Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (Thursday, July 17, 2025)

Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.

In this evening’s message we take a look at what we can learn about faith and prayer from Jesus’ healing of a blindman.

GATHER IN GOD’S NAME

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8.12

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbour.

Silence is kept.

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 neighbours 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 upon us,
pardon and deliver us from all our sins,
confirm and strengthen us in all goodness,
and keep us in eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

O Lord, I call to you; come to me quickly;
Hear my voice when I cry to you.

Let my prayer be set forth in your sight as
incense,
The lifting up of my hands as the evening
sacrifice.

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 Paul Gibson’s paraphrase of Phos hilaron, “Light of the World, in Grace and Beauty ”

Light of the world in grace and beauty
Mirror of God’s eternal face
Transparent flame of love’s free duty
You bring salvation to our race
Now as we see the lights of evening
We raise our voice in hymns of praise
Worthy are you of endless blessing
Sun of our night, lamp of our day

[Instrumental interlude]

Light of the world in grace and beauty
Mirror of God’s eternal face
Transparent flame of love’s free duty
You bring salvation to our race
Now as we see the lights of evening
We raise our voice in hymns of praise
Worthy are you of endless blessing
Sun of our night, lamp of our day

Open this link to hear Kiran Wimberly Young’s The Lord is My Light (Psalm 27)

The Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
Enemies will stumble and fall,
My heart will not fear, though war should rage

One thing I ask, one thing I seek
To dwell in the house of the Lord all of my life
To behold the beauty of God all the days of my life

The Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
Enemies will stumble and fall
My heart will not fear, though war should rage

Hear me when I call, O Lord
Be merciful to me and answer me
Your face, O Lord, I seek
I seek your face

The Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
Enemies will stumble and fall
My heart will not fear, though war should rage

One thing I ask, one thing I seek
To dwell in the house of the Lord all of my life
To behold the beauty of God all the days of my life

[Instrumental interlude]

The Lord is my light and my salvation
Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear?
Enemies will stumble and fall
My heart will not fear, though war should rage

Hear me when I call, O Lord
Be merciful to me and answer me
Your face, O Lord, I seek
I seek your face

THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
Luke 18:31-43
Glory to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, “Listen! We are going to Jerusalem where everything the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will come true. He will be handed over to the Gentiles, who will make fun of him, insult him, and spit on him. They will whip him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.”

But the disciples did not understand any of these things; the meaning of the words was hidden from them, and they did not know what Jesus was talking about.

As Jesus was coming near Jericho, there was a blind man sitting by the road, begging. When he heard the crowd passing by, he asked, “What is this?”

“Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” they told him.

He cried out, “Jesus! Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

The people in front scolded him and told him to be quiet. But he shouted even more loudly, “Son of David! Have mercy on me!”

So Jesus stopped and ordered the blind man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Sir,” he answered, “I want to see again.”

Jesus said to him, “Then see! Your faith has made you well.”

At once he was able to see, and he followed Jesus, giving thanks to God. When the crowd saw it, they all praised God.

The Gospel of Christ.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Silence

Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley Smith’s “Tell Out, My Soul (Magnificat).” 

1 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord!
Unnumbered blessings give my spirit voice;
Tender to me the promise of his word;
In God my Savior shall my heart rejoice

2 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his Name!
Make known his might, the deeds his arm has done;
His mercy sure, from age to age to same;
His holy Name--the Lord, the Mighty One

3 Tell out, my soul, the greatness of his might!
Powers and dominions lay their glory by
Proud hearts and stubborn wills are put to flight
The hungry fed, the humble lifted high

4 Tell out, my soul, the glories of his word!
Firm is his promise, and his mercy sure
Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord
To children's children and for evermore!

Faith and Prayer

What did Jesus mean, when he told the blindman, “Then see! Your faith has made you well”? This is an important question as there is a lot of confusion and misunderstanding regarding the relationship between faith and healing.

You may have heard or read about someone who prayed for healing for themselves or a loved one and who was told when no healing occurred in response to their prayer, they must not have prayed with enough faith for their prayer to be answered as they had hoped. They were led to believe that how God answered a prayer was tied to the quantity of faith that they possessed. The more faith they had, the more likely they would have gotten the response to their prayer that they wanted.

While the Bible has some passages that may appear at first glance to support this notion, if we look at the larger context, we realize that Jesus is talking about something else in these passages. What Jesus is talking about is the importance of having faith in him, even a little faith, than he is about the quantity of that faith.

The blindman’s faith which Jesus commends in this evening’s reading is his belief that Jesus is more than an iterant preacher and wonder worker, more than a prophet, he is the Messiah, God’s Anointed One and Jesus is capable of healing him, of restoring his sight. It is this belief that motivates him to call out and when people in front scold him and tell him to be quiet to shout even more loudly. It is his persistence that brings him to Jesus’ attention, to the attention of the one whom he believes is the Messiah and will enable him to see again.

How do we know that the blindman was convinced that Jesus was the Messiah? He called Jesus “Son of David,” a Messianic title. The Old Testament prophesies said that the Messiah would be a descendant of King David.

The blindman’s sight is restored. He can live a normal life again. He follows Jesus, giving thanks to God. The crowd who witnessed what happened praise God.

How did the blindman come to believe with such conviction that he refused to give up? According to the apostle Paul, God works in us, giving us the desire and the power to what pleases him (Philippians 2:13). Put another way, God helps us to want to do what pleases him, and he gives us the power to do it.

How God answers our prayers is not a measure of our faith. God does not show us his favor and goodwill according to how much faith we have as if God’s generosity is tied to our faith. God’s grace, his kindness and help, is freely given by God to us. We may not always understand God’s response to our prayers but of that one thing we can be certain: God’s grace is unmerited and unearned. It is, like our faith, God’s gift to us.

Silence

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 ear Marty Haugen’s “Healer of Our Every Ill.”

Healer of our ev’ry ill,
light of each tomorrow,
give us peace beyond our fear,
and hope beyond our sorrow.

1 You who know our fears and sadness,
grace us with your peace and gladness;
Spirit of all comfort, fill our hearts.

Healer of our ev’ry ill,
light of each tomorrow,
give us peace beyond our fear,
and hope beyond our sorrow.

2 In the pain and joy beholding
how your grace is still unfolding,
give us all your vision, God of love.

Healer of our ev’ry ill,
light of each tomorrow,
give us peace beyond our fear,
and hope beyond our sorrow.

3 Give us strength to love each other,
ev’ry sister, ev’ry brother;
Spirit of all kindness, be our guide.

Healer of our ev’ry ill,
light of each tomorrow,
give us peace beyond our fear,
and hope beyond our sorrow.

4 You who know each thought and feeling,
teach us all your way of healing;
Spirit of compassion, fill each heart.

Healer of our ev’ry ill,
light of each tomorrow,
give us peace beyond our fear,
and hope beyond our sorrow.

THE MINISTRY OF PRAYER

Heavenly Father,
you have promised to hear when we pray
in the name of your Son.
Therefore in confidence and trust
we pray for the Church:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

Father, enliven the Church for its mission
that we may be salt of the earth and light to the world.

Breathe fresh life into your people.
Give us power to reveal Christ in word and action.

We pray for the world:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

Creator of all,
lead us and every people into ways of justice and peace.
That we may respect one another in freedom and truth.

Awaken in us a sense of wonder for the earth and all that is in it.
Teach us to care creatively for its resources.

We pray for the community:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

God of truth, inspire with your wisdom
those whose decisions affect the lives of others
that all may act with integrity and courage.

Give grace to all whose lives are linked with ours.
May we serve Christ in one another, and love as he loves us.

We pray for those in need:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

God of hope, comfort and restore
all who suffer in body, mind or spirit.
May they know the power of your healing love.

Make us willing agents of your compassion.
Strengthen us as we share in making people whole.

We remember those who have died and those who mourn:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered.)

We remember with thanksgiving those who have died in the faith
of Christ, and those whose faith is known to you alone.
Father, into your hands we commend them.

Give comfort to those who mourn.
Bring them peace in their time of loss.

We praise you for (N and) all your saints
who have entered your eternal glory.
May their example inspire and encourage us.

We pray for ourselves and our ministries:

(Particular intercessions/thanksgivings may be offered. )

Lord, you have called us to serve you.
Grant that we may walk in your presence:
your love in our hearts,
your truth in our minds,
your strength in our wills;
until, at the end of our journey,
we know the joy of our homecoming
and the welcome of your embrace,
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.

And now, as our Saviour Christ has taught us,
we are bold 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,
the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.

THE SENDING OUT OF GOD’S PEOPLE

Let us bless the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

The Lord bless us and keep us. The Lord make his face shine
on us and be gracious to us. The Lord look upon us with favour
and grant us peace. Amen.