Please click the link below to view the sermon message from Pastor Wright. https://youtu.be/BGh0DN6XatY
Palm Sunday: The King Who Comes – April 5, 2020
Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Luke 19:38
Processional Hymn – All Glory, Laud, and Honor – LSB #442
Refrain All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
- You are the King of Israel and David’s royal Son,
Now in the Lord’s name coming, our King and Blessed One.
Refrain All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
- The multitude of pilgrims with palms before you went;
Our praise and prayer and anthems before you we present.
Refrain All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
- To you before your passion they sang their hymns of praise;
To you, now high exalted, our melody we raise.
Refrain All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
- As you received their praises, accept the prayers we bring,
O Source of ev’ry blessing, our good and gracious King.
Refrain All glory, laud, and honor to you, Redeemer, King,
To whom the lips of children made sweet hosannas ring.
Invocation and Litany
P In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C Amen.
P Lift up your heads, O gates!
C And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
P Who is this King of glory?
C The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
P Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors,
C That the King of glory may come in.
P Who is this King of glory?
C The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!
Confession and Absolution
P Let us confess our sins to God and ask his forgiveness for the sake of Jesus our Savior and King.
C Almighty God, you sent your Son to be our Savior and to rule over us as our King, but we do not always live as citizens of his kingdom should live. We turn away from his lordship in our lives to follow our own selfish desires. We do not love and serve others as we should. We sin against you each day in our thoughts, words and actions. Have mercy on us and forgive us for the sake of Jesus our Lord.
P God in mercy sent his Son to save us. Jesus suffered and died on the cross so that our sins can be forgiven. He rose from the dead to give us eternal life through faith in his name. I announce to you that your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
C Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory!
Prayer of the Day
P Lord Jesus, on Palm Sunday you fulfilled the Scriptures, entering Jerusalem as a humble King, riding on a donkey. Your followers shouted praise and welcomed you as the promised Messiah, the Son of David, as you took up the final road to the cross for the sake of our sal-vation. During this Holy Week and always, help us to follow in your footsteps and live as your humble servants, ready and willing at all times to love and serve others in your name. Accept the praise we offer to you, our Savior, King of kings and Lord of lords. Amen.
Children’s Message
Hymn – Hosanna, Loud Hosanna – LSB #443
- Hosanna, loud hosanna,
The little children sang;
Through pillared court and temple
The lovely anthem rang.
To Jesus, who had blessed them,
Closed folded to his breast,
The children sang their praises,
The simplest and the best. - From Olivet they followed
Mid an exultant crowd,
The victor palm branch waving
And chanting clear and loud.
The Lord of earth and heaven
Rode on in lowly state
Nor scorned that little children
Should on his bidding wait. - “Hosanna in the highest!”
That ancient song we sing;
For Christ is our Redeemer,
The Lord of heav’n our King.
Oh, may we ever praise him
With heart and life and voice
And in his blissful presence
Eternally rejoice!
Old Testament Reading – Zechariah 9:9-12
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the na-tions; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. As for you also, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit. Return to your stronghold, O prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will re-store to you double.
Epistle Reading – Philippians 2:5-11
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied him-self, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus eve-ry knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue con-fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Gospel Reading – Luke 19:28-40
And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Sermon Hymn – At the Name of Jesus – LSB #512 (v.1&3)
- At the name of Jesus ev’ry knee shall bow,
Ev’ry tongue confess him King of glory now.
’Tis the Father’s pleasure we should call him Lord,
Who from the beginning was the mighty Word. - Humbled for a season, to receive a name
From the lips of sinners unto whom he came,
Faithfully he bore it spotless to the last,
Brought it back vic’torious when from death he passed.
Sermon Message – The King Who Comes
P The time had finally come. Jesus would fulfill the Scriptures and accomplish the purpose for which his Father sent him, the purpose established before the world was created. The cross was nearer now, as Jesus made his way to Jerusalem. On the way he had stopped in Bethany, where his friend Lazarus had recently died. To the horror and astonishment of the watching crowd, Jesus ordered the tomb to be opened. Then Jesus called to Lazarus to come out, and the dead man was restored to life.
Those who witnessed the miracle spread the word of it, and some of them took the news directly to Jesus’ enemies. They began to plan all the more seriously for Jesus’ death. Caiaphas, as the high priest of Israel, unknowingly prophesied the truth about Jesus. It would be better. Caiaphas said, to have one man die for the people, rather than have the Romans respond to the threat of Jesus’ growing popularity by destroying the whole nation. Jesus’ opponents even made plans to kill Lazarus too, and wipe out any evidence of that recent miracle.
As Jesus later joined Mary, Martha and Lazarus at dinner, Mary opened a costly container of perfumed ointment and anointed Jesus’ feet. Answering complaints about the expense and wasted money, Jesus explained that Mary was preparing him, anointing his body for burial, an event that would take place just a week later. Later, as they continued on the road up to Jerusalem, Jesus repeatedly told the disciples what lay in store for him. He would be be-trayed, arrested and crucified. He would be buried and then raised to life on the third day after his death. The disciples were puzzled. Perhaps they thought that their Master and Lord could not die—he was surely too powerful for that! After all, he had just raised Lazarus from the dead. Still, they wondered what Jesus meant by that strange comment about “rising from the dead.”
If the disciples didn’t understand what “rising from the dead” meant, they did understand what it meant to be important—and they were very concerned about that. They argued among themselves as to which one of them was the most important. Finally, James and John asked Jesus for a special favor. Since he would reign as a king in his kingdom, they asked to sit beside him, on either side of his throne. That honor could only be granted by his heavenly Father, Jesus said, but before the throne there would be suffering. Jesus would soon drink the cup of God’s wrath against sin. He would not have a throne, but a cross. He would not be crowned with gold, but with thorns, and his followers, too, would eventually suffer be-cause of their faith in him. Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom.
Now the time to pay that ransom price had come. Jesus would enter Jerusalem to take up his last steps to the cross. This was the purpose for which he had come. Welcomed by his cheering followers, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He came as the prophet said he would: “Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Perhaps the people remembered the story of Solomon, the son of David, who centuries be-fore was acclaimed as king as he rode through Jerusalem on a mule. To welcome Jesus as king, the people waved palm branches like flags. Jesus rode his donkey over a red carpet formed by branches and coats thrown on the road. Jesus’ followers shouted praise and welcomed him as the Son of David. They had waited a long time for this King and now he had finally come! Maybe now he would save them from the hated Roman conquerors! They called out to him, “Hosanna! Save us now!”
Jesus was the Son of David, the promised Messiah of Israel. He had come to save his people, but he had not come to save them from the Romans. He came to save them from their sins. He would not wear a crown of gold but a crown of thorns. Now he rode into the city on a donkey, but in less than a week he would drag a heavy wooden cross, the instrument of his death, through those same streets. On Sunday the crowds welcomed him as their king, but on Friday that title would be posted on his cross as his crime: “This is the King of the Jews.”
This was the purpose for which Jesus had come. He was the King who came in humility. The Son of God, God in human flesh, “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by be-coming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” In humble obedience to his Father, Jesus offered up his life as a sacrifice for our sins. He died and was buried, and on the third day he was raised up from the grave, never to die again. His victory over death is our victory too. Joined to him at our Baptism, we were buried with him and raised to new life, a new life of humble service in his kingdom.
Then, on the Last Day, when our King returns in glory, we will be raised up from our graves as he was, never to die again. Then our King—the King who was welcomed into Jerusalem, the King who offered up his life on the cross for us, the King who rose from the dead for us—will welcome us into his eternal kingdom: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34). There, as the apostle John saw, we will take up palm branches once more. We will stand with all the saints, among “a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” Amen.
Hymn of Response – At the Name of Jesus – LSB #512 (v.5&6)
- In your hearts enthrone him; there let him subdue
All that is not holy, all that is not true:
Crown him as your captain in temptation’s hour;
Let his will enfold you in its light and pow’r. - Christians, this Lord Jesus shall return again
In his Father’s glory, with his angel train;
For all wreath’s of empire meet upon his brow,
And our hearts confess him King of glory now.
Offering (Thank you to all who have remembered the church with your offerings this past week. Just a reminder, you can drop off your church donations at Pathway Bank Drive-Up window.)
Prayers Each petition ends with the following response:
P Jesus, whose name is exalted above all names,
C Rule in our hearts as King.
+
P King of kings and Lord of lords, you rode into Jerusalem in humility, riding on a donkey as the prophet foretold. You did not seek earthly power but came to offer up your life as a sacri-fice for the sins of the world, for our sins. Jesus, whose name is exalted above all names,
C Rule in our hearts as King.
P King of kings and Lord of lords, as you spent your life and ministry in humble service, help us to follow in your steps and serve others in love. We pray that our love for others will be a reflection of your love and that through our service, people will come to know and worship you as their King. Jesus, whose name is exalted above all names,
C Rule in our hearts as King.
P King of kings and Lord of lords, work through us to help those in need, especially those who are ill and suffering and those who are lost in despair or grief. We want to bring to them the comfort of your Word and the peace that is found only in your kingdom. Jesus, whose name is exalted above all names,
C Rule in our hearts as King.
P Amen.
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 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.
Benediction
P Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
C That the King of glory may come in.
P Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!
C Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
P The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Closing Hymn – Ride On, Ride On in Majesty – LSB #441 (v.1-3 & 5)
- Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! All the tribes hosanna cry.
O Savior meek, pursue thy road,
With palms and scattered garments strowed. - Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
O Christ, thy triumphs now begin
O’er captive death and conquered sin. - Ride on, ride on in majesty!
The angel armies of the sky
Look down with sad and wond’ring eyes
To see the approaching sacrifice. - Ride on, ride on in majesty!
In lowly pomp ride on to die.
Bow thy meek head to mortal pain,
Then take, O God, thy pow’r and reign.
By Carol Geisler. © 2020 Creative Communications for the Parish, a division of Bayard, Inc., 1564 Fencorp Dr., Fenton, MO 63026. 800-325-9414. www.creativecommunications.com. All rights reserved. Reprinted with Permission
ANNIVERSARIES THIS WEEK
Terry & Barbara Robertson 4/7/1984 (36)
BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK
Tracy Hadenfeldt 4/5
Lilah Kenney 4/5
Isaiah Nation 4/5
Shelby Kenney 4/6
Trystan Wright 4/6
Don Deines 4/8
Scott Reynolds 4/8
Riley Adams 4/10
Kaitlyn Luhn 4/11
Offering Updates (THANK YOU to all who have donated during this time. Offerings may be dropped off at Pathway Bank Drive-Up Window, please let them know which Fund you want your donation to go towards.)
PRAYERS THIS WEEK
UPDATE from Rebecca Hadenfeldt on her Aunt – Aunt Linda Johnson has come home from the hospital. She is now under quarantine for her safety & others with her husband. She is on oxygen, but she is home. She continues to need recovery with physical and occupational therapy. Thank you all so much for your prayers and God’s blessings for her and her family. Please continue to follow the directive health measures, wash your hands, and if able, please stay home. Pray for all those that are being affected by this. Rebecca Hadenfeldt
Suffering from Cancer
Flora Meester, friend of Catherine Garrett
Cheryl Klock, Julie Whitefoot’s Sister
Barb Meyer
Jeff Bexten, Former member of CLC
Pat Hughes, Barb Teichmeier’s Sister
Judy Kemptar, Kristin Schultz mother
Deb Homolka, Rick Gilbert’s Sister
Lorie Stahl, Ravenna NE.
Sunday, April 5 – Palm Sunday
Is. 50:4–9a, Psalm 118:19–29 or 31:9–16
Phil. 2:5–11, John 12:12–19
No in Person worship or activities for the next two weeks,
keep in mind these dates may change as updates come in regarding COVID-19.
Monday April 6
Tuesday April 7
Wednesday April 8
Thursday April 9
Friday April 10
Saturday April 11
Sunday, April 12 – Easter Sunday
Ex. 14:10—15:1, Psalm 118:15–29
1 Cor. 15:1–11, John 20:1–18
SAVE the DATE
Moses Basket Auction POSTPONED
Church Clean Up Day (Outside & Inside) POSTPONED
Habitat For Humanity Build for April POSTPONED – Megan will contact in May with new dates
GO BIG GIVE May 7
Vacation Bible School May 26-29
Project Hunger Easter Basket Extravaganza June 6
Our 100th Anniversary Celebration July 10 & 11, 2021
Central NE Orphan Grain Train
Due to the out break of COVID-19 cases in central Nebraska, we are suspending volunteer groups at the Grand Island warehouse for the month of April. The warehouse will continue to be open for donations during the regular hours of 10AM to 2PM Monday through Friday. Any questions should be directed to 308-380-3730. Dick Troester – Manager, Central Nebraska Branch
Habitat For Humanity Build on April 18 POSTPONED Megan from HFH will contact us in May for future build dates.
HLHS Red Cross Blood Drive
Thursday, April 23rd, 2020 from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm the Heartland Lutheran National Honor Society Students will be hosting a Blood Drive for the Red Cross. Please consider coming in to donate and helping them reach their goal of over 30 usable units –reaching 30 usable units will make HLHS students eligible for a $1000 Scholarship through the Red Cross. So your donation will not only help the Community but HLHS students as well. The HLHS office is currently closed, we are encouraging you to sign up online at redcrossblood.org or using the Blood Donor App on your smartphone. Students age 16 are eligible to donate with parental consent. Please see attached form. Blessings, The HLHS National Honor Society Beth Leech – Office Administrator – Heartland Lutheran High School, 3900 W. Husker Hwy. Grand Island, NE 68803, 308-385-3900, office@heartlandlutheran.org
LHM – Lutheran Hour Ministries UPDATEClick the links below to find helpful resources from the Lutheran Hour Ministries during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
https://www.lhm.org/covid-19/
https://www.lutheranhour.org/programguide.asp
Christ Lutheran Church
Cairo, NE
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
