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 PALM SUNDAY CALL TO WORSHIP
Jesus is coming! Kathy
From the mountainside, from the seaside,
from the homes of the rich
and the company of the poor,
from the bedside of those who are sick,
Jesus is coming! Karen
Along dusty roads,
with a ragged band of travelers,
Jesus comes to Jerusalem,
Jesus comes to worship.
Will we greet him with Hosannas?

 CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
Let us pray,
Patient God, we confess that we love a parade. We are very happy to see banners waving and hear people shouting their praises. Our hearts thrill to the spectacle. But we fail to see the sadness on the face of the Savior; our shouts block out his sorrow. He comes to us as King, and we expect that royal treatment will follow. We do not and cannot believe that in a few days we will be among those who will turn our backs and run from his presence. How fickle we are, O Lord. Forgive us and call us to turn our lives around–to see the needs of others, to reach out in trust and faith, to be willing to witness to your good news of saving love. Heal our hearts and give us courage for the days ahead.
Amen.

Receive good news: God turns to you in love. “I will put my spirit in you and you shall live,” says God. All your sin is forgiven in the name of + Jesus Christ, who is the free and abounding gift of God’s grace for you.
Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY
Let us pray.
Sovereign God, you have established your rule in the human heart through the servanthood of Jesus Christ. By your Spirit, keep us in the joyful procession of those who with their tongues confess Jesus as Lord and with their lives praise him as Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

FIRST READING: Philippians 2:5-11
Phil. 2:5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
⁶            who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
⁷            but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
⁸                         he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
9             Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
¹⁰          so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹          and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

GOSPEL: Matthew 21:1-11
When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying,
⁵           “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble, and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷ they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
¹⁰ When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking,  ¹¹ The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

SERMON

APOSTLE’S CREED
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, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and 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

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION (Click below to be able to participate from home)
http://www.pilgrimpaths.co.uk/Finger%20Labyrinth%20and%20Prayer%20Guide%20Leaflet.pdf

SHARING OF THE PEACE

ANNOUNCEMENTS & OFFERING
https://tithe.ly/give?c=468062

THANKSGIVING FOR THE WORD
Let us pray.
O God of justice and love, we give thanks to you that you illumine our way through life with the words of your Son. Give us the light we need, awaken us to the needs of others, and at the end bring all the world to your feast; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory forever.
Amen.

THE LORD’S PRAYER
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, forever and ever. Amen.

BLESSING
Now the Lord bless thee and keep thee. The Lord make his face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee.  The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee and give thee peace in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.

DISMISSAL
We have gathered with the crowds crying Hosanna!
Because even if we were silent the stones themselves would have called out.
We have shared the hope for a world about to be changed,
and then it changed.
But we know there will be another crowd.
One that calls words of scorn and condemnation.
And now we follow the crowd as it leads out to the cross, and yet even as the world grows dark, we cannot lose hope.
Because God is with us.
God will be with us.
Whatever happens.
We are not alone,
And so we watch the crowd and we follow…

 

 

 

[1] written by Carole Penner, and posted on her Leading in Worship blog. http://carolpenner.typepad.com/leadinginworship/  Visit that site for other great worship resources.

[2] posted by Rev Gord on his blog, Worship Offerings. http://worshipofferings.blogspot.ca/