Order of Service
April 10, 2020 | Good Friday
The Greatest Battle Ever Fought
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OPENING HYMN: O Sacred Head, Now Wounded | CW 105 (1, 4, 6)
1 O sacred head, now wounded, With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded, With thorns your only crown,
O sacred head, no glory Now from your face does shine;
Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call you mine.
4 My burden in your passion, Lord, you have borne for me,
For it was my transgression, My shame, on Calvary.
I cast me down before you; Wrath is my rightful lot.
Have mercy, I implore you; Redeemer, spurn me not!
6 My Savior, then be near me When death is at my door,
And let your presence cheer me; Forsake me nevermore!
When soul and body languish, Oh, leave me not alone,
But take away my anguish By virtue of your own!
INVOCATION
P: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
C: Amen.
P: Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)
C: Behold, the life-giving cross on which was hung the salvation of the whole world.
P: Jesus Christ, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8)
C: Behold, the life-giving cross on which was hung the salvation of the whole world.
P: When you were dead in your sins, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15)
C: Behold, the life-giving cross on which was hung the salvation of the whole world.
P: Let us come before our God to confess our knowledge of our sins, to admit the curse they carry, and to recall the source of their cure.
Silence for Confession
P: The verdict against Jesus has been announced, and the sentence carried out. Guilty! God’s just and right punishment for the guilt of your sins is complete in your Savior and your Substitute, Jesus Christ. God’s verdict for you has been announced: Not guilty! You have been washed clean in the blood of the Lamb who bore the curse for you. Live in full and free forgiveness, the gift of God’s grace.
C: Amen.
PRAYER
P: Let us pray: God Most Holy, look with mercy on this your family for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, be given over into the hands of the wicked, and suffer death upon the cross. Keep us always faithful to him, our only Savior, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
FIRST LESSON: Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12
13 See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him— his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness— 15 so he will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand. Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
SECOND LESSON: Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
7 During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. 8 Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9 and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.
HYMN OF THE DAY: Oh Perfect Life of Love | CW 138 (1,2,4,5)
1 Oh, perfect life of love! All, all is finished now,
All that he left his throne above To do for us below.
2 No work is left undone Of all the Father willed;
His toil, his sorrows, one by one, The Scriptures have fulfilled.
4 And on his thorn-crowned head And on his sinless soul
Our sins in all their guilt were laid That he might make us whole.
5 In perfect love he dies; For me he dies, for me!
O all-atoning Sacrifice, You died to make me free!
SERMON: Matthew 27:45-50
45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
THE GREATEST BATTLE EVER FOUGHT
OFFERING/PRAYER
PRAYER
P: O God, Son of God, so loving, yet hated, so patient, yet assaulted to death, you showed yourself gentle and merciful even to your persecutors. You have atoned for our sins through the wounds of your Passion. As you humbled yourself and suffered death for us, now, in your glory, bestow on us eternal brightness. Dear Savior, the cross was once an instrument of death. It is now a sign of life. We humbly kneel at the cross in awe of your power and of your love. And join together to pray:
LORD'S PRAYER:
Matthew 6:9-13
C: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
CLOSING GOSPEL: Mattthew 27:57-61
57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. 61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb
CLOSING HYMN: Rest, O Christ, From All Your Labor | CWs 718
1 Rest, O Christ, from all your labor; Sleep within your borrowed tomb.
Foes have crucified and bound you Fast within death’s narrow room.
Pilate’s guards stand watching, waiting Where they rolled the sealing stone.
All unseen another watches: God will not forsake his own.
2 Peace at last from all your anguish, Wounds in hand and feet and side.
Enemies no longer mock you, Scourged, abandoned, crucified.
Faithful women gather spices, Weep for you whom sin has slain.
Though they mourn, the God who guards you Will not let your death be vain.
3 Help us keep this solemn Sabbath As we wait for Easter dawn.
Earth’s dark night of sin is passing; Death’s long reign will soon be gone.
Christ, in whom the new creation Rises brighter than the sun:
May we, as we watch for morning, Trust the vict’ry you have won.
4 As through parting Red Sea waters Israel marched to liberty,
So we pass through baptism’s water, Washed by grace, from sin set free.
Jesus, risen, living, reigning Now and through eternity:
Grant that, through your life undying, We may live victoriously.
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