The Week Everything Changed!

FUMC – Worship at Home (with Communion) due to Face to Face
Worship Cancelled during to Coronavirus
April 5, 2020 — Palm Sunday

Follow along in this service by clicking on the links
for music, message, etc., coming back to the service
after each.

NOTE:  Communion will be celebrated in this service,
with special permission during these difficult
circumstances from the Bishop and District Superintendent. 
If you plan to participate, please set your table before you
begin.  Maybe put out a special tablecloth, some candles.
A plate with your bread and cups for the juice.
Perhaps add some flowers or something special that
is meaningful for you.    If you don’t have juice and bread,
substitute what you do have.  It does not matter so much
what you use, but the symbol that it represents.  The
elements are considered an outward sign of an inward grace.
God comes to us in the communion, not us to God.  God is
with us even when we are separate from each other.

*Call to Worship (we will use this Psalm this morning in its entirety)  If you are worshipping in the company of your family, perhaps someone read this out loud, or take turns reading.

            Psalm 118 

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

² Let Israel say:
    “His love endures forever.”
³ Let the house of Aaron say:
    “His love endures forever.”
⁴ Let those who fear the Lord say:
    “His love endures forever.”

⁵ When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord;
    he brought me into a spacious place.
⁶ The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
    What can mere mortals do to me?
⁷ The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
    I look in triumph on my enemies.

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in humans.
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
    than to trust in princes.
¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
¹¹ They surrounded me on every side,
    but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees,
    but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;
    in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall,
    but the Lord helped me.
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and my defense^[a];
    he has become my salvation.

¹⁵ Shouts of joy and victory
    resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!
¹⁶     The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
    the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
¹⁷ I will not die but live,
    and will proclaim what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me severely,
    but he has not given me over to death.
¹⁹ Open for me the gates of the righteous;
    I will enter and give thanks to the Lord.
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord
    through which the righteous may enter.
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
    you have become my salvation.

²² The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone;
²³ the Lord has done this,
    and it is marvelous in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
    let us rejoice today and be glad.

²⁵ Lord, save us!
    Lord, grant us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
    From the house of the Lord we bless you.^[b]
27 The Lord is God,
    and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
    up^[c] to the horns of the altar.

²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you;
    you are my God, and I will exalt you.

²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
    his love endures forever.

*Praise —

Oh My Soul – Casting Crowns — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DIi0DRq6ww

Praise Him in the Storm — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoqbKyeKOBI

Children’s Church —

Palm Sunday School Lessons “Jesus Makes The Triumphant Entry”

Prayer

As we come to you today precious Lord, our world is in a state of chaos.  Nothing is as what it was and we struggle to keep our heads above it all.  We are drawing in to you to try to find some sense of normalcy.  As we celebrate the day of your bittersweet entry into Jerusalem all those years ago, we recognize that the world changed that week too.  Nothing was the same after that day.  The world changed.  While it is hard to live through changing times, we are reminded that all that change was in God’s ultimate plan for the good of ALL His people, not just those in that little specific geographic area of the world.  As hard as it is for us to do this, Lord, we put our hand into your hand and hold onto you with the fierceness that we dare not lose you as we walk tentatively into new uncertain times.  You want nothing but the best for us. You love us more than we love each other.   Your love for us gave you the strength to take that journey into Jerusalem all those years ago.  It is now that we hold onto our love for you as we step into our journey from this day forward.

We come with hearts full of joy for so many good things happening around us and at the same time heavy for all those who are struggling and suffering, either with economic situations or health situations or in peace in general.   We come to you admitting our own fear and anxiety as we face the unknown ahead of us.  We lift up specifically (fill in the blank with your own personal concerns).   We put this all in your hands knowing full well the breadth of what you can do is beyond even our own imagination.  We lift all these folks before you using the prayer that you taught us:   Lord’s Prayer…..Amen

Scripture – Matthew 21:1-11

21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ² saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴ This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

⁵ “Say to Daughter Zion,
    ‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
    and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”

⁶ The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. ⁸ A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,

“Hosanna to the Son of David!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

¹⁰ When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹ The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Message followed with Communion – The Week Everything Changed — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIB2RDM7Ww8&feature=youtu.be

 

 

*Hymn – All Glory, Laud and Honor — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3a8fTTrAdE

Offering

Take this time to put together your gift back to God of your tithe to the church and mail it to First United Methodist Church of Herkimer, PO Box 88, Herkimer, NY 13350.   Consider having your bank automatically send your gift to the church either weekly, monthly or in whatever way you prefer.   During this time the church is especially challenged to meet payroll and pay bills.   The bills do not change when we are not coming together and taking an offering.  Also use this time to brainstorm ideas in how you can reach out tangibly to others to show God’s love to the people around you this week even while living in a self-quarantine state.   I am sure you can get creative.

Prayer of Dedication –

Holy God, sovereign over power and pain, glorious triumph and deep disappointment, we enter this holy week bringing our tithes and offerings to your altar and leaving them here in the hope you will send them to make the world a more loving and compassionate place. We are reminded through the scripture that you sent two of your disciples out to make the world ready for your coming: “Go into the village . . . find the donkey . . . tell them the Lord has need.” Remind us that your kingdom breaks into the world not as a spectacle for us to witness but as a parade where we are called to make a working contribution. We pray in the name of the one who comes not just for the parade, but for the cross at the end of it. Amen. (Matthew 21:1-11)

Benediction

Lord, just as we have entered Jerusalem with you, be with us in all the Jerusalems we will be facing. Guide our steps. Encourage our hearts. Give us abundant faith to follow you. AMEN.

Passing the Peace of God — 

Now that the worship service is over, call or reach out to someone from the church to pass the peace with them over the phone or video chat.

* Stand in body or spirit