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Palm Sunday Worship, April 5, 2020

Introduction

Welcome to Worship!

Welcome to Palm Sunday! It is the celebration of Jesus entering into the Holy City of Jerusalem as King. It is a massive parade–a festive gathering. Jesus rides a Donkey and is worshiped and glorified. It is our doorway into Holy Week–the beginning of the most important week of the year, of our lives, and of creation. Holy Week–the day that salvation is won for you and for me on the Cross. How quickly things changed for Jesus from shouts of Hosanna to shouts of Crucify Him! And how quickly things have changed for us. Even still, we gather and we worship. Not as we would like, but as we are able.

Welcome to Holy Week! Welcome to Palm Sunday. May we join together and cry out: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

Order of Worship

We call on the Name of the Triune God: An adult can say: We gather in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

On Palm Sunday, the Traditional Hymn: All Glory Laud and Honor

Our Palm Sunday Procession

Openning Prayer

Lord God, we cry out with the crowds: Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna! Come, and save us again, O God. Walk with us as we praise you. And, by the Holy Spirit, enable us to walk with your Son as He heads towards the Cross. Through our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

A Prince of Peace Procession for Palm Sunday

CONFESSION

Sharing Option: Share about a time when someone saved you from trouble, embarrassment, or danger.

Psalm 31: 9-16: Read by Leader with all reading the Bold

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
    my eye is wasted from grief;
    my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
    and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
    and my bones waste away.

Hosanna in the Highest!

Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
    especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
    those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
    I have become like a broken vessel.
For I hear the whispering of many—
    terror on every side!—
as they scheme together against me,
    as they plot to take my life.

Hosanna in the Highest!

But I trust in you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hand;
    rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
Make your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your steadfast love!

Hosanna in the Highest!

Words of Confession

Read Together: We confess, O Jesus, that we are still in need of saving. We confess we our mess ups, our mistakes, and our mistreating of one another. We confess that our fears, our pressures, and our doubts get the better of us at times. We confess that we don’t trust you as we ought. Come, save us again. Hear our cry of Hosanna! Give us the faith to trust you, our Savior and to cry out: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Amen.

Sharing Option: Take a moment and share with one another about a mistake you have made in the past week. Confess the way you have treated each other. Take time to confess the way you have hurt one another and mishandled the stress of these days. And then, with boldness, declare to one another: I forgive you, in the name of Jesus.

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you are the savior of the whole world. And so we come with joy filled hearts knowing that you will deliver us again. We praise your name for the gift of confession and forgiveness. And we thank you for the healing that comes as we forgive one another. By the presence of the Holy Spirit, equip us with grace and peace to meet the days ahead in light of your forgiveness and mercy. Amen.

Reading God’s Word

Philippians 2:5-11

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Sharing Option: What speaks to you about this brief description of what Jesus accomplishes during Holy Week?

Another Song for Worship

Revelation Song

Ride On, Ride On in Majesty

Today’s Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11

Today’s Sermon

Profess the Apostles’ Creed Together:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He 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

Prayer

For prayer today, I invite you to participate in a variety of ways. Here are some ideas. (You DON’T need to do all or any of these, but invest some time in prayer together).

Draw out your prayers with paper an pen
Go back up and read the psalm again as your prayer
Rewrite the psalm above as your prayer
Verbally pray through the fears that were shared above and give thanks for the ways that God has seen you through tough times.
People and professions for inclusion: government leaders; medical professionals; school teachers and administrators; business owners; those who have already been laid off; those separated from loved ones because of isolation; for those that suffer with mental disabilities that limit understanding of our current reality.