You can watch some parts of the service in this video here (mostly bible readings and sermon) or scroll down and read the prayers and songs in the order they happened.
Welcome Friends, you are welcome in this place. Our time together is God’s gift to each of us. We come with what we know of and have experienced in life, we come seeking to discover what we don’t yet know about God.
Together, we seek to make this a safe environment for all who search for meaning and purpose in life. Together let us seek to be Christ’s light and salt in the world. So welcome. Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, you are welcome here.
We’re going to start with singing today. There’s no donkey in the biblical nativity stories, but there’s one in every account of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
Trotting Trotting Through Jerusalem
Trotting trotting through Jerusalem, Jesus sitting on a donkey’s back, Children waving branches singing
‘Happy is He that comes in the name of the Lord’
Many people in Jerusalem thought He should have come on a mighty horse Leading all the Jews to battle –
‘Happy is He that comes in the name of the Lord’
Many people in Jerusalem Were amazed to see such a quiet man Trotting trotting on a donkey –
‘Happy is He that comes in the name of the Lord’
Trotting trotting through Jerusalem, Jesus sitting on a donkey’s back, Let us join the children singing
‘Happy is He that comes in the name of the Lord’
CCLI Song # 515415, Eric James Reid, © Words: 1969 Stainer & Bell Ltd; Music: 1969 Stainer & Bell Ltd, For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com, CCLI License # 31951
Acknowledgement of country
As we gather together in this time and place, we acknowledge the Dharawal people
who have walked, lived, and told stories on this land for thousands of years. We honour their Elders, past and present, and their deep listening to Country. As Lent invites us to bring our whole selves before God—with our loss, longing, and fragile hope—may we commit to truthful listening and renewed relationship with First Peoples.
All: In doing so, we recommit to the path of reconciliation and justice that God lays before us.
Lighting of the Christ Candle
We gather to worship God.
We gather so we can turn to Christ.
Whose life gives Life to all.
We will journey with him to Calvary and beyond.
This is our prayer and our hope.
Praise be to God!
Call to worship
Today, we explore the journey from Hosanna to the cross, where Jesus’ humble love invites us to turn our praise into compassion and to walk with him through both celebration and sorrow.
Come, followers of Christ, wave your branches high!
Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in God’s name!
Come, travellers on the road of sorrow and hope.
We come, following the One who will not turn away.
Come, hearts heavy with the cost of love.
We come to walk with Jesus, from celebration to cross, trusting love to lead us through.
Prayer Of Invocation/Welcome
Humble Christ,
you enter our cities and our lives without force,
choosing the colt, not the chariot;
choosing service, not show.
When the cheers fade, and the shadows lengthen,
stay with us through the long night,
that we may learn the courage of compassion
and the steadfastness of your love. Amen.
Prayer of adoration and confession
Merciful God, we praise you with our lips and deny you with our lives.
We want victory without vulnerability, triumph without tenderness, Easter without the road to the cross.
Forgive us.
Turn our hosannas into daily mercy, our admiration into faithful action, our fear into love.
Words of Grace
Hear the good news: Christ’s compassion does not fail. Even our betrayals are met with mercy. In Christ, we are seen, forgiven, and held.
Thanks be to God. Amen.
Ride on, ride on, the time is right (John Bell) Tune: Winchester New
Ride on, ride on, the time is right: the roadside crowds scream with delight; Palm branches mark the pilgrim way Where beggars squat and children play.
Ride on, ride on, your critics wait, intrigue and rumour circulate; New lies abound in word and jest, And trust becomes a suspect guest.
Ride on, ride on, while well aware that those who shout and wave and stare, Are mortals who, with common breath, Can crave for life and lust for death
Ride on, ride on, though blind with tears, though dumb to speak and deaf to jeers. Your path is clear, though few can tell Their garments pave the road to hell.
Ride on, ride on, the room is let, the wine matured, the saw is whet; And dice your death-throes shall attend Though faith, not fate, dictates your end.
Ride on, ride on, God’s love demands. Justice and peace lie in your hands. Evil and angels’ voices rhyme: This is the man and this, the time.
CCLI Song # 962006 Graham Maule | John L. Bell © Words: 1988 WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland; Music: 1988 WGRG, c/o Iona Community, Glasgow, Scotland For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.comCCLI License # 31951
HEARING THE WORD
All Age Message: Rev Claire Wright is a retired Uniting Church minister living on the Mid North Coast of NSW. In this 5min talk suitable for all ages she draws on recent scholarship by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg about the events of Jesus’ last week. Scroll down past the first video to find the “All Age Message” here: https://projectreconnect.com.au/2026/02/08/29th-march-2026-year-a-palm-sunday-high-hopes-and-deep-hope
Uniting World: Kathy presents the final week of Lent Event. We have raised over $2000 for work in the Pacific and Asia!
Bible Readings (Ross)
Let us pray: God, please open our ears and minds and hearts so that as we hear the words of the Bible, you will speak to us and bring us new life.
Our reading today is from Matthew 21:1–11
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
’See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[c]
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
…and we’re going to add in two verses from the gospel of Luke, from chapter 19, verses 39 and 40:
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
Reader: Through these readings we hear God speak.
All: Thank you, God, for your words of life.
Hymn: From the east the poor are marching, by Daniel Charles Damon (Tune: Stuttgart)
From the east the poor are marching, spreading branches as they come; from the west the sound of soldiers marching, marching far from home.
Jesus on a colt comes riding down a dusty city street, with a ragtag peasant chorus– hopeful, shouting as they meet.
Pilate comes imposing order on the festival each year– warhorse, drumbeat, armored soldiers. Silent crowds look on with fear.
Two processions to the city– shepherd staff and Roman spear– Blessed is the Son of David who will bring God’s kingdom here.
Words © 2011 Hope Publishing Company.
Sermon: We welcome back Claire for her cracker of a Palm Sunday sermon on “High Hopes and Deep Hope”. Open up the first video on this page (12mins) https://projectreconnect.com.au/2026/02/08/29th-march-2026-year-a-palm-sunday-high-hopes-and-deep-hope
RESPONDING TO THE WORD
Response Showcasing another famous Hosanna song, we look at this clip from Jesus Christ Superstar (2000 version not 1973). There’s a lot going on in the faces of the main characters as the song develops, with the crowd moving from “smile at me, you’re alright by me” to “fight for me, die for me”. It’s another aspect of the unfolding drama of Holy Week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x530xSkAdk&list=RD7x530xSkAdk&start_radio=1 (2.56min)
Offertory prayer
We lay our branches down in the form of bread, coins, and time. Take these gifts, O God, and make of them shelter for the weary, food for the hungry, and companionship for the lonely. Amen
Announcements:
Prayers of the people Kathy, who finishes with the version of the Lord’s Prayer, by Peter Parr:
Our God, Perfect Love, We turn again to You. Guide us; help us to love, so that Your Will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us this day that which we need. Fill us with hope and trust.
Help us to forgive our brothers and sisters (and ourselves as well); and to look on them as you look on us. Give us strength to resist temptation. When we are tempted, let us choose peace. Deliver us from our fears. For what You love is safe. And Your love remains forever and always. Amen. (Peter Parr)
Hymn: A Glimpse through Waving Palms, Tune: Ellacombe 86.86D
This hymn is a brand-new one written for this Palm Sunday. It comes to us from Minneapolis, which is important for you to know as it gives a special context to the words. We are thankful to the writer for sharing it with us in time to sing.
Text: Arthur G. Clyde 2026, Permission granted for use during the calendar year 2026 Words Copyright © 2026 Arthur Clyde Minneapolis. All rights reserved. The above copyright must be shown on the reprinted copy. May not be sold or published except in a church bulletin for the service in which it is used. May not be published in a songbook for continued use. For further info: birkland.clyde@yahoo.com
Benediction
As we complete our journey here, may we carry the lessons of this day into Holy Week. May we walk with courage, hold grief and hope together, and follow Christ in steadfast love.
Go now into Holy Week with hearts open and steps steady, and may the God who keeps covenant, the Christ who bears our wounds, and the Spirit who stays through the night bless and keep you, now and always. Amen.
Benediction Song:
Hosanna hosanna Hosanna in the highest Hosanna hosanna Hosanna in the highest. Lord we lift up Your name With hearts full of praise Be exalted oh Lord my God Hosanna in the highest
CCLI Song # 21545 Carl Tuttle © 1985 Shadow Spring Music For use solely with the SongSelect® Terms of Use. All rights reserved. www.ccli.com CCLI License # 31951
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