This is part of the worship series,
"Rattling Heaven's Door”
Series Introduction
Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4
Week 5 | Week 6
Week Six: The sixth petition
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
The Opening of Worship
Song
"O Lord, Hear My Prayer" (st. 2) Communaute de Taizé
Call to Worship
We gather on this Sunday to draw wisdom and courage from the One whose life and death and resurrection give us hope.
In this time of worship, we draw apart from life’s busyness to wrestle God in prayer, as Jesus taught.
Song
"O Lord, Hear My Prayer" (st. 1) Communaute de Taizé
Opening Litany
We gather on this day to celebrate God’s everlasting power: our Maker, ever creating. Christ on a donkey, our King. Holy Spirit, brooding over the world.
Holy, Holy, Holy, One God Almighty, your glory fills all the heavens and the earth!
Song
“O Lord, Hear My Prayer” (st. 2) Berthier
Silence
We wrestle God in prayer, as Christ taught:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Silence
A time of reflection
Song
“Majesty” Wesley
Passing of God’s Peace
Prayer of Confession
Like Jerusalem, O Christ, our sin must cause you to weep: For we confess, the things that make for peace are hidden from our eyes.
We seek your mercy.
Your house of prayer for all the nations, we have made a den of robbers.
God, forgive us.
With the crowds, we shout hosanna, little knowing who you really are.
Christ, show us grace.
Assurance of Pardon
Do not be afraid, daughter of Zion. Look, your king is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt! (John 12:17)
Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! (John 12:13)
This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.
Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!
Hear the promise of this servant king: “Truly I tell you, if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and if you do not doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say will come to pass, it will be done for you. So I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
—Mark 11:23–24 NRSVUE
Song
“Meekness and Majesty” Kendrick
Silence
Song
“Nothing Can Trouble” St. Teresa
Prayers of the People
The focus of this prayer is petition and intercession, including an invitation for different people to offer spoken prayers.
Proclamation of the Word
Prayer for Illumination
Scripture
Matthew 21:1–11
Sermon
"Yours is the Kingdom . . ."
Sermon Notes
Words like kingdom, power, and glory are risky words. The world loves them. Kings and presidents build kingdoms and defend them with murderous intensity. Power is often used for self-interest and the control of others. And glory is what comes to those who wield more power than others.
The meaning of these three words is captured and summarized in the life of Jesus. Ideas of power and glory that are divorced from his life and ministry are either false or incomplete. He wields neither the power of the sword nor of the popular vote, but the power of obedience to the law of unfailing love, the power of forgiven sin, the power of relinquishment. The power of embrace. The subversive power of powerlessness.
His glory is not that of raised flags and marching bands but of scars that speak of sacrificial love. His glory is, of all things, a cross. He is nothing like what the people expected then or even today. He is a contrary king, a contrary power, a contrary glory.
And he bids us follow him. What might the world be like if we did? What might I be like?
Response to the Word
Song
Offering
Everyone comes forward to place their offerings in a basket
Song
"You God Are My Firmament" (st. 1–2) Winter
Prayer
The focus of this prayer is thanksgiving, including invitation for people to offer spoken prayers.
Song
"You God Are My Firmament" (st. 3) Winter
Service of Communion
"Concelebration" Wise
This is a sung liturgy for the Lord's Supper composed by Joe Wise. During the communion, a singer introduced verses and phrases the congregation echoed. Other sung arrangements of the Lord's supper liturgy include "The Lord Be With You" Rienstra
Dismissal
Closing Prayer
We Go Forth
Go into the world knowing that the kingdom, the power, and the glory are God’s.
The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
Song
“To God Be the Glory” Crouch
Revised Common Lectionary
Year A: Lent—Liturgy of the Palms
