Palm Procession / SUNDAY OF THE PASSION Worship Service
St. Peter’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
Palm Procession / SUNDAY OF THE PASSION – Coronavirus
04-10-2022 10:00AM Worship
INTRODUCTION TO OUR WORSHIP:
Cheers… then jeers! First there was the jubilant crowd shouting “Hosanna!” Then there was that angry crowd shouting
“Crucify him!” Jesus entered Jerusalem willing to give up everything in the battle between good and evil, light and darkness, new and old, life and death, salvation and sin, Savior and Satan. Guess who won.
+ Procession with Palms +
PROCESSION SONG: “O When the Saints Go Marching In”
-
- O when the saints go marching in… O when the saints go marching in…
- O Lord, I want to be in that number when the saints go marching in!
- O when the sun refused to shine…
- O when they crown him King of kings…
- And on that HALLELUJAH day…
PALM SUNDAY OPENING RITE (see LUKE 19:28-40):
L Outside the city of Jerusalem, Jesus sent two disciples to borrow a donkey.
The prophet said the king would arrive like this, riding in humility.
C They brought the donkey to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the animal, they set Jesus on it. As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
L As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen. Excitement was in the air, and the crowd pushed and swayed with eager anticipation, happily crying out:
C “BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!
PEACE IN HEAVEN, AND GLORY IN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN!”
L Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” But he answered them: “I tell you, if these people were silent, the stones would shout out.”
BLESSING OF THE PALMS:
Lord Jesus, bless the palms that we will distribute today and during Holy Week. Take away our failings and our fears, and give us the trust and the courage to follow You to Calvary and beyond. Help us to sing HOSANNA, to shout HOSANNA, and to live HOSANNA for the rest of our lives! HOSANNA in the highest!
PRAYER OF THE DAY:
And let us pray.
Dear God, the Son of God emptied himself, took on our form, humbled himself, and became obedient to death on a cross for us. In gratitude and faith, let the mind of Christ be our mind. Help us to embrace the obedient way of the cross and to live in the power of your death-defying love, in the name and spirit and mission of Jesus. Amen.
SONG: “All the Way to Calvary”
All the way to Calvary, He went for me, Although I had so many, many sins,
He went for me, He went for me. Jesus took them all away
All the way to Calvary, He went for me, and He pardoned me.
He died to set me free. Although I had so many, many sins,
Jesus took them all away,
and He pardoned me.
The events of HOLY WEEK make up the central story of our faith.
The passion of Jesus becomes personal when we recognize that
Jesus loved and loves us – dying an undeserved death on the cross.
+ THE PASSION OF OUR LORD +
FIRST READING: ISAIAH 50:4-9a
[The obedient “servant of God” – representing the prophet Isaiah or his successor… or perhaps the nation of Israel itself during Israel’s exile in Babylon – sings about being equipped and empowered by God, and therefore not afraid to speak truth to power in the midst of persecution and to speak hope to those who are weary and suffering. The early Church saw a close connection between the “servant song” passages in the book of Isaiah and the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus. How was Jesus like the servant? What is the word of God that helps and sustains you?]
50:4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens– wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
50:5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backward.
50:6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting.
50:7 The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
50:8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me.
50:9a It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty?
SONG SELECTION: “Here I Am to Worship” Youth Choir
SECOND READING: PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11
[Using an early Christian hymn that celebrated Christ’s humble, unselfish, and obedient suffering and death – a path that carried Jesus to ultimate glory as Lord of all – Paul urged his readers to have the same mind, 6the same humility, the same life path of obedient faithfulness. What would the effect be on our lives if we acted as servants to others, imitating Christ all the way to potential death on a cross?]
2:5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
2:7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
2:8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death– even death on a cross.
2:9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
2:10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
2:11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
GOSPEL VERSE:
“The blood that Jesus shed for me, way back on Calvary,
the blood that gives me strength from day to day, it will never lose its power.
IT REACHES TO THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN! IT FLOWS TO THE LOWEST VALLEY!
THE BLOOD THAT GIVES ME STRENGTH FROM DAY TO DAY,
IT WILL NEVER LOSE ITS POWER!
It soothes my doubts and calms my fears, and it dries all my tears;
the blood that gives me strength from day to day, it will never lose its power.
IT REACHES TO…”
THE PASSION STORY… a “harmonized” Dramatic Reading various recruited volunteers
[The Passion Story of Jesus – the old Latin root word for passion means “to suffer, to endure pain” – lifts up how much God loved us, how far Jesus was willing to go to save us. Today we are reminded of the images and emotions of Holy Week: disappointment, betrayal, fear, guilt, despair. We must travel through them to get to the other images and emotions on the other side: the confusion, joy, and gratitude of the empty tomb. JESUS WAS FORSAKEN SO THAT WE MIGHT NEVER BE FORSAKEN! HE ACCEPTED HIS SUFFERING AND DEASTH BECAUSE HE LOVED GOID AND LOVED THE WORLD…LOVED YOU!]
BRIEF MEDITATION: Pastor Gwen or Pastor Neil
SONG SELECTION: “The Palms”
THE PRAYERS – A LITANY OF THE PASSION:
L Lord Jesus, by your death and resurrection You brought life to the world! The hour of your cross draws near, when Satan was defeated and death was destroyed. You are our only hope, our only salvation, our only glory! We now pray that You might deliver us from sin, despair, and death…
L O Christ, bearing our sins: C Save us, we pray.
L O Jesus, sold for thirty pieces of silver: C Remind us of the great price you paid for us.
L O Jesus, washing feet and breaking bread: C Lead us in the way of humility and sacrifice.
L O Jesus, in agony in the garden: C Teach us to watch and to pray.
L O Jesus, betrayed by the kiss of a friend: C Save us from deceit and betrayal of You.
L O Jesus, bound like a lamb for slaughter: C Free us from the chains of sin.
L O Jesus, opposed by swords and anger: C Spare us from the sword of war and hatred.
L O Jesus, forsaken by your disciples: C Keep us from abandoning You.
L O Jesus, humiliated and tortured: C Let us never bring shame and pain to You.
L O Jesus, rejected for Barabbas: C Keep us from ever rejecting You.
L O Jesus, condemned to die: C Pardon us through your saving grace.
L O Jesus, crowned with thorns: C Pierce our hardened hearts.
L O Jesus, carrying your cross: C Thank you for bearing our sins and our shame.
L O Jesus, delivered to be crucified: C Deliver us from the gates of hell.
L O Jesus, nailed to the cross among the condemned: C Take your place among us sinners.
L O Jesus, commended to the Father’s hands: C Gather us in your Kingdom like a hen.
L O Jesus, breathing your last on this earth: C Fill us with the breath of true life.
L O Jesus, lifeless and buried in a tomb: C Put to death the sin and despair within us.
L O Jesus, sealed away to be forgotten: C Remember us when You come into your Kingdom.
L O Lord, it would be easy to try to wash our hands of all guilt and declare our innocence in Your suffering, yet the finger of betrayal, desertion, and denial points at all of us. We cannot cry out, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken us?” because it is we who have done the forsaking. We are horrified by the suffering we cause – to You, to ourselves and to others, and to the world You have created. O Jesus, we cannot live with the burden of our sin; we cannot bear the guilt and the shame; we cannot save ourselves from despair and death by our own good deeds. O Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life!
C Lord, I do want to live the life of faith! Lord, I do want to be yours forever! I bow my head and my heart before the cross of Jesus and ask for your mercy. Amen.
OFFERING [Jesus gave himself to death for the life of the world, for my life and your life! With humble hearts so very grateful for his saving love… with willing hearts seeking to pass on the good news we have been taught… let us offer our time, our money, our abilities, and our very self in trust and service.]
THE OFFERTORY SONG: “I Know It Was the Blood” ?
- I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood… I know it was the blood for me.
One day when I was lost, he died upon the cross… I know it was the blood for me.
- It was my Savior’s blood…
- They pierced him in the side…
- He’s coming back again…
OFFERING PRAYER (from PSALM 51):
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, or take your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain me with your bountiful spirit.
Then I will teach other sinners your ways; and I will eagerly sing of your goodness. Amen.
MUSIC SELECTION: “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” Dennis Fortune Green #117
THE LORD’S PRAYER
+ WALKING THE WAY OF THE CROSS +
THE BENEDICTION by the Pastor… God calls us to “return home” to faithful discipleship!
CLOSING SONG: “We Walk His Way” St. Peter’s Choir
Chorus We walk His way… We walk His way.
We walk His way… We walk His way. (repeat the chorus)
- Unarmed He faces forces of demons and death.
We walk His way. (repeat entire verse)
- He breaks the bonds of hell dying on the cross.
We walk His way. (repeat entire verse)
- The tree of freedom blooms by His empty grave.
We walk His way. (repeat entire verse)