A "Virtual" Palm Sunday service! (April 5, 2020)

A Virtual Palm Sunday Service

Suitable for home use!

Sunday, April 5, 2020

GATHERING

Call to Worship

·      Robert and Adriana produce a worshipful prelude of Hosanna Filio David for us!

Opening Prayer

Let us pray. Mercifully assist us, O Lord God of our salvation, that we may enter with joy upon the contemplation of those mighty acts whereby you have given us life everlasting; through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

GATHERING SONG

All Glory, Laud, and Honor (LBW 108)

·      As always, start here! How do they do it? Robert and Adriana magically produce a choir of voices for us!

·      A sing along to the familiar hymn (with English accents!)
·      A simple but beautiful acoustic version for solo voice and guitar
·      I couldn’t resist  “The Lutheran Songbird Project”! A female soloist.

Refrain
All glory, laud, and honor
to you, redeemer, king,
to whom the lips of children
made sweet hosannas ring.

1. You are the king of Israel
   and David's royal Son,
   now in the Lord's name coming,
   our King and Blessed One. Refrain

2. The company of angels
   is praising you on high;
   creation and all mortals
   in chorus make reply. Refrain

3. The multitude of pilgrims
   with palms before you went.
   Our praise and prayer and anthems
   before you we present. Refrain

4. To you, before your passion,
   they sang their hymns of praise.
   To you, now high exalted,
   our melody we raise. Refrain

5. Their praises you accepted;
   accept the prayers we bring,
   great author of all goodness,
   O good and gracious King. Refrain.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

Let us pray. Everlasting God, in your endless love for the human race you sent our Lord Jesus Christ to take on our nature and to suffer death on the cross. In your mercy enable us to share in his obedience to your will and in the glorious victory of his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

WORD

First Reading: Zechariah 9:9–12 (NRSV)

• A video of the reading can be found here.

A reading from Zechariah.

The book of Zechariah was written when the people in Jerusalem were struggling against other kingdoms and trying to limit the influence of other gods. In Zechariah 9 Judah’s long-awaited king is expected at any moment. This king will bring release from captivity.

9Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
and victorious is he,
and riding on a donkey,
a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
the war-horse from Jerusalem;
the battle bow shall be cut off,
he shall command peace to the nations;
dominion shall be from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth.
11As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
12Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope;
I declare that I will restore to you double.

The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.

Second Reading: Philippians 2:5-11

Paul uses an early Christian hymn to help us comprehend Jesus’ obedient selflessness on the cross and how God has made Christ lord over all reality. The perspective of the cross becomes the way we rightly understand God, Christ, our own lives, and fellowship within the community of Christ.

5Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
 7but emptied himself,
  taking the form of a slave,
  being born in human likeness.
 And being found in human form,
  8he humbled himself
  and became obedient to the point of death—
  even death on a cross.
9Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
 10so that at the name of Jesus
  every knee should bend,
  in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 11and every tongue should confess
  that Jesus Christ is Lord,
  to the glory of God the Father.

Gospel: John 12:12– 20 (NRSV)

·      A video of this reading is available here.

The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.

The next day the great crowd that had come to the festival heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem.

So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord— the King of Israel!” Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it; as it is written:

 “Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt!” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things had been written of him and had been done to him. So the crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify. It was also because they heard that he had performed this sign that the crowd went to meet him. The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see, you can do nothing. Look, the world has gone after him!”

Now among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.

The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.

SERMON
The Best Day of His Life?

Pastor Carlson

·      A print copy of this message is available here
·      A video of this message can be found here.

HYMN OF THE DAY
Were You There?

·      Robert offers a piano meditation on the hymn

·      Words and music supplied. You provide the voice(s)!
·      A gorgeous choral meditation on the hymn (by Mia Makaroff? Sung by the Windermere Choir?)

1. Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
   Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
   Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 

2. Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
   Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?
   Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
   Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? 

3. Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
   Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
   Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
   Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? 

4. Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
   Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?
   Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
   Were you there when God raised him from the tomb?

PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION

·      A text copy of the prayers is available here.
·      A video of the prayers can be found here.

OFFERING

Please remember, the Church is not Closed (while our building is!)  
We are called by God to pray, to care for one another,
and to love God and our neighbors as best we can!  

Our offerings not only “pay bills” they help us continue God’s work in the world 

You may send your contributions to the church through the mail, directly from your bank,
 or by clicking on this secure link. 

ANTHEM
Pie Jesu  (Faure)

Robert Prester and Adriana Samargia

OFFERING PRAYER

Let us pray. Holy and generous host,
you set a table where we feast as friends.

Prepare us to witness to your goodness
with every gift you have given us to share,
that all people may know your peace
through Jesus Christ, now and forever. Amen.

LORD’S PRAYER

            Our Father, who art in heaven,
                        hallowed be thy name,
                        thy kingdom come,
                thy will be done,
                        on earth as it is in heaven.

            Give us this day our daily bread;
            and forgive us our trespasses,
                        as we forgive those
                        who trespass against us;
            and lead us not into temptation,
                        but deliver us from evil.

            For thine is the kingdom,
                        and the power, and the glory,
                        forever and ever. Amen.

SENDING

BLESSING OF THE PALMS

Using whatever greenery may be available to you!

Let us pray.
We praise you, O God,
for redeeming the world through our Savior Jesus Christ.

Today he entered the holy city in triumph
and was proclaimed messiah and king
by those who spread garments and branches along his way.

Bless these branches and we who raise them. (Raise your greenery!)

Grant us grace to follow our Lord in the way of the cross,
so that, joined to his death and resurrection,
we enter into life with you;
through the same Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.

BLESSING

Now is the acceptable time.

Now is the day of salvation.

Holy God,
speaking, spoken, and inspiring,
☩ bless you, unbind you,
and send you in love and in peace. Amen.

DISMISSAL

Go in peace. Share the good news.
Thanks be to God.

SENDING SONG 
Lift High the Cross 

·      You know the drill! We start with the gift Robert and Adriana have made for us!

·      All the way from Lincoln Nebraska! Sing along to Lift High the Cross!
·      Chris Rupp gives you a more contemporay version of the song.

POSTLUDE

·      Let’s let St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church in Wauwatosa Wisconsin take us out to Lift High the Cross!

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