Good Friday Service (Full Broadcast) | Friday, April 10, 2020

Hey, Cross Connection Church! Welcome to Good Friday at home. We're so glad that you are joining us for a time of worship and a little bit of time in the Scriptures to remember what is so good about Good Friday.

Before we get into worship, this might be a great time to send out a text message or a message on Facebook or Instagram to share with some of your friends. Let them know to come and watch live at live.lifeinconnection.com as we worship together. I think that a lot of people are stranded at home right now in this lockdown, and this might be a real encouragement to them. We want people to know the grace of Jesus, so go share that real quick as we begin to worship together.

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You so much for this day. We want to thank You for the cross today. We want to thank You for giving Your life for us, and we remember You and Your sacrifice, Lord. We know, Lord God, that we are made new because You died and rose again, and that is why it is a Good Friday. It is a good day, and so we bless You. We praise You. Receive our worship now in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

I would be desperate without Your love, saved through the darkness if it wasn't for the cross. You have won, You kind chased me down. I was lost. Where would I be if it wasn't for...

The crowd shouted, "Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus!" I was a taster of your blood; you bought my freedom. Thank you! My shame was lifted. Now your mercy would be faster. Oh, the power!

By your stripes, I am healed. It is by your stripes that I am saved. Oh, it is finished! Easter reminds us that by your stripes and by your death, sin is overcome. Thank you, God! I was a prisoner, but now I'm not. Whoa!

With Your blood, You, but my brain. Thank You for the bras. Christ, it doesn't matter. Vash, there's nothing in this world that ever satisfies. We tried; we'll say no turning back. Instead, free. Christ is enough for me. Christ is enough for me. Everything I need is in Him.

Joy faster! This whole heaven is our home. I stole a thing. Jesus is here. Christ is Christ. Christ isn't known. No. Jesus is turning. I have this time.

Philo G, Jesus, don't turn. The class before me, no sir, from the crust before. No, try. Yes, enough. Christ is enough for me.

Everything, yes, Lord God, that is the truth. Lord, You are all that we need, our all in all. We love You, God, and we praise You in Jesus' mighty name. Amen.

Sometimes, things come at us out of the blue—things that we didn't anticipate or really couldn't have imagined. I was talking with my oldest son the other day. Ethan is 11 years old, and he asked me, "Dad, have you ever been in a fight before?" I thought about it and realized that it wasn't exactly a fight.

When I was in the third grade, my family was living in London, England, because my dad was working there, building a high-rise building. One day, I was walking home from school when a kid from my class, a Scottish boy named Paul, came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around, he just punched me right in the eye. I was completely shocked; it came entirely out of the blue. I was so stunned that I didn't even know how to respond. I basically just ran home with tears in my eyes. It was absolutely 100% unexpected.

In that situation, maybe your experience of something coming at you out of the blue wasn't quite as dramatic as that, but I think we've all had things come without warning—things that we didn't really expect. Less than six weeks ago, I shared with our church family that we, as a staff and leadership here at the church, were beginning to prepare for adding a fourth service to our Sunday morning offerings. We were seeing so many new people come to the church every single week that I thought we would need to make space for the new visitors.

So, my plan six weeks ago was to add a fourth service on Easter, which is this coming Sunday. However, the week after I made that announcement to our church, we actually had something change entirely. We started meeting for our church at home and online. We had no idea on March 8th...

The following week after I shared with the body that we would go from having a totally packed sanctuary here at Cross-Connection Church to only about half of the people being here on a Sunday morning, with the rest watching from home in their living rooms, if you had predicted that this would happen and shared it with our leadership team, we would have thought that you were crazy. Not only would we have thought that you were a little bit crazy, but I would have thought that that would be the worst possible outcome: that we wouldn't be able to gather together.

Especially as we come to this week, Passion Week, celebrating Palm Sunday last Sunday, Good Friday today, and then celebrating Easter this coming Sunday, it just came out of the blue. Two thousand years ago, the followers of Jesus—guys like Peter, James, Bartholomew, Thomas, John, Andrew, etc.—were taken by surprise when Judas, one of their own friends and a fellow follower of Jesus, came into the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus was praying and where the rest of his disciples were resting. Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.

I don't think that they expected that. It came without warning; they were not anticipating it at all. Not only were Jesus's disciples taken by surprise, but they were also not ready for the man they thought to be the Messiah to be arrested by the religious leaders of their day and then charged with blasphemy against God—a charge that they knew was totally insane and not true at all. Then, that same man, Jesus, would be condemned to die by Roman crucifixion. This was the last thing on their minds; it came to them without warning.

Here's the thing: it shouldn't have been without warning for them. At least three different times, Jesus told his followers that this would happen. In complete explicit terms, Jesus told his disciples what was going to happen. The first instance came in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 16, verse 21. There we read that from that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and scribes, be killed, and that he would be raised again the third day.

Chapter 16. One chapter later, not even a week later, Jesus is speaking with His disciples. In Matthew chapter 17, verse 22, it says, "Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, 'The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.'" They were exceedingly sorrowful. This is the second time in the Gospel of Matthew that Jesus tells His disciples that these things are going to happen.

The third time comes in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 20, verse 17. It says, "Now when Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes. They will condemn Him to death and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge Him and to crucify Him, and the third day He will rise again.'" Three different times, Jesus says to His disciples, "We're going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be betrayed. The chief priests are going to condemn me to die. They're going to deliver me to the Romans. I'll be crucified, and I'll be raised again the third day."

There was no way in which the disciples of Jesus were in the dark about this. They knew that this was coming, but they missed it. It caught them off guard. I'm sure that we can relate to being caught off guard by something, just like I was on that way home from school in London, England, many years ago when Paul punched me in the face.

This event that we are all living through right now caught us all by surprise. If we were given the option, I don't think that any of us would have elected to go through this. Quite the contrary, in fact. This would not be something that we would choose to experience, especially as those who lead a church. Our hope is to gather together on Good Friday and gather together on Resurrection Sunday to worship together.

I'm sure that you've experienced some other unintended or unplanned detours in your life. For some of you, it may have been a diagnosis of a disease that you weren't ready for. For others, maybe it was the loss of a job or the loss of a relationship. These things can come out of the blue; they take us unaware. Being that it's Good Friday, I've been thinking about the events of Good Friday.

In light of this idea of unexpected happenings, do you realize that the pain, shame, and suffering of the cross that Jesus endured was not unexpected? It did not take Him by surprise. Jesus knew full well when He came to the earth that this was what He was coming for. He understood that the pain, shame, and suffering He was going to experience were all part of the plan from the beginning.

The author of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament tells us that Jesus endured the cross because of the joy awaiting Him. That's always been one of those passages of Scripture that sticks out to me. It's an amazing thing to consider. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2 states that Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. The pain, shame, and suffering of the cross were far bigger than just the physical pain and shame of crucifixion. The suffering was spiritual, emotional, and physical; it was in every possible way a suffering that we cannot possibly even fully imagine. He did this because of the joy that was awaiting Him.

This kind of begs the question: what joy? What possible joy could outweigh the torture of the cross? I think the Apostle Paul gives us some insight about what that joy was when he writes about it in First Thessalonians. In First Thessalonians chapter 2, verses 19 and 20, Paul asks the Thessalonian Christians this question: "For what is our hope, our joy, or our crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?" He continues in verse 20, "For you are our glory and our joy."

What future joy could compel Christ to suffer on the cross and to die? It was you. You and I being with Him for eternity—that is the joy that was set before Him for which He endured the cross. Therefore, the author of the book of Hebrews writes, "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance."

Endurance is the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Who, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. You and I are that joy for which Christ Jesus endured the cross. Not just you and I, but every person we know. Every person we know that is walking through this situation right now, this situation that we were not prepared for, that we did not anticipate, that came at us out of the blue, is unexpected.

We're all going through this right now, and some of you are wondering if you can manage it, if you can handle the things that you're going through. But on this Good Friday, I want to encourage you to lay aside every weight, just like the book of Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 12. Lay aside every weight of sin, every weight of anxiety, every weight of worry, fear, anger, and frustration. As you lay those things aside, look unto Jesus, the author.

The book of Hebrews goes on to say, "For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls." It may be difficult to find joy in the midst of troubling circumstances. We've been talking a lot about that in the last several weeks here at Cross Connection. It can be difficult to find joy, and it can be easy to become weary and discouraged in your soul.

But there is great joy, and there is great rejoicing in this: Jesus died for you. He counted it a joy to do so 2,000 years ago on Good Friday, and that's what makes this day such a good and important day. It's hard to imagine the things that happened on the cross there on the hill called Golgotha, or Calvary, just outside of Jerusalem. It's hard to imagine that those events could be a joyful thing or a good thing, and yet we call it Good Friday.

We call it Good Friday because Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, so that He could call you and call me to be His sons and daughters. It's such a wonderful thing to consider and a wonderful thing to rejoice in together, even though we're together apart.

As we remember this wonderful day, I want you to think about the fact that the Lord was not taken by surprise. He was not caught off guard by the things that took place. He went towards the city of Jerusalem; he went towards the hill of Calvary, knowing exactly what he was doing. For the joy that was set before him, would you pray with me?

Jesus, I am so grateful this morning that you went to the cross on our behalf. As we remember here on this midday what happened 2,000 years ago, we rejoice. We rejoice that you endured the cross for us, despising the shame, so that you could claim us as your own. I pray that you would, Lord, fill our hearts with joy and rejoicing as we think about that and as we prepare for the rest of the story.

The story of your passion didn’t end with the cross on Good Friday; that was just the start. We look forward to the rejoicing that we will have together as we celebrate your resurrection this Sunday. I pray, God, for my brothers and sisters, as we are not able to be gathered together here this midday on Good Friday to worship. I pray that you administer your grace even though we are separated from one another.

Lord, we look forward to the opportunity when we can gather together again to rejoice in you. Until then, Lord, strengthen the hearts of my brothers and sisters, I pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.

In the darkness, we were without hope, without light, until from heaven you came running. There was mercy in your eyes to fulfill the law and prophets. To a virgin came the Word, from the throne of endless glory

The Spirit, three in one, we praise forever to the King of creation. You did not despise the crimes, even in Your suffering, knowing this was our salvation. Jesus, for us, took it all down.

All of heaven held its breath till that stone was moved for good, for the Lamb conquered death, and the dead rose from their tombs. The angel stood ready now, for the source of all who come to the Father are restored, and the charge is priceless.

Peaceful. The key.