Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, February 6, 2025)
What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? The word “Gospel” means “good news.” So, what is the good news of Jesus Christ? In this evening’s message we unpack the Gospel which was passed onto to the apostle Paul and which he passed onto the church at Corinth and through his letters to us.
GATHERING IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear William Coulter and Barry Phillips’ instrumental arrangement of the Shaker melody, LOVE IS LITTLE.
Silence
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; let the whole earth
tremble before him. Psalm 96:9
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.
Silence
Most merciful God,
we confess that we have sinned against you
in thought, word, and deed,
by what we have done,
and by what we have left undone.
We have not loved you with our whole heart;
we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry and we humbly repent.
For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us and forgive us;
that we may delight in your will,
and walk in your ways,
to the glory of your Name. Amen.
Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins
through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all
goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in
eternal life. Amen.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: as
it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.
Alleluia.
Open this link in a new tab to hear F. Bland Tucker’s translation of the Phos hilaron, “O Gracious Light.”
O Gracious Light, Lord Jesus Christ,
In you the Father’s glory shone.
Immortal, holy, blest is he,
And blest are you, his holy Son.
Now sunset comes, but light shines forth,
the lamps are lit to pierce the night.
Praise Father, Son, and Spirit: God
Who dwells in the eternal light.
Worthy are you of endless praise,
O Son of God, Life-giving Lord;
Wherefore you are through all the earth
And in the highest heaven adored.
O Gracious Light!
Open this link in a new tab to hear Marty Haugen’s “You Will Show Me the Path of Life (Psalm 16).”
You will show me the path of life,
You my hope and my shelter.
In Your presence is endless joy.
At Your side is my home forever.
1 Faithful God, I look to You,
You alone my life and fortune.
Never shall I look to other gods.
You shall be my one hope.
You will show me the path of life,
You my hope and my shelter.
In Your presence is endless joy.
At Your side is my home forever.
2 From of old You are my heritage,
You my wisdom and my safety.
Through the night, You speak within my heart.
Silently, You teach me.
You will show me the path of life,
You my hope and my shelter.
In Your presence is endless joy.
At Your side is my home forever.
3 So my heart shall sing for joy.
In Your arms I rest securely.
You will not abandon me to death.
You shall not desert me.
You will show me the path of life,
You my hope and my shelter.
In Your presence is endless joy.
At Your side is my home forever.
Silence
Give to us, Lord Christ,
the fullness of grace,
your presence and your very self,
for you are our portion and our delight,
now and for ever. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians 15: 1-11
And now I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm. That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it—unless it was for nothing that you believed.
I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; that he was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures; that he appeared to Peter and then to all twelve apostles. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, although some have died. Then he appeared to James, and afterward to all the apostles.
Last of all he appeared also to me—even though I am like someone whose birth was abnormal. For I am the least of all the apostles—I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God's church. But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me. So then, whether it came from me or from them, this is what we all preach, and this is what you believe.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Silence
The Best News of All
In this evening’s reading from his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul summarizes the gospel that he preached to the church at Corinth. This is the gospel in which Paul was instructed at the time he became a disciple of Jesus.
The reason that Paul gave this summary of the gospel in his first letter to the Corinthians was that some members of the Corinthian Church were expressing doubt in the resurrection of the dead and by inference Jesus’ resurrection.
Four points are included in this summary:
Jesus is the Christ, God’s Anointed, the Messiah.
Jesus died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures
Jesus was buried and that he was raised to life three days later, as written in the Scriptures
Jesus appeared to numerous witnesses, including Paul himself.
One point is missing: Jesus will return again in glory. However, Paul preaches Jesus’s second coming elsewhere in his letters.
These points are key Christian beliefs that form the heart of the gospel.
Jesus is the Messiah. His death had a purpose—to put things right with God. Jesus was dead when they took him down from the cross and put him in Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb. And most importantly, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to a long list of witnesses.
Along with these truths—Jesus is Lord, Jesus will come again, God will set things to rights when he does, and we are put right with God by faith in Jesus, they are the good news that Christians believe and share.
Since Jesus is Lord, it is only right and proper that we follow his teaching and example. What does Jesus instruct us? “Be perfect as God is perfect.”
No, we cannot become faultless like God is. However, we can strive to be holy as God is holy, We can strive to be compassionate, forgiving, kind, patient, trustworthy, and faithful as God is compassionate, forgiving, kind, patient, trustworthy, and faithful.
God grants us grace, the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, to will and to do these things and more. God enables us to believe in Jesus, put our confidence and trust in Jesus, and having faith in Jesus, he enables us to grow in maturity of character and in our love of him, our God and Father. He makes it possible for us to become like Jesus.
That is the best news of all. We have a generous, loving God.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear David Haas’ “Holy Is His Name (Magnificat).”
1 My soul is filled with joy
as I sing to God my savior;
you have looked upon your servant,
you have visited your people.
And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!
2 I am lowly as a child,
but I know from this day forward
that my name will be remembered,
for all will call me blessed.
And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!
3 I proclaim the pow’r of God,
you do marvels for your servants;
though you scatter the proud hearted
and destroy the might of princes.
And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!
4 To the hungry you give food,
Send the rich away empty;
In your mercy you are mindful
of the people you have chosen.
And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!
5 In your love you now fulfill
what you promised to your people
I will praise you, Lord my savior
everlasting is your mercy.
And holy is your name.
through all generations!
Everlasting is your mercy
to the people you have chosen,
and holy is your name!
Open this link in a new tab to hear Sylvia Dustan’s metrical paraphrase of the Apostles’ Creed.
1 I believe in God almighty, Author of all things that be,
Maker of the earth and heavens, Keeper of the sky and sea.
I believe in God’s Son, Jesus, now for us both Lord and Christ,
of the Spirit and of Mary born to bring abundant life.
2 I believe that Jesus suffered, scourged and scorned and crucified;
taken from the cross, was buried—true Life there had truly died.
I believe that on the third day Christ was raised up from the grave,
then ascended to God’s right hand. He will come to judge and save.
3 I believe in God’s own Spirit, bonding all the saints within
one church, catholic and holy, where forgiveness frees from sin;
in the body’s resurrection, for the breaking of death’s chain
gives the life that’s everlasting. This the faith that I have claimed.
THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER
The Lord be with you
and also with you.
Let us 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.
That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That your holy angels may lead us in paths of peace and
goodwill,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be pardoned and forgiven for our sins
and offenses,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That there may be peace to your Church and to the whole
world,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may depart this life in your faith and fear,
and not be condemned before the great judgment seat
of Christ,
We entreat you, O Lord.
That we may be bound together by your Holy Spirit in
the communion of all your saints,
entrusting one another and all our life to Christ.
We entreat you, O Lord.
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in
heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of
your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Be our light in the darkness, O Lord, and in your great mercy
defend us from all perils and dangers of this night; for the love
of your only Son, our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
O God and Father of all, whom the whole heavens adore:
Let the whole earth also worship you, all nations obey you,
all tongues confess and bless you, and men and women
everywhere love you and serve you in peace; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Rusty Edwards and Linda Cable Shute’s “By Grace We Have Been Saved.”
1 By grace we have been saved
Through faith and not by keeping law
God's saints believed
By what they heard
And not by what they saw
And not by what they saw
2 For all have sinned and fallen short
God's plan not one obeyed
Christ has for all fulfilled the law
Believe confess be saved
Believe confess be saved
3 God gave to earth a perfect love
Through Jesus on the cross
While we were foes
Christ died for us
We gained by God's own loss
We gained by God's own loss
4 We know the wage of sin is death
Thank God we shall revive
For just as Jesus rose again
We too are made alive
We too are made alive
5 Set free we now have peace with God
Salvation is secured
How beautiful the feet of those
Who share this gospel word
Who share this gospel word
Look upon our lives, O Lord our God,
and make them wholly yours
in the power of your Holy Spirit;
that we may walk in your way,
faithfully believing you Word,
and faithfully doing your commandments;
faithfully serving you,
and faithfully serving our neighbor;
to the furtherance of your glorious kingdom,
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.
Be with us still, and when we take our rest
renew us for the service of your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen.
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.
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
The almighty and merciful God bless us
and keep us now and for ever. Amen.
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