10th. April. 2022. Service.
Inverkeithing Parish Church linked with
North Queensferry Church
Worship April 10th 2o22
Prelude “Hosanna”
Hymn 78 “O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness” Words below*
Collect: Almighty and ever living God, in your tender love for the human race you sent your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility: Mercifully grant that we may walk in the way of his suffering, and also share in his resurrection; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Hymn 124 “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”
Hymn 78 “O set ye open unto me the gates of righteousness” Words below*
The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
Jesus humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.
Hosanna! Blessed is our King who comes in the name of the Lord!
Therefore, God has highly exalted him and given him the name that is above every name.
Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, ever three and ever one!
Prayer
Gracious God, we praise you for the persevering love that prompted Christ to set his face to Jerusalem, knowing that suffering and death awaited him. We rejoice that Jesus allowed nothing to divert him from his chosen course, trusting your grace to sustain him even when evil threatened to overwhelm him. Thank you, Father, for your unconquerable love!
Yet we confess it is easier for us to follow the crowd than to follow Christ in his way of self-giving love. We allow the strident voices of our times to drown out your still, small voice within us. We are swayed by public opinion rather than by the enduring values of your kingdom. Forgive us, O God. Remind us, in the face of our celebrity-obsessed culture, that there is only one constant we can rely on: your steadfast love revealed in Jesus Christ. Give us the courage to travel with Christ all the way to the cross, so that we may hear his words of healing and comfort: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” It is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
In his first letter to Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote: “This saying is sure and worthy of our full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the foremost”. To the penitent thief on the cross beside him, Jesus promised he would be with him in Paradise. It doesn’t matter how big or how small our sins, your forgiving love in Jesus Christ can cover them all Father we believe the gospel: in Jesus Christ we are forgiven. Amen.
Gracious God, we will hear the familiar story of Jesus’ final days, help us listen as if we had never heard this story before. Enthrall us, shock us, overwhelm us, that your undying love may seep into the secret places of our lives and redirect our lives into the pathway of salvation. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
North Queensferry
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever Amen.
The Intimations
Holy Week services will be held on Maundy Thursday, April 14th Communion at 7:00pm in Inverkeithing Parish Church and Good Friday, April 15th at 7:00pm in North Queensferry Church.
There will be a meeting of the North Queensferry Session and Board to which interested members are invited re the proposed Presbytery Plan will be held at 7 pm on Wednesday 20th April in the Church.
The Inverkeithing Kirk Session will meet at 7 pm on Wednesday 21st April in the church re the proposed Presbytery Plan.
Coffee mornings will be held in Inverkeithing each Tuesday at 10:00am and in North Queensferry on Wednesday 13th April at 10:30am.
A Thanksgiving Service for the life of the Rev’d Isabel Whyte will be held at 2pm on Monday 18th April in Inverkeithing Parish Church.
We are also saddened to intimate the death of another member, Mrs Bunty Geddes on Friday. The funeral arrangements will be intimated in due course. Please remember their grieving families in your prayers.
The Offering
On this Sunday, we remember that Christ faced his critics, looked danger in the eye, and gave up his life on the cross for us. May we in turn to find courage to give up something in gratitude for all he gave. Let us present our offering to God with grateful hearts.
Dedication
Gracious God, when we look at what you have done for us in Jesus Christ, our offering seems so small. Yet the story of Jesus tells us five loaves and two fish can feed a multitude, and a man condemned to death on a cross becomes Living Bread for a hungry world. Accept the gifts we offer you today and use them to ensure that Jesus’ story will be told for generations to come. Amen. Amen.
All Age Talk
Do you like a parade?
Here is a parade that happens every year in Edinburgh when the Queen has a special ceremony for the Order of the Thistle. It is very grand occasion when important people go to a service in St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile.
Jesus and His followers were traveling to the city of Jerusalem. The city was going to have a big celebration called Passover that would last for a whole week. Have you ever been to a party that lasted a whole week? As they were traveling, they came to a place called the Mount of Olives. They stopped there and Jesus gave His disciples some special instructions. “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 donkey?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
So, the disciples went and found the young donkey, just as Jesus had told them they would. And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owner asked them, “Why are you untying that donkey?” Hmm…now what was it they were supposed to say? Right! They simply answered, “The Lord needs it.”
The disciples took the young donkey to Jesus, and they put coats on its back so that Jesus would have a nice, soft seat as He rode into town. Word spread quickly through the town that Jesus was coming. He had become quite famous because people had heard about His healing the sick and even raising the dead. As Jesus entered the town, a large crowd had gathered. People began to throw their coats on the road in front of Jesus. They cut branches from the palm trees and waved them and they began to shout, “Hosanna! Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.”
It must have been quite the parade as Jesus went through the streets of Jerusalem with everyone waving and cheering. (Invite kids to celebrate with their parade prop.) We call this celebration Palm Sunday. But as exciting as all this was, the people really did not know who Jesus was. They thought He was going to set up an earthly kingdom and that He would do great things for them here on earth. They did not understand that His kingdom was in heaven. In just a few days, these same people who were shouting, “Hosanna!” would be shouting, “Crucify Him!” because He wasn’t the kind of king they wanted.
The Good News today is that Jesus is King. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Today we are here to praise Him, and we shout, “Hosanna!” Do you know what that word means? It means “Save now!” That is why we shout hosanna, because Jesus saves — Jesus alone.
Dear Father, our voices join with the voices of the people in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. He is our hope and our salvation. In His name we pray. Amen
Here is a video about this
Hymn 368 “Shout Hosanna, welcome to Jesus the King”
Reading Isaiah 50:4-9a
4 The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.
5 The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears.
I have not been rebellious,
I have not turned away.
6 I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.
8 He who vindicates me is near.
Who then will bring charges against me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my accuser?
Let him confront me!
9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me.
Who will condemn me?
They will all wear out like a garment,
the moths will eat them up. Amen.
Hymn 367 “Hosanna, loud hosanna”
Luke 19:28-40
28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 ‘Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” say, “The Lord needs it.”’
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’
34 They replied, ‘The Lord needs it.’
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!’
‘Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples!’
40 ‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’
Amen, this is the word of the Lord, to Him be all glory and praise.
Hymn 364 “All glory, laud and honour”
Sermon
Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of God! Peace in heaven and glory the highest!”
One of the things which I have enjoyed in returning to Scotland after nearly thirty years overseas is the rediscovery of the things which we traditionally associate with Easter in the northern hemisphere. It is what has been called “that wonderful congruence of dynamic new life: snowdrops, daffodils, hyacinths and the green budding on trees after the long, cruel winter, and the joyful greetings: “Christ is risen.” In Russia the traditional spring hymn is “Rejoice for Christ is risen” as the snow finally melts, and the green blade rises.
But consider this Passion or Palm Sunday in the Southern Hemisphere season of autumn was also very appropriate for the mood of Holy week. Especially in the southern and inland areas, especially when Palm Sunday occurs later in April. There is a glorious yet melancholy feeling about Autumn. All around is ravishing beauty and some of the most splendid autumn colours in the world occur in Western NSW where they rival the eastern states and provinces of North America. But at Easter, instead of the immediate wonder the of resurrection and spring beauty there is the beginning of the cold grey of winter.
In Autumn the milder sun highlights the colours and there are the grapevines, peaches, plum, nectarine and apple trees wearing their golden and russet leaves. That beauty evokes a feeling of joy which suffused with sadness. This beauty will quickly be gone. The warm sunshine will soon be diluted and often hidden behind clouds. Inexorably winter will arrive and much of the country will seem bleak and bare.
Passion Sunday is like that. There is much to celebrate. We glory in the beauty of Christ arriving at Jerusalem on the peaceable colt. In our mind’s eye we watch the crowds and see the waving tree branches, and we are moved by the sight of some followers throwing their cloaks down on the road in front of his donkey.
We hear the excitement of the crowd of pilgrims and listen to them shouting: Hosanna! Blessed is the king who comes in the name of God! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” We are delighted and grateful that for once he is getting something of the praise his loving name warrants. Yet like autumn, the sadness is here also.
Winter is near for Jesus. We know that this sunlit scene will be followed soon by the dark chill of Gethsemane, the ill wind of arrest and trials, the hail of abuse and whipping, and the final storm of his sufferings and cruel death. There is the reminder that in the midst of life there is death, and we need to embrace both with open arms.
Joy and sadness are entwined in life. If we try just to find only happiness and avoid the bitterness, we will be stunted in our growth. In a peculiar way, that we cannot adequately explain, the glory and the melancholy of the autumn season are inseparable partners, and our experience is the richer for it. Palm Sunday is a profound joy because it is inseparable from Good Friday when the grief is total.
This year our spring has been blighted by the ongoing horror of the pandemic and now by a war that has unleashed cruelty and evil that we thought was a thing of the past. It is as if the world is being stirred up in an apocalyptic way. Earthquakes, volcanoes, global warming and its effects and the sense that the world is on the edge of another major war have had devastating impact.
One of the alternative readings for this Sunday is from Luke chapter 23 in which we read the accusation which the leaders of the Chief Priest and scribes made about Jesus to the Roman Governor, Pilate:
He stirs the people up by teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee where he began even to this place.” (Luke 23:5)
There is stirring up and there is stirring up, of course.
That word ‘stirring’ can also be translated as ‘shaking,’ — the sort of ‘shaking’ that comes with earthquakes -the sort of earthquake that we hear about over and over in scripture signalling times when God is powerfully, actively present. For example, on the mountaintop in Exodus when thunder lightning, fire, and smoke as well as an earthquake signified God’s presence with Moses. (Exodus 19:18)
Again, in the song that Deborah sings of a warrior God marching ‘When you, Lord, went out from Seir, when you marched from the land of Edom, the earth shook, the heavens poured, the clouds poured down water. The mountains quaked before the Lord, the One of Sinai, before the Lord, the God of Israel.’ Judges 5:4-5
Or in the words of the Prophet Isaiah (13:13), a sure sign of God’s judgment: Therefore, I will make the heavens tremble; and the earth will shake from its place at the wrath of the Lord Almighty, in the day of his burning anger.
It is obvious, of course, that the Chief Priests who use this word do not mean it as a compliment. For it seems that they see this shaking up as a threat that needs to be thwarted. For they would prefer that such stirring up, this shaking, this active presence of God should be kept at a comfortable distance from them. However, Jesus himself declared that he did not come to bring peace “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34) to turn the comfortably familiar upside down everything that people had become complacent about. Indeed, everything that kept everyone in their place and those who, wanted things kept as they had always been, who were more than comfortable with the status quo which suited only them.
Thus, it may be that the upheavals that threaten our comfortable lives are meant to stir us up, to turn us to the Lord with contrite hearts; to let the stirring up of our world evoke a stirring up in our minds and our souls
The Chief Priests who wanted to bring that ‘stirring up’ to a quiet end, failed totally. By arraigning Jesus before Pilate, they thought they were disposing of him, but instead were furthering his kingdom and bringing their own downfall. I came across the BBC Series “37 Days” about the lead up to World War One. The story tells of the belligerence and duplicity among the great nations after the assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand in Sarajevo and how those who sought to eliminate their enemies and grab territory succeeded only in destroying their own empires and monarchies. It is a chilling reflection on much of the madness of our global experience today.
Holy week then is a time of stirring up of fear, angst and grief and it is meant to stir us up. It contains elements such like these:
In the garden, where Jesus’ anguished prayers are accompanied by what is described as sweat turning to actual drops of blood and in the shame of the disciples who simply cannot stay awake.
We begin to feel the shaking, the stirring up building as Jesus prepared to enter Jerusalem. In the approaching soldiers in Gethsemane, led by one of his trusted followers, while Jesus continuing to be a bearer of wholeness and peace as he reached out and restored the severed ear of a slave.
In Jesus being led away and in Peter’s quickly fulfilling Jesus’ own words about him, denying the deep personal connection he had to Jesus.
We are stirred to our core because we know it only gets worse with the mocking, the blindfolding, the insulting while Jesus stood firm before the chief priests and the scribes. In the trial before Pilate and his silently standing before Herod and in the ongoing accusations the contempt, the mocking.
Don’t you wonder if those who engineered his arrest, his violent death, have imagined that these images would still stir us two thousand years later as we think of the unjust release of Barabbas and in the blood thirsty shouts to crucify. In the agonizing walk Golgotha and in Simon of Cyrene compelled to carry the cross, and in the wailing of the women, and in the fate of the others crucified beside him?
Even now, for us who have read and heard and seen all this portrayed a thousand times, we are stirred by the promise of Paradise, by the darkness at noon, by the last words of Jesus and by the resounding words of the Centurion and by those who took the body, wrapped it in a linen cloth, laying it in an unused tomb and by the women who followed behind, taking note of where he was.
Perhaps those who are stirring up the world today may not be aware that the earthquake has only just begun and that it is God, not they, who will determine the outcome
These past almost three years have stirred up our lives to a greater or lesser degree than has been evident for the past nearly eighty years. For many here and abroad the losses run deep and have left many wounds unhealed because of the pandemic, floods, fires famine and war. This week we may have thought that we have seen enough of the worst that humanity can do to each other in the atrocities in Ukraine. Too much of the suffering which follows is one loss too many when there hasn’t been time to heal before another comes along and adds to the distress. Today we need to collapse Palm Sunday and Passion Sunday into one, deliberately because the glory of the first is tinged with grief and sadness because we know where this story is taking us.
All we spoke of was yet to come, but at the same time there were moments of beauty and joy. Not just the adoring palm waving crowds welcoming Jesus, but his sharing a meal which those who loved him would re-enact, remembering it until the end of time. The compassionate healing of the man whose ear Peter cut off and when Jesus responded to the plea of the condemned man hanging beside him with his dying breath offering him a promise meant for us all. The Holy Spirit revealing the truth of Jesus to the centurion at the cross. These are moments of grace in the darkness. before that longed for Easter morning, heartbreakingly beautiful things which have the ground quaking beneath our feet: signs of God at work.
It we think of all this as the autumn of Jesus ministry as we suggested at the beginning and live through it to the desolation of Good Friday maybe we will recognize and take into ourselves the great truth that God is already at work.
Throughout life, we should not try to dodge the bitter in our desire for the sweet. Comfortable indulgence does not ennoble the soul but makes it shallow and trivial. Religious self-indulgence suffers the same terrible flaw. Faith is not all “happy clappy” it is a light that shines brightest in the darkness. Journeying through Holy Week, and especially Good Friday, is important.
There are some Christians who want to skip over Good Friday and fast forward to Easter. “Why be gloomy, the message of Easter is that Christ is not dead but risen. Put away those dismal thoughts and hymns.” But surely, we need to enter the sufferings and death of Christ if we are to appreciate fully the astounding Easter event. Easter eggs, bunnies, daffodils and bonnets are all very well, but without the autumn and winter of Holy Week they are pointless and sacrilegious.
Grief and suffering, Christ’s, and ours, should not be dodged. For many this is a time of grief, and it should be given its place. Funerals are designed for people’s need to experience their grief, and to experience it together in Christian community. Loss should be faced, and the reality of death acknowledged before the wonderful Christian hope can adequately be affirmed and celebrated. The comfort lies first in the knowledge that God knows and acknowledges the terrible pain then in the promise that there is resurrection. I often wonder if people hear the two parts of a funeral clearly and what those who cannot or will not believe the promise of resurrection are left with
One minister tells of the funeral of a young woman who died trying to rescue children from drowning. After the funeral a good friend said to him: “Thank you for your sensitivity and care, and for celebrating Robyn’s life so wonderfully, but for my part I needed to do a little more grieving than you allowed time for.” He really heard this and thought about it He had done much of his own grieving with the mother, but for some who had not fully faced the hard reality of death until they entered the church and looked upon the coffin, it was different. Maybe he had not given them sufficient time to grieve. He said he was grateful for his friend’s honest comment.
Happiness and melancholy belong together on Palm and Passion Sunday.
In Christ both can be embraced without fear, for he enters the fullness of both and from them “works an exceeding great glory.” Amen.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
Hosanna! Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven!
God of wonder, with the crowds who welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem with palm branches and songs of praise, we offer you our prayers of thanksgiving.
For family: for the simple joys of living together and eating together, for family conversations and shared pleasures…
For our church family here in —: for the fellowship we enjoy, for refreshing times of worshipping, praying, and working together we thank you, God.
For physical health and strength, for the capacity to enjoy this day, and for the gift of life itself we thank you, Lord.
For the many little things which we often take for granted but which make life meaningful: for good books and The Good Book, for music and harmony, for nutritious food and delectable desserts, for work to do and time to relax, for daily needs met and for small luxuries to enjoy…
We thank you, God.
For this good earth: the change of seasons, colourful flowers and budding trees, warm sunshine and singing birds, which herald the coming of spring
We thank you, God.
For the coming of Jesus Christ into our lives: for the forgiveness and peace, the love and joy we find in him.
We thank you, God.
And we thank you for those blessings for which we are particularly grateful this morning…
(silent prayers of thanksgiving)
For all your blessings, for the grace to enjoy them and the ability to share them with others
We thank you and praise you, O God, for all your goodness to us.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Hosanna! Praise the Lord!
Ever-present, ever-loving God, like the crowds who welcomed Jesus with hopeful hosannas one day yet cried for his crucifixion the next, we too can be fickle. Teach us to recognize your hand at work in both the good times as well as the dark and painful times of life. May we become mature disciples, ready to give thanks in all circumstances.
Hear our prayers, O God.
For your Son, Jesus, who came to share not just life’s joys and pleasures but also its suffering and pain; who wept at the grave of his friend, Lazarus, and who is present in all our tears…
We thank you, God.
For your faithfulness which upholds us in times of doubt, and sustains us whenever our energy and resources have been exhausted…
We thank you, God.
For hardships that strengthen us, for challenges that stretch us, for burdens that teach us to depend on you…
We thank you, God.
For rainy days that replenish the earth and help us appreciate sunshine; for raindrops and teardrops which reveal the rainbow in your great promises…
We thank you, God.
For your healing hand which upholds us in times of sickness, and for your resurrection power which brings life out of death…
We thank you, God.
For restlessness which keeps us yearning for real peace, for questions which keep us searching, for mistakes which teach us humility…
We thank you, God.
Yes, we thank you, Lord, for you are no stranger to suffering. You are an ever-present help in our times of trouble. Hear us now as we name those people and places in special need of your redeeming grace…
(silent prayers of intercession)
Compassionate God, we thank you that your light still shines in the darkness. and that nothing in all creation can separate us from your love in Christ Jesus. our Lord.
You are our God, and we give thanks to you; you are our God, and we praise you.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever!
All praise and thanks to you, O God.
Amen.
Hymn 458 “At the Name of Jesus”
The Benediction
Go now in joy!
Remember the day of celebration when Jesus boldly and humbly rode into the city of fear and anger. Do not fear. Do not be afraid.
Go in peace.
And the blessing of God Almighty the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit be with you and all whom you love this day and evermore. Amen
Postlude: Entry to Jerusalem
*1 Oh, set ye open unto me
the gates of righteousness;
then will I enter into them,
and I the Lord will bless.
2 This is the gate of God, by it
the just shall enter in.
Thee will I praise, who answered me
and hast my safety been.
3 That stone is made head corner-stone,
which builders did despise:
this is the doing of the Lord,
and wondrous in our eyes.
4 This is the day God made, in it
we’ll joy triumphantly.
Save now, I pray thee, Lord; I pray,
send now prosperity.
5 Thou art my God, I’ll thee exalt;
my God, I will thee praise.
Give thanks to God, for he is good:
his mercy lasts always.