Good Friday Worship. April 2nd, 6:30pm

GATHERING

Prelude          Mitch Richards
Greetings        Pastor Peace
Call to Worship
Pastor: Who has believed what we have heard?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
All: Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
One: But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
All: and by his bruises we are healed.
One: All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
All: and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
One: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
All: like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
One: Lord of life, your Son, our Lord Jesus, is the light of the world.
All: As we come together this night to remember what we have become
because of the Paschal Lamb, Jesus Christ,
kindle our hearts with the fires of your Spirit. Amen.

Song     Hallelujah! What a Savior (UMH #165)

1. Man of Sorrows! what a name for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
2. Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned he stood;
sealed my pardon with his blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
3. Guilty, vile, and helpless we; spotless Lamb of God was he;
full atonement can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!
4. Lifted up was he to die; “It is finished!” was his cry;
now in heaven exalted high. Hallelujah! What a Savior!
5. When he comes, our glorious King, all his ransomed home to bring,
then anew this song we’ll sing: Hallelujah! What a Savior!

JESUS IS THE PASSOVER LAMB

Readings
Exodus 12:51 “That very day, the Lord brought the Israelites out of the land of slavery.”
Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he also shared the same things in the same way. He did this to destroy the one who holds the power over death—the devil—by dying. He set free those who were held in slavery their entire lives by their fear of death.”

[Paint across top right of doorframe]

Song             What Wondrous Love Is This (UMH #292, stanza 1 & 3)
1 What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul,
what wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul.
3 To God and to the Lamb I will sing, I will sing,
to God and to the Lamb, I will sing;
to God and to the Lamb who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme I will sing, I will sing;
while millions join the theme I will sing.

THE LAMB WITHOUT BLEMISH

Readings
2 Corinthians 5:21 God caused the one who didn’t know sin to be sin for our sake so that through him we could become the righteousness of God.

1 Peter 1:18-20 Live in this way, knowing that you were not liberated by perishable things like silver or gold from the empty lifestyle you inherited from your ancestors. Instead, you were liberated by the precious blood of Christ, like that of a flawless, spotless lamb. Christ was chosen before the creation of the world, but was only revealed at the end of time. This was done for you,

[Paint down the doorframe’s right side]

Song           Ah, Holy Jesus, How Have You Offended           Leslie Nevens, solo

NO BROKEN BONES

Readings
John 19:31-37 It was the Preparation Day and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies to remain on the cross on the Sabbath, especially since that Sabbath was an important day. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of those crucified broken and the bodies taken down. Therefore, the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men who were crucified with Jesus. When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead so they didn’t break his legs. However, one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. The one who saw this has testified, and his testimony is true. He knows that he speaks the truth, and he has testified so that you also can believe. These things happened to fulfill the scripture, They won’t break any of his bones. And another scripture says, They will look at him whom they have pierced.

[Paint down the doorframe’s left side]

Song      When I Survey the Wondrous Cross (UMH #298. Stanza 1: solo, 2: men, 3: women, 4:all)
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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?
4. Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small;
love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.

THE BLOOD OF THE PASCHAL LAMB

Readings
Exodus 12:7-13, 21-27 They should take some of the blood and smear it on the two doorposts and on the beam over the door of the houses in which they are eating. That same night they should eat the meat roasted over the fire. They should eat it along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Don’t eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over fire with its head, legs, and internal organs. Don’t let any of it remain until morning, and burn any of it left over in the morning. This is how you should eat it. You should be dressed, with your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You should eat the meal in a hurry. It is the Passover of the Lord. I’ll pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I’ll strike down every oldest child in the land of Egypt, both humans and animals. I’ll impose judgments on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. The blood will be your sign on the houses where you live. Whenever I see the blood, I’ll pass over you. No plague will destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.

Then Moses called together all of Israel’s elders and said to them, “Go pick out one of the flock for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood that is in the bowl, and touch the beam above the door and the two doorposts with the blood in the bowl. None of you should go out the door of your house until morning. When the Lord comes by to strike down the Egyptians and sees the blood on the beam above the door and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over that door. He won’t let the destroyer enter your houses to strike you down. You should observe this ritual as a regulation for all time for you and your children. When you enter the land that the Lord has promised to give you, be sure that you observe this ritual. And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ritual mean to you?’ you will say, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for the Lord passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt. When he struck down the Egyptians, he spared our houses.’” The people then bowed down and worshipped.

[Paint across top right of doorframe]

Hebrews 9:13-15a “If the blood of lambs on the altar made spiritually contaminated people holy and clean, how much more will the blood of Jesus, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works – to worship the living God!
For this reason, Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.”

ATONEMENT THROUGH THE BLODD

Song      Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed (UMH #294, stanzas 1-4)
1. Alas! and did my Savior bleed, and did my Sovereign die?
Would he devote that sacred head for sinners such as I?
2. Was it for crimes that I have done, he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown! And love beyond degree!
3. Well might the sun in darkness hide, and shut its glories in,
when God, the mighty maker, died for his own creature’s sin.
4. Thus might I hide my blushing face while his dear cross appears;
dissolve my heart in thankfulness, and melt mine eyes to tears.

[The doorframe is transformed into the shape of a cross.]

Meditation      in silence

[Shofar Blowing and Sound of Pounding Nails]

Spoken Reflection     Pastor Peace

Musical Reflection      Dave Baker, Solo

Dismissal

[Lights will be turned off, except the black lights for the two depictions of Jesus’ suffering.]