
Good and gracious God, hear our prayer.

All these mercies we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who taught us to pray with the confidence of children.

We therefore dare to say:

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.

THE SENDING OUT 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.

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

Open this link in a new tab to hear Ruth Duck’s “God of the Ages.”

1 God of the ages, now and past,
thankful of heart, we turn to you.
God the faithful year by year,
grant us your mercies ever new.

God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.
God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.

2 God of our parents, teachers, friends,
you gave them grace to walk your way.
May we, like them, arise to meet challenges,
risks of our new day.

God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.
God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.

3 God of the present, guide us now;
send us your Spirit’s holy flame.
Acting in courage, speaking love,
may we bring honor to your name.

God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.
God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.

4 God of the future, grant us faith;
courage for ventures yet unknown.
God, to the church your love has built,
now to their labors add our own.

God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.
God of the ages, hear our prayer;
all generations know your care.

Those present may exchange a sign of peace.

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