Order of Worship
Greeting and Welcome
Prelude Music
Call to Worship (Based on Psalm 118)
Pastor: This is the day that the Lord has made.
ALL: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Pastor: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
ALL: God’s steadfast love endures forever.
Pastor: The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
ALL: This is the Lord’s doing. It is marvelous in our eyes.
Pastor: Bind the festival procession with branches.
ALL: Jesus is the gate of the Lord. The righteous enter through him.
Pastor: This is the day that the Lord has made.
ALL: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Opening Prayer (Based on Matthew 21 and Philippians 2)
ALL: Blessed One, we are humbled by your example. You entered Jerusalem in lowly estate riding on a donkey. You emptied yourself and came as a servant to all, forsaking the power to command. Son of David, come to us now and be our King, that we too may sing our hosannas! Amen.
Music Medley
Children’s Moment
Prayer of Confession (Based on Matthew 26-27)
ALL: God of righteousness, this day places a mirror before our faces. We would rather sing hosannas with the cheering crowd, than stand up for our convictions in the face of an angry mob. We would rather dine with Christ at his table, than stand up for him in a courtyard of accusers. We would rather see ourselves as Christ’s champions, than admit to ourselves that too could betray him with a kiss. Forgive our fickle faith, and heal our hesitant hearts. In your loving name, we pray. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Based on Psalm 118)
Pastor: God has opened the gates of righteousness, and the righteous enter through it. The one who is our cornerstone, the stone the builders rejected, has become our salvation. God offers us forgiveness and fullness of grace in Christ’s name. Amen.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 21:1-11
Meditation: Ride On King Jesus, Ride On!
Pastoral Prayer/Lord’s Prayer
Closing Litany: Hold on to the Hosannas (Based on Matthew 21:1-11, Mark 11:1-11, Luke 19:29-44, and John 12:12-19)
ALL: Let us stay with the Hosannas for a while.
Let us let them keep on ringing in our ears.
Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Instead of rushing on to hear the cries that came later in the week,
let us stay with the Hosannas.
Maybe once we have heard those in a new way we will be ready to make the rest of the journey.
A journey that was hastened and given new purpose by those Hosannas.
For those Hosannas were not simply the innocent cries of palm branch waving children.
Those Hosannas were the war cries of adults tired of the oppression of occupying forces.
Those hosannas were the hopeful cries of a nation seeking liberation.
Those Hosannas were an investment of hope in one they thought would deliver.
Those Hosannas that we have sanitized over the years rang out in clear insurrection sealing the fate of one who rode on a donkey.
So, let us stay with the Hosannas.
Let us wrest them from the lips of children and allow them to ring in our ears and spew from our mouths as a call to action, a call to justice, a call to love.
Let us stay with the Hosannas even as we journey with the Christ who carried those Hosannas all the way to the cross and ensured their fulfillment as the justice and love of God.
Let us stay with the Hosannas.
(Written by Rev. E. Crumlish of Castlehill Church, The Church of Scotland)
Benediction (Based on Psalm 118)
The gates of righteousness are thrown wide.
We go with God’s blessings.
The path of salvation is made plain.
We go in Christ’s truth.
The cornerstone of our faith is sure.
We go with the Spirit’s grace.
Go with God and walk with Christ during this holy week. Amen.
Postlude Music
(Elements of this service, Call to Worship, Opening Prayer, Prayer of Confession, and Benediction provided by Ministry Matters.com, Worship Connection, June 24, 2018.)
