CALL to WORSHIP: Psalm 148.1-4, 13, 14.

1. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. 2. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
3. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. 4. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. 
13.Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendour is above the earth and the heavens.
14.He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the Lord.

 PRAYER: Approach / Adoration / Confession / Supplication

 1st HYMN: Hosanna, loud hosanna. [WORDS: Jennette Threlfall, 1821-80; MUSIC: “Ellkacombe”, Mainz Gesangbuch, c. 1833].

 Children entered with palm fronds and made their contribution to the worship service

 2nd HYMN: Lift high the Cross. [WORDS: Michael Robert Newbolt, 1874 – 1956; MUSIC: “Crucifer” and refrain, Sydney Hugo Nicholson, 1875 – 1947].

 BIBLE READING: Old Testament - Isaiah 52.13 – 53.12

13.See, my servant will act wisely he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14.Just as there were many who were appalled at him—  his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness— 15.so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand. 53.Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2.He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3.He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4.Surely he took up our infirmities nd carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5.But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6.We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7.He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8.By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 9.He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10.Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.        11. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12.Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.  

PRAYER: Thanksgiving / Intercession / the “Lord’s Prayer”

BIBLE READING: New Testament (Epistle) - Hebrews 10.1-10

1.The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2.If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshippers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins. 3.But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins, because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. 5.Therefore, when Christ came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; 6. with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. 7.Then I said, ‘Here I am—it is written about me in the scroll— I have come to do your will, O God.’” 8.First he said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them” (although the law required them to be made). 9.Then he said, “Here I am, I have come to do your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10.And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

BIBLE READING: New Testament (Gospel) - Matthew 21.1-11

 SERMON: “Messiah ~ Enters Jerusalem”

1 INTRODUCTION

How much easier it would be for us if the Easter celebrations stopped at this morning – Palm Sunday. Today we read of Jesus entering Jerusalem acclaimed as the descendant of David – the One who was to put everything right. It would be wonderful if all He had to do was to go to the religious authorities; explain to them what God was about; what He was about; and that, through Him, everyone could enter Heaven, and the authorities accepted what He said and committed themselves to Him and preached the new message to the people.

That would be great. We wouldn’t be left wondering why “Good Friday”, when Jesus died an agonising, undeserved death, is called “good”1. We wouldn’t have to wonder why God would do such a thing to His own, sinless Son? We wouldn’t have to worry whether we might actually be sinners. We could go on doing what we have always done without worrying about eternity.

What is more, we wouldn’t have to be bothered about explaining away how a man who was dead could live again. The Resurrection wouldn’t tempt us to believe that science, logic and philosophy have all the answers. We wouldn’t have to be concerned about committing ourselves to a sovereign God – we would be able to go through life saying that we trust ourselves and our fellow man without reservation.

2. THE ENTRY WAS JUST THE BEGINNING

But, sadly, Easter doesn’t end here. Easter continues:

1. the plotting of the religious authorities;
2. the betrayal of Judas;
3. the mock trial with its lying witnesses;
4. king Herod taunting Jesus;
5. the crowd baying for Jesus’ blood and setting free the criminal Barabbas;
6. the weak Pilate – despite acknowledging that the death penalty was not warranted – condemning Jesus to be crucified; and
7. the physical, emotional and, above all else, spiritual agony of Golgotha.

Yes, Easter continues from triumph to tragedy. Easter is not a neat, tidy, pleasant celebration. The crowds that cried, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!” changed its tune and bellowed, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

3. EASTER MAKES US PAUSE AND THINK

Easter doesn’t stop with wild acclamations of admiration, acclamation and adoration. Easter continues through callousness, collusion and crucifixion. And so Easter makes us pause to think. Could we, in any way, be responsible for the events that followed Palm Sunday? Could we, perhaps, not be as perfect as we think we are? Is it possible that we need God? that we need Jesus? that we are doomed without committing our lives to Him? Are we going to have to stop and think this Easter? Are we going to have to take stock of our lives: what we have done; what we do; what we want to do? Might we have to change? Might we have to submit to Jesus? Might we have to accept Him as our Saviour? Might we have to stop living selfishly and live for Jesus and our fellow man instead? Can it be that we are not sufficient in ourselves? Could it be that we are sinners in need of a saviour, and might we actually need Jesus to be that Saviour?

3rd HYMN: Ride on! ride on in majesty. [WORDS: Henry Hart Milman, 1791 - 1868; MUSIC: “Crasselius”, Musikalisch Hand-Buch, Hamburg, 1690].

BENEDICTION:
THREE-FOLD “AMEN”