Palm Sunday

Opening response

O God, make speed to save us.
O Lord, make haste to help us.

Let your ways be known upon earth,
your saving power among the nations.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Lord God of our salvation,
to you be glory and praise forever.
As we behold your Son, enthroned on the cross,
stir up in us the fire of your love,
that we may be cleansed from all our sins,
and walk with you in newness of life
singing the praise of him who died
for us and our salvation.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Saw Ye Not the Cloud Arise

Charles Wesley

Saw ye not the cloud arise,
Little as the human hand?
Now it spreads along the skies,
Hangs over all the thirsty land.

Lo! the promise of a shower
Drops already from above,
But the Lord will shortly pour
All the Spirit of his love.

When he first the work begun
Small and feeble was his day,
Now the word doth swiftly run,
Now it wins its widening way;

More and more it spreads and grows,
Ever mighty to prevail;
Sin's strongholds it now overthrows,
Shakes the trembling gates of hell.

Sons of God your Savior praise,
He a door hath opened wide
He hath given the word of grace,
Jesus’ word is glorified.

Jesus mighty to redeem,
He alone the work hath wrought,
Worthy is the work of him,
Him who spoke a world from naught.

Confession of sin

Let us confess our sins to God.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

My God, for love of you
I desire to hate and forsake all sins
by which I have ever displeased you;
and I resolve by the help of your grace
to commit them no more;
and to avoid all opportunities of sin.
Help me to do this,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Lord enrich us with his grace,
and nourish us with his blessing;
the Lord defend us in trouble and keep us from all evil;
the Lord accept our prayers,
and absolve us from our offenses,
for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Amen.

Psalm 69:1-20

𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.

Save me, O God,
for the waters are up to my neck.
I have sunk into the miry depths,
where there is no footing;
I have drifted into deep waters,
where the flood engulfs me.
I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
looking for my God. 𝙍

Those who hate me without cause
outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are those who would destroy me—
my enemies for no reason.
Though I did not steal,
I must repay.

You know my folly, O God,
and my guilt is not hidden from You.
May those who hope in You not be ashamed through me,
O Lord GOD of Hosts;
may those who seek You not be dishonored through me,
O God of Israel.
For I have endured scorn for Your sake,
and shame has covered my face.
I have become a stranger to my brothers
and a foreigner to my mother’s sons,
because zeal for Your house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me. 𝙍

I wept and fasted,
but it brought me reproach.
I made sackcloth my clothing,
and I was sport to them.
Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of drunkards. 𝙍

But my prayer to You, O LORD,
is for a time of favor.
In Your abundant loving devotion, O God,
answer me with Your sure salvation.
Rescue me from the mire
and do not let me sink;
deliver me from my foes
and out of the deep waters. 𝙍

Do not let the floods engulf me
or the depths swallow me up;
let not the Pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, O LORD,
for Your loving devotion is good;
turn to me in keeping with Your great compassion.
Hide not Your face from Your servant,
for I am in distress. 𝙍

Answer me quickly!
Draw near to my soul and redeem me;
ransom me because of my foes.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: Hide not Your face from Your servant, O LORD.

Psalm prayer

Thirsting on the cross,
your Son shared the reproach of the oppressed
and carried the sins of all;
in him, O God, may the despairing find you,
the afflicted gain life
and the whole creation know its true king,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Isaiah 5:1-7

I will sing for my beloved a song of his vineyard:

My beloved had a vineyard
on a very fertile hill.
He dug it up and cleared the stones
and planted the finest vines.
He built a watchtower in the middle
and dug out a winepress as well.

He waited for the vineyard to yield good grapes,
but the fruit it produced was sour!

“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem
and men of Judah,
I exhort you to judge
between Me and My vineyard.
What more could I have done for My vineyard
than I already did for it?
Why, when I expected sweet grapes,
did it bring forth sour fruit?

Now I will tell you what I am about to do to My vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,
and it will be consumed;
I will tear down its wall,
and it will be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland,
neither pruned nor cultivated,
and thorns and briers will grow up.

I will command the clouds
that rain shall not fall on it.”

For the vineyard of the LORD of Hosts
is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah
are the plant of His delight.
He looked for justice,
but saw bloodshed;
for righteousness,
but heard a cry of distress.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 20:9-19

Then He proceeded to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard, rented it out to some tenants, and went away for a long time. At harvest time, he sent a servant to the tenants to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat the servant and sent him away empty-handed.

So he sent another servant, but they beat him and treated him shamefully, sending him away empty-handed.

Then he sent a third, but they wounded him and threw him out.

‘What shall I do?’ asked the owner of the vineyard. ‘I will send my beloved son. Perhaps they will respect him.’

But when the tenants saw the son, they discussed it among themselves and said, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those tenants, and will give the vineyard to others.”

And when the people heard this, they said, “May such a thing never happen!”

But Jesus looked directly at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written:

‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone’?

Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

When the scribes and chief priests realized that Jesus had spoken this parable against them, they sought to arrest Him that very hour. But they were afraid of the people.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

𝙍: God’s love for us is revealed in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior!
For He has looked with favor on the humble state of His servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed.
For the Mighty One has done great things for me.
Holy is His name.
His mercy extends to those who fear Him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with His arm;
He has scattered those who are proud
in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones,
but has exalted the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful,
as He promised to our fathers,
to Abraham and his descendants forever.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

𝙍: God’s love for us is revealed in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Brief silence

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The persecuted church
The oppressed peoples of the world
All who are lonely
All who are near to death
All who are facing loss

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God,
who in your tender love towards the human race
sent your Son our Savior Jesus Christ
to take upon him our flesh
and to suffer death upon the cross:
grant that we may follow the example of his patience and humility,
and also be made partakers of his resurrection;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Standing at the foot of the cross, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who bore our sins on the cross, set us free to serve him with joy.
Amen.