Ward Hill Church of Christ the King

A Christ-Centered Community of Faith, Hope, & Love

Maundy Thursday, April 9, in the Lord’s Year 2020

Service of Christ’s Supper and the New Commandment

 Opening Prayer:  O Lord God Most High, Eternal Father, Everlasting Lord, in the name of Christ we come to you, that in him we might keep the feast. His blood has been put on the doorposts and lintels of our hearts. The Paschal Moon has risen; and the time has come to move out. O God, most compassionate, most gracious, open for us a way, that we might pass out of the evil that besets us. All glory be to you, O God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

 Hymn 420   At the Lamb’s High Feast We Sing                         ST GEORGE’S, WINDSOR

Silent Confession and Assurance of Forgiveness

Collect for Maundy Thursday: Almighty Father, whose dear Son, on the night before he suffered, instituted the Sacrament of his Body and Blood: Mercifully grant that we may receive it thankfully in remembrance of Jesus Christ our Lord, who in these holy mysteries gives us a pledge of eternal life; and who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

 

Holy Scriptures           Exodus 12:1-4,11-14              Psalm 116:1-2,12-19

1 Corinthians 11:23-26         John 13:1-17,31b-35

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Meditation on the Bible Readings

The Nicene Creed – hymnal page 846

A Time of Prayer and Fellowship

 Celebration of the Lord’s Supper

This is the table of the Lord, not of Ward Hill Church. Therefore, we invite to the Lord’s table all baptized persons who have confessed their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ. Normally, you should also be in regular fellowship with, if not this church, a congregation in another location. If you do not wish to participate in the Lord’s Supper today, we understand and sincerely ask for God’s blessing on your life. Either way, we are thankful that you have been present with us this day in the house of the Lord.

Eucharistic Prayer and the Sanctus

The Lord be with you.        And also with you.

Lift up your hearts.             We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.  It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Praise be to you, Lord of heaven and earth. You have revealed your mercy towards your people in giving your only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. We give thanks for the redemption you have prepared for us through Jesus Christ. Let your Holy Spirit come into our hearts to enlighten us with a living faith. With your whole Church on earth and with all the saints and angels in heaven, we worship and adore your glorious name in this unending praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Consecration of the Elements & Ourselves: Discerning the Body of Christ

O God, sanctify by your Spirit this bread and wine, which you have given and human hands have made. Here we offer them to you, that through them we may partake of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the same night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take, eat. This is my body, which is given for you.” In the same way, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it to his disciples saying, “Drink this, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

Therefore, heavenly Father, we celebrate this supper in remembrance of your Son’s passion and death, his resurrection and ascension. We will eat of the Bread of Life and drink the Cup of Blessing until the day when he comes again in glory.

We ask you, O God, to remember the perfect and eternal sacrifice through which, in Christ, you have reconciled us with yourself. Grant that we may be united into one body, and be made a perfect living sacrifice in Christ. Through him, and with him, and in him, by the power of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, almighty Father, forever and ever. And now we pray as our Savior taught us: 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 debts, as we forgive our debtors; 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.

 Hymn 422   ’Twas on That Night When Doomed to Know           ROCKINGHAM OLD

 Holy Communion: Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ

The bread which we break is a sharing in the body of Christ. The cup for which we give thanks is a participation in the blood of Christ. Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. Therefore let us keep the feast. The gifts of God for the people of God. Amen.

 Thanksgiving and Commission: Being the Body of Christ in the World

Let us give thanks. Almighty and eternal God, you have fed us with the Holy Communion of the body and blood of your Son, our Savior Jesus Christ; we thank you for this gift, by which you assure us that we are members of the mystical body of your Son and heirs through hope of your everlasting kingdom. So assist us by your Holy Spirit that we may grow daily in knowledge of your truth, and in faithfulness to your will, abiding in that fellowship in which all your saints have part; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit be all honor and glory, world without end. Amen. Go forth in peace to love and serve the Lord. Amen.

 Hymn 431   A Parting Hymn We Sing                                                             SCHUMANN

Benediction: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen.