An Hour of Darkness

Good Friday

April 10, 2009 7:00 p.m.

As We Prepare our Hearts

The focus of this service is squarely on the cross of Christ whereupon He suffered the agony of death as full payment for the sins of the whole world. May the blessing of our Lord, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit rest upon us as we worship this night.

The altar is bare, with one exception. There are seven candles placed on the altar. Following each of the seven words of Jesus from the cross, one candle will be extinguished. After the last candle is extinguished, we will leave the Lord’s house in silence.

Prayer

Pastor:Almighty God, graciously behold this Your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, to be given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death on the cross; who now lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

People:Amen.

“Were You There” LW # 505

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?

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

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

Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?

The First Word: Love’s Forgiveness

Reader:Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”22Jesus said to him,“I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22[i]

Reader:Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him.33And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.34And Jesus said,“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.Luke 23:32-34

The first candle is extinguished.

Homily

“Jesus, I Will Ponder Now” LW # 109

Jesus, I will ponder nowOn Your holy Passion;

With Your Spirit me endowFor such meditation.

Grant that I in love and peaceMay the image cherish

Of Your suff’ring, pain, and deathThat I may not perish.

Make me see Your great distressAnguish and affliction,

Bonds and stripes and wretchednessAnd Your crucifixion;

Make me see how scourge and rod,Spear and nails did wound You,

How You died for those, O God,Who with thorns had crowned You.

The Second Word: Love’s Reward

Reader:(Jesus said,) “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers,you did it to me.’Matthew 25:31-34, 40

Reader:One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!”40But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?41And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”42And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”43And he said to him,“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”Luke 23:39-43

The second candle is extinguished.

Homily

“What Have We Done”

Concordia Choir

The Third Word: Love’s Concern

Reader:While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.46While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.48But he replied to the man who told him,“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”49And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,“Here are my mother and my brothers!50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”Matthew 12:45-50

Reader:Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.26When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother,“Woman, behold, your son!”27Then he said to the disciple,“Behold, your mother!”And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.John 19:25-27

The third candle is extinguished.

Homily

“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” # 115

When I survey the wondrous crossOn which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but lossAnd pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it Lord that I should boastSave in the death of Christ, my God;

All the vain things that charm me most,I sacrifice them to His blood.

See from His head, His hands, His feetSorrow and love flow mingled down.

Did e’er such love and sorrow meetOr thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,That were a tribute far too small.

Love so amazing, so divine,Demands my soul, my life, my all.

The Fourth Word: Loves’ Presence

Reader:Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them.17And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted.18And Jesus came and said to them,“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them inthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”Matthew 28:16-20

Reader:And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means,“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”Mark 15:33-34

The fourth candle is extinguished.

Homily

“O Dearest Jesus” # 119 v. 1-3

O dearest Jesus, what law have You broken,

That such sharp sentence should on You be spoken,

Of what great crime have You to make confession,

What dark transgression?

They crown Your head with thorns, they smite, they scourge You;

With cruel mockings, to the cross they urge You;

They give You gall to drink, they still decry You;

They crucify You.

What is the source of all Your mortal anguish?

It is my sins for which You, Lord, must languish;

Yes, all the wrath, the woe that You inherit,

This I do merit.

The Fifth Word: Love’s Need

Reader:On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out,“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, asthe Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”John 7:37-38

Reader:After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture),“I thirst.”29A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth.John 19:28-29

The fifth candle is extinguished.

Homily

“O Dearest Jesus” # 119 v. 4-7

How strange is this great paradox to ponder;

The Shepherd dies for sheep who love to wander;

The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,

Who would not know Him.

The sinless Son of God must die in sadness;

The sinful child of man may live in gladness;

We forfeited our lives yet are acquitted;

God is committed!

O wondrous love, whose depth no heart has sounded,

That brought You here, by foes and thieves surrounded,

Conquer my heart, make love its sole endeavor

Henceforth forever.

When, dearest Jesus, at Your throne in heaven

To me the crown of joy at last is given,

Where sweetest hymns Your saints forever raise You,

I too shall praise You!

The Sixth Word: Love’s Completion

Reader:And taking the twelve, he said to them,“See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.32For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.33And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”34But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. Luke 18:31-34

Reader:Jesus had received the sour wine, he said,“It is finished,”and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:30a

The sixth candle is extinguished.

Homily:

“My Song is Love Unknown” # 91 v. 1,6,7

My song is love unknown,My Savior’s love to me,

Love to the loveless shownThat they might lovely be.

Oh, who am I That for my sake

My Lord should take Frail flesh and die?

In life, no house, no home My Lord on earth might have;

In death no friendly tombBut what a stranger gave.

What may I say?Hev’n was His home

But mine the tombWherein He lay.

Here might I stay and sing,No story so divine!

Never was love, dear King,Never was grief like Thine.

This is my Friend,In whose sweet praise

I all may daysCould gladly spend!

The Seventh Word: Love’s Invitation

Reader:[Jesus said,] “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

Reader:It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,45while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.46Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said,“Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”And having said this he breathed his last.Luke 23:44-46

Homily

Prayer

The seventh candle is extinguished.

We leave in darkness, confident of our Savior’s victory, confident that we will gather to celebrate His resurrection on Easter morn

Your offering for the Lord’s work may be left in the basket as you leave..