Freelton Strabane United Church
To live our discipleship with integrity and grace.
Horseshoe Falls Regional Council
Palm Sunday
Sunday, March 29 2026
Minister: Rev. Will Wheeler, B.A. M. Div. 905-659-3380 E-mail: [email protected]
Music Director Joan Simpson
Let us Gather together for worship.
Come touch our souls that we may know and love you
Your quiet presence all our fears dispel
Create a space for sprit to grow in us
Let life and beauty fill us,
Come touch and bless our souls.
Come touch us now, this people who are gathered,
To break the bread and share the cup of peace;
That we may love you with our heart our soul,
Our mind, our strength, our all,
Come touch us with your grace.
Call To Worship
One: Hosanna in the highest that ancient song we sing
All: For Christ is our Redeemer; earth let your anthems ring
One: Hosanna loud hosanna the happy children sing
All: Crucify
One: O may we every praise him with heart and life and voice
All Crucify him, Crucify.
One: Hosanna in the highest that ancient song we sing
For Christ is our Redeemer; earth let your anthems ring
O may we every praise him with heart and life and voice
All: Crucify, Crucify him Crucify him we have no king but Caesar
Crucify, Crucify him Crucify him we have no king but Caesar
Throughout these Lenten days and nights
we turn to walk the inward way
where meeting Christ our guide and light
we pray in hope his coming day
We bear the silence cross and pain
our human burdens human fear
Kept dark and deep until we see
the promise of the coming dawn
One: In the darkness, our fears come to own us
All The fears we press down into the boxes of our soul
One fear is the great destroyer.
All Fear separates us from the Divine within and without.
One Christ is the key that will open our boxed fears and free us.
All Our fear hides behind many things.
One Within the boxes of our fear there are our anxieties and all that makes us Anxious All the small things that we allow to build in our minds, Our fear of what might happen, over thinking the dwelling on all that which has annoyed us rather than naming it and dealing with it. All of this boxed inside us leads to at times resentment. All of this leads to eating away of our soul separating us from God and others, robbing us of knowing joy.
All Christ is the Key that will free us from our fears.
One We light this candle to dispel the darkness and place this key to open the box of our fears
Prayer of Confession.
God of continued Mercy we come to you holding the box that contains are our anxieties and all that makes us Anxious. Confess that at times we would rather hold onto these then deal with them. Fear keeps us from naming that which we hold onto that wounds our soul. We pray that your love opens us to trust in you and know that you are with us.
May your Spirit speak to our souls to give us such confidence to have faith in ourselves to own our fears and let them go. We bring our own personal prayers of confession before you.
Song (81 More Voices)
Love us into fullness,
Touch us with your grace;
Jesus, in your mercy,
draw us to your face.
Assurance of Pardon
One: and Jesus said “ Come to me , all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
One: Our story begins. When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 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.
One: If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, “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.
” The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!”
All When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”
One: As Jesus prepared to offer up himself and offered the gift of live in the bread and the wine so let us bring our gifts before God.
Offering Prayer
All As Christ sacrificed life for us, so may each of us commit ourselves to carrying forward the work to which we are called in our own day. Bless us and all the gifts we bring, in Jesus’ name amen.
One Into the garden they went. To Pray. Jesus looked up and offered to god all his fears all his burdens. What shall we offer up to God, whose names shall we hold up to God.
Song, Be still and know that I am God
And there is none beside me
Be still and know that I am God
And there is none be side me
I am the one whose love never fails
And there is none beside me
Be still and know that I am God
And there is none be side me
Prayers
God of the Journey we come to you and prayer For justice, for freedom, and for mercy hear our prayers
We come to you O God and offer you prayers for those that know sorrow, and grief be near hear and hear our prayer, O God
We come to you O god and ask For wisdom, for courage, for comfort:
In our weakness and in our fear: be near, hear our prayer, O God
We come to you O God For healing, for wholeness, for new life hear our prayer. Be with those who we hold up to you. In sickness, in death be near, hear our prayers O God and hear the names of those we hold up to you.
God of the journey as we begin this Most sacred week be with us to draw us into a time of deep reflection as we walk the road to the cross and beyond. Open us once more to own and experience our story of faith.
Hear our own personal prayers and in your time and way answer.
Lord’s Prayer
Sermon
Matthew 27:11-54
Prayer
Lord as we ponder your words open our hearts that we may understand and know you. Amen
A day like no other day
Did he come through the Damascus Gates or perhaps the Shushan Gates the Golden Gate the main gates into the temple from the mount of Olives.
Imagine that day people following all asking the question “Who is this man? “
‘Jesus the prophet of Galilee from Nazareth” How can this be?
That moment riding into the city. The city that he has lamented. The city the center of life in his country the center of faith. Did he remember the stories of his childhood his mother riding on a donkey to the place where he would be born, does her remember the stories of the donkey rides into Egypt and back again. Did these thoughts cross his brow
Perhaps these where fleeting thoughts. Perhaps he could not help but smile and laugh with the enthusiasm of the crowd.
The priests of the temple watching. Asking again and again who is this man. How can this be?
Does he ride the conquering hero? Does he ride that beast to insult Rome?
Who is this man how can this be?
Can you imagine the crowds
The people there.
zealots in holy fury Roman soldiers mildly amused or indifferent. children excited because who doesn’t like a parade. the disciples some afraid of what would happen. Sadducees and Pharisees Law and order the connection to the Divine shop keepers. Good for business
All crowding together for a look. A maelstrom of bodies.
Who is this Man.
Who is this Jesus Who was he then who is he now.
Imagine that moment. A moment of betrayal Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I betray him to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray him. What is the cost of betrayal today? How do we betray God, ourselves. At what cost. $1.95 for an Easter cream egg?
Imagine that moment a moment of denial. You will all become deserters because of me this night; Peter said to him, “Though all become deserters because of you, I will never desert you.” 34 Jesus said to him, “Truly I tell you, this very night, before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.” How do we deny Christ, The denial just another betrayal not me not I. The sin of scapegoating, the sin of denial. Quick fix it, patch it over and deny what is there.
Imagine, a grove of trees, a rock, a dark night a waning moon. A prayer. A cup. Not the holy cup of promise lifted in remembrance. Now a cup full of doubt, “I am deeply grieved, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.” And he was alone, for the second time he prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” And he was still alone, for the third time he prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” Alone. Night close in around. The joy of the day the palms cast to the gutter, the passover feast nothing but dirty dishes and scrapes. And a cup, a cup of fear, a cup of self doubt. We in our way come to the garden, praying for different out comes, for courage, for strength, for resolve knowing that even the way forward will be painful. Take this cup away from me I don’t want to taste its poison.
And then that moment of no return, that final act. A kiss, something so tender, a greeting, an act of friendship, an act of love. A kiss a treasured moment at the beginning of a life, a tearful moment at its ending. A kiss. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.” 49 At once he came up to Jesus and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him. 50 Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
Imagine an ending a beginning. A trial of lies, of false witness. A trial of betrayal a trial of denials. A trial of resignation. He comes to this moment resolved. We must come to this moment. Shall we call the pebble dare to but a stone in our shoe and walk his path. Dare not waver in this time. Hear the story, do not turn away, and do not close your ears until the Easter moment. Be here, in this moment, in this time, this is our story, of triumph, of hope and promise, of betrayal of denial, of ending and a beginning.
See, the hour is at hand, once more, once more we come to this week. This day the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of individualism private property money, human first, systems and desire for personal power quick fixes and scapegoating betrayed into all the heavy burdens we have laid on him. All the burdens we have laid at the cross.
Doubt set a side, a 46 Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.” Yet deep in us we know that we do not go alone. For in this time in death, in the life promised we know that we are not alone.
One: So there it is, The ugly shape of beautiful wood, rough hewn by human hands
All Lord Where are you now?
Lenten candle extinguished
One And there it is a tight-shut tomb a borrowed grave sealed with a stone of silence
All Lord, where are you now?
Lent candle extinguished
One And there it is your broken body shrouded in linen clothed in darkness.
All Lord where are you now?
Lent candle extinguished
One And somewhere stand your people crying thought tired of crying their eyes sore and bloodshot They will not rest easy
All Lord, where are you now.
Lent Candle extinguished
One: And out in the streets, the children have stopped their playing , the sound of music has gone sour, even the unlikely people fidget and wonder
All: Lord , where are you now?
Lenten Candle extinguished
One And here are we saying “if only”
All murmuring “surely not “
One Counting the cost for once of our carelessness and our lovelessness and our sin.
All trying to vainly to gain all, we’ve bartered you away in the transaction. We have lost the one who found us.
Lenten Candle extinguished
One With the Peters and Marys of all time, we wait, for only you can tell whether we are worth raising for
All Amen and may Jesus Keep me near the Cross
One: Feet that danced through the streets of Jerusalem, welcoming the Messiah, now softly pad the back alleys in search of shadows
All Hearts that leapt with joy at the sight of David’s true son are thrown out with Golgotha’s garbage
One Hands that wrapped a newborn son in bright bands of cloth, now shroud his broken body and lay him gently, tenderly, softly in death’s manger
All Where glad hosannas rang out , there is now only the silent , weeping heart of God
Christ candle is extinguished
One It is finished.
Yesterdaywe honour our heritage.
Todaywe know that we are not alone,that we live in God's world.
Tomorrowwith God,we will discoverthe undiscovered country.
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