Christian Liturgy 101: How One Church Worshiped On Palm Sunday 2021

by Bobby Gilles

in Liturgy & Sermons

Welcome to Sojourn’s weekly worship music set list review & service recap. You’ll not only read a list of the songs we led, but also the readings and prayers from our liturgy. You can also watch the video stream of the whole service from our Facebook page or here below (you can also see a video of our sermon alone, from Vimeo).

Our liturgy is directed by Worship Director Justin Shaffer, in collaboration with our Creative Staff at Sojourn Church New Albany, our Liturgy writers, and worship staff at the other four Sojourn Collective churches in the Louisville area.

This Sunday we celebrated Palm Sunday. And Pastor Jonah Sage preached from Matthew 27:45-61  in our series on Matthew 23-28: Finished: The End Of The World And Our Way Of Living With It. To learn more about Sojourn Church, click here.

March 28, 2021 – Jonah Sage – Hope Of Death from Sojourn Collective on Vimeo.

CALL TO WORSHIP:   Liturgist

Good morning! Welcome to Sojourn this Palm Sunday!!  

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter,

    and I will go in and thank the Lord.

20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord,

and the godly enter there.

21 I thank you for answering my prayer

    and giving me victory!

22 The stone that the builders rejected

has now become the cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing,

    and it is wonderful to see.

24 This is the day the Lord has made.

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Please, Lord, please save us.

    Please, Lord, please give us success.

26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

27 The Lord is God, shining upon us.

Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you!

    You are my God, and I will exalt you!

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!

    His faithful love endures forever.

-Psalm 118:19-29 NLT

—Song 1: “Hosanna In The Highest pt 2” Key, Leader

CONFESSION:  Band Member

Hear the words of the prophet Isaiah, as he described what Jesus would endure:

Who has believed our message?

To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?

My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,

like a root in dry ground.

There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,

nothing to attract us to him.

He was despised and rejected—

a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;

    it was our sorrows that weighed him down.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,

a punishment for his own sins!

But he was pierced for our rebellion,

    crushed for our sins.

He was beaten so we could be whole.

    He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.

We have left God’s paths to follow our own.

Yet the Lord laid on him

the sins of us all.

Isaiah 53:1-8 NLT

Not only did Jesus carry our sins on the cross for us, he did it because of us. We left God’s paths to follow our own; and in doing so, we rejected God’s Son. Yet he decided in his mercy to carry us in our weakness. Let’s continue to sing about our faithful, merciful savior and the hope he’s given us of a life eternal, free from condemnation and free from sin.

—Song 2: “Merciful God” Key, Leader

ASSURANCE: Liturgist

“Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!

Raise your voice, Daughter Jerusalem!

Your king is coming!

a good king who makes all things right,

a humble king riding a donkey,

a mere colt of a donkey.

I’ve had it with war—no more chariots in Ephraim,

no more war horses in Jerusalem,

no more swords and spears, bows and arrows.

He will offer peace to the nations,

a peaceful rule worldwide,

from the four winds to the seven seas.

And you, because of my blood covenant with you,

I’ll release your prisoners from their hopeless cells.

Come home, hope-filled prisoners!

This very day I’m declaring a double bonus—

everything you lost returned twice-over

Zechariah 9:9-12 (The Message) 

—Song 3: “The Blood Will Never Lose Its Power” Key, Leader

PASSING OF THE PEACE: Band Member

Because of Jesus, we have peace with God and with one another. Let’s celebrate the unity and peace that Christ has given us by greeting each other now!

——————————————   [SERMON & COMMUNION]   ——————————————-

—Song 4: “Death Be Not Proud” Key, Leader

ANNOUNCEMENTS: Reader

—Song 5: “Victory In Jesus” Key, Leader

BENEDICTION: Liturgist

The Lord bless you

and keep you;

the Lord make his face shine on you

and be gracious to you;

the Lord turn his face toward you

and give you peace.

Go in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Peace be with you!

-Numbers 6:24-26 NLT

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