Sundays at All Hallows (February 15, 2026)
This Sunday is the sixth Sunday after Epiphany and the last Sunday of Epiphanytide. This coming Tuesday is Shrove Tuesday, so named after the practice of priests of the medieval Catholic Church “shriving” penitents on this day, hear their confessions, granting them absolution, and assigning penances, in preparation for Lent. It is also known as Pancake Day. What remained of fat and eggs was used to make pancakes. This coming Wednesday is the first day of Lent, commonly called Ash Wednesday. In the medieval Catholic Church ashes were sprinkled on the heads of penitents on this day.
The topic of this Sunday’s message is grace.
GATHER IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear Josh Snodgrass’ arrangement of THIS IS AMAZIN
Silence
God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in
spirit and truth. John 4:24
If we say 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
So let us draw near to God with sincerity and confidence, and humbly confess our sins.
Silence
Almighty and most merciful Father,
we have strayed from your ways like lost sheep.
We have followed too much
the devices and the desires of our own hearts.
we have offended against your holy laws,
we have left undone what we ought to have done,
and we have done what we ought not to have done.
Yet, good Lord, have mercy on us;
restore those who are penitent,
according to your promises declared
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Grant, most merciful Father, for his sake,
that we may live a godly, righteous, and sober lives,
to the glory of your holy name. Amen.
Merciful Lord, grant to your faithful people pardon
and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their
sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Open our lips, O Lord;
And we shall declare your praise.
O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.
Glory to God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:
as in the beginning, so now, and for ever. Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
The Lord’s name be praised.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley Smith’s “Come Let Us Praise the Lord (Psalm 95).”
1 Come, let us praise the Lord,
with joy our God acclaim,
his greatness tell abroad
and bless his saving Name.
Lift high your songs
before his throne
to whom alone
all praise belongs.
2 Our God of matchless worth,
our King beyond compare,
the deepest bounds of earth,
the hills, are in his care.
He all decrees,
who by his hand
prepared the land
and formed the seas.
3 In worship bow the knee,
our glorious God confess;
the great Creator, he,
the Lord our Righteousness.
He reigns unseen:
his flock he feeds
and gently leads
in pastures green.
4 Come, hear his voice today,
receive what love imparts;
his holy will obey
and harden not your hearts.
His ways are best;
and lead at last,
all troubles past,
to perfect rest.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Dan Schutte’s “My Soul Thirsts” (Psalm 63).
My soul thirsts for You, Lord,
like the desert thirsts for rain.
It is Your face I long for;
You alone are life to me.
1 I have walked in Your temple,
and seen your mighty deeds.
Your love, O Lord, means more to me,
than all my days of life.
My soul thirsts for You, Lord,
like the desert thirsts for rain.
It is Your face I long for;
You alone are life to me.
2 I can count on Your mercy
to feed my hungry heart,
for when I lift my hands in need,
a banquet You provide.
My soul thirsts for You, Lord,
like the desert thirsts for rain.
It is Your face I long for;
You alone are life to me.
3 I will make my dwelling
in the shelter of Your wings.
Your hand, O Lord, will keep me safe
through darkest night and day.
My soul thirsts for You, Lord,
like the desert thirsts for rain.
It is Your face I long for;
You alone are life to me.
Silence
To you we come, O Lord,
the true goal of all human desiring,
beyond all earthly beauty,
gentle protector, strong deliverer;
in the night you are our confidence:
from first light be our joy. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Psalm 150, “Sing Hallelujah! Praise the LORD!” from the Trinity Psalter Hymnal (2018).
Organ and piano accompaniment only.
1 Sing hallelujah! Praise the LORD!
Praise God within his sacred courts!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Praise, praise him in his heav’nly height!
Praise, praise him for his deeds of might!
O praise him! O praise him!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
2 Praise God whose majesty abounds!
O praise him with the trumpet sound!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Praise God with lute and harp and strings,
with dance and pipe and tambourine!
O praise him! O praise him!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
3 With sounding cymbals praise the LORD!
With clashing cymbals praise aloud!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Let all that breathes now praise the LORD!
O praise the LORD forevermore!
O praise him! O praise him!
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Silence
God of life and love,
whose Son was victorious over sin and death:
make us alive with his life,
that the whole world may resound with your praise;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 11: 18-21, 26-28
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw, Jr.’s paraphrase of the Benedictus, “Blessed Be the God of Israel.”
1 Blessed be the God of Israel
who comes to set us free
and raises up new hope for us:
a Branch from David's tree.
So have the prophets long declared
that with a mighty arm
God would turn back our enemies
and all who wish us harm.
2 With promised mercy will God still
the covenant recall,
the oath once sworn to Abraham,
from foes to save us all;
that we might worship without fear
and offer lives of praise,
in holiness and righteousness
to serve God all our days.
3 My child, as prophet of the Lord,
you will prepare the way,
to tell God's people they are saved
from sin's eternal sway.
Then shall God's mercy from on high
shine forth and never cease
to drive away the gloom of death
and lead us into peace.
A reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans.
Romans 1: 16-17; 3: 22b-31
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Silence
Open this link in a new tab to hear Christopher Idle’s paraphrase of the Te Deum, “God We Praise You! God We Bless You!”
1 God, we praise You! God, we bless You!
God, we name You sovereign Lord!
Mighty King Whom angels worship,
Father by Your church adored:
All creation shows Your glory,
Heaven and earth
draw near Your throne,
singing "Holy, holy, holy,"
Lord of hosts and God alone!
2 True apostles, faithful prophets
Saints who set their world ablaze
Martyrs once unknown, unheeded
Join one growing song of praise,
While Your church on earth confesses One majestic Trinity:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
God our hope eternally.
3 Jesus Christ, the King of glory
Everlasting Son of God
Humble was Your virgin mother
Hard the lonely path you trod:
By Your cross is sin defeated,
Hell confronted face to face,
Heaven opened to believers,
Sinners justified by grace.
4 Christ, at God's right hand victorious,
You will judge the world You made.
Lord in mercy, help Your servants
For whose freedom You have paid.
Raise us up from dust to glory,
Guard us from all sin today,
King enthroned above all praises,
Save Your people, God we pray.
Coda:
King enthroned above all praises,
Save Your people, God we pray.
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew.
Matthew 7: 21-29
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”
When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.
What's So Amazing About Grace?
“Grace.” When l hear or read that word, a passage from C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles, from the first book Lewis wrote in the series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, comes to mind. The Pevensie children have just met Mr. Beaver.
“Here the Beaver's voice sank into silence and it gave one or two very mysterious nods. Then signalling to the children to stand as close around it as they possibly could, so that their faces were actually tickled by its whiskers, it added in a low whisper—
"They say Aslan is on the move—perhaps has already landed."
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning—either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in his inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realise that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer.”
When we hear or read the word “grace,” we should have a similar experience to theirs. We should feel something jump in our inside.
Without God’s grace, God’s favor and goodwill toward us, the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, we would show no interest in God, in Jesus, in our salvation, in our personal growth in godliness and holiness. They would be meaningless to us. Indeed, we would be unable to take an interest in them. We would be “dead” like a cell phone or laptop without a power source. Spiritually dead.
Without God’s grace we would not have the vital faith which enables us to benefit from Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross and his rising to new life. We would not have imputed to us the righteousness which is given through faith in Jesus to all who believe. Our sins would go unforgiven.
Without God’s grace we would give no thought to doing God’s will. We would pay no attention to Jesus’ teaching, much less build our lives on that foundation. We would not be able to live the new life Jesus would have us live.
Hearing or reading the word “grace” should not only warm our hearts but also inspire us to be more thankful to God and to devote ourselves more fully to serving God. God’s grace is God’s gift freely given to us, unmerited and undeserved. It is an expression of God’s love for us, the love of God who is love.
Silence
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth;
and in Jesus Christ, his 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 into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into 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
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
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.
Lord, show us your mercy,
and grant us your salvation.
Keep our nation under your care,
and guide us in justice and truth.
Clothe your ministers with righteousness,
and make your chosen people joyful.
Lord, save your people,
and bless your inheritance.
Give peace in our time, O Lord,
for you are our help and strength.
Create in us dean hearts, O God,
and renew us by your Holy Spirit.
Almighty Father, whose blessed Son was revealed so that he might
destroy the works of the devil and make us the children of God and
heirs of eternal life: grant that having this hope we may purify ourselves
as he is pure; that, when he shall appear again with power
and great glory, we may be made like him in his eternal and glorious kingdom, where with you, Father, and with the Holy Spirit,
he lives and reigns, one God, for evermore. Amen.
O God, the author and lover of peace, in knowledge of whom
stands our eternal life, whose service is perfect freedom;
defend us your servants in all assaults of our enemies,
that, surely trusting in your defense, we may not fear the power
of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Eternal God and Father, by whose power we are created and
by whose love we are redeemed: guide and strengthen us by
your Spirit, that we may give ourselves to your service, and
live every day in love to one another and to you; through Jesus
Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear John Newton’s “Amazing Grace.”
1 Amazing grace how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
2 'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed!
3 Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'tis grace has brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
4 The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures.
5 Yes, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess within the veil
A life of joy and peace.
6 When I've been there a thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
I've no less days to sing God's praise
than when I've first begun.
[Let us pray for the Church]
Almighty and eternal God, you alone work great marvels:
send down your life-giving Spirit of grace on our bishops and other clergy, and on the congregations which they serve; and, in order that they may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing. Grant this, Lord, for the honour of our advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Let us pray for all people according to their needs]
God of providence, God of love,
we pray for all people: make your way known to them, your saving power
among all nations.
We pray for the welfare of your Church throughout the world: guide and
govern it by your Holy Spirit, that all who call themselves Christians
may be led in the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit,
in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.
We commend to your fatherly goodness all who are afflicted or distressed
in mind, body, or circumstances (especially…). Relieve them according to their needs, giving them patience in their sufferings, and deliverance in their afflictions. This we ask for the sake of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
[Let us pray for ourselves and others.]
Silence
Those present may offer their own prayers and thanksgivings, either silently or aloud.
Eternal God,
grant to us this day and every day
such readiness and delight in following Christ,
that whether our lives are short or long
we shall have lived abundantly. Amen.
[Let us give thanks to God for his goodness.]
Almighty God and merciful Father,
we give you heart-felt thanks
for all your goodness and loving kindness to us
and to all people.
We bless you for our creation and preservation,
and all the blessings of this life;
but above all for your immeasurable love
in the redemption of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ;
for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory.
And, we pray, give us such a sense of all your mercies,
that our hearts may be truly thankful,
and that we praise you,
not only with our lips but in our lives,
serving you in holiness and righteousness all our days;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
to whom with you and the Holy Spirit,
be honour and glory, now and for ever. Amen.
Almighty God, you have promised to hear the petitions of
those who ask in your Son’s name: mercifully accept us who
have now made our prayers to you; and grant us those things
which we have asked in faith according to your will; through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Molly Ijames’ arrangement of
Jeff Nelson and Scott Wesley Brown’s “Grace Alone.”
1 Every promise we can make
Every prayer and step of faith
Every difference we will make
Is only by His grace
2 Every mountain we will climb
Every ray of hope we shine
Every blessing left behind
Is only by His grace
Grace alone, which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us our cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone
[Instrumental interlude]
3 Every soul we long to reach
Every heart we hope to teach
Everywhere we share His peace
Is only by His grace
Is only by His grace
4 Every loving word we say
Every tear we wipe away
Every sorrow turned to praise
Is only by His grace
Grace alone which God supplies
Strength unknown He will provide
Christ in us our cornerstone
Cornerstone
We will go forth in grace alone
We will go forth
We will go forth
We will go forth in grace alone
THE SENDING FORTH OF GOD’S PEOPLE
The Lord be with you.
And also with you
Let us praise the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Open this link in a new tab to hear St. Aidan’s Community’s “The Grace" (2 Corinthians 13:14).
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God our Father,
and the fellowship, the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with us
for evermore and evermore and evermore. Amen.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God our Father,
and the fellowship, the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit be with us
for evermore and evermore and evermore. Amen.
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