This is part of the worship series,
"Good News!”
Introduction
Lent 1 | Lent 2 | Lent 3 | Lent 4
Lent 5 | Palm Sunday | Good Friday | Easter Sunday
GOOD FRIDAY
The readings for this service are excerpts from Psalm 22 amid “thoughts” from people based on the different ways people were suffering though the COVID-19 pandemic. These thoughts could be interchanged with other ways people suffer. Overall the message is that Christ is at one with us in our suffering because he suffered for us, and in our suffering there is hope for a new heaven and earth. This liturgy was designed for a Good Friday service of lament, so the song choices reflect that, but other songs that suit your congregation and the theme of the service could be chosen.
Litany of Lament
| Reader 1: | My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night but find no rest. —Psalm 22:1–2 NRSVUE |
| Reader 2: | I’m so lonely. I’m not sure I can take another day alone, staring at the same four walls. I miss seeing my friends and my family. Life is so mundane, and I’m not sure how long I can try to keep up a good attitude. Why won’t God fix it? Why won’t God make it end? I’m not sure how much longer I can be isolated and alone. |
| Reader 1: | Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our ancestors trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. —Psalm 22:3–5 NRSVUE |
Song
“My God, My God, Why (Psalm 22)” Vermeulen-Roberts (The Psalm Project)
| Reader 1: | But I am a worm and not human, scorned by others and despised by the people. All who see me mock me; they sneer at me; they shake their heads; “Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver— let him rescue the one in whom he delights!” —Psalm 22:6–8 NRSVUE |
| Reader 3: | They keep saying that we’re all in this together, but does anyone really know how I feel? I’m worried and scared. I also don’t feel like I can talk with anyone about my worries and anxieties because they’ll shrug it off. I tried to tell them why I have such a hard time leaving the house or getting together, but they just laughed and told me I shouldn’t be so paranoid. Then there was the time when I told them I was scared of getting sick and dying, and they said I should just trust in God to save me. I mean, God, yes, I trust in you! . . . Or at least I want to. . . . But so much is uncertain, and so much doesn’t make sense anymore. After all this is over I’m not even sure who my friends will be. |
| Reader 1: | Yet it was you who took me from the womb; you kept me safe on my mother’s breast. On you I was cast from my birth, and since my mother bore me you have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is no one to help. —Psalm 22:9–11 NRSVUE |
| Reader 4: | Things were going so well. I went to college, I set aside some savings, I made a plan, and had everything lined up to run my own business. I was very optimistic. Now I’ve had to let my employees go, and I’m about to lose my business. All my hard work, my savings, my dreams—they’re gone. I have nothing. I can’t sleep because all I do is worry about how I’m going to make it through this. I think I’m going to lose everything. |
Song
“O Sacred Head, Now Wounded” Latin
| Reader 1: | I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my mouth is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. —Psalm 22:14–15 NRSVUE |
| Reader 2: | I lost a loved one this past year, and I was not able to say goodbye in person. We didn’t even get to hold a proper funeral. Friends and family couldn’t comfort me. I know what loneliness and grief feels like now, and my heart is aching. I’m not even sure how I’m feeling now. Some days I just press on, and some days all the small things build up until it’s too much, and I break down. |
| Reader 1: | For dogs are all around me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they bound my hands and feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me; they divide my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots. —Psalm 22:16–18 NRSVUE |
| Reader 3: | Things have already been bad for years. The hurt and pain I’ve experienced these last few years have already isolated me from everyone else. My world was in upheaval far before the world was. Everyone seems so concerned with themselves now, and no one was ever concerned for me. I already knew what loneliness and brokenness felt like, and this last year just added to the pain I have desperately been trying to numb. |
Song
“What Wondrous Love Is This” Anonymous
| Reader 1: | But you, O Lord, do not be far away! O my help, come quickly to my aid! Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog! Save me from the mouth of the lion! —Psalm 22:19–21 NRSVUE |
| Reader 5: | I can’t help but think about all the things I’ve missed out on: No prom, no in-person first year of university, no hanging out with friends, no mission trips, no summer trips, no sports, no extracurriculars, no youth group, no church. If someone adds something else to the list of things I can’t do I think I’m going to lose it. I know there’s a bigger picture, and I know I’m not the only one suffering, but all these things that I found joy in, so much of what was fun, is gone now, and some things I can’t get back. |
| Reader 1: | For he did not despise or abhor the affliction of the afflicted; he did not hide his face from me but heard when I cried to him. —Psalm 22:24 NRSVUE |
| Reader 4: | Are you listening? Do you hear me? Do you notice or see me? |
| Reader 3: | Have you noticed how this world seems to be falling apart? Do you see how much hurt and anguish there is? |
| Reader 5: | The killing, the lying, the hatred, the deception, disappointment, those hurting, and those dying—do you see it, God? |
| Reader 2: | We’re so tired and weary, and we’re crying out for you to heal us, save us, restore us, and redeem us. |
Song
“He Will Hold Me Fast” Habershon, Merker
Sermon
“Good News—Good Friday”
Sermon Notes
In Psalm 22, David models pouring out his feelings to God while contrasting his intense emotion with what he knows to be true about God. What’s so amazing for contemporary readers of this psalm is that we know that these words were fulfilled a thousand years later at the cross. While we suffer too as believers in a broken world, we can know that we are not forsaken in our suffering. We know that this life and its suffering is not all there is! There is salvation and new life for those whose trust is in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prayer of Application
Holy God and heavenly Father, we are so grateful for the good news that Jesus Christ completed his work on the cross on our behalf and that through his extreme suffering we can find salvation. Help us to be reminded of this as we go through our present difficulties and look forward to the glorious day of Christ’s return, when all things will be made new! Give us strength and courage to persevere in our faith, to reach out to you when we are troubled, and to hold onto your gospel promises. All these things we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Celebration of Communion
Song During Communion
“Man of Sorrows—What a Name” Bliss
Blessing
Closing Song
“Were You There” Spiritual
Revised Common Lectionary
Year A: Holy Week—Good Friday
Year B: Holy Week—Good Friday
Year C: Holy Week—Good Friday
