Let's Go to JESUS

Maundy Thursday Worship

The Opening

Welcome

Welcome to this Maundy Thursday celebration. On this night we remember and celebrate the final supper Jesus shared with his disciples in the context of the Passover, when the people of Israel observed their liberation from Egypt. The Last Supper was Christ’s observance of the Seder—the Passover Eve Service. Hear this instruction that God gave to the people of Israel:

Scripture: Exodus 12:1-7, 12-14

Hymn: “Lift Up Your Hearts unto the Lord” PsH 309, SFL 63, TWC 771 (st. 1, 2, 4)

Call to Worship

Return to the Lord, God of all mercies,

for a feast of love has been prepared for his own.

I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

O taste and see the goodness of the Lord

Happy are they who take refuge in God.

Solo: “O Magnify the Lord” (Praise and Worship Songbook, Integrity/Hosanna Music)

Opening Prayer

The Call to Wash One Another’s Feet

Reading: “He who would be great among you” (see box)

The Footwashing

(The simplest tradition is for the pastor to wash the feet of a few leaders in the congregation, either elders or representatives from different ages or groups. They remove their shoes and sit in a place visible to all. The pastor kneels, pours water from a pitcher into a basin, and then wipes their feet with a towel.)

Hymn: “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us with Your Love” PsH 601, PH 367, SFL 251, TWC 436 (Sung during the footwashing.)

The Meal

Opened with the ancient Jewish table prayer:

Blessed are you, Lord our God, Creator of the Universe. Through your work, all things were made, and by your goodness we have this food to share. Blessed be God forever. Amen.
Confession and Assurance

The Call to Confession: 1 John 5:8

Prayer
Most holy and merciful Father, we confess to you and to one another, that we have sinned against you by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart and mind and strength. We have not fully loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not always had in us the mind of Christ.

You alone know how often we have grieved you by wasting your gifts, by wandering from your ways, by forgetting your love. Forgive us, we pray you, most merciful Father, and free us from our sin. Renew in us the grace and strength of your Holy Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son, our Savior, Amen.

Hymn: “Just As I Am” PsH 263, PH 370, RL 468, TH 501, TWC 445

Declaration of Pardon

To all who confess themselves to be sinners, humbling themselves before God and believing in the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation, I declare this sure promise: “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The Word of the Lord

Hymn: “As We Gather at Your Table” SNC 245 (st. 1)

Scripture: Matthew 26:17-30

Sermon: “At the Table”
The Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

(The elements are distributed by tables; each person is invited to pass the bread and cup to the next, saying, “The body of Christ was given for you”; “The blood of Christ was shed for you.”)

Our Response of Prayer and Gratitude

Hymn: “As We Gather at Your Table” SNC 245 (st. 2-3)

Reading

Reader 1: God may be speaking to us individually, asking whether we have fully and freely accepted his offer of freedom at the Festival of Redemption. Have we, for example, sprinkled the Blood of the Lamb on the doorposts of our hearts in the face of human and spiritual opposition, clearly trusting in God to deliver us?

Reader 2: This is the time when we must receive God’s gift freely, to give God his due. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might” (Deut. 6:5). “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve” (Matt. 4:10).

Reader 1: We are bound to thank, praise, glorify, extol and adore God who did all these wonders for our ancestors and for us. God brought us forth

Reader 2: from slavery
Reader 1: to freedom,
Reader 2: from anguish
Reader 1: to joy,
Reader 2: from mourning
Reader 1: to festivity,
Reader 2: from darkness
Reader 1: to great light,
Reader 2: from bondage
Reader 1: to redemption.

Hymn: “There Is a Redeemer” SNC 145
Closing

Prayer

Scripture Readings: Revelation 21:6-7;

Jeremiah 31:33; Revelation 21:1-4

Parting Hymn: “You, Lord, Are Both Lamb and Shepherd” SNC 182 (Sung unaccompanied, very simply.)

Benediction

———– Wish you all the blessings of the Holy Week —————–
Share With Friends or Bookmark This Post

Read more at http://www.turnbacktogod.com/category/prayers/page/2/#ixzz3qGxL918T