ORDER OF WORSHIP
MARCH 24, 2024 10:30 AM
PALM SUNDAY
If you have individual prayer requests, please write them on prayer cards in the pews and bring them up or give them to an usher during the prelude.
**Kindly stand if you are able
PRELUDE "Improvisation for Palm Sunday" Benjamin Phillips play's
Alexandre Guilmant's
WELCOME AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
CALL TO WORSHIP (Adapted from Psalm 118)
Leader: Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD.
PEOPLE: This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it.
Leader: I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation.
PEOPLE: This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.
Leader: This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
PEOPLE: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD. We bless you from the house of the LORD.
Leader: The LORD is God, and he has given us light. Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar.
INVOCATION
Dearest Lord, the messiah comes near. Shall we join in the cries of ‘Hosanna’ at his passing? Or do we remain silent and speechless as he enters the gates? Do we wave palm branches in joyful greeting and follow to the Temple, or do we stumble in the side streets of the city? Show us the pathway of your Easter blessing. Amen.
**OPENING HYMN “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” Red #203
CALL TO CONFESSION
As we enter into the holiest week of our church year, we freely admit our sins and short-comings. Let us come together in confession to our Lord
PRAYER OF CONFESSION
Eternal God of mercy hear us as we confess our sin. Every day we awake to the life you give us, yet we fail to be thankful for the rest we have received. Time waits for our decision to serve you, yet that time passes by as we think only of ourselves. Our lives afford us the chance to minister to others, yet we are absorbed with our own self-improvement. The day is soon passed, and it has been much the same as others. Forgive us for casting aside the precious time you have given.
(a moment for silent personal confession)
ASSURANCE OF FORGIVENESS
Our Creator knows each of us better than we know ourselves and continues to reach to us through unending love; and thus, by the grace of Jesus, we are forgiven. Amen.
**GLORIA PATRI Red #805
**PASSING OF THE PEACE
**AFFIRMATION OF FAITH Apostles Creed (traditional)
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; The third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, And sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost; The Holy catholic Church, the Communion of Saints; The Forgiveness of sins; The Resurrection of the body, And the Life everlasting. Amen
**HYMN OF PRAISE: “All Glory, Laud and Honor!” Red #204
PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION
Holy God, Word made flesh, let us come to this word open to being surprised. Silence our
agendas; banish our assumptions; cast out our casual detachment. Confound our expectations; clear the cobwebs from our ears; penetrate the corners of our hearts with this word. We know that you can, we pray that you will, and we wait with great anticipation. Amen
SCRIPTURE READINGS
OLD TESTAMENT READING Isaiah 50: 4-9a Mary Whidden
GOSPEL READING Mark 11: 1-11
SERMON MESSAGE Passion or Palm? John Redman, CRE
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
And Lord we pray for those in our own hearts whose names you already know, for their own healing and comfort, in your name and that of our redeemer Jesus Christ, who taught to pray, saying:
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. Amen
OUR TITHES AND OFFERINGS
May what we offer here be of our own hearts and dedicated to the service of our faith and our mission to others as they become the blessings and hope that others need and pray for in their own lives. This we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen
OFFERTORY “Rejoice, Ye Pure in Heart “
**DOXOLOGY Traditional Red #809
PRAYER OF THANKS
Lord God, we thank you for these gifts. As we follow in faith, may we find ways to honor you by giving of our treasure, our time and our talents to glorify you and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
**CLOSING HYMN “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” Red #638
BENEDICTION
POSTLUDE: “Crown Him with Many Crowns ” Mary Lee Farris, Piano
Blessings!
John Redman, CRE
Mobile: (914) 474-0722
Union Church
44 Balmville Rd, Newburgh NY 12550
Phone: (845) 562-0954 Fax: (845) 562-0955