The Bulletin is at: 03-25-2018 – Bulletin
The Service in PDF format is at: 03-25-2018 – Service
or the service is as follows:
PALM SUNDAY
March 25, 2018
PRE-SERVICE MUSIC
AS WE GATHER…“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” This was the welcome the crowd gave Jesus as He entered Jerusalem. Today we add our voices in the welcome, knowing that in order to save us from sin and its death, our Lord had to suffer in our place on the cross and die in our place to set us free from sin and its death. What a great entrance into Holy Week!
RINGING OF THE BELL
P: In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
OPENING BLESSING
P: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
C: Hosanna in the highest!
Jesus enters Jerusalem.
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it is written, “Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the world has gone after him.”
P: This is the Gospel of the Lord.
C: Praise to You, O Christ.
P: Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
C: Hosanna in the highest!
P: Let us go forth in peace.
C: In the name of Christ!
During the Opening Hymn, the congregation is invited to walk forward and place their palm branches into one of the two large vases up front.
OPENING HYMN: “All Glory, Laud, and Honor”
All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
You are the king of Israel and David’s royal son,
Now in the Lord’s name coming, Our King and Blessed One.
All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
The company of angels are praising you on high;
Creation and all mortals in chorus make reply.
All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
The multitude of pilgrims with palms before you went.
Our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present.
All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
To you, before your Passion, they sang their hymns of praise.
To you, now high exalted, our melody we raise.
All glory, laud and honor to you, redeemer, king
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
P: Lord, we come before You in prayer today, asking for forgiveness.
C: Gracious God, we admit that we are sinners, and that we have gone against your loving will in thoughts, words, and actions. We do not want to hear your word challenging us in our lives and our priorities. We ask for your forgiveness, so that we are freed from our sin to live in your gracious love.
GOD FORGIVES
P: Almighty God, in his mercy, has given his Son to die for us and, for his sake, forgives us all our sins. As a called and ordained minister of the Church of Christ, and by his authority, I therefore declare to you the forgiveness of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
P: Let us Pray. Gracious Lord, you entered Jerusalem with sounds of human praise, but you knew what was set before you. We thank you for your love that took you from Hosannas to crucifies. May we honor you as King of our hearts always, who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
SCRIPTURE LESSONS
Old Testament: Zechariah 9:9-12
The prophet foretells of the humble King.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle bow shall be cut off,
and he shall speak peace to the nations;
his rule shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River[a] to the ends of the earth.
As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
today I declare that I will restore to you double.
Humbled to death on a cross that we might be exulted with Him.
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.
CHOIR ANTHEM “Hosanna in the Streets” By Pepper Choplin
Hosanna, hosanna! He is the King of Israel.
Hosanna, hosanna, blessed is He Who comes (x2)
in the name of the Lord.
I heard He can raise the dead. Is it True?
Oh, yes, I saw it. He called out to an open grave and from the dead a man He raised.
I heard that He calmed a storm. Is it true?
Oh, yes, I saw it. He called out to the the angry waves, “Peace, be still,” and we were saved.
He comes to save. All people shout:
Hosanna, hosanna! He is the King of Israel.
Hosanna, hosanna, blessed is He Who comes (x2)
in the name of the Lord.
Could he be the promised One?
Oh, yes, great Messiah. He will reign as a mighty King, deliver us and set us free.
Come and prase the holy One with a shout!
Come shout with a voice of triumph! Spread your coats on the path before, prepare the way of the Lord.
Hosanna, hosanna! He is the King of Israel.
Hosanna, hosanna, blessed is He Who comes (x2)
in the name of the Lord. (until the end)
SERMON HYMN “Lord, I Lift Your Name on High”
Lord, I lift Your name on high,
Lord, I love to sing Your praises.
I’m so glad You’re in my life,
I’m so glad You came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;
Lord, I lift Your Name on high.
Lord, I lift Your name on high,
Lord, I love to sing Your praises.
I’m so glad You’re in my life,
I’m so glad You came to save us.
You came from heaven to earth to show the way,
From the earth to the cross, my debt to pay;
From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky;
Lord, I lift Your Name on high.
C: 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 was 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 Christian Church,
The communion of saints,
The forgiveness of sins,
The resurrection of the body,
And the life everlasting. Amen.
OFFERING
We offer our thanksgiving for what God has first given us—ourselves, our time, our possessions.
OFFERING SONG: “We Give Thee but Thine Own” LBW 410 (1 & 4)
We give thee but thine own, What e’er the gift may be;
All that we have is thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from thee.
To comfort and to bless, To find a balm for woe,
To tend those lost in loneliness, Is angels’ work below.
P: Let us pray to the Lord that He may hear us on behalf of the people of God and all people as they have need.
P: That the humility of our Lord’s suffering and death bring forth in us the fruits of faith and renewed faithfulness, for us and for all who hear about what He did on the cross, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: That the sufferings of Christ in our place not only strengthen us in faith but give us courage to proclaim His salvation to the ends of the earth, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: That the wounds of the sick, the suffering, the grieving, and the dying find healing in the wounds of Christ our Lord, (especially…), let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: That by His gracious example of humility unto death we learn humility of faith, repent of our sins and unrighteousness, and learn to delight in His will and walk in His ways all the days of our lives, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: That God visits His grace to us and to all nations, that we have good leaders and that we be good citizens, until the day when we join the saints before the Lord in His eternal city, where He has prepared for us an everlasting place, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy.
P: That God strengthen the bonds we share with our ministry partners. That those individuals and families who receive blessings from our ministry partners look to the cross for comfort this Easter, let us pray to the Lord.
C: Lord, have mercy. Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER
CLOSING BLESSING
CLOSING SONG “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”
Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, hail Thee as the sun above,
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day.
All Thy works with joy surround Thee, earth and heaven reflect thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, center of the unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain, flowery meadow flashing sea,
Chanting bird and flowing fountain, call us to rejoice in Thee.
Thou art giving and forgiving, ever blessing, ever blest,
Well-spring of the joy of living, ocean depth of happy rest!
Thou our Father, Christ our Brother, all who live in love are Thine;
Teach us how to love each other, lift us to the Joy Divine.
Mortals, join the mighty chorus which the morning stars began;
Father love is reigning over us, Brother love binds man to man.
Ever singing, march we onward, victors in the midst of strife;
Joyful music lifts us sun ward in the triumph song of life.