Preparing for Good Friday, 4/6/12

Good Friday is upon us. We celebrate tonight together as a church, the day that our Savior was crucified, bearing all of our sins to the cross. The crucifixion of Jesus was a tragedy, but a tragedy that God ordained to bring even greater good to His people. He has nailed all of our sins to the cross, and by faith in Jesus we are adopted as God's children, with our sins completely forgiven.

Mike Cosper wrote on his blog,
"Good Friday can be good while nonetheless being a day of grief. No matter how we spin the story of the cross, it’s a tragedy. The world wasn’t meant for tragedy and death. When sin entered the world, it began to spin out of control, bringing disease, decay, and suffering to all of us...

...Good Friday is where the disease of sin finds a profound and surprising remedy. From the cross, God reveals a conspiracy of redemption, turning back the curse and restoring the world through Christ and his church."

As you prepare for tonight, read through John, chapters 12-13, which we use as a model for our 3 Fold Communion services at Grace. These chapters in John detail some of the last hours Jesus spent with His disciples, before He went to the cross. Christ gives them an example of humble service (by washing their feet), which He expects from believers in His church, toward one another. Christ's kingdom is a kingdom of glory and joy, but which only comes through service and dying to self. Christ did this for us, and he commands this to be our attitude toward each other.

Tonight we'll sing the following songs, broken up throughout the evening:
1. Blessed Assurance
2. In Christ Alone
3. The Wonderful Cross
4. Jesus Thank You

Join us at 6:00 in the main building tonight at Grace Brethren Church. We hope to see our whole church family there.