Thursday Evenings at All Hallows (April 30, 2026)
Welcome to Thursday Evenings at All Hallows.
In this Thursday evening’s message, we take a look at the meaning of Jesus’ words in John 13: 20, at what they means for those who do not yet believe as well as those who are believers and have become disciples of Jesus.
GATHER IN GOD’S NAME
Open this link in a new tab to hear Patricia Hurlbutt’s arrangement of “O Love, How Deep” (DEO GRACIAS/AGINCOURT) for handbells.
Silence
Christ is risen!
The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
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
Let us now confess our sins to almighty God.
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 we may be cleansed from all our 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 Calvin Seerveld and Lee Ann Vermeulen-Roberts’s “You servants of the Lord our God (Psalm 134).”
1 You servants of the Lord our God,
who work and pray both day and night.
In God's own house, lift up your hands,
and praise the Lord with all your might.
2 Lift up your hands in holiness,
come, bless the Lord and give Him praise.
Kneel down before the Lord our God,
and worship Him in all your ways.
[Instrumental interlude]
3 The Lord God bless you from His throne,
shine down upon you with His face.
He who created heaven and earth,
redeem you with His love and grace.
Redeem you with His love and grace.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley-Smith’s “I Lift My Eyes to the Quiet Hills” (Psalm 121).
1 I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
In the press of a busy day;
As green hills stand in a dusty land
So God is my strength and stay.
2 I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
To a calm that is mine to share;
Secure and still in the Father’s will
And kept by the Father’s care.
3 I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
With a prayer as I turn to sleep;
By day, by night, through the dark and light
My Shepherd will guard his sheep.
4 I lift my eyes to the quiet hills
And my heart to the Father’s throne;
In all my ways to the end of days
The Lord will preserve his own.
Silence
Lord, ever watchful and faithful,
we look to you to be our defence
and we lift up our hearts to know your help;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
THE MINISTRY OF THE WORD
A reading from the Gospel according to John.
John 13: 16-20
Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
‘I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfil this passage of Scripture: “He who shared my bread has turned against me.”
‘I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am who I am. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.’
May your word live in us
and bear much fruit to your glory.
Silence
A Promise Given, a Promise Kept
According to John’s Gospel from which this evening’s reading is taken Jesus not only gave a new commandment on the night he was betrayed, he also made a promise. He spoke these words, “…whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”
The New Testament Greek word that the New International Version translates as “accepts” has multiple meanings. As it is used in this passage, it means to receive someone, that is, to give them access to oneself, for example to welcome them into one’s home or place of business and not to turn them away.
Those who receive anyone sent by him, Jesus is telling his disciples, will also receive him and the Father who sent him. The disciples at the time may not have given much thought to what he was saying, wondering which one of them was going to betray Jesus. He had just told them that one of them was about to betray him. What he is offering his disciples is reassurance. God will be with them, in the person of himself and the Father who sent him. What Jesus is also saying is that whoever receives them would also be receiving God. He is also reassuring those who receive them.
Jesus offers this reassurance in a number of different ways throughout John’s Gospel. For example, John 7:16: “Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.’” John 12:49-50: “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” And John 14: 23-24: “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.’”
“How is it possible for someone who receives a person Jesus has sent to receive Jesus and the Father who sent him?” we may be prompted to ask. God’s grace, the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, is the key. God’s grace enables us not only to believe in Jesus but also to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s own presence dwelling in us, uniting us to Jesus and to the Father who sent him. We become one with God in a mystical union.
No one will heed Jesus’ command to spread the gospel and to make disciples unless God is working in them to will and act to fulfill this purpose. God gives us the desire and power to please him. And telling people about Jesus, who he is, and what God has done for us through him, and extending Jesus’ invitation to believe in him and to become his disciple is very pleasing to God.
This task Jesus has entrusted to all his disciples, not just to the apostles or to the clergy or any special group of Jesus’ followers. It is a task that all who believe in Jesus and are his disciples are expected to undertake. While we may not be sent to a distant city or rural district or to a foreign land, we all are sent to the community in which we live and to the surrounding communities, to the place where God has put us.
God not only works in the lives of those sent but also in the lives of those to whom they are sent. It is God that enables the inhabitants of a community to welcome those whom God has sent to them, to give them a hearing, and to believe. Those who do can be said not only to have received those who were sent but also Jesus and the Father who sent him. In receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, they too become united with God, with Jesus and the Father who sent him.
Silence
Opens this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw, Jr.’s paraphrase of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims with Wonder.”
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
1 To me God has shown favor,
to one the world though frail;
and every age will echo
the angel's first "All hail."
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
2 God's mercy shields the faithful
and saves them from defeat
with strength that turns to scatter
the proud in their conceit.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
3 The mighty have been vanquished;
the lowly lifted up.
The hungry find abundance;
the rich, an empty cup.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
4 To Abraham's descendants
the Lord will steadfast prove,
for God has made with Israel
a covenant of love.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
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
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 God, you show to those who are in error the light of your
truth so that they may return into the way of righteousness: grant
to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s service that
they may renounce those things that are contrary to their profession
and follow all such things as are agreeable to it; through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Eternal God, from whom all holy desires, all good purposes,
and all just works proceed: give to your servants that peace
which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to
obey your commandments, and that free from the fear of our
enemies we may pass our time in trust and quietness;
through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Lighten our darkness, Lord, we pray: and in your great
mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of your only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley-Smith’s
“‘How Shall They Hear’, Who Have Not Heard.”
1 ‘How shall they hear,' who have not heard
news of a Lord who loved and came;
nor known his reconciling word,
nor learned to trust a Saviour's Name,
nor learned to trust a Saviour's Name?
2 ‘To all the world,' to every place,
neighbours and friends and far-off lands,
preach the good news of saving grace;
go while the great commission stands,
go while the great commission stands.
3 ‘Whom shall I send?’ Who hears the call,
constant in prayer, through toil and pain,
telling of one who died for all,
to bring a lost world home again,
to bring a lost world home again?
4 ‘Lord, here am I:’ your fire impart
to this poor cold self-centred soul;
touch but my lips, my hands, my heart,
and make a world for Christ my goal,
and make a world for Christ my goal.
5 Spirit of love, within us move:
Spirit of truth, in power come down!
So shall they hear and find and prove
Christ is their life, their joy, their crown,
Christ is their life, their joy, their crown.
Silence is kept.
Those present may offer their own prayers and thanksgivings, either silently or aloud.
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.
Open this link in a new tab to hear James Seddon’s “Tell All the World of Jesus.”
1 Tell all the world of Jesus ,
our Saviour, Lord and King;
and let the whole creation
of his salvation sing:
proclaim his glorious greatness,
in nature and in grace,
creator and redeemer,
the Lord of time and space.
2 Tell all the world of Jesus,
that everyone may find
the joy of his forgiveness,
true peace of heart and mind.
Proclaim his perfect goodness,
his deep, unfailing care,
his love so rich in mercy,
a love beyond compare
3 Tell all the world of Jesus,
that everyone may know
of his almighty triumph
defeating every foe.
Proclaim his coming glory,
when sin is overthrown,
and he shall reign in splendour,
the King upon his throne!
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
The New Testament Greek word that the New International Version translates as “accepts” has multiple meanings. As it is used in this passage, it means to receive someone, that is, to give them access to oneself, for example to welcome them into one’s home or place of business and not to turn them away.
Those who receive anyone sent by him, Jesus is telling his disciples, will also receive him and the Father who sent him. The disciples at the time may not have given much thought to what he was saying, wondering which one of them was going to betray Jesus. He had just told them that one of them was about to betray him. What he is offering his disciples is reassurance. God will be with them, in the person of himself and the Father who sent him. What Jesus is also saying is that whoever receives them would also be receiving God. He is also reassuring those who receive them.
Jesus offers this reassurance in a number of different ways throughout John’s Gospel. For example, John 7:16: “Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me.’” John 12:49-50: “For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” And John 14: 23-24: “Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.’”
“How is it possible for someone who receives a person Jesus has sent to receive Jesus and the Father who sent him?” we may be prompted to ask. God’s grace, the power of the Holy Spirit working in us, is the key. God’s grace enables us not only to believe in Jesus but also to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, God’s own presence dwelling in us, uniting us to Jesus and to the Father who sent him. We become one with God in a mystical union.
No one will heed Jesus’ command to spread the gospel and to make disciples unless God is working in them to will and act to fulfill this purpose. God gives us the desire and power to please him. And telling people about Jesus, who he is, and what God has done for us through him, and extending Jesus’ invitation to believe in him and to become his disciple is very pleasing to God.
This task Jesus has entrusted to all his disciples, not just to the apostles or to the clergy or any special group of Jesus’ followers. It is a task that all who believe in Jesus and are his disciples are expected to undertake. While we may not be sent to a distant city or rural district or to a foreign land, we all are sent to the community in which we live and to the surrounding communities, to the place where God has put us.
God not only works in the lives of those sent but also in the lives of those to whom they are sent. It is God that enables the inhabitants of a community to welcome those whom God has sent to them, to give them a hearing, and to believe. Those who do can be said not only to have received those who were sent but also Jesus and the Father who sent him. In receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, they too become united with God, with Jesus and the Father who sent him.
Silence
Opens this link in a new tab to hear Carl P. Daw, Jr.’s paraphrase of the Magnificat, “My Soul Proclaims with Wonder.”
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
1 To me God has shown favor,
to one the world though frail;
and every age will echo
the angel's first "All hail."
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
2 God's mercy shields the faithful
and saves them from defeat
with strength that turns to scatter
the proud in their conceit.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
3 The mighty have been vanquished;
the lowly lifted up.
The hungry find abundance;
the rich, an empty cup.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
4 To Abraham's descendants
the Lord will steadfast prove,
for God has made with Israel
a covenant of love.
My soul proclaims with wonder
the greatness of the Lord;
rejoicing in God's goodness,
my spirit is restored.
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
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 God, you show to those who are in error the light of your
truth so that they may return into the way of righteousness: grant
to all who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s service that
they may renounce those things that are contrary to their profession
and follow all such things as are agreeable to it; through our Lord
Jesus Christ. Amen.
Eternal God, from whom all holy desires, all good purposes,
and all just works proceed: give to your servants that peace
which the world cannot give, that our hearts may be set to
obey your commandments, and that free from the fear of our
enemies we may pass our time in trust and quietness;
through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
Lighten our darkness, Lord, we pray: and in your great
mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night;
for the love of your only Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.
Open this link in a new tab to hear Timothy Dudley-Smith’s
“‘How Shall They Hear’, Who Have Not Heard.”
1 ‘How shall they hear,' who have not heard
news of a Lord who loved and came;
nor known his reconciling word,
nor learned to trust a Saviour's Name,
nor learned to trust a Saviour's Name?
2 ‘To all the world,' to every place,
neighbours and friends and far-off lands,
preach the good news of saving grace;
go while the great commission stands,
go while the great commission stands.
3 ‘Whom shall I send?’ Who hears the call,
constant in prayer, through toil and pain,
telling of one who died for all,
to bring a lost world home again,
to bring a lost world home again?
4 ‘Lord, here am I:’ your fire impart
to this poor cold self-centred soul;
touch but my lips, my hands, my heart,
and make a world for Christ my goal,
and make a world for Christ my goal.
5 Spirit of love, within us move:
Spirit of truth, in power come down!
So shall they hear and find and prove
Christ is their life, their joy, their crown,
Christ is their life, their joy, their crown.
Silence is kept.
Those present may offer their own prayers and thanksgivings, either silently or aloud.
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.
Open this link in a new tab to hear James Seddon’s “Tell All the World of Jesus.”
1 Tell all the world of Jesus ,
our Saviour, Lord and King;
and let the whole creation
of his salvation sing:
proclaim his glorious greatness,
in nature and in grace,
creator and redeemer,
the Lord of time and space.
2 Tell all the world of Jesus,
that everyone may find
the joy of his forgiveness,
true peace of heart and mind.
Proclaim his perfect goodness,
his deep, unfailing care,
his love so rich in mercy,
a love beyond compare
3 Tell all the world of Jesus,
that everyone may know
of his almighty triumph
defeating every foe.
Proclaim his coming glory,
when sin is overthrown,
and he shall reign in splendour,
the King upon his throne!
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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