10/04/2020
Good morning all. Here is the Order of Service for the Good Friday Service (10 April 2020)
Dear Friends,
Please let us continue to trust the Lord as we pray daily for the end of this problem -Coronavirus. To open the door for our normal daily life activities, his will for all people. Kindly use this on Good Friday from 10.30 am. May the Lord be with us all. Thank you.
I care.
Rev George Quarm.
**Notice**
**Notice: Please continue to pray for** **Mrs Tennah Ngegba and her two young men Thomas and Emmanuel on the death of Roland. Roland Tennah a member at Barnehurst Church who passed on to glory on 31st March 2020. If you wish to call Tennah and the boys, they will be grateful for your encouragement and emotional support. Her number is 0208 306 0747. Please do call. Thank you.**
**Service for Good Friday on 10th April 2020**
Hymn HP 182 We sing the praise of him who died
**INVOCATION****:**
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has kept us alive
and sustained us, and allowed us to pass through the season of Lent, during
which we have remembered the story of the last days of Jesus' life. O Lord
of dust and ashes - gather us to you this day. We are a people whose
shepherd has been struck down. We remember with tears the suffering he
endured. We ask your presence to be with us as we once again tell the
story and as we mourn. Be with us this night as we begin the vigil of the
Resurrection. Amen!
**Hymn HP 180- When I survey the wondrous Cross**
Jesus’ death and resurrection is all a part of God’s big plan. Good Friday is just the start of what would truly become one of the biggest gifts from the Lord. These uplifting prayers for Good Friday service will give thanks and praise to the Lord while also serving as the solemn reminder of the biggest sacrifice for humankind.
As we gather together today, we remember the supreme sacrifice of our beautiful King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Led like a lamb to the slaughter, clothed in humility and grace, he willingly offered himself to death so that we might live forever. We are truly thankful for the extent of his love, stretched out on a cruel wooden cross. We dwell on the pain he bore for us and are truly grateful for the forgiveness that he offers. As we worship and praise now, help us to live in the wonder of this goodness and marvel at his endless grace.
**Amen.**
Lord your son has suffered so much shed so much blood. I was born with so many faults and my nature is so full of weakness, and yet your son Jesus has died on the cross. I know your grace has the power to cleanse me of my many sins and to make me more like your Son. Thank you for your goodness and love for me. I ask you, Father, to watch over me – always.
Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your
family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be
betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer
death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and
the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Today we pause to remember your sacrificial love
That shone the light into the darkness
That bore life from such emptiness
That revealed hope out of the devastation
That spoke truth through incrimination
That released freedom in spite of imprisonment
And brought us forgiveness instead of punishment.
Thank you that we can now walk in the light of your life,
Hope, truth, freedom and forgiveness,
This day and every day.
**Amen**. / **The Lord’s Prayer**
**Readings Isaiah 53, John 18:1-18, 28-37, John 19:1-42**
Hymn -HP 178- There is a green hill far away
**Homily**
**Carrying the Cross**
**Reflect:** As creatures of comfort we try to avoid pain whenever possible—physically and emotionally. Even the most avid adrenaline ju**ie has soft spots. We cling to what’s secure, safe and feels good in our circumstances and relationships, naturally seeking to protect ourselves. A lot of times, that’s a good thing. We were designed to value life and preserve ourselves. On the other hand, if we hold ourselves too tightly, we keep ourselves from following God with our whole hearts.
God often asks us to get out of our comfort spots and set ourselves aside for his glory. He wants us to trust him, but we can only do that when we let go and obey. More than likely, Simon had other things to do that day rather than get personally involved in Jesus’ scandalous crucifixion. His own plans and agenda were interrupted when he was given an order to carry the bloody cross for Jesus. It was hard work, bloody, and humiliating, but he carried the cross for Christ and walked with him in his most difficult hours. In doing so, he became part of the greatest story to go down in history.
What a powerful example of what Jesus had taught not long before. Even more significant is that what Simon was forced to do, Jesus did willingly. He subjected himself to public mockery, severe beatings, and one of the most horrific deaths the world has ever come up with. As the Son of God, he didn’t have to endure anything; he wasn’t a prisoner of the Roman soldiers any more than he allowed himself to be. Even in those last excruciating hours nailed to the cross, he could have opted out. But Jesus understood his suffering was not about him; it was the only way to restore sinners like you and me to our loving heavenly Father.
God doesn’t force us to follow him either. He doesn’t put the cross on us but asks us to pick it up willingly. Our decision will cost us something; there’s heavy lifting, rejection, and personal interruptions. Actually, it will cost us everything. The only way to get the life we work so hard to protect is to give it back to God and trust him to take care of it.
Do we have it in us to carry the cross with Jesus as Simon did? To publicly align ourselves with him no matter what the rest of the world thinks? to get dirty for the sake of the gospel? Do we have it in us to follow Jesus’ example and submit ourselves to God even when it gets tough?
**Ask:** What do you think Jesus meant by picking up your cross daily? What are the practical ways you do that? Are there areas you’re still holding back from God?
**Pray:** Ask God to give you the courage, strength, and endurance to follow him every day. No matter how tough the obstacles, how long the dark night, how our plans might be disrupted, may we never forget real life starts when we give ourselves to him. Amen.
Hymn HP 181- Were you there when they crucified my Lord
**We say together to affirm our faith**
**The Apostles’ Creed**
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Amen.
**Prayers of intercession, and Petition**
**Take time to **
**Pray** for yourself, your family, the world, the church, the sick- those affected by the coronavirus
and all who need your prayers (15 minutes could do if you can)
**Concluding Hymn HP 216-And can it be**
Prayer and Benediction
Jesus, we wait here by your tomb
carrying our grief;
the grief of the betrayer,
the grief of the denier,
the grief of the crucifiers.
We carry the grief of the lost,
the heartbroken, the bereft.
Upon you were laid the grief of us all.
It is finished.
God of endings, God of darkness,
God of the tomb, God of dark days and great loss,
be with us now as we wait with Jesus.
Go into your Easter days
confident of God’s strong arms around you,
resting in the sweetness of God’s love
every moment of the day and night
Amen.
**Let's say it together (3x) 2 Timothy 1:7
"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind".**
**God bless us all.**
