April 6, 2020 – Hello and thank you for joining us on this Monday of Holy Week. As we have passed through Jesus’s entry to Jerusalem, we now take time to look at three parts of Matthew’s gospel in preparation for Maundy Thursday.
Today, Jesus is tested by the religious leaders and his response gives us the two great commandments.
Reading; Matthew 22:34-40
34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, 35 and one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”
Call to Action
Our goal together for this week is to spend time dwelling in the story. One way to help that happen is to make some space that you can go to with no (or at least fewer) distractions. So, maybe your call to action for today is to clean the house a bit, or maybe it is taking the time to create a devotional space, even if just for the next week. I’ve created this space in my basement office. I cleared off a shelf, put a small cloth on it, four candles, a cross, and a Bible. Maybe your space is one end of the dining room table. Or simply your favourite chair with a candle placed nearby. Over the next week, as I take time to read the lessons each day, I’ll take some time in this space to reflect on this powerful story and what it means to me today.
Thank you for joining us today. Take time to reflect on the passage we just heard, read it again in your own Bible or in the video description below, and think about how the great commandments are lived out in your life.
Dismissal
Go in peace. Reflect on the passion story.
Thanks be to God.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has created Worship in the Home liturgies for all of Holy Week. They can be found at this link.
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April 3, 2020 – Welcome to Holy Week at Martin Luther Church. While we are celebrating in separate spaces this year, we are joined together in our worship, our attention to the passion story, and the Spirit that unites us all.
The pastoral team at Martin Luther Church has planned a variety of reflections and activities for all ages to help you participate in our journey through Matthew’s experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Please keep visiting this page from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday as new material is added daily!
Palm Sunday, April 5, 2020
English video devotions are on our YouTube channel, Martin Luther Church.
German radio devotions can be heard on our website and Sundays at 9:30 am on AM 530.
Children! To download your own palm leaf to colour and cut out, visit Illustrated Ministry:
Palm Frond Coloring Page: Get Ready for Palm Sunday
The reading for today is Matthew 21:1-17. (biblegateway.com)
Holy Monday, April 6, 2020
The English video devotion can be found on our YouTube channel, Martin Luther Church.
The reading for today is Matthew 22:34-40. On this Holy Monday we reflect on Jesus’ two great commands.
Holy Tuesday, April 7, 2020
The English video devotion can be found on our YouTube channel, Martin Luther Church.
The reading for today is Matthew 26:1-5, 14-16, 47-50; 27:1-5. On this Holy Tuesday we reflect on Judas’ story.
Holy Wednesday, April 8, 2020
The English video devotion can be found on our YouTube channel, Martin Luther Church.
The reading for today is Matthew 26:30-35a, 57-58, 69-75. On this Holy Wednesday we reflect on Peter’s story.
Maundy Thursday, April 9, 2020
Maundy Thursday will be celebrated with a live agape meal through Zoom at 7:00 pm (invitations to be provided). The liturgy will also be posted here so you can celebrate anytime on your own.
Matthew’s depiction of the Last Supper and Jesus’ arrest is found in Matthew 26:17-30, 36-56.
Good Friday, April 10, 2020
The English video devotion can be found on our YouTube channel, Martin Luther Church.
In today’s devotion we use a form of service called Tenebrae, which is Latin for “darkness.” In this service we will hear Matthew’s version of the Passion Narrative, extinguish candles as different sections of the story are read, and spend time in prayer. This devotion is designed to be contemplative, offering us the opportunity to reflect on the Lord’s death and resurrection as the central event of our salvation.
The readings for today come from Matthew 26:47-27:61.
Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020
English video devotions are on our YouTube channel, Martin Luther Church.
German radio devotions can be heard on our website and Sundays at 9:30 am on AM 530.
The reading for today is Matthew 28:1-10.
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