Palm Sunday
Centering Practice
We invite you to slow down, breathe, and connect with God, each other, and yourself. Begin by taking a couple of slow, deep breaths. For today’s practice, we’re going to center ourselves in joy
- Think about a word or short phrase that expresses your praise to Jesus
- As we think about the worshipers on that first Palm Sunday, we invite you to stand and stretch your arms upward
- And, as you stretch, you can say your word of praise silently
Call to Worship
Hosanna! Salvation belongs to Jesus!
Open wide the gates of praise.
We welcome Jesus today
with branches and songs of praise.
Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to the King of kings!
Amen.
Worship Songs
Hosanna (Praise is Rising)
Praise is rising,
Eyes are turning to You
We turn to You
Hope is stirring,
Hearts are yearning for You
We long for You
‘Cause when we see You
We find strength to face the day
In Your Presence all our fears
Are washed away
Washed away
Hosanna, hosanna
You are the God who saves us
Worthy of all our praises
Hosanna, hosanna
Come have Your way among us
We welcome You here Lord, Jesus
Hear the sound of
Hearts returning to You
We turn to You
In Your kingdom
Broken lives are made new
You make us new
Sound of Adoration
When we were lost ones
You were the Shepherd that carried us home
When we were prodigals
You ran to meet us with open arms
And we can’t hold back our praise
When we were refugees
You were the One who took us in
When we were enemies
You paid the price for all our sin
And we can’t hold back our praise
This is the sound of adoration
Oh, how we love You
Jesus, we love You
You are the joy of all creation
Oh, how we love You
Jesus, we love You
You are the Risen One
You conquered death and made a way
You sang our freedom song
Now we are dancing on our chains
And we can’t hold back our praise
By the cross, I am free
Your grace changes everything
I was blind, now I see
Your grace changes everything
Prayer of Confession
Lord Jesus, our one True King,
who comes to the world
gently and humbly riding a donkey,
In the face of injustice, hatred, and war,
we cry out to You, “Hosanna”;
Save us, O God, we pray:
— Moment of silent prayer —
Blessed are You, Son of David;
Lead us to the cross with courage and love.
Amen.
Assurance of God’s Love
Prayers of the People
After each phrase, the congregation will reply with one voice:
Save us, Lord!
From hatred, violence, and war…
For lives of peacemaking, love of neighbor, and welcome…
From loneliness, apathy, and despair…
For joining Your work of restoration & hope…
From illness, injury, and harm…
For wholeness, healing, and life…
Amen.
Communion
Offering Prayer
Announcements
- Thanks for worshiping with us today! We hope you experience meaningful connection with God and others in our community. If you’re visiting for the first time today, we’d love to get to know you better. Please take home a visitor’s card with QR code so that we can stay in touch & build a relationship!
- Ecumenical Service of Prayer, Lament & Witness: Tomorrow (Monday, March 30th), people of faith will gather at Good Samaritan Episcopalian Church in UTC at 6:30 pm for a service of prayer & solidarity for communities experiencing fear and uncertainty amid current immigration enforcement practices, conflict, and division
- Lenten Community Prayer: This Wednesday will be our final Lenten prayer gathering from 8:00 to 8:15 pm on Zoom!
- Good Friday: We will have a special night of interactive prayer & worship on Good Friday, April 3rd at 7:00 pm here at Sandburg Elementary.
- Easter Egg Donations: Please bring donations of filled easter eggs for our Easter egg hunt next Sunday, April 5th!
- Easter Offering: For our annual Easter offering, we will be supporting a clean water tank initiative at Jardín de Niños Rebeca Muñoz Leyva (an early-education school in Tijuana) in partnership with the Borderlands Ministry of our presbytery. Our goal is $1000! Please choose “Easter 2026” on Tithely to give!
- Meal Packing Event: In partnership with Feeding San Diego, we will host a meal packing event after service on Sunday, May 3rd (bring ingredients for a recipe, pack them that day, share a meal together).
- Interview Requests: If you haven’t had the chance, please talk to Linda for her research project. Interviews will be anonymous, and will last about an hour.
Passing of the Peace
Let’s greet each other at this time!
Blessing of the Children
Go in peace and go in joy;
Filled with wonder for this day.
Go in faith and go in love;
God will guide you on your way!
Worship Song
Great Are You Lord
You give life
You are love
You bring light to the darkness
You give hope
You restore
every heart that is broken
And great are You, Lord
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
We pour out our praise
It’s Your breath in our lungs
So we pour out our praise
To You only
All the earth will shout Your praise
Our hearts will cry, these bones will sing
Great are You, Lord
Scripture Reading
Matthew 21:1-11
1 When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” 4 This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
5 “Tell the daughter of Zion,
Look, your king is coming to you,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; 7 they brought the donkey and the colt and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” 11 The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
This is the Word of the Lord.
Together: Thanks be to God.
Sermon
Palm Sunday
Pastor Dan
Discussion questions
- What would people have seen, heard, touched, tasted, smelled?
- What would’ve stood out to you?
Worship Song
Open Space w Hosanna tag
Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes
to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You
have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Your
Everything I am
for Your Kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity
Pull me in closer
Close to Your heart
May I be a pure reflection of all You are
Love that is patient
Love that is kind
And love that keeps no offences
or wrongs in my mind
Make me like Jesus
Make me like Jesus
You’re faithful to find me
Right where I am
Though even in my wandering You call me friend
And mercy receives me
and lifts me to my feet
And I’m caught up in the wonder and mystery
Of knowing Jesus
Of knowing Jesus
My heart is an open space
for You to come and have Your way
I’m open, I’m open
Hosanna, Hosanna
Hosanna in the highest
Anchor & Hope Church 