Friday, April 10, 2020 - Good Friday

April 10, 2020 Brian Stevens - Hope United Church

HOPE UNITED CHURCH

2550 Danforth Avenue, Toronto, Ontario

Good Friday April 10, 2020 3:00pm

Worship Leadership - Brian Stevens MDiv

CALL TO WORSHIP

This is a day of sorrows…

For they have crucified my Lord!

I have lost my teacher and friend…

For they crucified my Lord!

A crown of thorns upon his head…

When they crucified my Lord!

PRAYER

Almighty God, your Son Jesus Christ was lifted high upon the cross

so that he might draw the whole world to himself.

Grant that we might attend his call, take up our cross and follow him;

This we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

“Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross” Voices United # 142 2 verses

Jesus keep me near the cross, there a precious mountain

Free to all, a healing stream flows from Calvary’s mountain

In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever

Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

Near the cross a trembling soul, love and mercy found me

There the bright and morning star sheds its beams around me

In the cross, in the cross, be my glory ever

Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river.

PRAYER

God of Light, God of Shadow, in our time together today,

keep us aware of your presence in the darkness,

help us to see meaning in this terrible story,

and keep the fire of hope alive in our hearts.

This we pray in the name of the man from Nazareth,

the one who lived with a great passion for your way,

the one whose death is nigh, the one who taught his friends to pray saying…

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth,

As it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive them that trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power, and the glory,

For ever and ever. Amen.

FIRST READING Hebrews 10:16-25

“This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

This is the Word of the LORD.

Thanks be to God.

Psalm 22 Voices United # 744

Refrain: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? ( 2X)

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from helping me,

from my cries of my distress?

O my God, I cry out in the day, but you do not answer,

at night, also but I get no relief.

Refrain: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

But you are the Holy One;

enthroned upon the praises of Israel.

In you our ancestors trusted;

they trusted and you delivered them.

They called to you, and you delivered them

In you they put their trust

And you did not disappoint them

But I am a worm, less than human

an object of derision an outcast of the people.

All who see me laugh me to scorn

they curl their lips and toss their heads, saying

You trusted in God for deliverance

If God cares for you, let God rescue you!

Refrain: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Do not be far from me for trouble is close at hand

And there is no one to help me

Many bulls encircle me, string bulls of Bashan surround me

They open wide their mouths at me

Like a ravenous roaring lion

My life pours out like water

All my bones are out of joint

My heart has melted like wax within my breast

My mouth is parched as dry clay

My tongue clings to my palette.

I lie in the dust of death.

Dogs surround me

The wicked hem me in on every side

They bind my hands and my feet

I can count all of my bones

While they stand staring, gloating over me

They divide my garments amongst themselves

They cast lots for my clothing

Refrain: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

GOSPEL John 18-19

Jesus Arrested

When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into it. Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) 6 When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they said

Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.” Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” Then the detachment of soldiers with its commander and the Jewish officials arrested Jesus. They bound him and brought him first to Annas, who was the father-inlaw of Caiaphas, the high priest that year. Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jewish leaders that it would be good if one man died for the people.

“What Wondrous Love Is This” Voices United # 147

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.

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 life to

Lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul

To Lay aside his crown for my soul, for my soul

Peter’s First Denial

Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the servant girl on duty there and brought Peter in. “You aren’t one of this man’s disciples too, are you?” she asked Peter. He replied, “I am not.” It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

The High Priest Questions Jesus

Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.” When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby slapped him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded. “If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Peter’s Second and Third Denials

Meanwhile, Simon Peter was still standing there warming himself. So they asked him, “You aren’t one of his disciples too, are you? He denied it, saying, “I am not.” One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the garden?” 27Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Jesus Before Pilate

Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.” Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?” “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate. Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?” They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

Jesus Sentenced to Be Crucified

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.” When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

“Jesus, Remember Me” Voices United 148

Jesus, remember me when I come into your kingdom,

Jesus, remember me when I come into your kingdom.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.” Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom. “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.” This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said, “They divided my clothes among them and cast lots for my garment.” So this is what the soldiers did. Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

The Death of Jesus

Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord Piano Solo

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble

Were You There When They Crucified My Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble

Were you there when they nailed him to the tree?

Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The Burial of Jesus

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

Hear the Good News of Christ.

Praise to you, O Christ

LAMENTATIONS

O my people, what have I done to you, or in what have I offended you?

I led you forth from the land of Egypt and delivered you by the waters of baptism, but you have prepared a cross for your Savior.