Let Us Worship!

Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.

This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.

This is the day that the LORD has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.


Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.

O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.

– Psalm 118.19-20, 22-24, 26, 29 (NRSV)

Let us worship God!.

Prayer of Approach and Confession

Let us pray. Blessed are you, Jesus of Nazareth.
You are the king who comes in peace, riding on a donkey. You have done deeds of power
and brought the message of God’s love into the world. Who can stop us from praising you?

Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you, God the Father of all creation.
You have sent Jesus into our world
to share our joys and sorrows,
bringing healing and forgiveness.
Who can stop us from praising you?

Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed are you, Holy Spirit of God.
You are the wisdom which lets us see in Jesus a new kind of King –
a king who brings peace, joy, love, forgiveness and hope. And so, we sing songs of praise to him –
for if we did not, the stones of the earth would shout out!

Hosanna in the highest! Hosanna in the highest!

Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.
You bring peace on earth from the glory of heaven. Father, Son and Spirit,
we praise you today!

Yet we confess that our praise on Sunday can turn to cynicism during the week, and that our faith is often challenged by the sort of darkness we see in the Cross- the darkness of inhumanity and injustice the darkness of death and despair.

Do not count our sins against us,
but for the sake of the Carpenter who won our salvation
through the wood and nails of the cross
forgive us our personal failings,
and strengthen us for the fight against evil.


silence


It is the Lord GOD who helps us; who will declare us guilty?

                                                     – Isaiah 50:9a (alt)

Give us, O God, the mind that was in Jesus Christ- help us to be humble servants of one another,
and obedient in all things to his law of love;
for now we confess
that the carpenter’s son who rode a donkey
is exalted above all kings and powers of this world and we confess that Jesus is Christ is Lord
to the glory of God. Amen.