Holy Communion - Palm Sunday 16th March 2008 - MS Black WatchHosanna to the Son of DavidBlessed is the One who comes in God's name! Hosanna through all ages! HYMN: Ride on, ride on, the time is rightHoly God,as we enter Holy Week and gather here in worship, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, to those fateful, final days of Jesus' life on earth, and then to the risen Christ who brings in your reign of peace and justice for all. Amen We are people of worth and value. When we honestly acknowledge our failings and failures, we have God's promise of transformation. So let us pray, putting our trust in God's eternal love shown to us in Jesus. Holy God, in earth and sea and sky you are there. In everything we touch, and in everyone we meet, your presence is all around us and we give you thanks. Yet we miss you when walking your creation, we miss you in meeting other people, we miss you in the busyness of each day. Forgive us. Take comfort in the assurance that even those things that are hidden from memory, or are too deep for our words, are not beyond God's forgiving love. God, who knows us completely, bestows pardon and peace. Give thanks to God: we are a forgiven people. God be thanked and praised. Reading from Scripture Luke 19: 29-44
We are not alone, we live in God's world. We believe in God: who has created and is creating, who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust in God. We are called to be the Church: to celebrate God's presence, to live with respect in Creation, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. (From the United Church of Canada) Intercessions(ending with...)We thank you, God, that you do hear our prayers. Grant us the grace to be part of your answer in the world. Amen God has called us to live in peace and at peace. So may the peace of Christ be with you - and also with you. HYMN: An upper room did our Lord prepareIn Christ, God breaks down the walls that make us strangers to ourselves,and divide us from one another. We are the body of Christ. At this table we bear witness to our faith. At this table, God brings wholeness out of brokenness, and healing to our world. So let us break bread together. God is here. God's Spirit is with us. Turn to God, the source of life. We lift our hearts in prayer. Let us give thanks. We offer joyful thanks to God. Holy God, you come to us in Jesus, a prophet, a healer, a teacher, riding on a donkey. On that day in Jerusalem, the crowds proclaimed you Messiah and king, and gave you a royal welcome. We are called to follow in your steps, to walk your road towards Easter with courage and commitment. Blessed is the one who comes in God's name, to bring healing and justice for all, and light to lighten our darkness. Hosanna in the highest! When that fateful hour drew near, and loving his friends to the end, Jesus sat with them at supper, took bread and, after giving you thanks, broke it, and gave to them, saying, "Take, eat. This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, he took the cup after supper, saying, "Drink from this, all of you. This cup is God's new covenant. Do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." We remember Jesus' death, we proclaim the living Christ, we rejoice in God's Spirit. Send your Holy Spirit, God, on us and on these gifts, that we who are many may be one in Christ. As Jesus taught us, let us pray together: 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, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen The bread that we break, and the cup for which we give thanks are our sharing in the life of Christ. Come: all is now ready. The Sharing of bread and wineLife-giving God,may we who break bread together share new life in Christ; we who drink this cup bring new life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world. Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so that we and all your children shall be free, and all creation will live to praise your name. Amen. HYMN: Love divine, all loves excellingGod the Father bless you and keep you;God the Son save you and direct you; God the Spirit teach you and guide you, this day and evermore. Amen Go in peace to love and serve the Lord, in the name of Christ, Amen |