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Meeting ID: 835 5621
1775
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Song: He has made me
glad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUPihaH9p-Y
Blessed is He who comes
in the name of the Lord
Hosanna to the Son of
David, the King of Israel.
Blessed is he who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Christ enters his own
city to complete his work as our Saviour, to suffer, to die and to rise again.
Let us go with him in faith and love, so that, united with him in his
sufferings, we may share his risen life.
The Lord be with you.
and also with you.
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are
open,
all desires known,
and from whom no
secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of
our hearts
by the inspiration of
your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly
love you,
and worthily magnify
your holy name;
through Christ our
Lord.
Amen.
Let us admit to God the
sin which always confronts us.
Lord God,
we have sinned against
you;
we have done evil in
your sight.
We are sorry and
repent.
Have mercy on us
according to your love.
Wash away our wrongdoing
and cleanse us from our sin.
Renew a right spirit
within us
and restore us to the
joy of your salvation,
through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Amen.
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
May the God of all
healing and forgiveness
draw you to
himself,
and cleanse you from
all your sins
that you may
behold the glory of his Son,
the Word made flesh,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Song: Hosanna Praise is
rising https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH5pVnP4ZGQ
The Collect
True and humble king,
hailed by the crowd as
Messiah:
grant us the faith to
know you and love you,
that we may be found
beside you
on the way of the
cross,
which is the path of
glory.
Amen
Psalm 118:1-2, 19-24 A
Song of Victory
O give thanks to the
Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!
Let Israel say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
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 marvellous 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.
Glory to the Father and
to the Son and to the Holy Spirit Amen.
Gospel Video: Palm Sunday https://youtu.be/lTmbTuutBgg
Gospel Reading: Mark
11:1-11
As they approached
Jerusalem, near the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, they came to the Mount of
Olives. Jesus sent two of his disciples on ahead 2 with
these instructions: “Go to the village there ahead of you. As soon as you get
there, you will find a colt tied up that has never been ridden. Untie it and
bring it here. 3 And if someone asks you why you
are doing that, say that the Master needs it and will send it back at
once.”
4 So they went and found
a colt out in the street, tied to the door of a house. As they were untying
it, 5 some of the bystanders asked them, “What are
you doing, untying that colt?”
6 They answered just as
Jesus had told them, and the crowd let them go. 7 They
brought the colt to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the animal, and Jesus got
on. 8 Many people spread their cloaks on the road,
while others cut branches in the field and spread them on the road. 9 The
people who were in front and those who followed behind began to shout, “Praise
God! God bless him who comes in the name of the Lord! 10 God
bless the coming kingdom of King David, our father! Praise be to God!”
11 Jesus entered
Jerusalem, went into the Temple, and looked around at everything. But since it
was already late in the day, he went out to Bethany with the twelve disciples.
Sermon
Perhaps the story of
Palm Sunday is very familiar to us. It’s certainly an important episode in
Jesus’ life- all 4 gospel writers record it; their versions are told from
different angles but the accounts describe the same event.
Jesus gives clear
instructions to his disciples; they go and get a donkey for him to ride. Crowds
gather and celebrate Jesus’ arrival into Jerusalem like he is a conquering
hero. Palm branches and clothes are waved then thrown down to cover the road.
People shout Hosanna!-
which means save us now! And they quote from Psalm 118 – Blessed is the one
who comes in the name of the Lord
What does this all
mean? What does it tell us about Jesus?
Jesus is in control:
Jesus gives clear and
detailed instructions to his followers about what they are to do- and with
surprising authority. He wasn’t stealing something that wasn’t his - the owner or
bystanders ask questions and get a clear answer. The Lord needs it and will
return it. It seems that Jesus has supernatural knowledge or insight. It’s
another demonstration of his power- pointing towards his true identity.
Jesus is reflecting the
Old Testament:
This ancient prophesy points
forward to the Messiah- the one long awaited, who would rescue God’s people –
again Jesus’ identity as God’s chosen one is affirmed.
Jesus is acting like a
king – in ancient civilisations, a conquering hero, a triumphant ruler would
enter a city ceremonially, riding a war horse to show off their power and
might. So by entering the City in a procession Jesus looks like a king.
But he’s not like a
king, at the same time. Zechariah has already made the prophesy that the king
would be riding on a donkey and not a warhorse. It’s a king with humility, a
king coming in peace.
What about the people?
The crowds gather
again. Before the Palm Sunday account in each of the gospels, miracles are
recorded -the healing of a blind man and in John’s gospel, Lazarus comes back
to life after being dead for 3 days. There must have been great excitement. For
some, this would have been a political or religious solution to the issues of
their nation; for others perhaps, hope for their own problems needing a miraculous
solutions; others just curiosity and excitement- drawn along by the enthusiasm of
the crowd itself.
They shout Hosanna! –
which literally means save us now! It’s a shout used at Passover or the feast
of Tabernacles and comes from the psalm we had earlier in the service- Ps 118. People
would have shouted and waved palm branches in those festivals too. So it’s full
of symbolism and hope- but for what?
The crowds that
welcomed Jesus so fervently and freely on Palm Sunday, we know will turn
against him by Good Friday.
We can only wonder what
they really understood as they lined the streets. Were they just carried along
with the emotion of it all? Perhaps they felt betrayed by Jesus when he didn’t
do exactly as each one of them had wanted.
Mark writes his gospel
account looking back on the events that happened. Perhaps it was in retrospect
as the disciples gathered after Easter day, as they went over and over what
they had seen and heard, that they put the pieces together.
As the crowds are living
in the story, they miss the truth about what is really going on.
What about us? Can you
think your way into the story… what would your reaction have been? Wildly
enthusiastic for revolution? Desperately hoping for some miracle? Mildly
curious or a bit cynical?
It strikes me again and
again how quickly the crowds turn on Jesus by the end of the week. So many of
those who welcomed him into Jerusalem wanted him dead.
So what does it mean to
have Jesus as our King?
Jesus comes first:
In our thinking – when we
make decisions about what’s right or wrong; how we treat other people. A good
question is always- what would Jesus do?
In our habits or
actions – turning to Jesus in prayer. We ask God for things all the time but we
also thank him, worship him, read his word. And that changes us.
In our priorities. What
we do with our time or money or resources or energies.
We focus in the coming
week about Jesus’ sacrifice for the whole world and all too often the failings
of ourselves and people in general.
But at the week we also
celebrate Jesus’ triumph.
So there is much to consider
about Jesus as our king- which mean what we do to submit to him. But in the
end, Jesus is our King, the one who has died for us-
As Paul writes in Rom
8:32:
He who did not spare his own Son, but
gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us
all things?
Our prayers
Let us bring to the
Father our prayers of intercession
through Christ who gave
himself for the life of the world.
For forgiveness for the
many times
we have denied Jesus,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For grace to seek out
those habits of sin which
mean spiritual death,
and by prayer and
self-discipline to overcome them,
let us pray to the Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For Christian people,
that through the
suffering of disunity
there may grow a rich
union in Christ,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who make
laws, interpret them, and administer them,
that our common life
may be ordered in justice and mercy,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who still
make Jerusalem a battleground,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who have the
courage and honesty to work openly for
justice and peace,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those in the
darkness and agony of isolation,
that they may find
support and encouragement,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who, weighed
down with hardship, failure, or sorrow,
feel that God is far
from them,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
For those who are
tempted to give up the way of the cross,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
That we, with those who
have died in faith,
may find mercy in the
day of Christ,
let us pray to the
Lord.
Lord, have mercy.
Holy God,
holy and strong,
holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
Amen
The Peace
Once we were far off,
but now in union with
Christ Jesus we have been brought near through the shedding of Christ’s blood,
for he is our peace.
The peace of the Lord
be always with you
and also with you.
Let us offer one
another a sign of peace.
Song: Meekness and
Majesty https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tK1hQpacs8&ab_channel=lionkingden
Holy Communion
The Lord is here
His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to
the Lord our God.
It is right to give
thanks and praise.
It is right to praise
you, Father, Lord of all creation;
in your love you made
us for yourself.
And now we give you
thanks because,
for our salvation,
he was obedient even to
death on the cross.
The tree of shame was
made the tree of glory; and where life was lost,
there life has been
restored.
When we turned away
you did not reject us,
but came to meet us in
your Son.
You embraced us as your
children
and welcomed us to sit
and eat with you.
In Christ you shared
our life
that we might live in
him and he in us.
He opened his arms of
love upon the cross and made for all the perfect sacrifice for sin.
On the night he was
betrayed,
at supper with his
friends he took bread, and gave you thanks;
he broke it and gave it
to them, saying:
Take, eat; this is my
body which is given for you;
do this in remembrance
of me.
Father, we do this in
remembrance of him:
his body is the bread
of life.
At the end of supper,
taking the cup of wine,
he gave you thanks, and
said:
Drink this, all of you;
this is my blood of the
new covenant,
which is shed for you
for the forgiveness of sins;
do this in remembrance
of me.
Father, we do this in
remembrance of him:
his blood is shed for
all.
As we proclaim his
death and celebrate his rising in glory,
send your Holy Spirit
that this bread and this wine
may be to us the body
and blood of your dear Son.
As we eat and drink
these holy gifts
make us one in Christ,
our risen Lord.
With your whole Church
throughout the world
we offer you this
sacrifice of praise
and lift our voice to
join the eternal song of heaven:
Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord,
Holy is the Lord God
Almighty
Who was and is and is
to come
Holy Holy Holy is the
Lord
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily
bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who
sin against us.
Lead us not into
temptation
but deliver us from
evil.
For the kingdom, the
power,
and the glory are yours
now and for ever.
Amen.
We break this bread
to share in the body of
Christ.
Though we are many, we
are one body,
because we all share in
one bread.
Jesus, Lamb of God,
have mercy on us.
Jesus, bearer of our
sins,
have mercy on us.
Jesus, redeemer of the
world,
grant us peace.
Prayer of Spiritual
Communion
Thanks be to you, Lord
Jesus Christ,
for all the benefits
you have given me,
for all the pains and
insults you have borne for me.
Since I cannot now
receive you sacramentally,
I ask you to come
spiritually into my heart.
O most merciful
redeemer, friend and brother,
may I know you more
clearly,
love you more
dearly,
and follow you more
nearly, day by day. Amen
Song: Above All https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7EPZV56PuA&ab_channel=PraiseAdonai
Faithful God,
may we who share this
banquet
glory in the cross of
our Lord Jesus Christ,
our salvation, life and
hope,
who reigns as Lord now
and for ever. Amen
Blessing of the Palms:
God our Saviour, whose
Son Jesus Christ
entered Jerusalem as
Messiah to suffer and to die,
let these Palms be for
us a sign of victory;
and grant that we who
bear them in his name
may ever hail him as
your King and follow him
in the way that leads
to eternal life. Amen
The Blessing
May the Father,
who so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, bring you by faith to his eternal life.
Amen.
May Christ, who accepted
the cup of sacrifice
in obedience to the
Father’s will,
keep you steadfast as
you walk with him the way of his cross.
Amen.
May the Spirit,
who strengthens us to
suffer with Christ
that we may share his
glory,
set your minds on life
and peace.
Amen.
And the blessing of God
almighty,
the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit,
be among you and remain
with you alway
Amen.
Song: O praise the name https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqBpifDpNKc