Pastor: We have come in the name of the God who created us, in the name of the Son who has given us new life, and in the name of the Holy Spirit who brings oneness and empowers us to serve.
People: Amen.
Pastor: By his grace, the Lord himself calls us into his presence.
People: Forgive us, Lord. Set us free from our sin and our dying, from our self-centeredness
and our doubt. You are our hope and our life! [Silent confession / confesión personal]
Pastor: Señor, ten piedad de nosotros. (Lord, have mercy on us.)
People: Señor, ten piedad de nosotros.
Pastor: Cristo, ten piedad de nosotros. (Christ, have mercy on us.)
People: Cristo, ten piedad de nosotros.
Pastor: Señor, ten piedad de nosotros. (Lord, have mercy on us.)
People: Señor, ten piedad de nosotros.
Pastor: For this reason Jesus came! By your faith in Him you are forgiven, freed to be the people of
God!
(Es por eso que vino Jesús. Por tu fe en él tus pecados te quedan perdonados. ¡Has sido liberado para ser el pueblo de Dios!)
People: Let us worship God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May our love for one another be a reflection of the true love of God in Jesus Christ.
The Hymn:: “On My Heart Imprint Your Image” (#422)
On my heart imprint your image, blessed Jesus, king of grace,
That life’s riches, cares, and pleasures never may your work erase.
Let the clear inscription be: Jesus, crucified for me,
is my life, my hope’s foundation, and my glory and salvation.
Holy Thursday, Scene 1– John 13:1-17
13 It was now the day before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. He had always loved those in the world who were his own, and now he would show the full extent of his love.
2 Jesus and his disciples were at supper. The Devil had already put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, the thought of betraying Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had given him complete power; he knew that he had come from God and was going to God. 4 So he rose from the table, took off his outer garment, and tied a towel around his waist. 5 Then he poured some water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Are you going to wash my feet, Lord?” 7 Jesus answered him, “You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later.” 8 Peter declared, “Never at any time will you wash my feet!” “If I do not wash your feet,” Jesus answered, “you cannot be my disciple.” 9 Simon Peter answered, “Lord, do not wash only my feet, then! Wash my hands and head, too!” 10 Jesus said, “Those who have taken a bath are completely clean and do not have to wash themselves, except for their feet. All of you are clean—all except one.” (11 Jesus already knew who was going to betray him; that is why he said, “All of you, except one, are clean.”)
12 After Jesus had washed their feet, he put his outer garment back on and returned to his place at the table. “Do you understand what I have just done to you?” he asked. 13 “You call me Teacher and Lord, and it is right that you do so, because that is what I am. 14 I, your Lord and Teacher, have just washed your feet. You, then, should wash one another's feet. 15 I have set an example for you, so that you will do just what I have done for you. 16 I am telling you the truth: no slaves are greater than their master, and no messengers are greater than the one who sent them. 17 Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!
Reflections
Hymn“Jesus, Your Boundless Love So True”
Jesus, your boundless love so true no thought can reach, no tongue declare;
Unite my thankful heart to you, and reign without a rival there.
Yours wholly, yours alone I am; be you alone my sacred flame.
Oh, grant that nothing in my soul may dwell but your pure love alone;
Oh, may your love possess me whole, my joy, my treasure, and my crown!
All coldness from my heart remove; my every act, word, thought be love.
This love unwearied I pursue and dauntlessly to you aspire.
Oh, may your love my hope renew, glow in my soul like heavenly fire!
And day and night be all my care to guard this sacred treasure there.
Holy Thursday, Scene 2 – Matthew 26:26-30
26 While they were eating, Jesus took a piece of bread, gave a prayer of thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. “Take and eat it,” he said; “this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, gave thanks to God, and gave it to them. “Drink it, all of you,” he said; 28 “this is my blood, which seals God's covenant, my blood poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will never again drink this wine until the day I drink the new wine with you in my Father's Kingdom.” 30 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.
Reflections
Hymn“Blessed Jesus, Living Bread” (by Jaroslav Vajda) (to the tune of “Let the Earth Now Praise the Lord”)
Blessed Jesus, Living Bread, by your self our souls are fed:
Give us all the eyes to see all that you were sent to be.
Word of God by which we live: what we hunger for you give--
For the body and the soul, life with God, life new and whole.
All we ever need and more, flowing from your boundless store;
At your table every guest sees your mercy manifest.
We are in that crowd you fed with your blest, abundant Bread,
Moved by every human care, bless the bread we eat and share.
Holy Thursday, Scene 3 – Matthew 26:36-46
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” 37 He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee. Grief and anguish came over him, 38 and he said to them, “The sorrow in my heart is so great that it almost crushes me. Stay here and keep watch with me.” 39 He went a little farther on, threw himself face downward on the ground, and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, take this cup of suffering from me! Yet not what I want, but what you want.” 40 Then he returned to the three disciples and found them asleep; and he said to Peter, “How is it that you three were not able to keep watch with me for even one hour? 41 Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 42 Once more Jesus went away and prayed, “My Father, if this cup of suffering cannot be taken away unless I drink it, your will be done.” 43 He returned once more and found the disciples asleep; they could not keep their eyes open. 44 Again Jesus left them, went away, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. 45 Then he returned to the disciples and said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look! The hour has come for the Son of Man to be handed over to the power of sinners. 46 Get up, let us go. Look, here is the man who is betraying me!”
Reflections
Hymn“¿Que Sería de Mi?” /“What Would Be of My Life?”
(by Jesús Adrián Romero, c. 1998, Vástago Music)
¿Que sería de mí si no me hubieras alcanzado?
¿Donde estaría hoy si no me hubieras perdonado?
Tendría un vacío en mi corazón. Vagaría sin rumbo, sin dirección;
Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor. Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor.
Sería como pájaro herido que se muere en el suelo.
Sería como ciervo que brama por agua en el desierto;
Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor. Si no fuera por tu gracia y por tu amor.
What would be of my life if you had never come to love me?
Where would I be right now if you had never forgiven me?
My heart would be filled with an empty space, And my life with no aim and no hope would race....
If it wasn’t for your grace and your love for me! If it wasn’t for your grace and your love for me!
I’d be like a wounded bird lying helpless on the ground.
I’d be like a deer seeking water where none can be found;
If it wasn’t for your grace and your love for me! If it wasn’t for your grace and your love for me!
Prayers and The Lord’s Prayer
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 and ever. Amen.
Closing Hymn“Abide With Me” (# 878)
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide. The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
I need thy presence every passing hour; What but thy grace can foil the tempters power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be? Through cloud and sunshine, oh, abide with me.
Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom and point me to the skies;
Heav’n’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee; In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.
Palm Sunday - El Domingo de Ramos (A Partially Bilingual Worship Time)
The Opening Sentences
Pastor: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. / En el nombre
del Padre, y del Hijo, y del Espíritu Santo. People: Amen.
Pastor: Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. People: Glory to God in the highest!
Pastor: Let us pray: O God, we praise you as we remember how your Son, before his
In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus displays the depths of his compassion as he weeps for his dead friend Lazarus. He commands the dead man to be raised to life, prefiguring his own death and resurrection. Centuries earlier the prophet Ezekiel was taken to a valley of dry bones and was commanded to prophesy life over what was dead in the house of Israel. Jesus weeps for the whole of humanity now as
