The Agony of Good Friday and Celebration of Easter

Greetings in the Name of our Lord,

Each Good Friday, I think of the agony of Christ on the cross. Yet I know that because of what Jesus has done, I stand forgiven. I am reconciled to a new life with God. There is no other faith that can make this claim. A free gift is given in Jesus. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not any of your own doing but a gift from God.” (Ephesians 2:8)

Often we think of life as moving from birth to death. In the Gospel witness, Jesus reverses the decay of our lives to give us hope in the midst of death and defeat. In Good Friday, we see the agony and death of Jesus through the eyes of the coming new life. 

We die to old dreams; we die to hopes, to aspirations, to plans. We die to our old notions of how the world works. We die to our past when circumstances leverage us into a new future. We die to a failed romance, an upended career, a lost ideal, a destroyed home. We die through the loss of health or fitness or fullness of life that were once ours but are no longer. We die through the death of one we love.

The gospel invites us to another response to those dying moments and experiences that continually intrude upon our lives: new birth and life through Jesus Christ. 

Come tonight and experience the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Good Friday service of darkness as we remember and give thanks for the seven last words of Jesus. 

Here are some passages to prepare your heart for tonight’s service of worship: Matthew 26:57-75, Matthew 27:1-26, Hebrews 12:2, and Mark 15:22-47, John 19:30, Mark 15:34, and John 19:38-42. 

Join the Easter celebration on Sunday at 9:45 and 11:00 a.m. Even though we die, yet shall we live. Even though we suffer loss, so the new life of Christ is ours to claim. My Easter message explores the four ways that Mary, Peter, and John see Jesus in John 20:1-18. Each see the empty tomb and seek to understand the Resurrection and new life of Jesus. Who will see the real Jesus and claim the new future God has in store for them and for us? All death has been defeated! New life in Christ has come! Hallelujah! 

See you Sunday!

Pastor John Allen