April 2, 2021 – Good Friday
A: All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned and gone our own way.
And on One has been laid
the iniquity of us all.
Christ became obedient unto death,
Even death on a cross.
P: Gracious God, on this day we gather to remember with love and tears the suffering and death of Jesus of Nazareth. We believe that this despised and rejected man of sorrows has borne our griefs and has been wounded for our transgressions. We come to this worship in deep repentance for our individual sins and in recommitment of our lives to end suffering, pain, and death in all times and all places. Amen
Hymn Ah, Holy Jesus # 349
- Ah, holy Jesus, how hast thou offended,
that we to judge thee have in hate pretended?
By foes derided, by thine own rejected, O most afflicted.
- Who was the guilty? Who brought this upon thee?
Alas, my treason, Jesus, hath undone thee.
‘Twas I, Lord Jesus, I it was denied thee; I crucified thee.
- Therefore, kind Jesus, since I cannot pay thee,
I do adore thee, and will ever pray thee;
Think on thy pity and thy love unswerving, not my deserving.
The Way of the Cross
First Station – Jesus is condemned to death
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate spoke to the crowd: “What do you wish me to do with the man you call the king of the Jews?” They shouted back, “Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify him!” So, after flogging Jesus, Pilate handed him over to be crucified.
Brief silence…
L: God did not spare his own son,
C: But delivered him up for us all.
Hymn Go to Dark Gethsemane
- Go to dark Gethsemane, all who feel the tempter’s power,
Your redeemer’s conflict see, watch with him one bitter hour;
Turn not from his griefs away, learn from Jesus Christ to pray.
- Follow to the judgement hall, view the Lord of life arraigned;
Oh, the wormwood and the gall! Oh, the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss; learn from him to bear the cross.
Second Station – Jesus takes up his cross
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Brief silence…
L: The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all,
C: For the transgression of my people he was stricken.
Hymn Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross
- Jesus, keep me near the cross, there’s a precious fountain;
Free to all, a healing stream flows from Calvary’s mountain.
Refrain:
In the cross, in the cross be my glory ever;
Till my ransomed soul shall find rest beyond the river.
- Near the cross, a trembling soul, love and mercy found me;
There to bright and morning star sheds its beams around me. Refrain
Third Station – The cross is laid on Simon of Cyrene
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
As they led Jesus away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus. Remember how Jesus said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for my yoke is easy, and by burden is light.”
Brief silence…
L: Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me
C: cannot be my disciple.
Hymn Precious Lord, Take My Hand
I am tired, I am weak, I am worn.
Through the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.
When my life is almost gone,
Hear my cry, hear my call, hold my hand lest I fall.
Take my hand, precious Lord, lead me home.
Fourth Station – Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
A great number of people followed Jesus, and among them were women who were wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”
Brief silence…
L: Those who sowed with tears
C: will reap with songs of joy.
Hymn I Want Jesus to Walk with Me (verses 1 and 2)
I want Jesus to walk with me;
All along my pilgrim journey,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
In my trials, Lord, walk with me;
When my heart is almost breaking,
Lord, I want Jesus to walk with me.
Fifth Station – Jesus is stripped of his garments
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
When they came to a place called Golgotha, they offered him wine to drink mixed with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. The soldiers divided his garments among them by casting lots. This was to fulfill what the scripture says, “They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.”
Brief silence…
L: They gave me gall to eat,
C: and when I was thirsty,
they gave me vinegar to drink.
Hymn Beneath the Cross of Jesus
The shadow of a mighty rock within a weary land,
A home with a wilderness, a rest upon the way,
From the burning of the noontide heat and burdens of the day.
The very dying form of one who suffered there for me.
And from my contrite heart, with tears, two wonders I confess;
The wonder of his glorious love and my unworthiness.
Sixth Station – Jesus is nailed to the cross
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
When they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified Jesus, and with him they crucified two criminals, one on the right, and one on the left. He poured out himself to death, and yet he bore the sin of many.
Brief silence…
L: They pierce my hands and my feet;
C: they stare and gloat over me.
Hymn Were You There
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Where you there when they crucified my Lord?
Where you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Where you there when they nailed him to the tree?
Seventh Station – Jesus dies on the cross
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold your mother.” And when Jesus had received the vinegar he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Brief silence…
L: Christ for us became obedient unto death,
C: even death on a cross.
Special Music Behold the Wood Daphne Clarke
Shawn Lemp
Eighth Station – Jesus is laid in the tomb
L: We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
C: By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. So Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. He then rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb.
Brief silence…
L: You will not abandon me to the grave,
C: nor let your holy one see corruption.
Hymn Were You There
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid him in the tomb?
Sermon
Hymn of the Day There In God’s Garden # 342
- There in God’s garden stands the tree of Wisdom,
whose leaves hold forth the healing of the nations:
Tree of all knowledge, Tree of all compassion, Tree of all beauty.
- Its name is Jesus, name that says, “Our Saviour!
There on its branches see the scars of suffering;
see there the tendrils of our human selfhood feed on its lifeblood.
- Thorns not its own are tangled in its foliage;
our greed has starved it, our despite has choked it.
Yet, look! It lives! Its grief has not destroyed it nor fire consumed it.
- See how its branches reach to us in welcome;
hear what the Voice says, “Come to me, ye weary!
Give me your sickness, give me all your sorrow, I will give blessing.”
- All heaven is singing, “Thanks to Christ whose passion
offers in mercy healing, strength, and pardon.
Peoples and nations, take, take it freely!” Amen! My Master!
Text: Kiraly Imre von Pecselyi, c. 1590–c. 1641; tr. Erik Routley, 1917-1982, © 1976 Hinshaw Music, Inc. Admin. Fred Bock Publishing Group. Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE #A-736296. All rights reserved.
Bidding Prayer
Following each petition, the assisting minister will pray: “We ask in Jesus’ name,” to which the congregation responds: Amen
P: Finally, let us pray for all those things for which Jesus himself would have us ask, praying:
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 trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; 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 O Sacred Head, Now Wounded # 351
- O sacred head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, thine only crown;
O sacred head, what glory, what bliss till now was thine!
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call thee mine.
- How pale thou art with anguish, with shore abuse and scorn;
How does they face now languish, which once was bright as morn!
Thy grief and bitter passion were all for sinners’ gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but thine the deadly pain.
- What language shall I borrow to thank thee, dearest friend,
For this thy dying sorrow, they pity without end?
Oh, make me thine forever, and should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never outlive my love to thee.
- Lord, be my consolation; shield me when I must die;
Remind me of thy passion when my last hour draws nigh.
These eyes, new faith receiving, from thee shall never move;
For all who die believing die safely in thy love.
Prayer
We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
By your holy cross you have redeemed the world.
Send down your abundant blessing, O God, upon your people. Grant us pardon; bring us comfort. May our faith grow stronger and, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, may our future be assured. We pray in the name of Christ. Amen
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