GATHERING
THE CALL
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts!
We lift them up to the Lord!
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give Him thanks and praise!
CONFESSION OF FAITH
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
MEDITATION | Hebrews 2:10–13
“For it was fitting that he [Christ], for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying,
“I will tell of your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.”
And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
SING Psalm 134 (to the tune of the Doxology)
[Original lyrics by Lambertus J. Lamberts (1928), edited by Daniel J Snoke (2022)]
Come bless the LORD with one accord
You faithful servants of the LORD
Who in his house do stand by night
And praise him there with all your might
Lift up your hands and bless his name
From Zion may his blessings reign
The LORD who heav’n and earth has made
Bless you and keep you all your days
WORD
Read: Psalm 24 & Psalm 146
(Ps. 146:3) “Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is not salvation.”
Yesterday the church celebrated Palm Sunday, the grand entrance of Jesus into the city of Jerusalem.
Psalm 24 describes the entrance of God into the city. Perhaps it was originally used to describe the arrival of the ark of the covenant into the city (2 Sam 6.) I find that it captures the celebration of Jesus as he arrived in the city to shouts of praise (Mark 11.) While the people were quick to celebrate the entrance of a popular religious figure, they would soon turn on him when he did not meet their prior expectations.
The other side of the triumphal entry relates to the clear political overtones of the celebration. The people shouted “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! (Mark 11:10.) Perhaps they were quick to turn on Jesus when it became clear that he would not lead an army against the Roman Empire and bring a revolutionary political change. This also relates to our 2nd psalm for the day in which we are warned against putting too much hope in a human “prince.”
During this week we will be intentionally thinking about the events of the last two years. COVID shook the nations to the core and disrupted many of our normal life processes. Let’s allow the triumphal entry and the warnings of Psalm 146 to direct some questions for reflection.
1.)We are all “sons of man”, our breath departs and we go down to the earth (Ps 146:3-4) In what ways have the past two years revealed the frailty of the human condition?
2.)In what ways are we tempted to “trust in princes” for solutions to our problems? Does our political discord relate to our tendency to expect way too much from the government?
3.)In what ways can our daily struggles and disappointments better prepare us to long for the return of Jesus and the final coming of the Kingdom of God?
ABIDING
MONDAY-LECTIO DIVINA | Psalm 134
We memorize things we value. The brain has an incredible ability to remove information that we don’t need. As we make an effort to memorize the Psalms, the beginning of each week seeks to establish the value of God’s Word in our hearts before we view it as information to be remembered. Read more about the Lectio Divina HERE.
- Receive God’s Word from Psalm 134 as a gift as you read or listen.
- Re-read and meditate on the meaning of the Psalm. If you are in a group, briefly share an idea that applies to your life.
- Re-read and pick an attribute of the Psalm and pray from it in your own words.
- Re-read and silently contemplate how God has spoken to you through his Word.
SING: Gloria Patri
Glory be to the Father
And to the Son and to the Holy Ghost
As it was in the beginning
Is now and ever shall be world without end
Amen Amen
SENDING
PRACTICE
Many Christians throughout history have found it helpful to dedicate extra time for prayer, fasting, singing, and works of mercy during the week before Easter Sunday. As you anticipate remembering the saving work of Christ this weekend, here are a few ways you might do that:
- If you have been memorizing the Psalms of Ascents, spend time reciting them. If not, instead you can spend time meditating on their themes and images.
- Consider fasting from food during a meal, or an entire day to spend more time in prayer or acts of mercy.
- Gather with a few friends or family members to sing songs of worship together. If you want to sing the Psalms of Ascents from the past 90 days, you can find them HERE.
PRAYER
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever,
Amen.