Good Friday 2nd April 2021
Lifted Up by the Promise
Prepared by Rev. Joan Pell
Call to Worship
God forbid that I should boast of anything but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In him is salvation, life, and resurrection from the dead; by him we are redeemed and set free.
May God be gracious to us and bless us, and make his face shine upon us.
Hymn: When I Survey the Wondrous Cross – StF 287 (Isaac Watts)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_fvFfPqjO4
- When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride. - Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God!
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood. - See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown? - Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Prayer (Written by Moira Laidlaw, liturgiesonline.com.au)
Gracious God, we come to remember the suffering death of Jesus. He was despised and rejected, oppressed and afflicted, yet he was prepared to be wounded for our transgressions. We come overwhelmed by the depth of Jesus’ love for us, and his commitment to defeat evil, even when that meant his own suffering and his own death. In his willingness to make us righteous, he poured himself out to death, even death on a cross, and so, in response to such love and sacrifice, we commit ourselves as his disciples to overcome evil with good, suffering with wholeness, and oppression with justice. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
Scripture: Isaiah 52:13, 53:1, 3-6
Reflection (Taken from A Season of Promise written by Mary Scifres and B. J. Beu)
Christians confess Isaiah’s Suffering Servant as none other than Christ Jesus. One who was thought abandoned and smitten by God was pierced for our transgressions. By his wounds we are healed. Through his tribulation we find peace. How did salvation history seemingly take such a strange and unlikely turn? How could the day of Jesus’s death be called Good Friday? Isaiah says God’s servant will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. When the Word made flesh was lifted up on the cross at Golgotha, God highly exalted him. The Word made flesh, who came from above, was lifted up that we might be lifted with him. When you cry out, know that Christ is here to lift you up. This is a day to truly be born from above, to stand and be counted with those who live in the light, to journey with those who dwell secure in the inscrutable mysteries of God.
Write down on a small scrap of paper something that lies fallow in your life that you would like to see burst forth with new life this Easter Sunday. Fold the paper and cover it, so that it hides out of sight. Spend the next three days in the emptiness of the tomb, waiting and praying for a sign that Christ, who was lifted up and glorified on Good Friday, can lift up your hopes and dreams.
Read & Ponder the Passion Story: Mark 14:26-15:47
Response: Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
Lord’s Prayer: Our Father …
Blessing: Go on your way to watch and wait.
And may God the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer be with us all, now and always. Amen.