On this Good Friday, though we are social distancing in our own homes, we still remember together our Saviour’s death on the cross, and the salvation it brings us. Follow this post for our Good Friday service, reflecting at each point.
Our worship and reflection is divided into three parts, following the structure of Romans 5:8:
“God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
In part one, we will consider God’s great, faithful love and how because of His love, He gave us Jesus.
In part two, we will consider our own great need, our sin, and our helplessness to do something about it.
In part three, we will consider Christ’s death for us, which brings us salvation and eternal life.
As well, we ask that you light three candles or place three lamps or electric candelabras in the area you worship. These represent Jesus, the Light of the world, whose life is the light of man, but whose life was given, snuffed out that day we remember.
Prayer
O Lord our God,
You who are the High and Holy One,
The Mighty, yet Merciful One,
The Faithfully Loving God,
You have come, lived among us, perfect in every way,
And went to the cross for our us,
For the forgiveness of our sin,
For our salvation,
For the redemption of the world.
On this sorrowful yet joyful day,
We turn to You, look to You, and remember
Your death,
For in it, we find life.
We pray this in Jesus’ name,
Amen.
1. God Shows His Love For Us
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The LORD is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made. (Psalm 145:8-9).
How great, how wonderful, how unending, how marvelous is God’s faithful love for us!
God’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ, come to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21), come to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He is the long-promised, long awaited Saviour, fulfillment of God’s promises throughout the Old Testament.
See our Saviour.
See Jesus Christ. See His great love.
Love brought thee from heaven to earth,
from earth to the cross,
from the cross to the grave.
Love cause thee to be weary, hungry, tempted,
scorned, scourged, buffeted,
spat upon, crucified, and pierced.
Love led thee to bow thy head in death.
(From “Love” in The Valley of Vision).
Where Love Took Jesus
We encourage to take your own Bible to read the following Scriptures from the Gospels of Mark and Luke. Read slowly, read reflecting on the depth of His love in His actions to bring salvation to us, sinners in need of His mercy.
See Jesus in the Garden, praying, agonizing, awaiting his betrayal and arrest.
LUKE 22:39-46
And he came out and went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed him. And when he came to the place, he said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and he said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
See Jesus betrayed with a kiss, arrested, and abandoned by his followers.
MARK 14:43-50
And immediately, while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard.” And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, “Rabbi!” And he kissed him. And they laid hands on him and seized him. But one of those who stood by drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his ear. And Jesus said to them, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But let the Scriptures be fulfilled.” And they all left him and fled.
See Jesus turn and look at Peter, who had denied knowing his Lord three times.
Luke 22:54-62
Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance. And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.” And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.” And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly.
See Jesus on trial.
lUKE 22:66-23:5
And they led him away to their council, and they said, “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.” Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”
See Jesus sentenced to die.
MARK 15:11-15
The chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead. And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?” And they cried out again, “Crucify him.” And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
See Jesus beaten and mocked
Mark 15:16-20
And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.
With a moment of silence, extinguish one of the lights or candles.
Pause for a moment to consider the weight of Jesus’ situation: the perfect, mighty, holy Son of God humbled and suffering.
2. While We Were Still Sinners
We see Jesus, the Man of Sorrows, and His arrest, His trial, and His conviction, with the flogging, beating, and mocking he endured before being led away to be crucified.
As we see Jesus on the cross,
Consider our part in His death,
As we hear and pray along to the prayer, “I Am To Blame.”
"I Am To Blame," Prayer from Piercing Heaven, edited Robert Elmer
In our place, He stood condemned,
Bearing the guilt and punishment for our sin.
Jesus lived the perfect life that we could never have
And died the death that you and I deserved.
Confession
First, we examine our hearts and lives, and we invite God to do so, to reveal and convict us of sin:
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23-24).
Take a moment to quietly let God speak, reveal and convict of sin.
Second, pray:
Lord,
I have drawn away from the sound of your voice,
fearful of what you might speak, fearful
of what obedience might require,
for I have sinned, O Father, and I am pained
at this thought, and shamed
to bring my faults into the light.
Pause to make specific confession of sin in prayer to God.
Lord, I turn from my sins, I repent,
I renounce them all,
And I turn to You.
Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner.
Forgive me, O Lord, lest I despair.
Restore me, lest I be forever lost.
For your pardon alone
is sufficient to my peace;
and your death to my resurrection.
Embrace me again to life
and to right standing with you, O God,
And to the fellowship of love
and compassion that is your church.
I am always, every moment, in need of you.
Amen.
(Adapted from Douglas McKelvey, Every Moment Holy, pp 237-239)
Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer to die?
Since death is the punishment for sin, Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God. By his substitutionary atoning death, he alone redeems us from hell and gains for us forgiveness of sin, righteousness, and everlasting life. (New City Catechism, Question 26).
With a moment of silence, extinguish the second candle.
3. Christ Died For Us
See God’s great, faithful love for us.
See the depth of your sin.
See the Saviour, Jesus Christ, God’s Son, crucified on the cross for you.
LUKE 23:26-27, 32-46
And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him.
Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. And the people stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; let him save himself, if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One!” The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” There was also an inscription over him, “This is the King of the Jews.”
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.
JOHN 19:30
When Jesus had received some sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Message: See Your Saviour
Lord,
You have loved us with an everlasting love.
You have seen the depth of our sin,
And have not turned your back on us.
From the beginning, You have been working
To bring salvation from sin,
To bring restoration,
To make all things new.
Come and make us new
As we see Jesus on the cross,
Dying for each one of us,
On that darkest of days.
In Jesus’ saving name,
Amen
In a brief moment of silence to reflect, snuff out the final candle, remembering Christ’s death and burial.