Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, September 5, 2024)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

Jesus promised his disciples not to abandon them as orphans. He promised to send them a Helper, the Holy Spirit, who had already been with them but from then on would be in them. And Jesus kept his promise. Jesus continues to send the same Helper to each generation of his disciples.

In the message we take a look at what the apostle Paul wrote the church at Corinth about the Holy Spirit and the spiritual gifts and how it applies to us today.

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and be glad and give God glory!

Glory to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Angus McDonell’s “We Ever Wil Praise You.”

Intro
We ever will praise you;
we ever will sing
sweet psalms of joy
to you, our king
O Maker of heaven,
of earth and the sea,
sweet psalms of joy,
we ever will sing.

Refrain
We ever will praise you;
we ever will sing
sweet psalms of joy
to you, our king
O Maker of heaven,
of earth and the sea,
sweet psalms of joy,
we ever will sing.

Verse 1
Happy are those
whose help is the Lord
who ever was
and evermore shall be.
All who are blind,
well, they shall see,
the prisoners set free,
the hungry, they shall eat.

Refrain
We ever will praise you;
we ever will sing
sweet psalms of joy
to you, our king
O Maker of heaven,
of earth and the sea,
sweet psalms of joy,
we ever will sing.

Verse 2
Blessed are those
Whose hope is in the Lord;
the lowly shall be raised,
the fatherless sustained.
Loved are the ones who live in righteousness,
the widowed and the orphaned,
they are not forsaken.

Refrain
We ever will praise you;
we ever will sing
sweet psalms of joy
to you, our king
O Maker of heaven,
of earth and the sea,
sweet psalms of joy,
we ever will sing.

Outro
We ever will praise your name
We ever will praise your name.
We ever will praise your name.
We ever will praise your name
We ever will praise your name.
We ever will praise your name.
We ever will praise your name
We ever will praise your name.
We ever will praise your name.

The day is now past and the night is at hand.
Let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence

Father of lights, receive the prayer and praise we offer you
as our evening sacrifice; make us light for all the world,
delivered by your goodness from all the works of darkness;
through Jesus Christ your So our Lord. Amen.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Shirley Erena Murray’s As the Wind Song through the Trees.”

1 As the wind song through the trees,
as the stirring of the breeze,
so it is with the Spirit of God,
as the heart made strangely warm,
as the voice within the storm,
so it is with the Spirit of God.

2 Never seen, ever known
where this wind has blown
bringing life, bringing power to the world,
as the dancing tongues of fire,
as the soul’s most deep desire,
so it is with the Spirit of God.

3 As the rainbow after rain,
as the hope that’s born again,
so it is with the Spirit of God,
as the green in the spring,
as a kite on a string,
so it is with the Spirit of God,

4 Making worlds that are new,
making peace come true,
bringing gifts, bringing love to the world,
as the rising of the yeast,
as the wine at the feast,
so it is with the Spirit of God.

God of grace, we thank you for all your gifts to us; grant us
to accept both pain and joy in faith and hope, and ever to
fail in love to you and to our sisters and brothers; through
Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 12, beginning at verse 1).

Now, dear brothers and sisters, regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8 To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,
second are prophets,
third are teachers,
then those who do miracles,
those who have the gift of healing,
those who can help others,
those who have the gift of leadership,
those who speak in unknown languages.

Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

Silence

May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.

Gifts from a Generous God

Unlike some philosophies and religions, the Christian faith and way of life is not something that is meant to be practiced alone in isolation from other Christians. Sometimes we find ourselves in circumstances that prevent us from physically gathering with other believers. Even in such circumstances it is important that we, if it is at all possible, interact with others not just for our own spiritual wellbeing but also for theirs.

As the apostle Paul draws to our attention in his first letter to the Corinthians, a spiritual gift has been given to each Christian so that they can help each other. While it is not the only time we are able to exercise this gift, one of the times that we are able to exercise this gift is when we interact with each other.

In the first century, in Paul’s time, people had only a few ways in which they could interact with each other—in person or by a spoken or written message. They had no other ways of communicating with each other. In the twenty-first century we have many more ways to interact with each other than they did then—telephone, texting, chat, Facebook Messenger, Skype, Zoom and other video conferencing platforms as well as in person or by spoken or written message.

One of the points that Paul makes in his first letter to the Corinthians is that Christians are connected to each other, forming together the Body of Christ. They all share the Holy Spirit which unites them to each other. No part of the Body of Christ is less important or less valuable than the other parts.

While the gift we have been given may differ from the gifts other believers have been given, it does not determine our standing as a believer. While it is a human tendency to rank people in a position higher or lower than others, or to consider ourselves in such a position, Paul stresses that believers are not evaluate others or themselves in this way on the basis of someone else’s or their own spiritual gift. Neither are they to consider themselves indispensable, so important that others could not manage without them, nor to regard a fellow believer as redundant, as not needed.

Whatever our personal relationship may be with individual fellow believers, we are united in a spiritual union with them. This spiritual union extends beyond the group of believers to which we may belong, and which forms a church in a particular locality. While we may speak of that group as the Body of Christ, we may also speak of all believers, past, present, and future, as the Body of Christ. This spiritual union also unites us to God because the Holy Spirit that we share is one with God as Jesus is one with God.

It is important to make a serious effort to mend any rift that separates two or more believers who have been on friendly terms, and which stops them from continuing a friendly relationship since our personal relationships can affect the relationship of others and our own relationship with God. Repairing the rift will help to restore the harmony which enables believers to care for each other as God intended. It will remove any impediment to a believer’s exercise of the spiritual gifts God has given them caused by the rift.

An individual believer may be given more than one spiritual gift in their lifetime. They may exercise a different spiritual gift at a different time in their life. They may exercise more than one spiritual gift at a time. Spiritual gifts are the various ways that the Holy Spirit makes God’s presence and power known in our lives. The purpose of the spiritual gifts is not to magnify the believers to whom they are given but to build up the Body of Christ, not only in a particular locality but also at large.

The spiritual gifts are not the same as the fruit of the Spirit, which are the various qualities of character that the Holy Spirit produces in a believer. The purpose of the fruit of the Spirit is to transform the individual believer into the likeness of Jesus.

We may encounter members of the Body of Christ, either in a particular local expression of that body or outside it, who do not appear to have a discernible spiritual gift. They may themselves be the spiritual gift. Their presence in the Body of Christ may be to help us become more caring, more forgiving, more generous, humbler, kinder, more loving, more patient. As Paul wrote the church at Corinth, God puts each part of the Body of Christ just where he wants it.

How do we discern what spiritual gifts we have been given?

When we read over a list of the spiritual gifts in which each gift is described, one or more may resonate with us? These may be the spiritual gift or gifts that we have been given.

We can ask fellow Christians who now us well which gifts they identify in us. Other Christians very frequently can see what we cannot and can discern what special abilities God has given to us.

We can pray about it. We can ask God to make clearer to us the gift or gifts he has given us.

We can take a spiritual gifts assessment. A number of these assessments may be found online. These assessments, however, are not entirely reliable. The wise thing to do is to keep praying about it as well as seek confirmation from other believers who know us well.

What may be the most reliable way of discerning our spiritual gifts is to join a small group. It is in the setting of a small group that ways the Holy Spirit is making God’s presence and power known in our lives are the most observable.

What about praying tongues, how does that build up the Body of Christ if no one can understand what we are saying, and no one can provide an interpretation? God will give the gift of a special prayer language to someone whose faith is weak in order to strengthen their faith and thereby to enable them to overcome their doubts which may be hindering them from serving God and ministering to their fellow Christians. They needed tangible assurance that God had indeed accepted them. Contrary to what some Christians may mistakenly believe, this particular gift does not set them apart as members of a spiritual elite. A number of descriptive passages in the Acts of the Apostles which some Christians interpret to mean that speaking in tongues is the primary evidence of receiving the Holy Spirit actually are intended to show that God has accepted the groups mentioned in these passages and that God’s grace extends to all people and not just the Jews.

Among the ways that we can help our fellow Christians to recognize their spiritual gifts is to give them opportunities to exercise what they believe is a spiritual gift. This will enable them and others to discern whether it is indeed a special ability that God has give them.

The thing that we must never lose sight of is that the spiritual gifts are given to us not for our personal benefit but for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ. They are gifts from a generous God to his people.

Silence

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
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

Let us confess our faith, as we say:

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

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended to heaven
and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.
From there he will come 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.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

During the course of the silence after each petition, those present may offer their own prayers silently or aloud.

Let us join in prayer with God’s faithful people throughout the
world, saying “God of Love: hear our prayer.”

We pray for the unity of your church, that our life may reflect the
love you have shown us.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We ask your grace for N our pastor and for all who
minister in word and in action, that we may bear faithful witness
to your good news.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We seek your peace and justice in our world, our country, and our
community, that the needy may never be forgotten.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We ask your blessing on our homes, our friends and family, and
on those who live alone, that we may know your presence ever
near us.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We name before you all whom you have given us to pray for
[especially….], knowing that you are doing for them better things
than we can ask or imagine.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We commend to you all who have died [especially….], that our
trust in you may deepen as you keep them safe in your care.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We offer our thanks and praise for all you have done for us,
rejoicing in the knowledge that you are with us always.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

We look for your purposes to be accomplished and ask you to fill
us with the strength and vision to further your reign.

Silence

God of love: Hear our prayer.

Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord, who taught us to 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.

Open this link in a new tab to hear Sam Brewster and Tom Brewster’ “Jesus I will walk with you.”

Verse 1
Jesus I will walk with you
Companion for the way
My constant friend and faithful guide
Beside me every day
Through times of winter harsh and bare
Through summer’s gentle breeze
I’ll walk with faith and hope and love
For Jesus walks with me

Verse 2
Jesus I will walk with you
Attentive to your voice
In every written word you speak
And make my heart rejoice
Though now I walk an unseen road
In prayer I know your peace
And walk with persevering faith
For Jesus walks with me

Verse 3
Jesus I will walk with you
The way of victory
The stranglehold of sin is gone
Your blood has set me free
And though my sin is deep and dark
Your spirit’s power will be
My daily strength to walk with you
For Jesus walks with me

Verse 4
Jesus I will walk with you
Salvation’s ancient way
Where countless saints have walked before
And triumphed by your grace
Your faithfulness their victory song
One joyful voice agrees
There is no better way to walk
For Jesus walks with me.
There is no better way to walk
For Jesus walks with me.

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.

Those present may extend their palms toward each other in a gesture of blessing.

May God, Creator, bless us and keep us,
may Christ be ever light for our lives,
may the Spirit of Love be our guide and path,
for all our days. Amen.

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

Those present may exchange a gesture of peace with these or similar words:
Peace be with you.