Sunday Service Marsden Road Uniting Church 20th March 2016

Call to Worship:   

As we gather here, today, let us look for the signs of the Christ passing through our life in a humble but holy presence.  Let us create a passageway in our midst and fill it with signs of our commitment to honour this Christ, the Human One.  Let us worship our God. Amen.

Prayer of Invocation:  

This was a prayer where the invitation; ”Come Holy Spirit Come!” was given.

Hymn  TiS 724                       “Hosanna, Hosanna”

Prayers of Praise and Thanksgiving: 

Lita prayed about our memories of God’s great works of salvation which make us feel so close to Him we feel like we too should lay down our coats and wave palm branches in celebration of the wonder of the life of Jesus who came to save us.

Prayers of Confession & Words of Assurance:  

Lord Jesus Christ, when our words and actions reflect a reluctance to confess you publicly as Lord of our lives: Forgive us

When we fear that humbling ourselves, would be seen by others as weakness, or some kind of defect in our character: Forgive us

When we have betrayed your love for us through our lack of love for you, for others, and for ourselves: Forgive us

When we find ourselves glossing over the events of your passion and death because we look forward to Easter as a time to enjoy holidays and have fun. Forgive us

When we fail to take seriously the gravity of sin and the radical call to servanthood:  Forgive us.

Gracious and loving God, empower us with the Holy Spirit so that our lives continually glorify you and our tongues forever confess Jesus as Lord. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Declaration of Forgiveness: Hear the good news: “Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave...and became obedient to the point of death -- even death on a cross.” Through his obedience we are therefore freed from whatever sin enslaves us. Thanks be to God

Children’s Message:  

Lita threw her coat on the floor and involved the children in a discussion about the kinds of people who came to wave palm leaves and throw their coats on the ground for Jesus to walk over as he was seated on the donkey.  These were the gathered people of God, just like the people in our church here this morning.

Hymn TiS 164                        “The Great Love of God is Revealed in the Son”

Daniel Thambyrajah Niles was born in Jaffna, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1908 and died in 1970.  Family members were converted from the Tamil religion to Christianity several generations before his birth and he graduated from a theological college in Bangalore, India. After further study for a doctorate in London, he became very involved in student evangelism and the World Council of Churches. 

Offering / Prayer: 

The offering for God’s work, was taken up by Laurel and Phil, with help from the children; Lita blessed, “A modest symbol of our joy that Jesus saved us – with this money to be used for God’s glory to help people in need.”

Bible Reading:          Read by Glen              Philippians 2:5-11 (Page 916)  

                                                                        John 12:12-16  (Page 823)

Reflection:                             “What’s Your Story?”

The essence of Lita’s reflection was that “As Jesus walked the road that would lead him to the cross, he carried with him the stories of the people.”  These were the people for whom God wanted to give a gift that could not be taken away – to be the perfect atonement of their sins.  They were people just like us – people with a story – people like us that God holds in his heart.

Lita told us, “We can almost put some faces in the crowd gathered on that day. They were those people he healed (the blind, the leper, those with evil spirit, the Samaritan woman, the woman who bled and was healed, the woman being stoned but saved by Jesus, Zacchaeus, maybe even Lazarus).  As she named the people who may have been in the crowd, Lita reminded us that the cry of ‘Hosanna! Hosanna!’ is a cry of ‘Save us! Save us!

“The Christ that walked that road also knows who we are, what our journeys are like, just like He knew and understood the lives of those who came to shout 'Hosanna!' on that day.  He holds our pain, suffering, sickness, struggles, our good times and bad times and our need for deliverance and forgiveness.”

It is for this reason he walked that difficult road on that day. Even though he knew that in a few days, he would be arrested and crucified.  All for us; each of us!  The gathered people on that day were similar to the gathered people here in Marsden Road Church today.  Like them, we all carry our stories and we bring them before a God who understands and is able to do something good about these stories.”   Yes – Lita told us the same old story we hear every year on Palm Sunday, however she made it very personal, as she involved us and reminded us that all we need to do to have God take up our suffering and pain as we struggle on our journey, is to call out in prayer and we will be saved.

Hymn:                                     “There is a Redeemer”

There is a Redeemer Jesus, God's own Son  Precious Lamb of God  Messiah, Holy One

This hymn was written by Melody Green who was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family, the child of Russian refugees.  Melody calls herself a Jewish Christian and says, "My family history has played a large part in shaping my heart to absolutely disdain all types of persecution, prejudice, and injustice. Some things are just wrong. My spirit told me this long before I even met the Lord.”

Prayers of the People:  After a musical interlude played by Elaine, Lita led the prayers of Intercession today.  We were reminded that we must live our lives in humility following the example of Jesus and listen to the cries of Hosanna “Save Us” from our fellow men as we seek ways to help and save people in need for many reasons throughout the world.  Lita prayed that our congregation would remember the blessings of last week as we look forward to the coming Holy Week.  We prayed for all the diverse requests listed in the “red books” as they had been passed through the congregation during the service and then we shared together in the words of the Lord’s Prayer.

Hymn TiS?                                         “The Servant King”   

Graham Kendrick is a prolific English Christian singer-songwriter and worship leader who is the son of a Baptist pastor.  He lives in Tunbridge Wells and is a member of Holy Trinity with Christ Church, Tunbridge Wells.   Many of his hymns, like this one, have a gentle lilt and a simple but compelling message.

“This is our God, the Servant King,  He calls us now to follow Him,  To bring our lives as a daily offering  Of worship to the Servant King.”

Benediction:  Our blessing asked that as we go forward into the new week and leave this church we live our lives and lift our hearts in hope.   Amen.  Amen.  Amen.