Good Friday Evening Service

Hey Hi Then Bye. OK OK Well, good evening. Want to extend a very warm welcome to, all of you on this, Good Friday, this Good Friday service. This is a service that provides an opportunity for us to step aside from our, schedules and from our routine and to remember, together in the company of one another, some very important events that took place, 200, years ago, in and around the area of Jerusalem, and it's on, this particular Friday that we, remember the crucifixion of Christ.

It was on this Friday of the year based on the lunar calendar, that Jesus, experience arrest and trial and ultimately, crucifixion, And, so this is a time where we come together to remember that. That's what we're going to be doing, tonight and celebrating communion and also reading, the communion narrative that is in the gospel accounts and also the crucifixion narrative that is in, largely, Gospel. we'll be doing that also. OK.

this is a service, that provides for us also an opportunity to celebrate our communion, not just with Christ, but also our communion with each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord and, to that effect, we're, we're really blessed to be able to have a joint service this evening, cornerstone congregation together with the evangelical Formosan Church, just, us together celebrating our communion with the Lord Jesus Christ and our oneness with one another. in Christ. And, I know that he's not going to like this, but I want to go ahead and introduce him to this congregation.

I'm not going to embarrass him, but, EFC, has a new pastor, effective, February the first, Pastor Daniel Ming and his wife Stephanie.

why don't we have the two of you stand, OK. But let's just go to prayer and ask the Lord to guide our time tonight and to really open our hearts. Just, Lord, open our hearts. That's what we want to ask.

Open our hearts to experience these events as if we're hearing them for the first time. Lord, we just come to you right now and we, In a way, we've heard, everything that's going to be sung and read and contemplated before. And so, we don't ask tonight for some new revelation, some new truth, but we, we do ask Lord that you would give us a new set of ears to hear as if we are hearing for the very first time. Of this one Jesus, who surrendered his life to the agonies and the mayhem of death so that we might be saved and brought into relationship with yourself and so that we might be made a part of the church and be brought into relationship with one another.

And may we be sobered. may we experience your love, and may we hence have more love to give. As a result of our time together this evening, we just give ourselves to You, Lord, in the name of Jesus, and all God's people said, Let's stand together. answer.

Hey And then you may be seated. my scripture reading is taken from Isaiah 53:1-26. Excuse my Irish accent. Who has believed that they heard from us and to whom has the arm of the Lord has been revealed?

For the, for he grew up before Him like a young friend and like a loose out of dry ground. He had no form of majesty that we should look at Him and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised and we esteem him not.

Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows, yet we esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wanted for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the legitimate that brought us peace.

And with his stripes we were healed, and we like ships have gone astray. We have turned away, turned everyone to his own way, and the law has laid on him the iniquity of us all. OK. say that I Loving on.

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have grace. My Let me be great. Joy. Yes you The next reading is also from Isaiah 53:7-12.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth like a lamb that is led to the slaughter and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent. He opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people. And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man and his death.

Although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief when his soul has made an offering for sin. He shall see his offspring.

He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, will make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoiled with the strong. Because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Bye Oh.

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Hey. So. At this time, Jennifer Lee is going to come and read to us Mark chapter 14, verses 17 through 25, which is the communion narrative in, Mark's Gospel. Is she here?

OK. March 14:17 to 25. When evening came, Jesus arrived with the 12. While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, I tell you the truth.

One of you will betray me, one who is eating with me. They were saddened, and one by one they said to Him, Surely not I? It is one of the 12, he replied, one who dips bread into the bowl with me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man.

It would be better for him if he had not been born. While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks, and broke it and gave it to His disciples, saying, Take it. This is my body. Then he took the cup, gave thanks, and offered it to them, and they all drank from it.

This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many, he said to them, he said to them. I tell you the truth, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it anew in the kingdom of God. Well, we're going to be partaking of the elements, in just a couple, moments, and I'm going to go ahead and ask our, ushers to come up, to see Ruby Kimball and Lee Wah over on this side, and Patrick Stew and Moe Roberson. Will be helping distribute the elements, tonight.

And as they are coming, we have been contemplating through song, The reality of Christ who, who died for us. Some words that stood out to me in the last song was that he, he allowed himself to be numbered with the transgressors, that he, just think of the list of the worst people that have ever lived in human history. Just think of their names and then right next to their names, Jesus Christ. He let himself be numbered with, criminals and, sinners, and just as bad is imagine your name and all of our names and Jesus Christ allowing his name to be put with ours, being numbered with the transgressors.

He who knew no sin was willing to become sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. I was reading this morning from John Scott's book entitled The Cross of Christ, and he was talking about the nature of salvation, and I wanted to read this quote to you. He said the concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God.

While the essence of salvation is God substituting Himself for man. Man puts himself where only God deserves to be, and that is on the throne. God puts Himself where only man deserves to be. And that's the cross.

When we celebrate the Lord's supper, we cannot help but ponder the reality of our sin. The reality of our need for one to suffer and die for our salvation. When we gaze at the cross, we are struck afresh by the magnitude of our sin and the desperateness of our sinful condition that we would be that sinful to require the perfect spotless son of God to be slaughtered upon a cross so that we might be saved. We are sobered.

We are humbled by this contemplation as we gaze upon the cross. We see the depth of our, of our need, but oh, how the cross also reveals to us the magnitude of the love of God for us, that he would be willing to go through these lengths of surrendering His Son. Unto mayhem and death so that we might be saved, that Jesus would willingly obey his father and to give up his life of his own initiative so that we might be saved. And so, when we celebrate the Lord's Supper, we remember our sin, we remember our need for salvation.

We remember the arrogance, the pride that lies within us that we would dare to substitute ourselves in the place, Of God, which is the essence of our sin. But we also contemplate Jesus Christ and the amazing condescension of the Lord who was willing to come from heaven's glories to come into this fallen shack of a world and then to come. And to Jerusalem willingly and to assume his place, the worst location in all of the universe, and that is on a cross of crucifixion. And so Jesus says as we partake of the elements of the bread and cup, we do so in remembrance of him.

And so let us make sure that tonight we remember him and what he has done. the Bible essentially teaches that you need to be a born again child of God, putting your trust in Jesus to partake of the Lord's supper. and so if you're here tonight and you have never experienced the forgiveness of your sins through Jesus by looking to him, by understanding your own bankruptcy and your inability to save yourself, and if you've never understood that, And never look to Jesus to be alone, your one and only savior, then we would actually encourage you to do that tonight, and you can do that right where you are seated by just calling on the name of the Lord and just saying, God, I know that I am a sinner and I deserve your judgment, but just tonight, the songs that have been sung and what has been shared, the scripture that has been read, I understand the sacrifice that you have made for me, and you are my only hope.

You are my only salvation.

Thank you for what you have done for me on the cross. I believe in you. Just where you're seated, just confess and express those sentiments to the Lord. OK.

And, if you are a believer, take the time, if you've not done so already, to examine, yourself, to ensure that you're partaking of the elements in a worthy, manner. If we partake of the elements in a worthy manner, the Bible teaches us that we eat and drink blessing into ourselves. If we partake in an unworthy manner, we eat and drink divine judgment into ourselves. Before we pass out the bread, Patricks who will lead us in prayer.

You 77 to, what a remarks, when you open your mouth, make such a quote. OK, this is my body. What a sacrifice you did 1000 years ago on behalf of us. You make it clear we need to go through your body in order to get you down.

Thank you so much. You not only set this example for us, at the same time, you want us to do this way and remember of you. Thank you, Lord, for this. Put up yourself for our inequalities.

In this name we pray. Amen. You can And See him. He And Yes, my.

Yeah. They do. David. And On the night in which Jesus was betrayed, leading to his death, The Bible tells us that, Jesus had a last supper with his disciples.

During that supper, Jesus took the bread and he broke the bread in their presence, and he gave it to them. And as he gave the bread to them, he said to them, take this and eat it, every one of you. This is my body. Which is for you.

To do this in remembrance of me. That's partaking. Mo Roberson will lead us in prayer. Yeah.

Heavenly Father, we just, thank you for this time, Lord, that we can humbly come before you, and remember the price that was paid for our, salvation, Lord, your son, being placed on the cross and taken on all of our sins, and as we partake of the cup, Lord, that reflects your blood, I just pray as the. Song was sung that. That moment would be etched. On us or in us for forever, Lord, and that we would.

Be in remembrance of that, and the price that was paid, we thank you for your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. How to. We are.

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We had three extra cups. Why, why should I gain from his rewards? Why, why should we be? from his suffering for us.

These, these are the kinds of questions that, that you do ask when you contemplate, The cross of Christ, The psalmist, gazed into the heavens. And says what is man? That you're mindful of him. What is the human race that you're mindful of him, and what am I, the son of man, that you would even get a, give a thought to me, And then the New Testament just explodes that because now we're standing at the foot of the cross.

And God has given thought to us, and he's gone way beyond that. We, we see that Christ, the God man, died for us. After the supper, Jesus took a cup of wine and he, Said to his disciples, this cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness. Of sins.

Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me. That's partake. It Pastor is going to close our celebration of communion and prayer. In the cross.

In the cross. Be my glory ever. Till my raptured soul shall find rest beyond the river. Our Lord, we just want to thank you for what you have done on the cross for us.

May your love encourage us to follow you. Co Father, we thank you. Thank you for your love. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. I think if, if you're like me, you feel an instinct in a service like this to, to want to jump ahead because we know the end of the story. And I hate to blow it for you, but he, he is raised on the third day. And, and there's a desire to, leap ahead to that, but I think, we do well.

To, to linger here. And to let ourselves ask the questions that these medications bring to our hearts and to feel the emotions of the sense of loss, the seriousness, the gravity of the death of the son of God for us, and it just linger there, and, and, and as we do that, it, it will only serve to enrich Sunday morning. As we celebrate, the resurrection, What I'm going to do right now is, just read from the crucifixion and burial account that is found in Mark's Gospel and, but there are some, items that are excerpted from Matthew's gospel.

If you want to try to follow along, you can turn to Mark's gospel, and I believe it starts in chapter 14, verse 26.

We'll be skipping a little bit in the narrative and inserting some other parts, at least one other part from Matthew's gospel, or you're welcome to just listen and, and see these things as they unfold. They celebrated communion as was read a few minutes ago in the upper room. And in verse 26, it says, and when they had sung a hymn at the conclusion of their partaking of the Passover meal and, and communion, when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. And they went to a place called Gethsemane.

And Jesus said to His disciples, You sit here while I pray. And he took with him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled, and he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful even to death. Remain here and watch. And going a little farther, he fell on the ground and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass from him, and he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible for you.

Remove this cup from me, yet not what I will, but what you will. And he came and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, Simon, Are you asleep? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. And again, Jesus went away and prayed, saying the same words. And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy, and they did not know what to answer him. And he came the third time and said to them, Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?

It is enough. The hour has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise.

Let us be going. Behold, my betrayer is at hand. And immediately while he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the 12, and with him a crowd with swords and clubs from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. Now the betrayer had given them a sign saying, The one I will kiss is the man.

Seize him and lead him away under guard. And when he came, he went up to Jesus at once and said, Rabbi. And he kissed him. And they laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

And they led Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together, and Peter had followed him at a distance right into the courtyard of the high priest, and he was sitting with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priest and the whole council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none, for many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree, and some stood up and bore false witness against Him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in 3 days I will build another not made with hands.

Yet even about this their testimony did not agree, and the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?

But Jesus remained silent and made no answer. Again, the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? And Jesus said, I am And you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven. And the high priest tore his garments and said, What further witnesses do we need?

You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision? And they all condemned him as deserving of death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, prophesy to us, you Christ.

Who is it that struck you? And the guards also received him with blows. And as soon as it was morning, the chief priest held a consultation with the elders and the scribes and the whole council, and they bound Jesus and led him away and delivered him over to P Pilate. And Pilate asked Jesus, Are you the king of the Jews?

And Jesus answered him, saying, you have said so. And the chief priest accused him of many things, and Pilate again asked him, Have you no answer to make? See how many charges they bring against you? But Jesus made no further answer.

And so Pilate was amazed. Now at the feast, Pilate used to release for them one prisoner for whom they asked. And among the rebels in prison who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas, and the crowd came up and began to ask Pilate to do as he usually did for them, and he answered them, saying, Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews? For he perceived that it was out of envy that the chief priest had delivered him up.

But the chief priest stirred up the crowd to have him release for them Barabbas instead, and Pilate again said to them, Then what shall I do with the man you call the king of the Jews? And they cried out again, crucify him. And Pilate said to them, Why? What evil has he done?

But they shouted all the more, Crucify him. So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and, having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. And the soldiers led Jesus away inside the palace that is the governor's headquarters, and they called together the whole battalion, and they clothed Jesus in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him, and they began to salute Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.

And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put their own clothes on him, and they led him out to crucify him. And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country to carry his cross, and they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull, and they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it, and they crucified him and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them to decide what each should take.

And it was the 3rd hour, or 9:00 a.m. in the morning when they crucified him.

And the inscription of the charge against him read, the king of the Jews, and with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, Ha, you who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 3 days, save yourself and come down from the cross. And so also the chief priests and the scribes mocked Jesus to one another, saying, he saved others, he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe, and those who were crucified with Him also reviled him.

And when the 6th hour had come, which is 12 noon, there was darkness over the whole land until the 9th hour. And at the 9th hour, which is 3:00 p.m. Jesus cried with a loud voice, Ali, Ali, Lamaabakwani. Which means, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

And some of the bystanders hearing it said, behold, he is calling Elijah. And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, Wait, let's see whether Elijah will come to take him down. And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and when the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

There were also women looking on from a distance, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of James the Younger and of Joseph and Sallomi. When Jesus was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. And when evening had come, Since it was the day of preparation, that is the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.

And Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died.

And so he summoned the centurion, and he asked him whether Jesus was already dead. And when Pilate learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph. And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking Jesus down, he wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb, and Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Joseph, saw where he was laid.

The next day, that is the day after the day of preparation, the chief priest and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, Sir, we remember how that impostor said while he was still alive, After 3 days I will rise. Therefore, order the tomb to be made secure until the 3rd day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people he has risen from the dead, and the last deception will be worse than the 1st. And so Pilate said to them, You have a guard of soldiers.

Go and make the tomb as secure as you can.

And so they went. And made the tombs secure by healing the stone. And setting a guard. Let's stand together.

Maybe 2. For, coming tonight. And again, just taking time away from your normal routine to, To worship with us and to gaze upon the cross. We're going to leave Christ in the tomb, as it were, and we're just going to dismiss at this time and we want to encourage you guys to be back on Sunday, for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ from the dead.

And I know at Cornerstone we have an 8:30 service and also a 10:15 service, and you're welcome to attend that. And EFC, their service is at 12:30 and, you are certainly welcome to participate and worship with them on Sunday as well. God bless you all. And Lord willing, we'll see you on Sunday.

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