Thank God for Pastor Chris and his sermon on Palm Sunday from Matthew 26:1-16. Ask the Lord who went to the grave for us help us to be as radically devoted to him as the woman who poured out an alabaster flask of oil on Him as preparation for his burial.

Pray for our Good Friday Tenebrae service on April 3rd. The message will be “How God Views Your Shame,” from Mark 14:66–72. Pray for the Spirit’s empowerment of Pastor Chris. May this service draw us and our visitors close to Christ.

Pray that our Easter service would glorify the risen Lord and draw people closer to Him. Ask for Pastor Chris to receive encouragement as he prepares his sermons this wee. 

Pray for Ed, who received a diagnosis of leukemia. May he trust God, be comforted in this trial, receive needed wisdom, and receive needed treatment and healing. 

We will be praying for Michael Walker. Michael serves as an associate pastor at Trinity Church in central London, a church plant that is located strategically near several colleges with a large population of international students coming from around the world to study.

Our prayer today will be informed by Matthew 21: The [disciples] brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and [Jesus] sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Please join me in prayer…

Jesus, we praise you and say, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”

Just as the people of Jerusalem praised you on your entry into Jerusalem, we praise you today. Unlike those people, who didn’t understand what would unfold in the next week, we are grateful that you accomplished the work of salvation through your sacrificial death on a cross and resurrection, conquering sin and death. Thank you for the grace you extend to us freely. We can only respond in thanks and awe, and say, “Hallelujah!”

[From Book of Common Prayer]
Yet in spite of all that you have done for us, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbor as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent…as we confess our sins in this time of silence…

For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will and walk in your ways to the glory of your Name. 

We bring our requests to you with anticipation that you hear our prayers and answer in your perfect will.

• We pray for the global church as it meets today celebrating this Palm Sunday that your people would be strengthened and the gospel clearly preached.
  We pray for the persecuted church, and for believers who risk their lives simply by meeting in person together. Give them boldness to follow you and stand strong for you.  
• We pray for peace in this time of war. We are aware of the current wars happening in the Middle East and Ukraine, but there is much conflict globally in other places like Myanmar, Sudan, Afghanistan, Venezuela, and more. Oh, God, we pray for peace and justice to prevail. And we pray for our political leaders, that they would be guided by truth and righteousness, willing to stand with integrity and not succumb to the prevailing political winds. 
  We pray that in our nation you would bring revival to our people and our churches. We pray that we would love you, love one another, and love our enemies, as you have called us to do. 
• Today, we pray for our missionary partner, Michael Walker, as he serves at Trinity Church in central London. We thank you for the strategic location of that church near several universities. 
• In that context, we praise you for the recent baptism of David, a student Michael has been discipling, and we pray for the students who regularly meet on Tuesdays for fellowship and sharing, particularly several from China who are considering baptism.
• In addition, we pray for Michael as he has taken on added responsibilities of preaching and leadership while the senior pastor at Trinity Church is on a sabbatical.
• Finally, we praise you for Michael’s recent engagement to Talitha and pray that you would bless the growth of their relationship as they plan for their June wedding in London.
• We also pray for the needs of our church members. We pray for those with long-term illnesses, for those recovering from injuries, for those dealing with the challenges of aging, for those grieving the loss of loved ones and those dealing with relational conflict. We specifically ask for those with specific needs, including Jim, Bob & Diane, Elizabeth, and more. In all these requests, we acknowledge you alone are able to provide healing, strength, comfort and peace. 
• Finally, I pray for Pastor Chris that he would be guided by your Holy Spirit as he preaches today. I pray that you would give us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to feel, and feet to be active in obedience to how you would teach us today.
  

I pray all this in the name of Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Savior and Redeemer, Amen.