| Worship Order for Sunday | ||
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Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren
Palm Sunday
Beginning with Praise
(9:50 am)
“The Palms”
(see insert)
Call to
Worship
(back of bulletin) *Hymn
“Hosanna, loud hosanna”
238 Sharing
a joy, a concern, a word of testimony or praise
*Hymn
“Beneath the cross of Jesus”
250 *Postlude *Rise in body or in spirit #'s are from Hymnal: A Worship Book Worship leaders - see basic guidelines |
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Leader: You are
always near to us, O God. People:
When troubles come, you are with us day and night! A Voice: Praise God! We
give thanks for the possibility of starting over again, to be
restored and renewed in our faith. Leader: We are
grateful for the gift of your Son, who has come to live among us,
showing us love without abandon. A Voice: Jesus - the Chosen of
God, Bearer of Love and Light - is called Blessed. People:
Prepare a way for the One who draws us closer to God. All:
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
by
Jan Glass King, pastor |
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Transforming God, through you all things are made new. We pray that we may have the courage to write new beginnings in ways that share your love and goodness. Forgive us when we turn from you out of apathy, cowardice, or fear. Throughout this season of mindful reflection, draw us closer to the Blessed One, who taught us that living and loving require courage beyond measure. May our hosannas resound throughout these times in ways that offer love, justice, and mercy to all people. Amen.
by Jan Glass King, pastor |
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Spreading
the “cloaks” of our Heifer offerings
As we have journeyed through the season of Lent this year we have
had available some resources to guide the way. Some of us have
been following a devotional booklet written especially for this
period of time by Brethren pastor, Duane Grady. We have also
traveled through these days with a 4-week calendar, full of daily
suggestions for giving. Each one highlighted a people and place
somewhere around the world who might receive an animal or plant
from Heifer
International to help them, a gift they are then to pass along
to someone else. For instance, on the first Monday, the focus was
upon Kenya and how families there could benefit from beehives. The
suggestion was that we might contribute 25 cents for every jar of
honey in our kitchen. We were to place these offerings in our
cardboard Heifer “arks” which came with the calendars.
Today is the day we set to return our “arks,” an offering to this
global ministry begun many years ago in our own denomination… Now,
in the gospel story we just heard, people spread palm branches and
their “cloaks,” their outer garments, on the ground before Jesus
as he entered into Jerusalem. Today, palms are already are spread
down our center aisle. How about if we think of our Heifer
offerings as our “cloaks” which we also place before the Lord.
Again, I ask our children and their helpers to assist us in doing
this. While we sing a simple Hosanna song, the words of which are
in your bulletin, our young people will come to you are get your
ark and bring it forward and place it on the table up front. Those
of you with arks, hold them up for the children to see and come to
you. If you don’t have an ark, but would still like to give, put
your offering in the envelope in your bulletin. You can either
give this to a child to bring forward now, or place it in the
regular offering later in the service. Understand? Let us spread
our Heifer “cloaks” before the Lord.
(This
video will be shown
on the screen while we sing and the children collect the "arks." |
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Raising the cross amid Psalm 118
When the early church reflected upon the good news of Jesus, they
began hearing echoes from throughout the scriptures. One involves
the story behind this day. Psalm 118 is the final psalm in a group
often called “the Egyptian Hallel,” or songs of praise (“Hallelu”)
to God (‘Jah”) which remember the Exodus from Egypt. It was then,
and now, used in religious festivals, especially Passover. It
makes sense that the pilgrims coming to Jerusalem to celebrate
Passover would sing parts of this Psalm as they and Jesus entered
Jerusalem.
When those first followers of Christ stepped more deeply into this
psalm, all sorts of bells and whistles, if you will, began going
off. It was as if this scripture was talking directly about Jesus
- “Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord … the cornerstone the builders rejected …
Save us (which is what “Hosanna” means) …
this is the Lord’s doing.”
These words are not just about waving palm branches, they are
about the mighty work of God, who delivers people from slavery,
whether that be bondage to Pharaoh or to sin and death. With this
psalm, we turn a corner in our worship this day and enter into the
passion of our Lord. In these words behold the cross upon which
Jesus was crucified.
read more
about Psalm 118 and its use in the various |
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written closer to the time (if not at the moment)
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Returning our Tithes and Offerings
In a few minutes, plates will be passed and offerings will be
given. It’s so much part of a routine that we often just go
through the motions. Do we even ask ourselves, “how am I being
faithful with what I have received?” We have been entrusted with
great wealth. Don’t make the mistake, though, of equating “wealth”
with only “money” and “things.” We are trustees of so much more.
Are we being faithful, for instance, with how we spend our time?
Do we tithe our day? Let’s see, a tenth of 24 hours is almost 2½
hours, times 7 would be what? Over 17 hours a week, and a tithe is
but a starting point. Of course, we say the Sabbath is for God,
but how much of Sunday do we actually use in God-ways? It
certainly should involve more than one or two hours a week, don’t
you think?
The point here is not to induce feelings of guilt. There’s always
plenty of that to go around. It’s simply to get us thinking about
our stewardship of time. Are we making room for God in the hours
of our days? How intentional are we? Or is time just slipping
through our fingers?
We call this “Holy week” for some strange reason. Do we remember
why? It’s not just Spring Break for our children, shorter though
it may be this year due to this past Winter’s weather. Are we
paying attention to the time? Using it wisely? Think about the
people who were entering Jerusalem on that day long ago. They
intentionally left their homes and spent the time journeying there
on foot, a pilgrimage. Yes, it was a different, slower day and
age, but what can we learn from them?
Consider this "food for thought" as you put your money in the
plate. What about everything else God provides? How are you being
faithful with it? Ushers?
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From this cross, sisters and brothers,
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Interested in Sunday School? |
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International Lesson: |
International Lesson: |
International Lesson: |
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International Lesson: |
International Lesson: |
International Lesson: |
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While one of our adult classes follows the International
lesson above (see
also), using |
For children and youth, we use the new |
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©2014 Peter
L. Haynes
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