Passion 2 / Palm Sunday
29/03/2026
SENTENCE FROM SCRIPTURE:
Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. (Psalm 31)
HYMN-
GREETING
Grace and peace to you from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
COLLECT FOR PURITY
Almighty God,
to whom all hearts are open,
all desires known,
and from whom no secrets are hidden:
cleanse the thoughts of our hearts
by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name;
through Christ our Lord. Amen.
SUMMARY OF THE LAW
Our Lord Jesus Christ said: The first commandment is this:
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.”
The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no other commandment greater than these. Amen. Lord, have mercy.
CONFESSION AND ABSOLUTION
God is love and we are God’s children. There is no room for fear in love. We love because God loved us first.
Let us confess our sins in penitence and faith.
SILENCE
God our Father,
we confess to you
and to our fellow members in the Body of Christ
that we have sinned in thought, word and deed,
and in what we have failed to do.
We are truly sorry.
Forgive us our sins,
and deliver us from the power of evil,
for the sake of your Son who died for us, Jesus Christ, our Lord.
ABSOLUTION
God, who is both power and love,
forgive you and free you from your sins,
heal and strengthen you by the Holy Spirit,
and raise you to new life in Christ our Lord. Amen.
LENT PROSE
sung by Sue Turner
COLLECT
Almighty God,
who, in your tender love for the human race,
sent your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ,
to take our nature upon him,
and to suffer death upon the cross,
giving us the example of his great humility:
mercifully grant,
that we may both follow the example of his passion,
and also, be made partakers
of his resurrection;
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, world without end. Amen
PROCLAIMING & RECEIVING GOD’S WORD
FIRST READING
Isaiah 50.4–9a
read by David Kerr
The servant of the LORD said: 4 The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of a teacher, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens – wakens my ear to listen as those who are taught.
5 The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious, I did not turn backwards. 6 I gave my back to those who struck me, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide my face from insult and spitting. 7 The Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; 8 he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me. 9 It is the Lord GOD who helps me; who will declare me guilty?
SECOND READING
Philippians 2.5–11
read by David Kerr
5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
GRADUAL HYMN
GOSPEL
Matthew 27, 11-54
Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew, Chapter 27, beginning at verse 11
Glory to Christ our Saviour
11 Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’ Jesus said, ‘You say so.’ 12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, ‘Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?’ 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed. 15 Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. 16 At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. 17 So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, ‘Whom do you want me to release for you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ 18 For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. 19 While he was sitting on the judgement seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him.’ 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. 21 The governor again said to them, ‘Which of the two do you want me to release for you?’ And they said, ‘Barabbas.’ 22 Pilate said to them, ‘Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?’ All of them said, ‘Let him be crucified!’ 23 Then he asked, ‘Why, what evil has he done?’ But they shouted all the more, ‘Let him be crucified!’ 24 So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.’ 25 Then the people as a whole answered, ‘His blood be on us and on our children!’ 26 So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him.
8 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ 30 They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. 32 As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots; 36 then they sat down there and kept watch over him.
37 Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’ 38 Then two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying, 40 ‘You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.’ 41 In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking him, saying, 42 ‘He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he wants to; for he said, “I am God’s Son.”’ 44 The bandits who were crucified with him also taunted him in the same way.
45 From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. 46 And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ 47 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, ‘This man is calling for Elijah.’ 48 At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the others said, ‘Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.’ 50 Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. 53 After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said, ‘Truly this man was God’s Son!’
Give thanks to the Lord for his glorious Gospel
Praise to Christ our Lord.
SERMON
Palm Sunday – and we have today read Matthew’s account of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. On the surface it reads like a simple story of joyous welcome: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!…” [Matt 21 v 9] Yet, even in the welcome there’s an undercurrent, a suggestion, of a conflicting voice: “…the whole city was in turmoil, asking, ‘Who is this?’…” [Matt 21 v 10] And that welcoming crowd, as we know, later becomes a crowd that cries, “Crucify”!
And then, within the triumphal entry, there’s also a kind of ‘theatre’ playing out, an acting out, referencing (as Matthew makes clear) the prophecy of Zechariah: “Look, your king is coming to you, humble and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” [Matt 21 v 5; Zech 9 v 9] ‘Your King’ – our Lord, Saviour and King – who sets His face to Jerusalem, where He will be arrested and crucified. A king unlike any other, humble, mounted on a donkey, the servant of all, yet the One in whom and through whom comes the healing, the salvation, the hope of our humanity, of our world.
Here, in this account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, is just one more example of His upending of the ways of our world, the values that our world too often and too easily espouses. Here again is the Jesus, who tells us that it is the poor who are blessed; that we are to love our enemies; that we need to receive the Kingdom as a child; who asks for water from a Samaritan woman and so breaks through the barriers of gender, race and social convention; who kneels at the feet of His disciples and washes them. Here is an upending of the world’s understanding of power. Here is a power and authority which has nothing to do with domination, bullying control, the use of force to achieve its purposes. Here is the One who shows us what God is like – the One whose very nature is love itself – who takes into Himself all that the world can throw at Him – who dies the death of a criminal and yet emerges victorious.
From this day of triumphant entry into the city, we journey with Jesus through this Holy Week to His arrest and the horror of crucifixion, but ultimately to the vindication of resurrection. And as we contemplate and reflect on the events that we remember today in particular – but also all that we will remember and celebrate during these coming days – we know that here is the One who shows us what God is like; here is the One who lives His life to show us what our humanity is meant to be, what our humanity can be; here is the One who dies and is raised to open the way to new relationship with God in which is the possibility of healing and hope for each one us and for our world.
So, may we, each one, know and experience the love of God for us – His love which knows us better than we know ourselves, yet accepts us as we are – His love which we see in Jesus, living, dying and rising. And may we walk our life’s journey with Him.
Amen.
THE CREED
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
God from God,
Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one substance with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven;
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father.
With the Father and the Son,
he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS
In our intercessions today we remember the events of the first Palm Sunday and during that week when the values of the kingdom of God and those of the earthly powers were set in stark contrast. We pray for the world, the church and ourselves.
To the bidding, Lord in your mercy, please respond
Hear our prayer
Let us pray.
Lord Jesus
you rode humbly into Jerusalem with no sword or crown. We pray for the rulers of the world that they may not seek their own glory nor try to extend their power by unjustified force but always strive to meet the needs of all people
we remember the people who sang your praises to welcome you into Jerusalem and those who called for your death 5 days later. Help us to be faithful in our love and worship, to speak of your goodness and greatness and not betray you by word or deed
you cleansed from the temple those who were seeking to exploit the pilgrims. We pray for organisations and individuals working to bring about justice in trade today
Lord in your mercy………………
Lord Jesus
we remember that as you taught in the Temple offering the word of life you were hemmed in by the small minded leaders of the people trying to trap you with petty questions. Guide your church that it may challenge the false values of the world and show the way to salvation
you commended a widow for the sacrificial offering she made out of the little she had. Everything we have has come from you and we can only give you what is yours already. Guide us in the responsible use of our time, our talents and our money
Lord in your mercy………..
Lord Jesus
you told the genuine questioner that after loving God our duty is to love our neighbour as ourselves. We pray that we may love our neighbours with the love that you have for us: those we know and those we never notice; those who are lonely or exhausted; those who claim our attention and those who are silent; those who live near us and those who are far away
Lord in your mercy
Lord Jesus
you have given us the example of serving others in the most humble way. Keep us mindful of the needs of those we meet and the ways in which we can share your love with them
Lord in your mercy…….
Lord Jesus you are the Prince of Peace. At this time we pray for peace in our world
Almighty God, from whom all thought of truth and peace proceed, kindle we pray in the hearts of all, the true love of peace and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the world, that in tranquillity your kingdom may go forward until the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love.
Merciful Father accept these prayers for the sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your 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.
Do not bring us
to the time of trial
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
BLESSING
Christ the Son of God gladden your hearts with the good news of his kingdom; and the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always. Amen.
HYMN –
DISMISSAL
Go in peace to love and serve the Lord
In the name of Christ. Amen
