Mt. Olive Ev. Lutheran Church

 

www.mtolive-wels.net

 

1460 Almond Avenue

St. Paul, Minnesota  55108

 

651.645.2575

 

A Praying Church

 

Carl R. Henkel, pastor

651.631.8625

carl.henkel@juno.com

 

PALM SUNDAY         March 16, 2008    9:00am

 

Thank You for sharing this time of worship with us. Do come again!  If you do not have a local church home, we invite you to make your home with us.  You will find Christian love, opportunities for spiritual growth, warm friendships, and an appreciation of being part of God’s family. Visitors:  Please include your email address in the Friendship Register information.  Thanks!

 

The Lord's Supper is being celebrated today. This special meal, instituted by Christ, unites us with Him and our brothers and sisters in the faith. This sacrament is intended for those who are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; trust in Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven; and believe that the true body and blood of Jesus are present with the bread and wine of Holy Communion.  Guests who share this faith are invited to speak with the pastor before joining us in this holy meal.

 

Please Don’t Rush Off After The Worship Service!  Stick around for some refreshments and a little conversation.  We hope you are able to stay!

 

 

Assisting Us In Worship This Morning

 

The Dave Samuelson family, greeters

Nicole Burkhardt, organist

Joel Meier, communion assistant

 

 

We Gather To Worship The Lord

Order of Service:    Service of Word and Sacrament, page 26 in the hymnal

Hymns:                   131       133       344       130

Anthem:                 “Sing Hallelujah” (Liberty Belter, Ann Karpenko, Marcia Schuyler)

Message:                Matthew21:10-11

                              “A Fair Question

 

 

OLD TESTAMENT READING                                                                             Zechariah 9:9-10

 

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.

 

EPISTLE                                                                                                         Philippians 2:5-11

 

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 

HOLY GOSPEL                                                                                                 Matthew 21:1-11

 

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 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. If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away." This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "Say to the Daughter of Zion, 'See, your King comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.'"

The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 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!" "Hosanna in the highest!"

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?" The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."

 

 

This Is Holy Week!  We have worship services on Maundy Thursday with Holy Communion at 7:00pm, and on Good Friday (Tenebrae Service) also at 7:00pm.  Join us next Sunday for Easter Breakfast from 7:30 to 8:30am, and for our special Easter Sunday Festival Service at 9:00am.

 

Next Sunday Is Easter Sunday! Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22) but that is pretty rare. Here's the interesting info. This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever observe the rest of our lives! And only the most elderly of our population have ever seen Easter this early (95 years old or above!).  And none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:

1) The next time Easter will be this early (March 23) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913 (so if you're 95 or older, you are the only ones that were around for that!).

2) The next time it will be a day earlier (March 22) will be in the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22 was 1818. So, no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

 

Two Volleyball Teams from Mt. Olive will participate in the MLC Volleyball Tournaments in New Ulm this month.  Our men’s team played yesterday, March 15th, and our women’s team will be playing on March 29th.

 

Youth Basketball Tournament!  Mount Olive in Shakopee will be hosting a March Madness youth group basketball tournament on March 30, 2008 starting at about 12:30pm and ending around 3:00pm.  There will be 3-on-3, 2-ball, free-throw shooting, 3-point shooting, and slam dunk competitions.  This will be followed by pizza in the church gymnasium.  If you are in grades 7-12 and are interested, please let Ryan Jacobs know by Sunday, March 23.  Or, if you want more information, you can contact Pastor Mark Schwertfeger (molcpms@juno.com) or Andrew Waller (awally1183@aol.com).

 

Education Sunday is March 30th, and the final event of the day is our Mt Olive Pinewood Derby Race. This event is open to all who would like to participate. If you haven’t picked up your car yet, you may do so today.  The next car building help night is Wednesday, March 26th at 6:30pm.

 

 

This Week At Mt. Olive

 

Today:                 8:45am           Prayer Time in the Fireside Room

                             9:00am           Family Worship Service with Holy Communion

                           10:00am           Refreshments and Social Time

                           10:30am           Sunday School and Adult Education Hour

Monday:              2:00pm           Worship Service at Lyngblomsten Healthcare Center

                             7:00pm           “Beautiful Feet” Bible Study

Tuesday:              7:00pm           Choir Rehearsal

Wednesday:         5:30pm           Confirmation Class

Thursday:          10:00am           “Explorers of the Word” Bible Study

                             7:00pm           Maundy Thursday Worship with Holy Communion

Friday:                 7:00pm           Good Friday Tenebrae Service

Next Sunday:      7:30am           Easter Breakfast

                             9:00am           Festival of the Resurrection Worship Service