Maundy Thursday Service
Pastor Kirk and Pastor Ben bring a special message for Maundy Thursday.
Maunday Thursday from First Presbyterian Church on Vimeo.
Good Friday Prayer and Meditation
Join us on Facebook Live at Noon
Christa Schmeelk, Director of Family Ministry, will be live on the FPC Facebook at 12 noon for 15 minutes. She will read from scripture, provide a prayer, and will close a devotional reading. Don’t miss this uplifting live connection!
Good Friday Prayer Vigil | 12 Noon to 3:00 pm
From Pastor Susan Vergeront
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity. … Surely He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted Him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His bruises we are healed.
Isaiah 53:3-5
Meditations for Good Friday
No Dances
There are no dances for dark days
There is no music to bellow the pain
The best we can do is to remain
Still and silent
And try to remember the face of God…
And how to kneel
And how to pray
Anne Weems
“Today, we stop for a while to sit in the presence of one who was fully God and fully man. Jesus — who loved God with all His heart, and with all His soul, and with all His strength, and with all His mind — and who loved His friends so much that he stepped into the oncoming traffic of death in order to push them out of the way.
He furthermore did it all with no more than the basic human equipment–a beating heart, two good hands, a holy vision, and some companions who could see it too–thereby showing the rest of us humans that such a life is not beyond our reach. Whatever else happens on Sunday, here is enough reason to call this Friday Good.”
The Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor
LET US PRAY
Father, as we gather today in spirit, we remember the supreme sacrifice of our beautiful King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Led like a lamb to the slaughter, clothed in humility and grace, He willingly offered Himself to death so that we might live forever. We are truly thankful for the extent of His love, stretched out on a cruel wooden cross. We dwell on the pain He bore for us and are truly grateful for the forgiveness that He offers. As we worship and praise now, help us to live in the wonder of this goodness and marvel at His endless grace. Amen.
As we sit and meditate on what the life and death of Jesus means to our lives, let us open our hearts in prayer and thanksgiving.
FOR WHAT SHALL WE PRAY?
Let us pray for the love of our mighty Triune God, who came to earth in the form of a man called Jesus.
Pray in thanksgiving and praise for Jesus’ life. He showed us what it means to be children of God. He taught us how to live as children of the King. He showed us how to love as He loves. Through His death He provided the pure sacrifice for the sins of the world. Through His resurrection He opened up heaven’s door, a direct access to the throne of God and a reservation for eternity with Him.
All because of Friday.
Pray that you and those you love start or continue on in their journey of faith, that they may know the amazing love and grace of our Lord.
Pray for the church and her leaders, for world peace, for those unjustly condemned, for all people everywhere who carry the image of God in their being.
Pray for yourself, for forgiveness of sins, for your walk with God, and
for your love of others.
Hymn for Good Friday
Beneath the cross of Jesus
I fain would take my stand
The shadow of a mighty rock
Within a weary land
A home within a wilderness
A rest upon the way
From the burning of the noontide heat
And the burden of the day
There lies beneath its shadow
But on the farther side
The darkness of an awful grave
That gapes both deep and wide
And there between us stands the cross
Two arms outstretched to save
Like a watchman set to guard the way
From that eternal grave
Upon that cross of Jesus
Mine eye at times can see
The very dying form of One
Who suffered there for me
and from my smitten heart
with tears
Two wonders I confess
The wonder of His glorious love
And my own worthlessness
I take, O cross, thy shadow
For my abiding-place
I ask no other sunshine
Than the sunshine of His face
Content to let the world go by
To know no gain nor loss
My sinful self my only shame
My glory all the cross
Elizabeth Cecilia Clephane (1830-1869)
The Crucifixion; a reading from the book of Matthew
As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. This man they compelled to bear His cross. When they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He tasted it, He would not drink it.
When they crucified Him, they divided His garments by casting lots to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, “They divided My garments among themselves and for My clothing they cast lots.” And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. They put His accusation over His head, which read: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then two thieves were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left. Those who passed by insulted Him, wagging their heads, saying, “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” Likewise the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying, “He saved others. He cannot save Himself. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God. Let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him. For He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” Even the thieves who were crucified with Him insulted Him in the same way.
Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Some of those who stood there heard it and said, “This Man is calling for Elijah.”Immediately one of them ran, took a sponge, filled it with wine, and put it on a stick, and gave it to Him to drink. The rest said, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice, released His spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom. And the ground shook, and the rocks split apart. The graves also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had died were raised, and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the Holy City and appeared to many.
When the centurion and those with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they feared greatly and said, “Truly He was the Son of God!”
Matthew 27:32-56
The Seven Last Words of Christ
A meditation
1. The First Word: Forgiveness
“Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” Luke. 23: 34
Jesus is the heart of forgiveness. He freely gave His life so we can be forgiven through repentance and confession. We are forgiven as we forgive others. Do you have people that need to be forgiven, or you need to forgive someone? Pray about this now.
2. The Second Word: Salvation
“This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.” Luke. 23: 43
What does it mean to you that your eternity with the Lord is secure? We are told we can’t earn this salvation but it is a gift of God through our faith in Jesus. Imagine your life without that promise…
3. The Third Word: Compassion
“Woman, behold thy son.” John. 19: 26-7
Think of the compassion Jesus modeled for us. Compassion for the poor, the outcast, the oppressed. What does that compassion look like in your life? Where in your life can you better model the compassion of Jesus?
4. The Fourth Word: Anguish
“My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? Mark. 15: 34
Reflect on the cries of utter anguish from the cross. This scripture has been interpreted to describe the moment Jesus took the sins of the world upon Himself. In the depths of sin, He had the feeling of separation from the Father. Has there been a time in your life when you experienced anguish that caused you to cry out to God? Hold on to Jesus. In the deepest pit or the darkest night, He is with you.
5. The Fifth Word: Suffering
“I thirst.” John. 19: 28
All of us have known thirst in the midst of suffering: thirst for relief, thirst for reassurance, thirst for someone to help us. Jesus is the living water. Can you imagine Jesus pouring the truth of living water into you?
6. The Sixth Word: Victory
“It is finished.” John 19: 30
Think of the times in your life when the old was done and the new began. Thank God for His mercy in all those situations.
7. The Seventh Word: Contentment
“Into Thine hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit. Luke. 23: 46,
(a quote from Psalm 31: 6)
Even though the scene is grim, Jesus knew how the story would end. Let us pray that whenever doubt casts a shadow across our faith—whenever we are tempted to wonder whether God exists—whenever we doubt that God loves us, let us pray, “Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit.”
Jesus Gave His Life to Me; Now I Give it Back to Him
How to do that? Recognize that your life is lacking true commitment to God. Thank Him for all He has given you; His love, His mercy, the gift of love, the beauty of His creation. Tell Him you need Him in your life.
Ask Jesus to live in you; the Holy Spirit to live through you and the Father to embrace you. And in the love of the Triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—you will find true welcome and peace.
Confess you are a sinner in need of redeeming. There isn’t a person on earth who is always free of sin. We are all sinners and fall short of God’s glory. Repent of your sin, ask for God’s forgiveness, and and continue to seek His guidance in your life.
Embrace your new life as a redeemed child of God, and continue to study and pray to grow in your faith. Tell someone of your commitment and talk about it with a pastor or Stephen Minister or anyone with whom you feel comfortable.
Hymn: The Old Rugged Cross
On a hill far away
Stood an old rugged cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old cross
Where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown
Oh that old rugged cross
So despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God
Left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it someday for a crown
In the old rugged cross
Stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For the dear Lamb of God
Left His glory above
To pardon and sanctify me
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
To the old rugged cross
I will ever be true
It’s shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He’ll call me some day
To my home far away
Where His glory forever I’ll share
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged cross
And exchange it some day for a crown
Why Did Jesus Have to Die on the Cross?
But when Christ came as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation), He entered once for all into the Holy Place, not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls, with the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, sanctifies those who have been defiled so that their flesh is purified, how much more will the blood of Christ, 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 He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, because a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions under the first covenant.
Hebrews: 9:11-15
IT IS FRIDAY
It is Friday
And I stand at the foot of the cross.
Nothing can be said, nothing can be done.
Action is futile – hebel.
I can hold the other’s hands and weep,
but I cannot be comforted.
It is Friday
And I stand at the foot of the cross.
The air is heavy still with waiting and longing.
Waiting for the inevitable,
Longing for the impossible.
Can this cup pass from me?
I look around me – all the colors are muted.
Dusty browns and grays – cold and metallic.
Rolling black clouds cover
The brilliant blue of the sky
As my soul is occluded by pain.
All that remains is the red of the blood
Running down the weathered wood
of the cross.
It is Friday
And I stand at the foot of the cross.
I reach out and touch
The raised grain of the wood.
It is rough against my fingertips.
The pong of unwashed wool and bodies
Crowds my nose.
I smell fear, pain, death.
I taste it at the back of my throat.
I hear the labored breathing from the cross.
Death is near.
It is Friday
And I stand at the foot of the cross.
Remember Him!
Remember Him as the silver cord is severed,
As the golden bowl is broken.
Remember Him as the pitcher
Is shattered at the spring
And the wheel broken at the well.
Remember Him as the dust returns to
The ground it came from and
His spirit returns to the God who gave it.
It is Friday
And I stand at the foot of the cross.
Origins, Rituals, and Traditions of Good Friday
Of the numerous Christian holy days on the liturgical calendar, Good Friday is perhaps the most solemn and profound memorial. The dates of Good Friday, which vary by calendar year, occur between March 20th and April 23rd. Good Friday commemorates the crucifixion of Jesus and falls on the last Friday before Easter. It is the pinnacle of Holy Week, and Christians observe this day with great humility and reverence.
History of Good Friday
As early as the first century, the Church set aside every Friday as a special day of prayer and fasting. It was not until the fourth century, however, that the Church began observing the Friday before Easter as the day associated with the crucifixion of Christ. First called Holy or Great Friday by the Greek Church, the name “Good Friday” was adopted by the Roman Church around the sixth or seventh century.
Good Friday Origins
There are two possible origins for the name “Good Friday”. The first may have come from the Gallican Church in Gaul (modern-day France and Germany). The name “Gute Freitag” is Germanic in origin and literally means “good” or “holy” Friday. The second possibility is a variation on the name “God’s Friday,” where the word “good” was used to replace the word “God,” which was often viewed as too holy for commoners to speak.
Good Friday Traditions
Good Friday rituals and traditions are distinct from those of all other Church observances and add to Good Friday’s considerable significance. The entire ceremony is somber, with priests and deacons dressing in black vestments. The pulpit and the altar are bare, and no candles are lit. The purpose behind the solemn presentation is to create an awareness of grief over the sacrifice of God’s only begotten Son.
It Is Finished
The pilgrims sit on the
steps of death.
Undanced,
the music ends.
Only the children remember
that tomorrow’s stars
are not yet out.
Ann Weems
As you go from the sorrow of Good Friday to the rejoicing of Easter, keep in your heart the fact that God became flesh and died for you. The depths that our God went to in securing our salvation is hard to imagine! Only through walking through the pain of Good Friday, and the waiting of Saturday, can we ultimately experience the joy of Easter and God’s tremendous love for us.
