Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, October 17, 2024)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

Prayer, simply put, is a conversation with God. It is a conversation which we can have throughout the day. God is present with us always. We may not be mindful of God’s presence, but God is there.

This Thursday evening, we continue our message series on Paul’s Letter to the Colossians.

GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME

Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth. Psalm 96:9

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
But if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just,
and will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9

Let us now confess our sins to almighty God.

Silence

God of all mercy,
we humbly admit that we need your help.
We have wandered from your ways.
We have sinned in thought, word, and deed,
and have failed to do what is right.
You alone can save us.
Have mercy on us,
wipe out our sins and teach us to forgive others.
Bring forth in us the fruit of your Spirit that
we may live the new life to your glory.
This we ask in the name of 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.

Jesus Christ is the light of the world.
A light no darkness can extinguish.

One or more candles may be lit.

Open this link in a new tab to hear y Sharon Dennis and Doris Au MacDonald’s setting of the Phos Hilaron. “Joyous Light of Glory of the Immortal Father.”

Joyous light of glory of the immortal Father.
Heavenly, holy, blessed Jesus Christ.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe declares your glory.
We have come to the setting of the sun
And we look to the evening light.
We sing to God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
You are worth of being praised with pure voices
forever.
O Son of God, O Giver of life,
The universe declares your glory.
The universe declares your glory.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Sharon Dennis and Doris Au MacDonald’s setting of Psalm 141 “Let My Prayer Rise Before You as Incense.”

Let my prayer rise before you as incense
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice

Let my prayer rise before you as incense
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice

1 O Lord I call to you come to me quickly; hear my voice when I cry to you

Let my prayer rise before you as incense
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice

2 Set a watch before my mouth O Lord and guard the door of my lips
Let not my heart incline to any evil thing
Let me not be occupied in wickedness with evil doers

Let my prayer rise before you as incense
The lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice

3 But my eyes are turned to you
Yes, my eyes are turned to you,
O my eyes are turned to you, Lord God
in you I take refuge strip me not of my life

Let my prayer rise before you as incense

Open this link in a new tab to hear Liam Lawson’s adaptation of Psalm 84, “How Lovely Is Your Dwelling Place.”

How lovely is your dwelling, O Lord, my God.
How lovely is your dwelling place, is your dwelling place, O God!

1 My soul is thirsting for the Lord,
how it yearns for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and soul ring out for joy
to God, the living God.

How lovely is your dwelling, O Lord, my God.
How lovely is your dwelling place, is your dwelling place, O God!

2 The sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow a nest for her brood.
She lays her young by your altars,
Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

How lovely is your dwelling, O Lord, my God.
How lovely is your dwelling place, is your dwelling place, O God!

3 One day, O Lord, within your courts
is better than a thousand elsewhere.
The threshold of the house of God
I prefer to the house of the wicked.

How lovely is your dwelling, O Lord, my God.
How lovely is your dwelling place, is your dwelling place, O God!

Open this link in a new tab to hear Susan Briehl’s “Let Evening Fall.”

1 Let evening fall on field and forest,
on desert mesa, canyon deep;
let coyote prowl and night hawk circle
while solemn owl her wise watch keeps.

*2 Let mountain now resound with chanting,
and meadow echo antiphon;
let dusky breezes rustle aspen
while lake and land join even-song.

3 Let those who labor in the daylight
now bring their working to an end;
let others rise to keep the vigil,
the weak to guard, the sick to tend.

4 Let every heart that harbors hatred
(Let every heart that harbors hatred)
release its hold, receive your grace;
(release its hold, receive your grace;)
let every mouth that spoke in anger
(let every mouth that spoke in anger)
seek pardon’s peace, then sing your praise.
(seek pardon’s peace, then sing your praise.)

5 Let daylight fade and shadows lengthen
when those we love draw near to death;
Attend our prayers, our weak faith strengthen
as you receive their final breath.

6 O Maker of creation’s choir,
O Song of love sung out for all,
O Spirit, breath of all our singing,
Let praise arise, let evening fall.

*Omitted on the video.

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

A reading from the New Testament: Colossians 2: 6-23.

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.

When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.

So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality. Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it.

You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

Silence

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

Special Days and Seasons

A question that sometimes crops up in Sunday school classes or small group Bible studies when this evening’s reading from Paul’s Letter to the Colossians is read is, “If Paul said it doesn’t matter whether Christians celebrate ‘’certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths’ why then does our church celebrate Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday (or Pentecost), Trinity Sunday, and other special days and seasons?"

First, Paul is talking about the teaching of the Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentile converts to Christianity must adopt the Mosaic Code, the code of laws God had given  Moses for the people of Israel,  and observe the holy day, new moons, and Sabbaths that the Jews observed. In his letter to the Colossians, Paul stresses that Jesus alone is sufficient for the faith and the life of a believer. A non-Jewish believer does not need to become a Jew to become one of God’s people and a disciple of Jesus.

Second, the Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian and other Protestant churches which observe special days and seasons, while they may prescribe readings and prayers for these special days and seasons, do not believe that the special days and seasons fall into the same category as holy days, new moons, and Sabbaths to which Paul is referring in the letter and about which the Mosaic Code provides specific regulations. Rather they commemorate and celebrate events in salvation history such as Jesus’ birth, his baptism, his death, his resurrection from the dead, his ascension into heaven, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples, and so forth. They are a way of teaching new believers and others about Jesus and of building up the Body of Christ. They provide opportunities for Christians to proclaim God’s mighty deeds and to give thanks and praise to God for what God has done.

Third, these churches regard the observance of Christmas, Easter, Whitsunday (or Pentecost), Trinity Sunday, and other special days and seasons as what theologians call adiaphora, a Greek word meaning a matter which is indifferent, a doctrine or practice which the Bible does not prescribe or prohibit. Whether Christians observes these special days and seasons will not affect their salvation. Some Christians in these church traditions may argue that their spiritual lives of those who do not observe them would be richer if they did observe them, but this argument does not insist their observance is necessary for salvation.

The important thing is that when we observe these special days and seasons is not to lose sight of their chief purpose—to focus our attention on Jesus Christ, who he is, what he did, his message, and his teaching.

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Sharon Dennis and Doris Au MacDonald’s setting of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims the Greatness of the Lord.”

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

1 He has looked with favor on his lowly servant.
From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

2 God has mercy on those who fear him
from generation to generation.
The Lord has shown strength with his arm,
And scattered the proud in their conceit,
casting down the mighty from their thrones,
and lifting up the lowly.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

[Instrumental interlude]

3 God has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has come to the aid of his servant Israel,
to remember the promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior


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 world and for the Church and give thanks to God for his goodness.

We pray for all who govern and hold authority in the nations of the world
that there may be justice and peace on the earth.

Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church
that we all may be one.

Grant that every member of your Church may truly and humbly serve you:
that your name may be glorified by all people.

We pray for all bishops, elders, deacons, and licensed local pastors
that they may be faithful ministers of your word and sacraments.

Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake
that your glory may be proclaimed through our lives.

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

We praise you for your saints who have entered their eternal joy
may we also come to share in the fulness of your kingdom.

We pray for our own needs and for those of others:

Silence.

The people may add their own petitions silently or out loud.

Gracious God, grant that the desires of your people’s hearts
may find favour in your sight,
through the intercession of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Gracious God, we humbly thank you
for all your gifts so freely bestowed on us.
For life and health and safety,
for power to work and leisure to rest,
and for all that is beautiful in creation and in human life.
But, above all, we thank you for our Saviour Jesus Christ,
for his death and resurrection,
for the gift of your Holy Spirit,
and for the hope of glory
Fill our hearts with all joy and peace in believing;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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 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

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.

Gracious God,
you have given us much today;
grant us also a thankful spirit.
Into your hands we commend ourselves
and those we love.
Keep us always in your care and protection,
and when we take our rest,
renew us for the service of your Son Jesus Christ.
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 the Holy Three bless you wherever you go
May you always be safe in the Father's keeping
Wherever your feet wander
May Christ be the true friend at your side
May the Spirit guide you,
May Holy Three guard you,
and bring you safe home again
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.