St. Paul's Presbyterian Church

Bible Text: Philippians 2:5-11 | Preacher: Rev. Bruce W. Kemp | To see and hear Reverend Bruce Kemp deliver his message please click on this link: https://youtu.be/lv8osLTRMdw

Palm Sunday Worship

Call to Worship

This is the day that the Lord has made,
Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Jesus is coming.
Hosanna!

He comes to us, riding on a donkey.
Hosanna!

Open wide the gates!
Hosanna!

Let us welcome him with waving branches and open hearts.
Hosanna!

Jesus is coming!
Hosanna to the King of kings!

Prayer of Adoration and Confession

God of all people and all places,
God in all situations and every time:
you are the light of the minds that know you;
you are the strength of those who serve you;
you are the welcome and rest of those who go in search of you.
We come this day and pause from our work and responsibilities;
we rest from our play and preoccupations
to listen for your voice,
to follow your story,
and worship you as the Creator, Christ, and Spirit.
God of courage and compassion,
we confess that we prefer the comfort of darkness to the light of your truth;
we follow our own ways rather than the path Jesus took.
We do what is easy rather than what is right,
assuring ourselves and each other we’ve made the right choice.
Forgive our fleeting enthusiasm for your purposes
and our shallow commitment to put our faith into practice.
Forgive us, O God,
and help us pay attention to the costly choices Jesus made for us
as he moved toward the Cross.
Amen

Assurance of Pardon

Who is able to condemn us? Only Christ – and Christ died for us; Christ rose for us, Christ reigns in power for us, Christ prays for us. Friends, hear and believe the good news of the gospel. In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven and set free by God’s generous grace.

Prayer for Understanding

God of all wisdom and knowledge,
in the reading and hearing of your Word,
help us know you more clearly so that we may love you more dearly.
In loving you more dearly, help us follow you more nearly, day by day.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen

Luke 19:28-40

28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?’ just say this, “The Lord needs it.’ ”
32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They said, “The Lord needs it.”
35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.”
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

Philippians 2:1-11

1 If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy,
2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.
4 Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,
7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form,
8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Message:
A Believer’s Mindset – Philippians 2:5-11

This is the first time that I can remember not being able to gather with a community of faith to celebrate Palm Sunday. And while it is difficult to be in this time, we must never forget that difficult times in our individual and communal lives can be faced and can be overcome. We can learn important lessons from difficult times if we are willing to let those experiences teach us. All of us value our community and our ability to interact with one another in word and touch. We know that when we find it too hard to find words to be supportive, our presence with one another can be a great blessing. In this time, we have been restricted and must plan any time that we may meet ensuring that we maintain our distance out of concern for one another.

It was Jesus’ great concern for the people that led him to Jerusalem that day. He had preached and he had healed many and he wanted to do whatever he could to help everyone see the truth of his message and the real freedom to live life that it brought. He could have continued to move about the country giving his message of forgiveness and hope, but he knew that a real and lasting change would only come once those in authority were able to accept the truth of his message. And so, he came to Jerusalem at the time when the nation was preparing to remember the Passover when the people were miraculously spared and were able to depart from Egypt for their journey to the Promised Land.
Jesus’ time of remembrance with the disciples on what we have come to know as Maundy Thursday gave the Passover a new meaning. Now it would remind them of more than an event in the past, it would remind them of an event that would have implications for the rest of their life in this world and for their life through eternity.

Sacrifices are part of this life and Jesus knew full well that a great sacrifice would be required of him; but that sacrifice would mean life to so many; that sacrifice would mean hope for so many; that sacrifice would mean freedom from fear of pain and death to any who were suffering.

In Philippians chapter 2, Paul encourages the people in the church to ever keep before them what was in the mind of Jesus Christ. That is the challenge that Paul placed before the people. If the one who could have made the world go his way chose to follow the path of the one who sent him into this world, what is to be our choice; what is to be our path?

The path we are encouraged to take as followers of God in Jesus Christ is the path that Christ revealed to us in his ministry and life, through his teaching and example which revealed to us what was in his mind. And that mind that was in Christ Jesus is to be the mind that is to guide us as we live this life.

We are to seek to do nothing from a selfish motive or out of a sense of our own self-importance. We need to be aware of our own needs and interests but also be willing to balance those needs and interests with the needs and interests of others. In other words, we need to consciously live in such a way as to be supportive of one another and allow each of us to feel fully engaged in the life of this community of faith and wherever life takes us.
We are to be mindful of the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual state of one another and seek as much as possible to bring wholeness into all our relationships with one another in community and beyond.

Paul appeals to the people to strive for unity in thought and action. He makes this appeal by directing them to think of what it means to each of them to be in relationship to God through Jesus Christ; he appeals to them by directing them to think of what it means to them to have received the Spirit of God into their lives. If their relationship to God in Christ, if the Spirit of God in their lives means anything to them, then their desire will be to seek to live with one another in such a way as to show a deep love for one another.

May the mind of Christ my Saviour live in me from day to day
Jesus’ love and power controlling all I do or say.

Could we have faced what lay ahead of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem? Probably not, but we were never expected to take that path. The path we are asked to take is that of disciple and it is a path we are called to take with each other. We are called not to be Christ but to be like Christ. We are called not to have the mind of Christ but to let the mind of Christ influence our daily thoughts and actions so that we may ever remain mindful of the one whom we acknowledge as Lord and Saviour and so that we may ever remain mindful of our calling to be servants of God as we live with one another in our community of faith!

In this time when we have been encouraged to keep physical distance for the sake and health of each other, may we remain mindful to balance our needs and interests with those of our neighbours, friends and even strangers. Remember that a stranger is a neighbour or a friend that we haven’t met.

May we hold each other in prayer and keep each other updated. I will continue to share songs through Facebook and the website as well as continue posting services for you to use in your walk with God.

Peace to all

AMEN

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Creator of the universe, you made the world in beauty and wonder,
yet we see so much hurt and betrayal that harm the world and its peoples.
We trust that your love has power in all situations,
even the most troubling or tragic.
So, hear us as we bring to you our concerns for the people and places on our hearts this day:

We pray for people who struggle with poverty, sickness, or grief. Touch them in their pain and restore their hope and health:
(Hold a brief silence)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for people and communities burdened by the weight of war, greed, hostility or jealousy. Lift their burdens and restore their hope and peace:
(Hold a brief silence)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for people who challenge regimes marked by tyranny, domination, and brutality. Liberate their lives and restore their hope and freedom:
(Hold a brief silence)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We pray for people who are persecuted for their race or creed, or for the truth they tell; and for those who are not treated with respect or decency. Rescue them from discrimination and restore their hope and dignity:
(Hold a brief silence)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Hear us as we pray to you in silence for those situations close to our hearts this day. Bring your grace to restore hope and healing where they are needed.
(Hold a longer silence)
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Now we pray together as Jesus taught us…

The Lord’s Prayer
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 debts as we forgive our debtors. 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

A Blessing:

As you conclude this time of prayer and reflection may you remember that we live in God’s world and that we are to be people of peace. And may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit rest and abide with each one of us this day and forever more. AMEN

Prayer Partnership

Sunday, April 5 (Passion/Palm Sunday) We pray for PCC-partner, the United Mission in Nepal.

Monday, April 6 Thank God for the gift of racial diversity in the PCC. Give thanks for people who are working to build more inclusive church communities.

Tuesday, April 7 (World Health Day) We pray that leprosy patients who visit Presbyterian World Service & Development-supported clinics in Nepal will once again feel the warmth of community, free from stigma.

Wednesday, April 8 We are thankful for volunteers Hastings Phale, RammyZuwayo and LycaMhone who are bringing hope, medication and delivering Bible teachings to prisoners in southern Malawi.

Thursday, April 9 (Maundy Thursday) As our thoughts turn to spring, give thanks to God for the wonder and beauty we find in creation. May we be faithful stewards of the earth.

Friday, April 10 (Good Friday) We pray for all those who are denied their rights, imprisoned, tortured or martyred for their faith. Pray that they may be protected.

Saturday, April 11 Pray for members of the Rainbow Communion Listening Committee as they meet to work on their final report based on the stories they have heard of harm done by homophobia, transphobia, hypocrisy and heterosexism in the church.

Mission Moment

April 5: World Health Day (April 7)
“We are reducing the death of moms and babies through education and support,” said Mary Samuel, reflecting on the work of the PWS&D-supported Village Safe Motherhood Committee in her community. Part of PWS&D’s maternal and child health project in Malawi, these committees are volunteer groups of women and men who educate their peers on sexual and reproductive health issues. From equipping men and women to combat sexually transmitted diseases to encouraging women to seek proper medical care and nutrition support throughout their pregnancies, the committees are helping whole communities safeguard their health. “Since the project started, there are fewer maternal deaths in our community!”

PWS&D cares for mothers at risk