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Worship Order for
Sunday
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Responsive Call to
Worship
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29
O give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good; his steadfast love endures forever!
Let Israel say, “His steadfast love
endures forever.”
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of the Lord; the
righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the builders rejected has
become the chief cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing; it is
marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Save us, we beseech you, O Lord! O Lord,
we beseech you, give us success!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name
of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.
The Lord is God, and he has given us
light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns
of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give thanks
to you; you are my God, I will extol you.
O
give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love
endures forever.
The New Revised Standard Version,
copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education
of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States
of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Opening
Prayer
Holy God, your love goes beyond all limits. In the passion of your
true Son, you take us beyond our highest ideals and beneath our
deepest fears. We thank you for the sweet-sour celebration of Palm
Sunday; for both the joy and the tears. Foster in us the desire and
the will to follow Jesus without reserve, that we may be led into a
peace that holds in time of trouble, and into a love that persists
far beyond the outer rim of our present understanding. In the name
of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen!
from
Resources: Based on the Revised Common Lectionary
by Bruce Prewer, Uniting Church in Australia.
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For
Children
"Shouting stones"
Teresa Albright will share with the children this message,
borrowed from from “Scolding
the Snakes” by Ruth Gilmore, ©2000, Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis,
pp. 54-55.
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Pastoral Prayer
written closer to the time (if not at the
moment)
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Returning
our Tithes and Offerings
This time of worship has shifted direction. Did you sense it?
Actually, it is all the same movement in Christ. Yes, we
remembered the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, and we
waved our palms and sang our praise and hosanna. After all, if
we didn’t, even the stones would cry out. But the path into the
city of David is also the journey toward the cross, the words,
“Hosanna! Save us!,” hold new meaning. A shout of praise is a
cry of the heart, as we seek the One who comes in the name of
the Lord – a Savior who rides a donkey and not grand stallion, a
Redeemer who pays for our freedom not with money or fame or
fortune but with his very life.
The path from Palm Sunday to Easter travels through the valley
of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday. We dare not
leap from triumph to triumph, as if all of life is a parade, for
it is not. The journey of being of disciple of Jesus involves
dying to sin that we might rise to new life in Christ, every
day. And this week lies at the heart of that daily shifting of
direction. Do you sense it?
Use the following moments during the Offertory, as you return
your monetary commitment, to reflect quietly upon your path of
discipleship this week. Consider the palm branch you hold in
your hand. Allow the words, “Hosanna! Save us!,” to mingle with
your thoughts – perhaps repeating them over and over in your
mind. Look up at the cross. Is it a meaningless symbol to you
when you survey it or does it, as we’ll sing in our final hymn
this morning, “demand your soul, your life, your all”?
Ushers, would you guide our giving as we ponder our dying and
living?
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Benediction
Let the following encouragement from the apostle Paul be our
benediction. These words immediately follow the Christ Hymn that
was the focus of this morning’s message. I again use the
“Laughing Bird” paraphrase from Australia, for it helps us hear
what Paul was trying to say, a good word for today. Listen, be
blessed, and be sent forth.
“Therefore, my dear
friends, there is work to do. You have always stuck to the
agenda that was set for you, so keep it up, not only when I am
around but even more when I am gone. Continue to work at living
the life for which you are being saved, and do so with such an
awareness of how high the stakes are, that it fills you with awe
and makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck. For this
is awesome stuff: it is God who is at work within you, making it
possible for you to set your mind on what God wants and to work
for those things which are ultimately pleasing to God.”
Philippians
2:12-13, ©2002 Nathan Nettleton,
LaughingBird.net
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(para traducir a español, presione la bandera de España)
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