Greetings
Call to Worship
Leader: Awake to the day of triumph for our Savior!
People: Give thanks for this day that leads to the cross!
Leader: Come with your branches, hosannas, and songs!
People: Fill the air with welcome to the Lord!
Leader: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hymn 265 All Glory, Laud and Honor
Chorus: All glory, laud and honor to you, Redeemer, King to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Verse 1: You are the King of Israel, and David’s royal Son, now in the Lord’s name coming, our King and blessed One!
Chorus: All glory, laud and honor to you, Redeemer, King to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Verse 3: The people of the Hebrews with palms before you went; our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present.
Chorus: All glory, laud and honor to you, Redeemer, King to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Verse 5: As you received their praise, accept the prayers we bring, for you delight in goodness, O good and gracious King!
Chorus: All glory, laud and honor to you, Redeemer, King to whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Prayer of Adoration
Give thanks to the Lord who is good.
God’s love is everlasting.
Come, let us praise God joyfully.
Let us come to God with thanksgiving.
For the good world; for things great and small, beautiful and awesome; for seen and unseen splendors;
thank you, God.
For human life; for talking and moving and thinking together; for common hopes and hardships shared from birth until our dying;
thank you, God.
For work to do and strength to work;
thank you, God.
For your help in times of doubt and sorrow; for healing our diseases; for preserving us in temptation and danger;
thank you, God.
Above all, O God for your Son Jesus Christ, who lived and died and lives again for our salvation; for our hope in him; and for the joy of serving him;
We thank and praise you, Eternal God, for all your goodness to us.
Prayer of Confession
Holy God, sure of your faithfulness even in your dying, comforted by your compassion toward your people in every age, we beg your mercy for our imperfect gratitude. We have looked to your for paltry favors, when you have given everything. We have withheld from your people, our neighbors, and from your creation, our Earth, the care and tending they deserve. We have rejected the cornerstone you sent to build a people of righteousness even here today. Forgive our failings. Heal what we have broken, nurture what we have neglected, and lead us to your vision, so that we may know the peace of wholeness in you; in Jesus’ name. Amen
Declaration of Forgiveness
Your God has come to you, humble, in the form of a slave, to free you from the weight of sin and death. Jesus’ obedient suffering has released you. Your sins are forgiven, in the name of the one who is exalted beyond what we can comprehend: Christ our Savior & Lord!
Gloria
Hebrew Scripture Reading
Isaiah 50:4-9a. It is the Lord God who helps me
Message to our Students
New Testament Reading
Matthew 21:1-11
Meditation
Pastor Matthew E. Davis
God is with us in the messiness of life. Reflecting on the symbol of Jesus being born in a creche (the earthiness of God) illuminated further by God in Jesus leading us in procession in the joyfulness of life (Immanual-God with Us)
Prayer of Thanksgiving: God of all good gifts, we thank you for showing us how to care for each other. May these gifts build shelters and places of prayer for those who are homeless. May these gifts proclaim your desire that all your creation live in peace. Give us grateful hearts, O God, in the name of the one who came to draw all people to himself, Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Offering: Responding to God’s Good News.
We give thanks for your generosity and humble giving.
CHARGE
God, the Lord is my strength, may he make your feet like the feet of a deer and may you tread upon the heights with the same mind in you that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Do unto others what will nurture God’s will for them. Listen to the word of the Lord and believe.
Benediction
Go in peace, assured of God’s presence with you, with the mind of Christ Jesus as your path and guide, and the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit.
Please click the following link to view the video of the entire special Service:
