Cruden Parish Church
(Church of Scotland)

Palm Sunday

10.00am, Sunday 28 March 2021

‘A cacophony of misplaced expectations!’

Welcome & Call to Worship

Jesus is coming!
From the mountainside, from the seaside,
from the homes of the rich
and the company of the poor,
from the bedside of those who are sick,

Jesus, King and Lord of all,
we worship and adore you.

Jesus is coming!
Along dusty roads,
with a ragged band of travellers,
Jesus comes to Jerusalem,

Jesus, King and Lord of all,
we worship and adore you.

Every knee shall bow;
every tongue confesses,
you are King of kings
and Lord of Lords,
to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus, King and Lord of all,
we worship and adore you.

Let us worship God

Hymn 279: Make way, make way

Make way, make way For Christ the King
In splendour arrives;
fling wide the gates and welcome him
Into your lives.
Make way! (Make way!)
Make way! (Make way!)
For the King of kings; (For the King of kings;)
Make way! (Make way!)
Make way! (Make way!)
and let His kingdom in.
He comes the broken hearts to heal,
the prisoners to free;
the deaf shall hear, the lame shall dance,
the blind shall see
And those who mourn with heavy hearts,
who weep and sigh,
With laughter, joy and royal crown
he'll beautify
We call you now to worship him
as Lord of all,
to have no gods before him,
their thrones must fall!
Graham Kendrick Copyright © 1986 Thankyou Music

Prayers of Approach & The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
you will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen

Bible Readings

Philippians 2:5-11
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
    did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
    by taking the very nature of a servant,
    being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
    he humbled himself
    by becoming obedient to death—
        even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
    and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

John 12:12-16

Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
“Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

Sermon: ‘A cacophony of chaos and misplaced expectations

Church News

Prayers of Intercession

Hymn 365: Ride on ride on in majesty!

Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Hark! all the tribes hosanna cry;
thy humble beast pursues his 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 winged squadrons of the sky
look down with sad and wondering eyes
to see the approaching sacrifice.
Ride on, ride on in majesty!
Thy last and fiercest strife is nigh;
the Father on his sapphire throne
expects his own anointed Son.
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 power and reign.

A closing reflection for Palm Sunday – after the parade

Silence
it is a strange thing at the end of a parade
silence

the echo of mayhem
the quietening murmurs of the small rebel crowd
now stealing into the shadows of alleyways
with whispered questions
of ‘what just happened?’
gather in a hush of silence
with the hope the stones no longer remain quiet
now that the hosannas have been stolen.

something happened here
but no one can name it
and belief doesn’t dare name at what might have begun
a messiah arrived
but the kingdom did not
palm branches
and cloaks
were strewn in mock adulation
but heaven remains silent

faith tells us we must we wait longer
a different voice is coming
and another moment
to name love

and crush this ache
and break this ironic silence
with the sound of death
and the shutting of a tomb

(written by the Rev Roddy Hamilton)

Blessing

Go into Holy Week,
walking in the footsteps of Christ.
May facing hard things allow transformation of your being,
that Easter light might be born in you.
The blessing of God of light,
creator, guide and Inspirer,
rest and remain with you now
and forevermore.
Amen

Time for coffee…

CRUDEN PARISH CHURCH NEWS

Worship
The Kirk Session have made the decision to restart public worship from Sunday 11th April. (This will still involve social distancing, the wearing of facemasks, no singing, and an enhanced cleaning regime. The service will also be broadcast live via the Facebook Page and availble for later viewing.

Songs of Praise
We are currently exploring ways of making the service more meaningful, given the absence of singing. Any suggestions?
Songs of Praise Service as we will be unable to sing in church, the session have suggested a Zoom songs of praise of service to be held after Easter. More details soon!

Walking for health and well-being
The group meets every Tuesday morning at 10.00 am, outside the St Olaf Hotel. Everybody welcome. (In case of inclement weather please check the Facebook page to ensure the group is going ahead!).

Pastoral Care
Please advise the minister if you know of anybody would appreciate a pastoral phone call. Sean can be contacted on 07791 755976 or sswindells@churchofscotland.org.uk

Coffee & Chat
Takes place at the end of the service. Please stay online if you wish to participate.

More information, please contact
Sean @ sswindells@churchofscotland.org.uk Tel. 07791 755976