Lection: Psalm 118

March 29, 2026

Psalm 118:1-4, 19-29
Matthew 21:1-11

“God’s Steadfast Love Endures Forever”

O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good;
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
Let the people of First Church say,
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
One more time:
God’s steadfast love endures forever!

On this Palm Sunday, our liturgy draws upon an ancient tradition of prayer and praise – one of the Hallel Psalms that were recited during major Jewish festivals, the pilgrimage festivals including Sukkot, Shavuot, and Passover, when ancient Jews would travel to Jerusalem to make sacrifices and honour God.

Psalm 118 begins and ends with that antiphonal call and response:
O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good;
God’s steadfast love endures forever!
It is a communal declaration of God’s faithful love, and a processional hymn that may have been sung as worshippers approached the temple gates.

One of the festivals that featured Psalm 118 was Sukkot (also known as the Feast of Booths) in which Jewish people remembered their ancestors’ journey through the wilderness after God freed them from slavery in Egypt. One of the practices of that festival, still enacted today by faithful Jews, was to set up temporary tents, booths, or shelters. They would have at least three walls and a roof, but they … Read more »

April 9, 2017

Sermon by the Rev. Amanda Currie

Matthew 21:1-11
Psalm 118:1-4, 19-29
Isaiah 50:4-9a

“The Whole Story”

Over the last 40 years or so, Presbyterians, together with many of the other mainline Christian denominations, have begun to follow the “Church Year” in our worship and devotional life. Downstairs in our church library, there is a wonderful felt wall hanging that can be rolled down for a lesson on the “Church Year.” It’s got a big circle like a pie chart, and the pieces of the pie are different colours for the different seasons… blue for Advent, white for Christmas, green for ordinary time, purple for Lent, white for Easter, and a little sliver of red for Pentecost Sunday.

As we make our way through the church year, we remember the story of our faith, the events in the life of Jesus, and the experiences of the early Christian Churches. The readings from the Revised Common Lectionary guide us to follow Jesus from his birth, through his childhood, his baptism by John, and time in ministry as he travelled throughout Galilee.

But this week, Holy Week, is perhaps the most dramatic time of the year as we are invited to journey with Jesus through the final week of … Read more »