Maundy Thursday: 18 Apr 2019 – Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14; John 13:1-15 ~ an example to follow

Maundy Thursday

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

Heavenly Father, in you we live and move and have our being: We humbly ask you to guide and govern us by your Holy Spirit, that in all the cares and occupations of our life we may not forget you, but may remember that we are ever walking in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reading from the Old Testament – Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 (NLT)

While the Israelites were still in the land of Egypt, the Lord gave the following instructions to Moses and Aaron:

“From now on, this month will be the first month of the year for you. Announce to the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for a sacrifice, one animal for each household. If a family is too small to eat a whole animal, let them share with another family in the neighborhood. Divide the animal according to the size of each family and how much they can eat. The animal you select must be a one-year-old male, either a sheep or a goat, with no defects.

“Take special care of this chosen animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of this first month. Then the whole assembly of the community of Israel must slaughter their lamb or young goat at twilight. They are to take some of the blood and smear it on the sides and top of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the animal. That same night they must roast the meat over a fire and eat it along with bitter salad greens and bread made without yeast.
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“These are your instructions for eating this meal: Be fully dressed, wear your sandals, and carry your walking stick in your hand. Eat the meal with urgency, for this is the Lord’s Passover. On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn son and firstborn male animal in the land of Egypt. I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt, for I am the Lord! But the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

“This is a day to remember. Each year, from generation to generation, you must celebrate it as a special festival to the Lord. This is a law for all time.
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Reading from the New Testament – John 13:1-15 (NLT)

Before the Passover celebration, Jesus knew that his hour had come to leave this world and return to his Father. He had loved his disciples during his ministry on earth, and now he loved them to the very end. It was time for supper, and the devil had already prompted Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him.

When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

“No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me.”

Simon Peter exclaimed, “Then wash my hands and head as well, Lord, not just my feet!”

Jesus replied, “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.” For Jesus knew who would betray him. That is what he meant when he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you.
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“The Proof Of Your Love” – for KING & COUNTRY

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Closing Prayer:

Almighty God: On the night he was betrayed, your beloved Son set the example for sacrificial love, and instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood. Mercifully grant that we might receive this holy mystery with thanksgiving, and love others as we are loved, in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Wednesday of Holy Week: 17 Apr 2019 – Isaiah 50:4-9, Matthew 26:14-25 ~ “Am I the one, Lord?”

Wednesday of Holy Week

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

O Lord, our heavenly Father, almighty and everlasting God, you have brought us safely to the beginning of this day: Defend us by your mighty power, that we may not fall into sin nor run into any danger; and that guided by your Spirit, we may do what is righteous in your sight; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reading from the Old Testament – Isaiah 50:4-9 (NLT)

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will.

The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame. He who gives me justice is near.

Who will dare to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!
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Reading from the New Testament – Matthew 26:14-25 (NLT)

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the leading priests and asked, “How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you?” And they gave him thirty pieces of silver. From that time on, Judas began looking for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

“As you go into the city,” he told them, “you will see a certain man. Tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time has come, and I will eat the Passover meal with my disciples at your house.’” So the disciples did as Jesus told them and prepared the Passover meal there.

When it was evening, Jesus sat down at the table with the Twelve. While they were eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.”

Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one, Lord?”

He replied, “One of you who has just eaten from this bowl with me will betray me. For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

Judas, the one who would betray him, also asked, “Rabbi, am I the one?”

And Jesus told him, “You have said it.”
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“Psalm 69” – Lord, In Your Great Love, Answer Me – Eric Becker

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Closing Prayer:

Assist us mercifully with your grace, Lord God of our salvation; that we may enter with joy upon the meditation of those mighty acts by which you have promised us life and immortality; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Tuesday of Holy Week: 16 Apr 2019 – Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38 ~ you will bring me glory

Tuesday of Holy Week

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

Mighty God, you are the author of peace and the lover of harmony, to know you is eternal life and to serve you is perfect freedom: Defend us, your humble servants, in all assaults of our enemies; that we, surely trusting in your defense, may not fear the power of any adversaries, through the might of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reading from the Old Testament – Isaiah 49:1-6 (NLT)

Listen to me, all you in distant lands! Pay attention, you who are far away! The Lord called me before my birth; from within the womb he called me by name. He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword. He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand. I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

He said to me,

“You are my servant, Israel, and you will bring me glory.”

I replied, “But my work seems so useless! I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose. Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand; I will trust God for my reward.”

And now the Lord speaks—the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant, who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him. The Lord has honored me, and my God has given me strength. He says,

“You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

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Reading from the New Testament – John 13:21-33, 36-38 (NLT)

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!”

The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he could mean. The disciple Jesus loved was sitting next to Jesus at the table. Simon Peter motioned to him to ask, “Who’s he talking about?” So that disciple leaned over to Jesus and asked, “Lord, who is it?”

Jesus responded, “It is the one to whom I give the bread I dip in the bowl.” And when he had dipped it, he gave it to Judas, son of Simon Iscariot. When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus told him, “Hurry and do what you’re going to do.” None of the others at the table knew what Jesus meant. Since Judas was their treasurer, some thought Jesus was telling him to go and pay for the food or to give some money to the poor. So Judas left at once, going out into the night.

As soon as Judas left the room, Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. And since God receives glory because of the Son, he will give his own glory to the Son, and he will do so at once. Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.
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Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?”

And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.”

“But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.”

Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
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“Psalm 71:14-17” – Stracathro Scottish Metrical Psalter 1650
(Free Church of Scotland)

But I with expectation will hope continually;
And yet with praises more and more I will thee magnify.

Thy justice and salvation my mouth abroad shall show,
Ev’n all the day; for I thereof the numbers do not know.

And I will constantly go on in strength of God the Lord;
And thine own righteousness, ev’n thine alone, I will record.

For even from my youth, O God, by thee I have been taught;
And hitherto I have declared the wonders thou hast wrought.
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Closing Prayer:

O Lord our God, your beloved Son our Savior gave his back to be whipped and did not hide his face from shame and spitting: Give us grace to accept joyfully the sufferings of the present time, confident of the glory that shall be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Monday of Holy Week: 15 Apr 2019 – Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11 ~ chosen to demonstrate righteousness

Monday of Holy Week

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening Sentence:

O God, King eternal: Your light divides the day from the night and turns the shadow of death into the morning. Drive away from us all wrong desires, incline our hearts to obey your Word, and guide our feet into the way of peace. Fill us with your Spirit that we may do your will cheerfully during the day, so that when night comes we may rejoice and give you thanks; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Reading from the Old Testament – Isaiah 42:1-7 (NLT)

“Look at my servant, whom I strengthen. He is my chosen one, who pleases me. I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring justice to the nations.

“He will not shout or raise his voice in public. He will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle. He will bring justice to all who have been wronged. He will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the earth. Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.”

God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says,

“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.”
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Reading from the New Testament -John 12:1-11 (NLT)

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

When all the people heard of Jesus’ arrival, they flocked to see him and also to see Lazarus, the man Jesus had raised from the dead. Then the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too, for it was because of him that many of the people had deserted them and believed in Jesus.
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“Psalm 27 (One Thing)” – Shane and Shane

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Closing Prayer:

Almighty God: Your beloved Son first suffered pain and crucifixion, before entering into the joy of glory. In your mercy, grant that we too may find the way of the cross to be the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Palm Sunday, 14 April 2019: Philippians 2:6-11; Luke 19:28-40 ~ the humble King

Palm Sunday

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening Prayer:

Almighty and eternal God: You sent our Savior into the world out of live for us. In humble obedience he took upon himself a body like ours and gave himself up to death on the cross. In your mercy, grant us the grace to learn from the example of his passion and to share in the glory of his resurrection. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever. Amen.
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“At the Name of Jesus” – First-Plymouth Church (Lincoln, Nebraska)

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A Reading from the Letters: Philippians 2:6-11 (NLT)

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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A Reading from the Gospels: Luke 19:28-40 (NLT)

After telling this story, Jesus went on toward Jerusalem, walking ahead of his disciples. As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead. “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”

So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”

And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.” So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.

As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him. When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.

“Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”

But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”

He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
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“Israel: Jerusalem: Palm Sunday Parade” – AP


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Intercessions:

Sovereign God: You sent your Son into the world to save us. Come to us now, in this our time of need. We pray especially –

+ For all believers pondering the events of Holy Week…. Lord, renew us.
+ For the Jewish people, in preparation for Passover…. Lord, redeem them.
+ For those suffering the effects of natural disasters…. Lord, help them.
+ For those suffering the effects of war and violence…. Lord, deliver them.
+ For those who are sick in body, mind, or spirit…. Lord, heal them.
+ For all who are lost, in bondage to sin and death…. Lord, rescue them.

Compassionate God: In the death and resurrection of Jesus you have shown your love for us. Hear our prayers and grant them, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Hymn: “Humble King” – Charl Folscher

Benediction:

For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering. Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.” (Romans 8:16-18)

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen