April 14, 2019
Worship Resources for
the Center for Faith and Giving
Palm Sunday
Call to Worship (from Psalm 118)
One: Give thanks to the Lord, who is good!
Many: God’s steadfast love endures forever!
One: We pour out our deep desire to God:
Many: Hosanna! Save us, and give us light!
One: This is the day that the Lord has made:
Many: Let us rejoice and be glad in it!
Opening Prayer
Holy God, on this Palm Sunday we wave our palm leaves and remember the parade of Jesus entering Jerusalem. We, too, join our voices to shout “Hosanna!”
As we join the crowd, accept our thanksgiving for the amazing gift of your beloved, Jesus, whom we claim as the Christ. May this day lead us ever closer to your shalom which he embodied…your peace that passes understanding.
As we worship you this day, give us the desire and the will to follow Jesus, that we may be led into love that persists far beyond today’s parade.
In the name of Christ Jesus our Savior. Amen!
Moment for Stewardship
It’s not just good manners (tho’ there is that), but when we stop to recognize the amazing gift of Jesus, one who fully embodied God’s love,
we’re prompted to respond with gratitude.
Christ’s love flowed like a fountain for those he met in the country-side and even in Jerusalem: not only Jewish men (with much in common with Jesus) but also Jewish and Gentile women, tax collectors, lepers, foreigners and strangers.
Through our offerings today, we share his love in support for this congregation, our outreach missions, and the larger life of the Church.
(If your congregation and/or denomination receives a special Easter offering, this is the appropriate time to make that appeal with specific information about the goals or the specific direction for that offering)
Prayer of Thanksgiving
God, you give us life and strength. In Jesus Christ you give us a savior, who comes to save us from our sins and from our fears.
So today we bring these gifts as one way of responding to such amazing love. Please receive them as symbols of our lives, showing you our love for you and for Christ’s body, the Church. Keep us mindful of the saving power Jesus holds as we step into this holy week. AMEN
Invitation to Communion
Jesus spent lots of time around tables, with friends and with the disciples.
In the last days of his life, not too long after the day he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, he got up from the table in an upper room to wash his disciples’ feet (including Peter, who protested and then declared he wanted Jesus to wash his hands and his head!).
There, too, he told the disciples he knew one of them was his betrayer.
Yet, the meal continued.
Jesus did not send the betrayer away…
nor did he push away those who would soon desert him.
Instead, he made a new covenant with these followers, pouring the cup of forgiveness and sharing with each one gathered in that upper room.
Here, now, you can claim that forgiveness for yourself, and find encouragement to forgive others, even as God has already forgiven you.
Come, for the table is prepared, and all are invited to join in the company of Jesus.