Good Friday Worship March 25, 2016 Ironies of the Passion 2/10 Ash Wednesday This Man Went Home Justified 2/17 Midweek 2 It Is Better That One Man Die for the People! 2/24 Midweek 3 Not During the Feast 3/02 Midweek 4 He Had Been Wanting to See Jesus 3/09 Midweek 5 We Have No King but Caesar! 3/16 Midweek 6 Don t You Fear God? 3/20 Palm Sunday Do You Hear What These Children Are Saying? 3/24 Maundy Thursday Do This in Remembrance of Me 3/25 Good Friday He Said, I Will Rise Again 3/27 Easter Sunday Why Do You Look for the Living Among the Dead?
The Service of Darkness (Officium Tenebrae in Latin) is a service held on Good Friday evening in which the progressive dimming of lights and extinguishing of candles represents the snuffing out of the life of Christ. After recalling the last hours of the Savior s life in the Gospel, worshipers come to stand, as it were, at the foot of the cross. In psalms and lessons they remember the physical and spiritual torment Jesus endured as he atoned for the sins of the world. The sounds and sights of Tenebrae mean to be austere and stark, but the service is never without hope and anticipation. As worship nears an end, a remaining candle, a symbol of our Lord himself, is carried out of the nave. The silence is broken with a loud, resounding noise the strepitus that foreshadows the rending of Christ s tomb in triumph on Easter morning. With quiet drama the candle returns to the sanctuary; even on Good Friday, worship honors a living Christ. Tenebrae Order of Service Handbell Choir... The Tree of Life (CWS 754) We won t sing the hymn, but the words are printed so that you may follow along with the music. 1. The tree of life with ev ry good in Eden s holy orchard stood, And of its fruit so pure and sweet God let the man and woman eat. Yet in this garden also grew another tree, of which they knew; Its lovely limbs with fruit adorned against whose eating God had warned. 2. The stillness of that sacred grove was broken as the serpent strove With tempting voice Eve to beguile and Adam to by sin defile. Oh, day of sadness when the breath of fear and darkness, doubt and death, Its awful poison first displayed within the world so newly made. 3. What mercy God showed to our race, a plan of rescue by his grace: In sending One from woman s seed, the One to fill our greatest need For on a tree uplifted high his only Son for sin would die, Would drink the cup of scorn and dread to crush the ancient serpent s head! 4. Now from that tree of Jesus shame flows life eternal in his name; For all who trust and will believe, salvation s living fruit receive. And of this fruit so pure and sweet the Lord invites the world to eat, To find within this cross of wood the tree of life with ev ry good. Passion History Reading... part 6 [2]
Psalm... Psalm 2 (EHV 1 ) Why do the nations rage? Why do the peoples murmur in vain? The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers join together Against the LORD and against his Anointed. Let us tear off their chains And throw off their ropes from us. The one who is seated in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them. Then he speaks to them in his anger, and in his wrath he terrifies them. I myself have installed my King on Zion, my holy mountain. I will proclaim the decree of the LORD. He said to me: You are my Son. Today I have begotten you. Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance And the ends of the earth as your possession. You will smash them with an iron rod. You will break them to pieces like pottery. So now, you kings, act wisely. Accept discipline, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, or he will be angry, and you will be destroyed in the way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. Hymn... Go to Dark Gethsemane (CW 104:1-3) 1 The Evangelical Heritage Version, informally known as The Wartburg Project, is a new Bible translation being prepared by WELS pastors and professors. The New Testament and Psalms has been submitted to NPH for publication in 2017, God-willing, the 500 th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. [3]
1. Go to dark Gethsemane, all who feel the tempter s pow r; Your Redeemer s conflict see. watch with him one bitter hour; Turn not from his griefs away; learn of Jesus Christ to pray. 2. Follow to the judgment hall; view the Lord of life arraigned. Oh, the wormwood and the gall! Oh, the pangs his soul sustained! Shun not suff ring, pain, or loss; learn of him to bear the cross. 3. Calv ry s mournful mountain climb; there, adoring at his feet, Mark that miracle of time, God s own sacrifice complete. It is finished! hear him cry; learn of Jesus Christ to die. Lighting is dimmed; silent mediation Psalm... Psalm 22 (EHV) My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The words of my groaning do nothing to save me. My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer. I cry by night, but there is no relief for me. But you are seated as the Holy One, praised by Israel. In you our fathers trusted. They trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried and they were rescued. In you they trusted and they were not disappointed. But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. All who see me mock me. They sneer. They shake their heads. They say, Trust in the LORD. Let the LORD deliver him. Let him deliver him, if he delights in him. But you are the one who brought me out from the belly. You made me trust when I was at my mother s breasts. I was cast on you from the womb. From the belly of my mother you have been my God. Do not be distant from me, for distress is near, and there is no helper. Many bulls surround me. Strong bulls from Bashan encircle me. They open their mouths wide against me, like a lion which tears its prey and roars. Like water I am poured out. All my bones are pulled apart. My heart has become like wax. It has melted in the middle of my body. My strength is dried up like broken pottery, and my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded me. A band of evil men has encircled me. They have pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They stare and gloat over me. They divide my garments among them. For my clothing they cast lots. But you, O LORD, do not be far off. O my Strength, come quickly to help me. Deliver my life from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog. Save me from the mouth of the lion. From the horns of the wild oxen you answered me. [4]
Hymn... The Lamb (CWS 714) Lighting is dimmed; silent mediation [5]
Psalm... Psalm 27 (EHV) The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers advance against me to eat my flesh, When my foes and my enemies come against me, it is they who will stumble and fall. If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear. If war rises against me, even then I will keep trusting. One thing I ask from the LORD. This is what I seek: That my dwelling will be in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To gaze on the beauty of the LORD, And to search for him in his temple. Yes, he will conceal me in his shelter in the day of trouble. He will hide me in the hiding place of his tent. He will set me high on a rock. So my head will be lifted up above the enemies who surround me. I will over sacrifices at his tent with a joyful shout. I will sing and I will make music to the LORD. Hear, O LORD. With my voice I call. So be merciful to me and answer me. When you say, Seek my face, My heart says to you, Your face, LORD, I will seek. Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn away your servant in anger. You have been my help. Do not reject me or forsake me, O God who saves me. If my father and my mother abandoned me, The LORD would pick me up. Teach me your way, LORD. And lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. Do not give me up to the desire of my foes, Because false witnesses rise up against me, and those who breathe out violence. [6]
Unless I was confident to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living Wait for the LORD. Be strong and take heart, and wait for the LORD! Hymn... Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle (CW 122) 1. Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, sound the loud triumphant lay. Tell how Christ, the world s Redeemer, as a victim won the day. 2. Tell how, when at length the fullness of th appointed time was come, He, the Word, was born of woman, left for us his Father s home, Blazed the path of true obedience, shone as light amidst the gloom. 3. Thus, with thirty years accomplished, he went forth from Nazareth, Destined, dedicated, willing, did his work and met his death; Like a lamb he humbly yielded on the cross his dying breath. 4. Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, none in fruit your equal be, Symbol of the world s redemption, for your burden makes us free. 5. Unto God be praise and glory; to the Father and the Son, To th eternal Spirit honor now and evermore be done Praise and glory in the highest while the timeless ages run. Lighting is dimmed; silent mediation Lesson... Lamentations 1:1-5 (NIV11) 1 How deserted lies the city, once so full of people! How like a widow is she, who once was great among the nations! She who was queen among the provinces has now become a slave. 2 Bitterly she weeps at night, tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers there is no one to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies. 3 After affliction and harsh labor, Judah has gone into exile. She dwells among the nations; she finds no resting place. All who pursue her have overtaken her in the midst of her distress. 4 The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to her appointed festivals. All her gateways are desolate, her priests groan, her young women grieve, and she is in bitter anguish. 5 Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe. [7]
Hymn... Were You There (CW 119:1) 1. Were you there when they crucified my Lord? 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? Lesson..Lamentations 1:6-9 (NIV11) 6 All the splendor has departed from Daughter Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer. 7 In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction. 8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have all seen her naked; she herself groans and turns away. 9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts; she did not consider her future. Her fall was astounding; there was none to comfort her. Look, LORD, on my affliction, for the enemy has triumphed. Hymn... Were You There (CW 119:2) 2. Were you there when they nailed him to the tree? 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? Lesson... Lamentations 1:10-14 (NIV11) 10 The enemy laid hands on all her treasures; she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. 11 All her people groan as they search for bread; they barter their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. Look, LORD, and consider, for I am despised. 12 Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by? Look around and see. Is any suffering like my suffering that was inflicted on me, that the LORD brought on me in the day of his fierce anger? 13 From on high he sent fire, sent it down into my bones. He spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, faint all the day long. 14 My sins have been bound into a yoke; by his hands they were woven together. They have been hung on my neck, and the Lord has sapped my strength. He has given me into the hands of those I cannot withstand. Hymn... Were You There (CW 119:3) 3. Were you there when they laid him in the tomb? 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? [8]
Lighting is dimmed; silent mediation Sermon...Matthew 27:62-66 (EHV) 62 On the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together in the presence of Pilate 63 and said, Sir, we remembered what that deceiver said while he was still alive, After three days I will rise again. 64 So give a command that the tomb be made secure until the third day. Otherwise his disciples might steal his body and tell the people, He is risen from the dead. And the last deception will be worse than the first. 65 Pilate said to them, You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you know how. 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and posting a guard. He Said, I Will Rise Again. 1. That would be a horror for Jesus enemies. 2. That was the point of all that Jesus suffered. Hymn... O Sacred Head, Now Wounded (CW 105:1,4,5) 1. O sacred head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, Now scornfully surrounded, with thorns your only crown, O sacred head, no glory now from your face does shine; Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call you mine. 4. My burden in your passion, Lord, you have borne for me, For it was my transgression, my shame, on Calvary. I cast me down before you; wrath is my rightful lot. Have mercy, I implore you; Redeemer, spurn me not! 5. What language shall I borrow to thank you, dearest Friend, For this, your dying sorrow, your pity without end? Oh, make me yours forever, and keep me strong and true; Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for you. Lighting is dimmed; silent mediation [9]
Prayer of the Church The Lord s Prayer Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen. Passion History Reading... part 7 Lighting is dimmed; Christ candle removed; silent mediation Psalm... Psalm 51 (EHV) Be gracious to me, God, according to your mercy. Blot out my acts of rebellion according to the greatness of your compassion. Scrub me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I acknowledge my rebellious acts. My sin is always in front of me. Against you, you only, have I sinned. I have done this evil in your eyes. So you are justified when you sentence me. You are blameless when you judge. Certainly I was guilty when I was born. I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Since you desire truth on the inside, in my hidden heart you teach me wisdom. Remove my sin with hyssop, and I will be clean. Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness. Let the bones you have crushed celebrate. Hide your face from my sins. Blot out all my guilty deeds. Create in me a pure heart, O God. Renew an unwavering spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence. Do not take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Sustain me with a willing spirit. I will teach rebels your ways, and sinners will turn to you. Deliver me from bloodshed, O God, the God who saves me. My tongue will sing about your righteousness. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you do not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it. You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices God wants are a broken spirit. A broken and crushed heart, O God, you will not despise. As it pleases you, do good to Zion. Build up the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with righteous sacrifices, burnt offerings and whole offerings. Then bulls will be offered up on your altar. Prayer of the Day Let us pray. God Most Holy, look with mercy on this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, to be given over into the hands of the wicked, and to suffer death upon the cross. Keep us always faithful to him, our only Savior, who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Strepitus; Christ candle returned [10]
Closing Hymn... Rest, O Christ, From All Your Labor (CW 718) With his victory accomplished on the cross and credited to us in Holy Baptism, Christians bid peaceful rest to their Savior as they anticipate their celebration of his glorious resurrection on Easter dawn. 1. Rest, O Christ, from all your labor; sleep within your borrowed tomb. Foes have crucified and bound you fast within death s narrow room. Pilate s guards stand watching, waiting where they rolled the sealing stone. All unseen another watches: God will not forsake his own. 2. Peace at last from all your anguish, wounds in hand and feet and side. Enemies no longer mock you, scourged, abandoned, crucified. Faithful women gather spices, weep for you whom sin has slain. Though they mourn, the God who guards you will not let your death be vain. 3. Help us keep this solemn Sabbath as we wait for Easter dawn. Earth s dark night of sin is passing; death s long reign will soon be gone. Christ, in whom the new creation rises brighter than the sun: May we, as we watch for morning, trust the vict ry you have won. 4. As through parting Red Sea waters Israel marched to liberty, So we pass through baptism s water, washed by grace, from sin set free. Jesus, risen, living, reigning now and through eternity: Grant that, through your life undying, we may live victoriously. Silent Dismissal and Thank-Offering Please exit the sanctuary and proceed directly to your vehicles in silence, reflecting on the depths of your Savior s love for you. Save your conversations and greetings for a glorious Easter Sunday! If you brought along an offering, a plate is located at the back doors as you exit. [11]