Why is it "good" Friday?
Intro
Welcome to this Home Gathering Good Friday Service! This guide has been prepared to facilitate times of worship wherever we are, whether alone, with family, gathered presencially or online with a few friends. May it be a blessing for you all!
Call to Worship
"Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"
John 1:29b
Today we commemorate Good Friday recalling that dark day when our dear Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Messiah, laid down His life and offered Himself as the Lamb of God for the sin of the world. The ignominy of the crucifixion and barbaric treatment He endured defies imagination.
Yet even as we remember Calvary, its violence and brutality, as well as the madness of these our own perilous times, take comfort in the knowledge and hope of that celestial scene of which every worship gathering on earth is a tiny reflection.
Let us enjoin ourselves to the worship to the heavenly worship that is already and always going on, of the holy Lamb of God, Jesus the Messiah.
Revelation 5:6-12:
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 He went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. 8 And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people. 9 And they sang a new song, saying:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you purchased for God
persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
10 You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.”
11 Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. 12 In a loud voice they were saying:
“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and praise!”
Our exalted King, the humble Saviour and precious Lamb of God, call us to true worship, touching upon things unseen in the realm of the Spirit. Incredibly, this same King bids us come to Him boldly in our time of great need. “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:6-7) Amen.
Worship Songs
Our suggested worship songs for today are: I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say; Hallelujah, My Father; Praise the Lamb; Lead Me to Calvary; and The Wonderful Cross. The playlist with these songs can be accessed through the video below. Sing along with the lyrics on-screen.
Scripture
Hebrews 2:9-15
9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12 He says,
“I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.”
13 And again,
“I will put my trust in him.”
And again he says,
“Here am I, and the children God has given me.”
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
Sermon - Why Is It "Good" Friday?
By Sean O'Leary
Closing Song - I Asked the Lord
Prayer
Let us continue to seek the Lord with our hearts, lifting up prayers of thanksgiving and adoration, prayers for mercy and forgiveness and repentance, prayers for the community, the city, the nation, the world, the frontline workers, all the saints, and for the lost.
Benediction
"Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
Hebrews 13:20-21