Oh, to see the dawn of the darkest day
Christ on the road to Calvary
Tried by sinful men, torn and beaten, Then
Nailed to a cross of wood
Chorus: This, the power of the cross Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath We stand forgiven at the cross
Oh, to see the pain written on Your face
Bearing the awesome weight of sin
Every bitter thought, every evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow Chorus
Now the daylight flees, now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head
Curtain torn in two, dead are raised to life
‘Finished!’ the victory cry Chorus
Oh, to see my name written in the wounds
For through Your suffering I am free
Death is crushed to death, life is mine to live
Won through Your selfless love
This, the power of the cross Son of God slain for us
What a love! What a cost! We stand forgiven at the cross
This the power of the cross Christ became sin for us
Took the blame, bore the wrath We stand forgiven at the cross
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in all,
Here in the love of Christ, I stand.
In Christ alone Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless Babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid,
Here in the death of Christ, I live.
There in the ground His body lay,
Light of world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine,
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.
No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand,
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand.
We worship the God who was.
We worship the God who is,
We worship the God who evermore will be.
He opened the prison doors.
He parted the raging sea.
Our God. He holds the victory.
CHORUS: There’s joy in the house of the Lord.
There’s joy in the house of the Lord today.
And we won’t be quiet.
We shout out Your praise!
There’s joy in the house of the Lord.
Our God is surely in this place.
And we won’t be quiet.
We shout out your praise.
We sing to the God who heals,
We sing to the God who saves,
We sing to the God who always makes a way
‘Cause He hung upon that cross,
And He rose up from that grave.
My God’s still rolling stones away! CHORUS:
BRIDGE: We were the beggars, now we’re royalty.
We were the prisoners, now we’re running free.
We are forgiven, accepted, redeemed by His grace.
Let house of the Lord sing praise. (Sing Twice)
CHORUS:
We shout out your praise!
11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent
over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where
Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot.
13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where
they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing
there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.
15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are
looking for?”
Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away,
tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.”
16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”
She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means
“Teacher”).
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the
Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my
Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
18 Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: “I have seen
the Lord!” And she told them that he had said these things to her.
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples
were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus
came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said
this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when
they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I
am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the
Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do
not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
“Oh, that my words were recorded,
that they were written on a scroll,
24 that they were inscribed with an iron tool on [a] lead,
or engraved in rock forever!
25 I know that my redeemer [b] lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth. [c]
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet [d] in [e] my flesh I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!
INVOCATION
Pastor: We worship this evening in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
AN EXPLANATION OF THE SERVICE
P: We usually view worship as a time of joyous praise, especially when we
think of festival occasions like Palm Sunday and Easter. However, we
understand that a Good Friday service is to have a different focus. We will
hear the last words of Jesus from the cross and listen to the events that
surrounded the cross at that time. Our service is designed to be a time of
worship that is both serious and solemn. Serious- as we see the Son of God
approach the cross of Calvary. Solemn- as we meditate on the truth that it
was for your sins and mine that He suffered and died. Let us now worship
the Lord who loved us enough to die for us.
INVOCATION
Pastor: We worship this morning in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
Responsive reading
Leader: Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; the
Lord has risen!
People: He has risen indeed!
Leader: Where, O death, is your victory? Where, o death, is your sting? Death
has been swallowed up in victory!
People: Christ has risen indeed!
Leader: Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes
in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me
will never die.”
People: Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Leader: Why do we worry saying, “What shall we eat and what shall we
wear?”
People: He is risen and rules over all things.
Leader: If God is for us, who can be against?
People: No one, because Christ Jesus who died, more than that who
was raised to life, is at the right hand of the Father.
Leader: What shall separate us from the love of God?
People: Nothing, for we are more than conquerors through Him who
loved us.
Leader: Christ is Risen!
People: He has risen indeed! Alleluia!
PRAYER
Thanks be to you, O Lord, for giving us the victory through your
Son, Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, you have not forsaken us or left us to our own
destruction but kept your ancient promise to send a Savior. We praise
you for his perfect life, his innocent death, and his glorious
resurrection. Because of your faithfulness to your promises, today is a
day of victory!
Savior Jesus, we praise you for carrying out God's plan of
salvation. Your resurrection is undeniable evidence that you have
triumphed over, sin, death, hell, and the devil. Because of your
resurrection, today is a day of victory!
Holy Spirit, we praise you that through the gospel you have led
us to know and believe that Jesus is our risen Savior. Today we say
confidently, as did the angel, "He is not here. He has risen." Preserve us
in faith. Raise us to newness of life. Continue to lavish on us the
blessings of this day of victory.
Triune God, kindle in our hearts a love for all people. Equip us
with both the will and the words to tell others that Jesus has indeed
risen from the grave. Use us to share the message of the empty tomb, so
that others too may rejoice in Jesus' Easter victory.
Lord of life, comfort all who stand at death's door. Comfort all
who mourn the loss of a loved one who has died in faith in the risen
Savior. Comfort each of us with the assurance that because Jesus lives,
we too will live. Remind us all that the death of a Christian is not a
defeat. Because of Jesus it is a day of victory.
THE CONFUSION OF THE FIRST EASTER
Luke 24:1-12
On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women
took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 2 They found the
stone rolled away from the tomb, 3 but when they entered, they did not find
the body of the Lord Jesus. 4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly
two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 5 In their
fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men
said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 6 He is not
here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in
Galilee: 7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be
crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” 8 Then they remembered his
words.
9 When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to
the Eleven and to all the others. 10 It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the
mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles.
11 But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them
like nonsense. 12 Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over,
he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering
to himself what had happened.
RESPONSE SONG
I know that my Redeemer lives; What comfort this sweet sentence gives!
He lives, He lives, who once was dead; He lives, my ever-living Head!
He lives triumphant from the grave; He lives eternally to save.
He lives all glorious in the sky; He lives exalted there on high.
He lives to bless me with His love; He lives to plead for me above.
He lives, my hungry soul to feed; He lives to help in time of need.
John 20:3-10
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were
running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He
bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go
in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the
tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had
been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place,
separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the
tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not
understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the
disciples went back to where they were staying.
RESPONSE SONG
He lives to grant me rich supply; He lives to guide with His eye.
He lives to comfort me when faint; He lives to hear my soul’s complaint.
He lives to silence all my fears; He lives to wipe away my tears.
He lives to calm my troubled heart; He lives all blessings to impart.
He lives, my kind, wise heav’nly friend; He lives and loves me to the end.
He lives, and while He lives I’ll sing; He lives my Prophet, Priest, and King.
Luke 24:13-24
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called
Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each
other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed
these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with
them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk
along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas,
asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the
things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful
in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our
rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified
him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem
Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. 22 In
addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this
morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen
a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions
went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not
see Jesus.”
RESPONSE SONG
He lives and grants me daily breath; He lives, and I shall conquer death.
He lives my mansion to prepare; He lives to bring me safely there.
He lives, all glory to His name! He lives, my Jesus, still the same.
Oh, the sweet joy this sentence gives: “I know that my Redeemer lives!”
APOSTLES’ CREED
C: I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was conceived by
the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third
day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and is
seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there He will
come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion
of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the
life everlasting. Amen.
P: The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord look on you with favor and give you peace.
Amen. Amen. Amen.