South Roanoke United Methodist Church

PASSION/PALM SUNDAY                                                                                 MARCH 20, 2005 

As Christ cares, we care… We care about all people.
We care about worship… We care about learning.
We care about service… We care about You.
We are a community of Faith growing in God’s Grace. 

ORDER OF SERVICE-11:00 A.M. 

+ Indicates the people standing

ENTRANCE 

Words of Welcome, Registration of Attendance and Announcements                                     Bill Davidson
     (We encourage all of our worshipers to please sign the registration pad as it is passed along the pew; visitors
     are requested to also list their address. After it has been passed, please return it to the center aisle. If you
     wish to join this church by letter of transfer or profession of faith, please check “wish to join” on the
     registration pad.)
Grand Processional                                   Prepare The Way of the Lord 

Proclamation of the Entrance Into Jerusalem                                                                    Matthew 21:1-11
     Pastor:  This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
     People: Thanks be to God.
+The People’s Response
     Pastor: Hosanna to the Son of David!
     People: Hosanna in the highest!
     Pastor: Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord.
     People: Hosanna in the highest!
+Hymn 280                                                All Glory, Laud, and Honor                               St. Theodulph
+Opening Prayer                                                                                                      
     Almighty God, on this day your son Jesus Christ entered the holy city of
     Jerusalem and was proclaimed King by those who spread their garments and
     palm branches along his way. Let those branches be for us signs of his victory,
     and grant that we who bear them in his name may ever hail him as our Lord,
     and follow him in the way that leads to eternal life. In his name we pray. Amen. 

                                                 PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Cherub Choir                                     When Jesus Came to Jerusalem                                         Erickson
Children’s Time
                                         (Children leave for Children’s Church. See * below)
Sermon                                                          He Comes To Win                                            Bill Davidson
                  [Sermon manuscripts are posted on the church website the Monday following the service each week, www.srumc.com]
Anthem                                                       Fanfare for Palm Sunday                                               Davis
Sharing of Joys and Concerns
     -Nelda Hodges     -Prentice Moran     -Janet Jeffries    -Cathy Bear     -Steve Hamed
     -Phil Leslie
Pastoral Prayer
The Lord's Prayer                                                                                                              Hymnal, No. 895
     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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into   
     temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and
     the glory, forever. Amen.
Choral Response                                             O Lord, Hear My Prayer
Offering of Our Tithes and Gifts to God’s Work
  Offertory Prayer
  Offertory
+Doxology                                                                                                                           Hymnal, No. 95
    Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; praise him, all creatures here below;
     praise him above, ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
+Invitation to Christian Discipleship
Extinguishing of the Lenten Candle
Reading of the Passion Narrative                                                                                        Matthew 27:11-66
                                                                 Narrator: Spencer Borthen
                                                                       Jesus: Don Roberts
                                                                       Pilate: Bob Garner
     Pastor: This is the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
     People: Thanks be to God. 

                                                                  SENDING FORTH
+Hymn 168                                               At the Name of Jesus                                          King’s Weston
+Choral Benediction
+Benediction                                                                                            
+Postlude   

THOSE SERVING TODAY:
  March Altar Guild Chair: Cameron Huffman
  Cross Bearer: Rachel Wilkinson
  Acolytes: Jimmy Jennings and Lucy Jennings
  Ushers:   Captain-Calvin L. Witt, William C. Neal, John W. Steffe, Kenneth L. Witt,
    Kenneth L. Motley, Carl B. Sherertz, Tim Dayton, Everett Holland, Jr. 

*CHILDREN (AGES 3 through 1st GRADE), may meet the acolyte to recess to Children’s Church. Please ask your child to line up behind the acolyte who will lead all children out together. After the worship service, parents must pick up their child in the Children’s Department; children will not be allowed to leave the room until their parents arrive. 

WELCOME! We're glad to have all who have joined us for this time of worship. Especially to our guests and visitors, we welcome you to South Roanoke and to our fellowship. We invite those who have no church home to make South Roanoke your church and add your witness to ours. 

NEXT WEEK’S SERMON, The Flashpoint of History, will be based on John 20:1-18. Please read and study this text this week. 

THE LENTEN WREATH OF THORNS: Each Sunday during Lent one candle is extinguished as the day of Jesus’ crucifixion and death draws near. The Christ Candle is extinguished on Holy Thursday during Holy Week. The wreath’s growing darkness signifies the sacrifice our Lord made for each of us and focuses our personal and spiritual preparation during this Season of Lent. 

VBS--LOOKING FOR A ROARING GOOD TIME? Then join us for our Serengeti Trek, July 11-15, where kids are wild about God! If you’re interested in volunteering for this great VBS experience, contact Cameron Huffman at 772-6912 or Heidi Christopher at 774-3672. (Nursery will be provided for volunteers who need it.) 

JUBILEE PROJECT is July 31—August 6. Cost is $200.00. Sign up with Paula to serve with this mission project.

HIPPITY-HOPPITY, EASTER’S ON ITS WAY!! 

Family Ministries will be hosting the annual Easter Egg Dye and Hunt this year. All young children and families are invited to join the Peanut M & M’s to dye eggs on Thursday, March 24 at 4:00 in the gym. Bring one dozen HARD BOILED EGGS and let the fun begin. 

The EGG HUNT will be on Saturday, March 26 at 11:00 a.m. Meet in the gym for the egg hunt and games with the Easter Bunny followed with Pizza lunch. Bring your Easter Basket. We will provide eggs, treats, and lunch. Come and have fun with your family and friends. Let’s celebrate the joys of Easter together! 

We will also have an EASTER BONNET CONTEST. Boys and girls are invited to create an Easter hat to wear and be judged at the Egg Hunt. There will be several different categories for prizes such as: prettiest, craziest, tackiest, most colorful, most unusual, etc. Use your imagination!! Hats can be made out of anything—like a basket, bowl, colander, or old hat. Let your creative spirit go wild!! 

HOLY THURSDAY COMMUNION SERVICE will be held on March 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. There will be a Prayer Vigil on Friday, March 25 from 6:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. The United Methodist Men will see that someone is in the church the entire time so that no one will be alone in the church. Please sign up on the sheet in the narthex for prayer times. You may pray at the church or at home. More than one can sign up for each time. 

THE CONGREGATION expresses sympathy and concern to Ross and Janet Jeffries in the recent death of Janet’s mother. 

BLOOD DRIVE! SRUMC will sponsor a blood drive in our Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, May 17 from 11:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. Our goal is to collect 50 units of blood. If you are a regular blood donor, please wait until May 17 to donate. We will need lots of donors, as well as volunteers to help staff the event. The Red Cross will provide training for the various jobs available. You will be hearing more about this in the upcoming weeks.

 _____________________________________

March 20, 2005     Palm Sunday                                                                  He Comes to Win
         Mt. 21:1-11 

Is there such a thing as a “good loss??  There has been some discussion about this in the sports world leading up to the NCAA basketball tournament (called “March Madness).  Is it ever good for an undefeated team to suffer a loss in the final days of the regular season to somehow prepare them for the grueling tournament ahead? 

Every athlete I know wants to win.  Make no mistake about it.  When God comes, God comes to win.  People of God want God to come.  And we want God to come to win.  Creation is so full of conflict, power struggles, war, turmoil, hunger, and injustice, don’t we just want God to win for a change?  In our own homes we experience too much conflict, disagreement, suffering, and pain for us to desire anything else other than for God to come and for God to win.  That is the deep longing of the people of God. 

As the crowd began to hear that Jesus of Nazareth was about to enter Jerusalem and they gathered along the way with their cloaks and palm branches in hand they were preparing as if to finally greet a great conqueror.  Reminiscent of the triumphant entry into the defeated city by great conquerors of the past, they perhaps were expecting the sight of him upon a great white stallion.  Alexander the Great was known to enter the conquered capital city in just that way in order to institute his authority and establish allegiance among the populace.  No more powerful message of final defeat could be delivered than for the great conquering king to enter so triumphantly into the city with the defeated and beaten host army following behind him in chains.  But the Jewish people’s yearning for deliverance far exceeded their political aspirations.  They longed to be saved from a world, like ours, too long held hostage by forces that deny the rule of God in creation. 

And so they cry out to the Son of David, the heir to the throne of the people of God, the promised king, the long-anticipated Messiah, “Hosanna!  Save us.”  In Jesus they see the hope of the final triumphant victory of God over all of the enemies of the people of God.  Wouldn’t it be great?  All the enemies of God finally defeated!  Justice done!  All oppressive regimes, every hardened criminal, all terrorism, every conflict ended!  Evil conquered Yes, they long for God’s victory of their enemies.  They want God to come.  And they want God to win.  And so do we 

But isn’t it interesting how we people of God, in our sincere desire for justice, are so sure that we are always on God’s side, as if we’ve always been good, that there is no place in our lives where God could contend with us?  We so easily forget, it seems, that the Scripture says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”  If God came to destroy all God’s enemies, would there be anybody left?  

Jesus comes—the Son of David; the heir to the throne of the people of God; the promised king; the long-anticipated Messiah—he comes, not triumphant on a white stallion but “humble, and mounted on a donkey.”  Jesus comes, but does not take up a sword; he comes to take up a cross. 

Make no mistake about it.  When God comes, God comes to win.  This Messiah does not come to overturn and defeat and destroy in the ways of war.  This Messiah comes to win you over in the ways of peace.  His deliverance is not found in the violent overthrow of all God’s enemies,  destruction that we ourselves on our own merits could certainly never avoid.  His deliverance comes through his own suffering on our behalf as he takes upon himself all the power of the enemy even to death.  His triumph over  death by his resurrection brings the ultimate victory we all so long for. 

A small child, upon learning of the way they treated Jesus during this Holy Week, cried out, “Why didn’t Jesus pick up the cross and hit them over the head with it?”  Indeed, the Scripture said he could have unleashed 10,000 angels to deliver him from that fate.  But if he came to destroy, all of God’s disobedient creation would vanish. 

When God comes, God comes to win.  When our Lord enters Jerusalem to secure the final victory over evil and death, he does so not upon a valiant steed by the sword, but humbly, on a donkey, by a cross. 

Is there ever such a thing as a “good loss?”  If a loss is ever good, the Gospel of Jesus Christ proclaims what looks every bit like a loss has become the greatest win ever.  He comes to win.  He has won us.  And he continues in his winsome way to draw us back again and again.  In this way we also can win others to him.