This is part of the worship series,
"The Way of the Cross”
Series Introduction | Lent 1 | Lent 2
Lent 3 | Lent 4 | Lent 5 | Palm Sunday |
Good Friday | Easter | Pentecost
Good Friday
We planned our Good Friday worship around the dramatic reading of portions of John Flokstra’s “I Was There”. This service with embedded readings is available at tinyurl.com/RW138Ensing. John Flokstra’s entire script is available at tinyurl.com/RW138Flokstra.
Gathering Song
“Lord, Whose Love in Humble Service” Bayly, LUYH 928, PH 427, SSS 239
Call to Worship: A Story of Love
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son . . .” (John 3:16).
gather round
I have a story to tell
of one who reached inside himself
and took a handful of love
like a pile of stardust
and said: this is for you
it is all you need
it is all you will ever need
there is enough here
to change the whole world
take it
many laughed at him
mocked him
and ignored the invitation
but some dared to take it
and those who did
noticed something about this love
they found they could do what the gift-giver could do
they could stand with the lost
welcome the traveler
eat with the hungry
they found themselves doing what the man first did to them
give something of themselves to others
they became like the man
offering themselves
and as they offered themselves
others took the invitation
and many still do
and many still trust
it is enough to change the whole world
—Roddy Hamilton, New Kilpatrick Parish Church of Scotland, nkchurch.org.uk. Used by permission.
Offering
“Your Great Name” Nordhoff and Neale
Scripture Reading
Where can I go, where can I run, where can I be that I am not within your love?
If I sail on the wings of the wind or make my bed in hell, still there you find me.
If I change my appearance like trees through the seasons, still you see my roots.
No matter how dark I let my heart become,
no matter what doubts and questions I wrestle with in the night
Still there you are—still loving me.
I beat at the air with my fists; I curse the rain as it falls on my tear-clinched eyes.
Still there you are—still loving me.
And even when I don’t know how, who, or why . . .
Still . . . there . . . you are . . .
Still . . . loving . . . even me.
—Paraphrase of Psalm 139:7–12 by Rev. Nathan Decker
Dramatic Reading: “I Was There,” by John Flokstra
Scene 1
“Here I Am to Worship” Hughes
Scenes 6, 7, and 8
“Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” Newton, Tomlin, LUYH 693
Scenes 9, 10, and 11
“Outrageous Grace” Birtill
Scene 12
“I Belong” Scott and Rainey
Message
Mark 15:33–41, “The Centurion’s Confession”
Song of Response
“Were You There” Spiritual, LUYH 166, GtG 228, SSS 176
Prayer
Closing Song
“One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)” Johnson, Gifford, Riddle
Blessing
Easter Sunday
Gathering Song
“My Redeemer Lives” Morgan
Call to Worship
“Christ the Lord Is Risen Today” Wesley, LUYH 182, GtG 245, SSS 181
“Low in the Grave He Lay” Lowry, LUYH 186, SSS 185
“Resurrection Hymn” Getty and Townend
Confession and Assurance: Pastoral Prayer for Easter
When everything was dark
and it seemed that the sun would never shine again,
your love broke through.
Your love was too strong,
too wide,
too deep
for death to hold.
The sparks cast by your love
dance and spread
and burst forth
with resurrection light.
Gracious God,
we praise you for the light of new life
made possible through Jesus.
We praise you for the light of new life
that shone on the first witnesses of resurrection.
We praise you for the light of new life
that continues to shine in our hearts today.
We pray that the Easter light of life, hope and joy,
will live in us each day;
and that we will be bearers of that light
into the lives of others. Amen.
—© The Revd Michaela Youngson, Chair of the London District of the Methodist Church of Great Britain. Used by permission.
Song
“This Is Amazing Grace” Riddle, Farro, and Wickham
Message
Mark 16:1–8, “The Words of Faith, Love, and Hope”
Response through Song and Offerings
“In Christ Alone” Getty and Townend, LUYH 770, SSS 656
Profession of Faith
Prayer of the People
Communion
“You Are My King” Foote
“Praise the King” Voss, Smith, Bryce, and Farren
Closing Song
“Mighty to Save” Fielding and Morgan, LUYH 611
Blessing
