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PINNACLE LUTHERAN CHURCH
PALM SUNDAY
APRIL 2, 2023
+ AS WE GATHER +
Now Is the Hour When the Son of Man Is Glorified
“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming.” He comes in gentle humility, “sitting on a donkey’s colt,” yet also as the King of Israel “in the name of the Lord” (John 12:13, 15). His royal glory is faithful obedience and self-sacrificing service “to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8). The love of God is manifested in the cross and Passion of His Son for the salvation of sinners. Since He has borne our sins and suffered our death, “God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name” (Phil. 2:9), and He exalts us in His resurrection. Our Lord did not hide His face “from disgrace and spitting” (Is. 50:6), but He trusted His God and Father, who raised Him from death and the grave and exalted Him to His right hand. This same King Jesus now comes to us in gentle humility in His Supper, where He feeds us with His body and cleanses and covers us with His blood, so that “after his resurrection” we also shall rise and enter the holy city (Matt. 27:52–53).
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Palm Sunday Gospel — John 12:12-16 NKJ
The next day a great multitude that had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, 13took branches of palm trees and went out to meet Him, and cried out: “HOSANNA! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD! THE KING OF ISRAEL!” 14Then Jesus, when He had found a young donkey, sat on it; as it is written: 15“Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your King is coming, sitting on a donkey’s colt.” 16His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him.
Dialog for Holy Week
P Today we begin our journey with Jesus through Holy Week,
C the week that changed the world.
P May God bless these palm branches, and bless each of us,
C as we remember their story and celebrate their meaning.
P We welcome Jesus as our Savior and King,
C and Lord of our life.
P On Thursday evening He broke bread with His disciples.
C He said: “Do this in remembrance of me.”
P On Good Friday He died for us. In His cross we see the hatred of sinful people and God’s judgment against our sin.
C In His Cross we see our Lord’s love and forgiveness.
P Holy Week leads us to Easter victory!
C Let us sing His praises.
Opening Hymn: 442 (v. 1, 3, & 5) – All Glory, Laud, and Honor
INVOCATION
P In the name of the Father and of the T Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Prayer of Confession
P Let us pray.Almighty Father, palm branches held high in praise, fell to the ground to be trampled on the dusty road centuries ago, and Jesus went to the cross. How often our praises rise and fall like broken branches, unsupported by honest dedication to You. We, too, have sent Him to the cross, by our sins of thought, word, and action. Forgive us, Father, for the sake of Jesus Christ, our crucified and living Lord.
C Amen.
Words of God’s Love and Forgiveness
P St. Paul wrote about Jesus in 2nd Corinthians 5:19: For our sake he made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Thanks to Jesus, our sins are forgiven, and our life is renewed. May He rule in our hearts today and forever, for He is our living and loving Savior and Lord.
C Amen.
Children’s Message
Bible readings 2nd Lesson — Philippians 2:5-11 RSV
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8he humbled himself, and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
L This is the Word of the Lord.
C Thanks be to God.
Hymn of the Day: 449 – O Sacred Head, Now Wounded
Gospel: Matthew 26-27 (The Passion Narrative)
(Hand Out given to you when entering the Sanctuary)
Sermon: “Palm Sunday Sermon”
Confession of Faith (Explanation of the 2nd Article of the Apostles’ Creed, from Luther’s Small Catechism)
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood, and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.
NICENE CREED
I believe in one God, the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life T of the world to come. Amen.
Offering
OFFERTORY LSB 159
PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
After each petition: At conclusion:
P … Lord, in Your mercy: P … one God, now and forever.
C hear our prayer. C Amen.
T Service of the Sacrament T
PREFACE p. 160
P The Lord be with you.
P Lift up your hearts.
P Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
PROPER PREFACE
P It is truly good, right, and salutary that we should at all times and in all places give thanks to You, holy Lord, almighty Father, everlasting God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord; who accomplished the salvation of mankind by the tree of the cross that, where death arose, there life also might rise again and that the serpent who overcame by the tree of the garden might likewise by the tree of the cross be overcome. Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven we laud and magnify Your glorious name, evermore praising You and saying:
SANCTUS, p. 161
PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING
P Blessed are You, Lord of heaven and earth, for You have had mercy on those whom You created and sent Your only-begotten Son into our flesh to bear our sin and be our Savior. With repentant joy we receive the salvation accomplished for us by the all-availing sacrifice of His body and His blood on the cross.
Gathered in the name and the remembrance of Jesus, we beg You, O Lord, to forgive, renew, and strengthen us with Your Word and Spirit. Grant us faithfully to eat His body and drink His blood as He bids us do in His own testament. Gather us together, we pray, from the ends of the earth to celebrate with all the faithful the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which has no end. Graciously receive our prayers; deliver and preserve us. To You alone,
O Father, be all glory, honor, and worship, with the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
LORD’S PRAYER Matthew 6:9–13
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 and ever. Amen.
THE WORDS OF OUR LORD
P Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My T body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”
In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My T blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
Pax Domini LSB 163
P The peace of the Lord be with you always.
AGNUS DEI, p. 163
DISTRIBUTION
POST-COMMUNION CANTICLE: Nunc Dimittis LSB 165
Post-Communion Collect
P Let us pray.
We give thanks to You, almighty God, that You have refreshed us through this salutary gift, and we implore You that of Your mercy You would strengthen us through the same in faith toward You and in fervent love toward one another; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C Amen.
Benediction
P The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look upon you with favor and T give you peace.
Sending Blessing
P Love your Savior, for He gave His life for us. Praise your King, for He lives and rules forever. Serve your Lord, for He loves you and cares for you. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
Closing Hymn: #441 (v. 1, 4, & 5) — Ride On, Ride On in Majesty
DISMISSAL
Pastor: Go in peace as you serve the Lord.
People: Thanks be to God!
Creative Worship for the Lutheran Parish, Series C, Quarter 3. Copyright © 2022 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
