In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and local recommendations, we are continuing to post our digital services for the time being for those who feel more comfortable worshiping at home. Socially-distanced in-person worship is offered each Sunday at 12pm. Please click the audio bar below to listen to today’s service. Scroll down to follow along with the service text.
THE PALM SUNDAY PROCESSION
The congregation gathers outside the church entrance (weather permitting) and the following order of worship will be used to start the service.
P: Let us bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
C: Praise God for the Son of David!
P: Let us pray. (A brief silence is kept.)
O Lord, Giver of salvation, help us, this week, to concentrate on the mighty acts by which You have given us life everlasting. We pray in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
P: Hear now Matthew’s account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
P: “Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
C: This took place to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold, your King is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’”
P: The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and he sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting,
C: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
P: Come, everyone, and clap your hands for joy!
C: Praise God for the Son of David!
P: Open up, ancient gates! Open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter!
C: For the Lord most high is awesome, putting our enemies beneath our feet. We bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
P: Let us go forth with praise on our lips.
All hail the pow’r of Jesus’ name! Let angels prostrate fall;
Bring forth the royal diadem and crown Him Lord of all. (repeat)
O Seed of Israel’s chosen race, now ransomed from the fall,
Hail Him who saves you by His grace and crown Him Lord of all.
Sinners whose love can ne’er forget the wormwood and the gall,
Go, spread your trophies at His feet and crown Him Lord of all.
Let ev’ry kindred, ev’ry tribe on this terrestrial ball
To Him all majesty ascribe and crown Him Lord of all.
Oh, that with yonder sacred throng we at His feet may fall!
We’ll join the everlasting song and crown Him Lord of all!
P: Let us bless the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
C: Praise God for the Son of David!
P: The Lord be with you.
C: And also with you.
P: Let us pray.
Almighty God, Your most beloved Son did not go up to joy until first He suffered pain; nor did He enter into glory until first He was crucified; as we, this week, walk in the way of His cross, help us to discover that it is the only way of life and peace; through Your Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
C: Amen.
Old Testament Lesson (Zechariah 9:9-12)
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. 12 Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.
Epistle Lesson (Philippians 2:5-11)
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
L: This is the Word of the Lord
C: Thanks be to God.
Hymn: “No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet”…………..…………………….. # 444
1 No tramp of soldiers’ marching feet With banners and with drums,
No sound of music’s martial beat: “The King of glory comes!”
To greet what pomp of kingly pride No bells in triumph ring,
No city gates swing open wide: “Behold, behold your King!”
2 And yet He comes. The children cheer; With palms His path is strown.
With ev'ry step the cross draws near: The King of glory’s throne.
Astride a colt He passes by As loud hosannas ring,
Or else the very stones would cry “Behold, behold your King!”
3 What fading flow'rs His road adorn; The palms, how soon laid down!
No bloom or leaf but only thorn The King of glory’s crown.
The soldiers mock, the rabble cries, The streets with tumult ring,
As Pilate to the mob replies, “Behold, behold your King!”
4 Now he who bore for mortals’ sake The cross and all its pains
And chose a servant’s form to take, The King of glory reigns.
Hosanna to the Savior’s name Till heaven’s rafters ring,
And all the ransomed host proclaim “Behold, behold your King!”
† St. Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Humiliation and Death †
Jesus is condemned by Israel’s leaders (15:1-14)
15 And as soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. And they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” 3 And the chief priests accused him of many things. 4 And Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you.” 5 But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate was amazed.
6 Now at the feast he used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. 7 And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. 8 And the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them. 9 And he answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priests had delivered him up. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. 12 And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” 13 And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.”
Hymn: “O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken?”…………….. # 439, vv. 2 & 3
2 They crown Thy head with thorns, they smite, they scourge Thee;
With cruel mockings to the cross they urge Thee;
They give Thee gall to drink, they still decry Thee;
They crucify Thee.
3 Whence come these sorrows, whence this mortal anguish?
It is my sins for which Thou, Lord, must languish;
Yea, all the wrath, the woe, Thou dost inherit,
This I do merit.
Jesus is crucified (15:15-36)
15 So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
16 And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. 17 And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. 18 And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
21 And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull). 23 And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.”
Hymn: “Cross of Jesus, Cross of Sorrow”………………………………. # 428, vv. 1, 2 & 4
1 Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow, Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer, Perfect God on thee has bled!
2 Here the King of all the ages, Throned in light ere worlds could be,
Robed in mortal flesh is dying, Crucified by sin for me.
4 Cross of Jesus, cross of sorrow, Where the blood of Christ was shed,
Perfect Man on thee did suffer, Perfect God on thee has bled!
Jesus dies (15:37-47)
37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
40 There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.
42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. 45 And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. 46 And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid.
Hymn: “The Lamb”……………………………………………………………….. # 547, vv. 2-4
2 The Lamb, the Lamb, One perfect final offering.
The Lamb, the Lamb, Let earth join heav'n His praise to sing.
Worthy is the Lamb Whose death makes me His own!
The Lamb is reigning on His throne!
3 The Lamb, the Lamb, As wayward sheep their shepherd kill
So still, His will On our behalf the Law to fill.
Worthy is the Lamb Whose death makes me His own!
The Lamb is reigning on His throne!
4 He sighs, he dies, He takes my sin and wretchedness.
He lives, forgives, He gives me His own righteousness.
Worthy is the Lamb Whose death makes me His own!
The Lamb is reigning on His throne!
Homily (Rev. Roger Wohletz)
Apostles’ Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
On the third day He rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.
From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life + everlasting. Amen.
The Prayer of the Church
The Benediction
Hymn: “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna”……………………………………………………… # 443
1 Hosanna, loud hosanna, The little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple The lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them, Close folded to His breast,
The children sang their praises, The simplest and the best.
2 From Olivet they followed Mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving And chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of earth and heaven Rode on in lowly state
Nor scorned that little children Should on His bidding wait.
3 "Hosanna in the highest!" That ancient song we sing;
For Christ is our Redeemer, The Lord of heav'n our King.
Oh, may we ever praise Him With heart and life and voice
And in His blissful presence Eternally rejoice!
† † †