23A Lent 5A OR 24A - Passion Sunday — 25A - Monday in Holy Week
See also my posts from 2014, 2017, 2020, 2023
Psalm 118:1-2,19-29 (a version for today)
Give thanks to the LORD, who alone is good,
and whose lovingkindness is everlasting.
Let all God’s faithful declare:
Indeed, everlasting lovingkindness is the LORD’s
Open for me the gates of justice,
so that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD,
where those who live justly may enter.
I give thanks because you have answered me
and became my rescuer.
The stone which the builders scorned
has become the first, the cornerstone.
The LORD has brought this about,
and it is astounding.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
LORD, save us; let us enjoy success.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and has given us light;
join in celebratory procession up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I give you thanks;
You are my God, and I praise you with great joy.
Give thanks to the LORD, who alone is good,
and whose lovingkindness is everlasting
PRAYER OF PRAISE AND THANKS (from Psalm 118:19-29)
We thank you LORD God, for you alone are good,
and your lovingkindness is everlasting.
With the faithful of every time and place we declare,
everlasting lovingkindness is yours alone.
Open for me the gates of justice,
so that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD,
where those who live justly may enter.
I give thanks because you have answered me
and became my rescuer.
The stone which the builders scorned
has become the first, the cornerstone.
The LORD has brought this about, and it is astounding.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
LORD, save us;
let us enjoy success.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.
We bless you from the house of the LORD.
The LORD is God, and has given us light;
join in celebratory procession up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I give you thanks;
You are my God, and I praise you with great joy.
Give thanks to the LORD, who alone is good,
and whose lovingkindness is everlasting
OFFERING
Gracious and holy God,
accept what we offer today:
our cheques and cash, our faltering steps,
our brokenness, our leftovers,
our hope, our risking, our lives.
Bless and transform all that we offer
and all that we hold back,
that new life may be ours,
to celebrate and share in Jesus’ name. Amen
A CREATIVE MOMENT – Matthew 21:1-11
Continue using the purple cloth from last week. It could form a “back-drop” for several palm branches (real or made for the occasion).
Begin with a procession, with everyone waving “palm braches” and singing an appropriate hymn or song.
Yet again, as people arrive for worship provide everyone with a sheet of paper (e.g. A5 size) on which is drawn a simple cloak/garment. At an appropriate point in worship, explain that in Jesus’ time – and for centuries before – a person’s cloak was their most valuable possession; throwing on the ground, or putting it on the donkey on which Jesus rode, expresses the significance of what Jesus was doing. Offer the opportunity for the congregation to write on the “cloak” (drawing) what they consider their most valuable possession, and then have them throw these “cloaks” into the aisles or open areas of the worship space during the singing of a hymn e.g. Jesus comes with all his grace; When his time was over, the palms lay where they fell; Ride on, ride on in majesty. Leave the “garments” strewn about until after Good Friday worship.
Click here for some ideas for worship in Lent and Easter gleaned from the pages of “On the Move” (now out of print) originally published by the Joint Board of Christian Education, Melbourne, Australia.
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
(A prayer, usually with connection to one or more of the lections for the day, to gather the spoken and silent concerns/joys/thanks expressed by the congregation and lead into a more structured Intercession. Sometimes this prayer also borrows lightly from other sources e.g. Uniting in Worship 2 or publications of the Iona Community.)
God of all grace,
in you is hope: hope which has endured throughout every age.
In that hope we remember before you now
those we have named on our lips and in the silence of our hearts…
Stir us by your mysterious Spirit
to be the word and deed of Jesus
to bring consolation to those know to us,
and to be present to those who have no-one …
(The Prayers of the People continue)
Looking for contemporary music and song resources?
Try David MacGregor’s Together to Celebrate
| HYMN SUGGESTIONS FOR PALM SUNDAY – YEAR A |
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| Isaiah 50: 4-9a |
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| God has spoken to his people, hallelujah | TIS 636 |
| O breath of God, breathe on us now | TIS 408 |
| Sing praise and thanksgiving, | TIS 107 |
| Thank you for giving me the morning | TIS 162 |
| Psalm 31:9-16 | |
| Great God, we sing that mighty hand | TIS 124 |
| Have faith in God, my heart | TIS 619 |
| Philippians 2: 5-11 | |
| A spendthrift lover is the Lord | TIS 676 |
| At the name of Jesus | TIS 231 |
| Come to be our hope, O Jesus | TIS 688 |
| Come, Holy Spirit, come! | TIS 422 |
| Come, your hearts and voices raising | TIS 297 |
| Faith will not grow from words alone | TIS 691 |
| Filled with the Spirit’s power, with one | TIS 411 |
| God, we praise you, God, we bless you | TIS 99 |
| He became poor that we may be rich | TIS 721 |
| Jesus shall reign where’er the sun | TIS 207 |
| Jesus the name high over all | TIS 218 |
| King of glory, king of peace | TIS 201 |
| Let all together praise our God | TIS 298 |
| Let earth and heaven combine | TIS 305 |
| Lord, You are the light of life to me | TIS 261 |
| Morning glory, starlit sky | |
| My heart is full of Christ, and longs | TIS 214 |
| O Spirit of the living God | TIS 405 |
| Praise the God who changes places | TIS 178 |
| Praise to you, O Christ our Saviour | |
| Matthew 21: 1-11 | |
| All glory, praise and honour | TIS 333 |
| Hark the glad sound! the Saviour comes | TIS 269 |
| Lift up your heads, you mighty gates | TIS 267 |
| Prepare the royal highway | TIS 346 |
| Ride on, ride on in majesty | TIS 348 |
| The King of glory comes, the nation rejoices | TIS 279 |
| The glory of our King was seen | TIS 353 |
| Trotting, trotting through Jerusalem | TIS 244 |
| Ye gates lift up your heads | TIS 12 |