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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:
Zech 9:9 Rejoice, rejoice, people of Zion! Shout for joy, you people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you! He comes triumphant and victorious, but humble and riding on a donkey— on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
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
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
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