This service was created as a part of a Lent series though it could be used alone. For the rest of the series go to "Having the Identity of a Servant: Series Homepage".
This sixth Sunday of Lent is known by two different names: Palm Sunday—focusing on Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and Passion Sunday, which anticipates the events of the rest of Holy Week. As worship planners, it is important to know your context. If the majority of your community will attend services over Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, it might make sense for this service to be solely focused on Palm Sunday. However, if the next time the majority of your worshipers gather is on Easter then it is important to lean into the Passion, or they will miss half of the gospel.
This service anticipates that many of our communities are made up of those who attend additional services during Holy Week, and some who do not for various reasons. Thus, we begin with Christ's entry into Jerusalem and lean into the Passion towards the end of the service.
It is worth noting that in Luke’s account of the triumphal entry there is no mention of the Palms; instead Luke highlights the laying down of the coats, a sign of reverence and subservience. Little did Christ’s followers understand of what true service to God requires: Nothing short of our whole lives, not merely our cloak. Yet, though they did not grasp the deep significance of the pageantry unfolding in front of them, they played a significant part. The message of the angels proclaimed in Luke 2:14 —“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” —has now been taken up by Christ’s disciples, “‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Luke 19:38). As Christ’s disciples in the world today, we need to continue that refrain or else the stones will cry out in our place.
What becomes clear in the passion narrative is that the king and kingdom imagined by the disciples was neither in line with Jesus’ teachings nor what came to pass. Instead of a warrior king, Christ was a servant king, and the kingdom he was building was not of this earth, but rather heaven down to earth. As Philippians 2 reminds us, Christ, though he was God, became a servant, and humbled himself by dying on the cross. This is what Christ invites us as his followers to partake in, as we go about joining in the Spirit’s kingdom-building work, we are to have that same spirit of humility, and the willingness to serve as we are called—regardless of the personal cost. We are called to so much more than attending an occasional worship service. To be a true disciple of Christ means to follow him all week long, to claim God as our God and not deny him regardless of how we might be treated. Following Christ means that our journey may sometimes lead us to some dark and scary places. Like the disciples, our faith will be tested.
Call to Worship
We begin worship by telling the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem from Luke 19 in order to set the stage for the procession of the palms by the children and others who would like to participate. The text chosen is from The Voice Bible version, which is meant to be a more dramatic presentation of the text. You could choose for the scripture to be read in front of the congregation as a readers’ theater, fully acted out, or read from a seated position or in the back of the congregation so that the Word is simply heard. If you would like a more dramatic reading you could invite the congregation to play the part of the crowd of disciples, telling them that their part would be projected when it is time to speak it and encouraging them to shout it out at their own pace. Then as they die down, have a few “Pharisees” planted among the congregation and have them start saying their lines as they leave their seats and go toward Jesus.
Disciple: Hear the Word of the Lord, from the book we love.
Narrator: When [Jesus] finished [teaching], He pushed onward, climbing the steep hills toward Jerusalem. He [was approaching] the towns of Bethphage and Bethany, which are near Mount Olivet, [when he] sent two of the disciples ahead.
Jesus: Go to the next village. When you enter, you will find a colt tied—a colt that has never been ridden before. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you why you’re untying it, just say, “The Lord needs it.”
Narrator: So the two disciples [went and] found things just as [Jesus] had told them. [The colt’s] owners did indeed ask why they were untying the colt, [and] the disciples answered as they had been instructed, [saying]
Disciples: The Lord needs it.
Narrator: [The disciples] brought the colt to Jesus, threw their coats on the colt’s back, and then sat Jesus on it. As Jesus rode along, some people began to spread their garments on the road as a carpet. When they passed the crest of Mount Olivet and began descending toward Jerusalem, a huge crowd of disciples began to celebrate and praise God with loud shouts, glorifying God for the mighty works they had witnessed.
Crowd of Disciples (not in unison):
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest! (Repeat as desired)
—based on Psalm 118:26, NRSV
Pharisees (who were in the crowd): Teacher, tell these people to stop making these wild claims and acting this way!
Jesus: Listen—if they were silent, the very rocks would start to shout!
—Luke 19: 28–40, The Voice™. Copyright © 2012 by Ecclesia Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved, adapt.
Procession of the Palms led by the Christ Candle
“The King of Glory Comes” Jabusch
Greeting
Our God is present hear among us, and welcomes us saying:
“Grace and peace to you
from him who is,
and who was,
and who is to come,
and from the seven spirits before his throne,
and from Jesus Christ,
who is the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead,
and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
Amen.
—Revelation 1:4–5
Opening Responses
“All Glory, Laud, and Honor” Orelans
Call to Confession
We like a good praise service don’t we? But oh how quick are we to desert Jesus when things get a little bit tough. If we are honest we aren’t that different then the disciples who on Palm Sunday were crying “Hosanna” and by Friday, they joined the crowd screaming “crucify him”, betrayed him, or denied knowing him. We don’t mind following Christ when all that is asked of us is to attend a worship service once in a while but when following Christ demands something more of us, all of us, we quickly turn away. Listen to this Palm Sunday Confession by the poet, Rachel Hackenberg:
Palm Sunday Confession
[This poem could not be reprinted here because of copyright limitations, but the author has given permission for her work to be read and used in the context of a worship service.]
Prayers of Confession
O Lord, who on this day entered the rebellious city
that later rejected you,
we confess that our wills are as rebellious as Jerusalem’s,
that our faith is often more show than substance,
that our hearts are in need of cleansing.
Have mercy on us, Son of David, Savior of our lives.
Help us lay at your feet all that we have an all that we are,
trusting you to forgive what is sinful, to heal what is broken,
to welcome our praises, and to receive us as your own. Amen.
—John Paarlberg, Reformed Worship 34:8
Assurance of Pardon
The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance,
that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,
so that we, free from sins, might live for righteousness;
by his wounds we have been healed.
—from Timothy 1:15, 1 Peter 2:24, NRSV
Thanksgiving: “What Grace is This” Gauger
Children’s Message
I wonder: if rocks on our church property could talk, what would they say? Would they say, “it's the hard rock life for me!” or maybe, “don’t take me for granite”? What about the rocks on the road into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday two thousand years ago? What do you think they would say?
There was a lot going on when Jesus entered Jerusalem that day. The disciples and others were treating him with respect, almost like he was a king—they were waving palm branches and laying down their coats and yelling praise. All that ruckus made the Pharisees upset and even had the potential to get Jesus in trouble with the Romans. A lot of the Jewish leaders were just hoping all of Jesus’ followers would just be quiet, calm down. Jesus said, if they were quiet, the rocks would start talking.
What do you think those rocks would say? Maybe they would say that Jesus was the one who had created the world. Maybe they would start singing the same song as the disciples. Maybe the rocks would say what the Pharisees should have been saying all along: “this man is the son of God.”
—Bethany Besteman, Reformed Worship, © 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Prayer for Illumination
Holy God,
as we come now to the reading of your word,
we ask you to illuminate our hearts and minds
by the power of your Holy Spirit.
May the light of your word
brighten the Lenten path ahead of us
as we journey in steps of Christ towards the cross. Amen.
—Bethany Besteman, Reformed Worship, © 2024 Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-ShareAlike. Used by permission.
Scripture Readings
Psalm: Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29, or Psalm 31:9-16
Old Testament: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Liturgy of the Palms: Luke 19:28-40
Liturgy of the Passion: Luke 22:14-23:56
Epistle: Philippians 2:5-11
Sermon: The Servant King
Responses to the Sermon
One way to show the juxtaposition between the aspects of Palm and Passion Sunday could be to sing “Ride On, Ride On in Majesty” Milman (sung to CHICKAHOMINY) and “Ah, Holy Jesus” Heermann (sung to HERZLIEBSTER JESU) together. In other words, sing one stanza of “Ride On” followed by the first stanza of “Ah, Holy Jesus” then the second of “Ride On” followed directly by the second stanza of “Ah, Holy Jesus”, and continuing in that pattern through the four stanzas of each hymn. To help break up the singing, either have a choir or small group of singers sing one hymn and the congregation the other, or split the congregation in two and assign each part a different hymn.
Prayers of the People
Consider using Annie Jamieson’s prayer for Lent as a pattern for this day’s prayers of the people.
Sending
People of God,
let us claim the freedom Christ gives us
by his self-giving on the cross.
May he enable us to serve together
in faith, hope, and love.
Go in peace and serve the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
—Source unknown
“Take Us as We Are, O God” Daw
Blessing/Benediction
May the God of love, who showed us love,
strengthen us in our love for others.
May Christ, who shared his life,
grant us grace that we might share ours.
And may the Holy Spirit dwelling in us
empower us to be Christ’s ambassadors
wherever we go and to whomever we meet.
Amen.
—Source unknown
| Series Homepage | Previous Service | Next Service |