Good Friday Service

"Reflections on the seven words on the cross and Prayer for Missional Life"

 □ Opening of the service

"Jesus, the Light of Life in a Dark World" [Candle Lighting]

 □ Hymn

"ONCE AGAIN"

 □ Word and Prayer

"Hearing God's Voice in the Presence of the the seven words on the Cross.

Ⅰ. Repentance before hearing God's voice

✝ Words of forgiveness

    "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our wickedness. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed. We have all gone astray like sheep, we have all gone our separate ways, but the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:5-6)

 Praying Together in Our Voices

"We confess all our sins of being lost and living in self-centeredness, so wash us clean in the blood of the cross and forgive us.
We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, who died for all our sins. Amen."

 ✝ Assurance of forgiveness

  God promises in 1 John 1:9 that "if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."    Do you accept God's forgiveness? [Amen]   Do you forgive yourself? [Amen]

 Ⅱ. Listen to God's voice

[Read Psalm 22: 1-18]

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother's breasts. On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother's womb you have been my God. Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet-- I can count all my bones-- they stare and gloat over me; they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.”

✝First Reading. / Jesus Christ Bearing the Cross Luke 23:34 

 "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Sentenced to death by crucifixion, betrayed and arrested, bound and mocked, scourged and crowned.
Jesus walks alone to Golgotha, carrying a heavy cross.
The first words of our Lord on the cross to his disciples, armed with cowardly silence and betrayal.
His first words to them are forgiveness.

 [Prayer] Let us humbly pray at this time, listening to the voice of our Lord.

 ✝Second Reading / Calvary Luke 23:43

"Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise."

Even in that moment when it was hard to breathe, the Lord saved a soul. Our Lord became the gate to heaven. Believers who trust in Jesus as Lord and live as heavenly people should live lives that fulfill God's will. 

 [Prayer] Let us listen to the Lord's voice and pray, remembering our individual callings.

 ✝Third Reading / Sorrow Mourning John 19:26-27

 "Woman, behold, it is your son; behold, it is your mother."

Jesus asks "the beloved disciple" to help his mother, who is looking at him with tears in her eyes in deep sorrow. He is fulfilling his purpose of atoning for the sins of mankind and opening the gates of heaven, while still fulfilling human decency.

 [Prayer] Let us pray for those who have failed to live according to the Lord's words and have forgotten the importance of everyday life and forgot the importance of everyday life. 

 ✝Fourth Reading / The Crucifixion Mt 27:46 Mk 15:34

 "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

The crucified Lord took the place of "the confession that we are dying in our sins and need to cry out," opening the way to our eternal home to a humanity that lives a life of wanderers away from God. 

 [Prayer] Let us pray, Lord, have mercy on us.

 ✝Fifth Reading / Christ on the Cross Christ on the Cross Jn 19:28

 "I thirst"

On the cross, having poured out His blood and water, the Lord emptied Himself of everything.
But the cross of Jesus became "a spring of water welling up to eternal life" for those who thirst. 

 [Prayer] What kind of person and heart we are to be. Let us pray fervently, listening to the Lord's voice.

 ✝Sixth Reading / Christ on the Cross2 Christ on the Jn 19:30

 "It is finished!"

"It is finished!" are the dying words of our Lord, who came as the Son of God and the Son of Man, having fulfilled all His mission.

 [Prayer] May we all listen to the Lord's voice, and may we all pray in silence to fulfill the calling and the meaning of our lives, let us pray in silence.

✝Seventh Reading. /  Lamentation of Christ Lk 23:46

 "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit."

The time when everything stopped, the time when we gazed upon our dead Lord and mourned.
Watching our Lord breathe his last, committing his soul into his Father's hands.
Where were we and what were we doing?
And is death the end of it all, or is there a resurrection? 

 [Prayer] Let us pray in silence before the death of our Lord.

 [Read Psalm 22: 19-31]

“But you, O LORD, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: You who fear the LORD, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the LORD! May your hearts live forever!

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations.

All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.”

Ⅲ. Responding to the Voice of God / Answering the Call to Missionary Life

The eyes of Jesus, seemingly unable to meet ours, ask us a question

  Who do you say that I am?

[Together] I will live my life remembering the eyes of Jesus looking at me and at all of us. I will recommit myself to living in obedience to the call of the Lord. We confess to live missionary life practically in our daily lives and work. 

□ Eucharist

Words of the Eucharist

 "Behold, I stand at the door, knocking. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

 "Jesus also took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, and said, "This is my body which is given for you.  "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And after he had eaten supper, he took the cup with him, saying. "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. But behold, the hand of him who will hand me over is with me on the cup." (Luke 22:19-21)

 Eucharistic Prayer

"May the Holy Spirit come upon the bread and cup we receive."
"As Jesus gave thanks for the Eucharist, we give thanks even in the face of darkness. Open to us the door of hope."
"Continue to transform us so that we may receive Jesus, God's gift of life and salvation, the bread and the cup, deeply into all of our lives."
"Help us to go out into the world with the gift we have received, Jesus, and live out the purpose for which you created us."

 Receiving Holy Communion

Come to the "prayer seat" and pray first.
After partaking of the sacrament, return to your seat.
 *A time of praise and prayer is offered in the pews.

□ Praise

"Upon Calvary's Mount"
"Jesus for Me"

□ Benediction

Ⅳ. Moving Forward in Obedience to God's Voice

Today's Good Friday service continues to lead up to Easter Sunday.
We look forward to the Lord's resurrection.
We believe in the Lord's love, which is stronger than death.

[The Heart Prayer]

"I am dead. I am not my own master, Jesus is my master. Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.
I meet the risen Jesus in my heart and follow him and testify. I sing glorious victory with my loved ones.  Amen Amen."

 [Benediction]

After the "Benediction," please feel free to continue in silence and finish your prayer.