Read
John 19:14-17, 28-30 – 14 Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” 15 They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha…
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Isaiah 53:3-6 – 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
PONDER
Read each gospel account of Jesus’ crucifixion and death: Matthew 27:27-56, Mark 15:21-41; Luke 23:26-49; John 19:1-30.
Meditate on the weight of the sin of the world and the wrath of God, placed on Jesus, the sinless Son of God, instead of on us. In our sin, we are dead, enemies of God, enslaved to our sinful passions and desires, hopeless and helpless. But God… (Eph 2:1-4).
Consider Jesus’ declaration on the cross: “It is finished!” Ponder Jesus’ death on the cross in our place as the completed act of Christ’s redemption for us. The debt we owed for our sin—paid in full.
PRAY
- Father, thank you for sending Jesus to pay the debt that we never could.
- Jesus, thank you for your sacrificial death in my place.
- Help us to rightly see the weight of the price of our redemption.
- Help us to repent of the sins that ensnare us.
- Help us to honor you as we remember the cross.
Sing: Listen to our song setlist for the Good Friday service on Spotify
Sing: Songs for Holy Week on Spotify
PRactice
Invite someone to join you for our Good Friday service at 6:30pm.
On Good Friday, we will take the Lord’s Supper to remember and rejoice in Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 warns us not to partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy manner; that is, clinging to sin for which our Savior died. Take a moment to prepare your heart by examining yourself, confessing any sin in your life and reconciling any broken relationships with a brother or sister in Christ.
If you have children, have a conversation with them about the elements they will see in the gathering. If your children are not believers, explain why they should not yet partake in the Lord’s Supper. If your children are believers, use this as an opportunity to praise God for his work in their lives.
Leading up to Easter, pursue Go Moments. Look for opportunities to share the truth of the resurrection, and invite others to believe and live in Jesus.
What Is The Gospel? / News / John Resources / Easter Resources