For our Good Friday service, we will have five prayer stations where you can spend time contemplating the meaning of Jesus on the cross. We are posting them here as well if you cannot attend or if you want a personal time of devotion and reflection.
Gratitude
We’ve heard the word before, no doubt that we’ve felt grateful before, but what is gratitude really? What does it mean to be grateful?
Gratitude can be understood as a deep feeling or expression of appreciation for someone or something, especially when whatever we have received is something we have not earned. So, we may feel grateful, or a deep sense of gratitude, when we have a need that we cannot meet on our own, yet someone steps in to help us do what we are unable to do.
We may feel grateful when we’re late for work and continue hitting green lights until we reach our destination. We may even feel gratitude when something is taken off our plate, which allows us to give focus and attention to other things or people. Each of these examples sparks feelings of gratitude in receiving something that we did not purposefully earn. A need was met, a grace was given, a burden was made light. Each of these experiences can create feelings of gratitude.
It is now that we turn our attention to Jesus on the cross. Here we are met with an even fuller experience of gratitude. When we see Jesus on the cross, we see that He has taken our place. When we see Jesus on the cross we see that He is paying the price for our sin. It’s when we see Jesus on the cross that we see that though we had not worked hard enough for Him to take our place, though we did not earn the right to have Him hang in our place, though we did nothing worthy of receiving this grace, He has stepped in out of a deep love for you and me.
It is when we understand the cost of our sin, and see that Jesus paid it all that we begin to experience more of what gratitude truly is. As we gather together on this Good Friday, may we allow our understanding of what Jesus did on the cross for us to move us to gratitude.
Practicing regarding gratitude
In your reflection on the sacrifice of Jesus, express gratitude to Him in His taking our place. Thank Him for what He has done on the cross, and also the ways in which He shows up for us and is present in our everyday lives.
Gratitude: Prayer Starter
“Thanks be to you, our Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits which you have given us, for all the pains and insults which you have borne for us. Most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.”
Prayer by Saint Richard
Sin
Sin is a word that can sometimes make us uncomfortable, especially when referring to our own sin. Sin is the way in which we move away from the will and desires of God.
Oftentimes when we sin, it’s our moving away from the will of God and moving towards our own desires and preferences. It is when we deviate from God, His will, and His Word that we move towards sin. Rarely do we enjoy understanding the ways in which we have fallen short, or fallen out of line with God’s desires and ways.
Really, that is what sin is. The way in which we move away from the will and desires of God, and we rarely want to see and understand the ways in which we sin. However, it is when we are confronted with our sin, that we recognize our need for God. It is our sin that reminds us not only of our need for a Savior but also our need to continue to walk with Him in our journey of faith.
The recognition of our sin gives us the opportunity to move closer to God. When we recognize our sin, we recognize our need to continually move closer to the one who loves us enough to pay the price for it.
Practice regarding sin:
As we remember that it is on Good Friday that Jesus went to the cross for our sins, be bold and ask the Lord to reveal sin in our life that we need to be confronted with. As we ask for His forgiveness, allow our recognition of sin to move us further into the embrace of God.
Sin: Prayer Starter
Father, I know that I am not without sin. I know that it is my sin that put you on the cross. Would you help me acknowledge the ways in which I sin against you today? Would you allow this acknowledgment to move me closer to your embrace? Would you allow it to help me continue to walk with you? Amen
Repentance
Repentance is what takes place after we acknowledge our sin. Much like the word sin, the word repentance can make us uncomfortable. We may have strange experiences in being told to repent. It may even have an archaic feel to it.
The word repent, however, simply means to turn away from. If I am repenting for something I had done wrong, it means that I acknowledge it, and then turn away from it. Meaning when we are told to represent our sins, it means to acknowledge our sin, ask the Lord for His forgiveness, and then move to not sin in that way again.
Though we know that we are not perfect, and the likelihood of never sinning in that way again may not be something we achieve, we still assume the posture of resolving to honor God in not making that choice again.
Thankfully the Lord is kind and full of mercy, in our repentance He forgives our sin and invites us back on the path of pursuing a relationship with Him.
Practice regarding Repentance
Praise God that He lovingly endured the cross for our sins. In your praise ask the Lord if there are sins, ways in which we have rejected or turned away from God, that we need to repent and turn away from.
Know that in your repentance the Lord invites you back onto the path of following Him, you are not rejected or looked down upon. You are welcomed into the embrace of the Father.
Repentance: Prayer starter:
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.In choosing to do wrong,and failing to do good,I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to repent, to sin no more, and avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Savior Jesus Christ suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy.
Author Unknown
Mercy
Mercy can be understood as a sort of extended kindness or unearned forgiveness. Though mercy can be a word that we do not use very often, we see mercy play out in our day-to-day lives more than we may realize. A policeman has mercy on a teenager when giving them a warning as opposed to the full consequence of their actions.
A teacher has mercy on elementary students when he/she allows them to play even when they behave poorly. We might have mercy on an animal in need when we choose to take them in or care for their needs. We see mercy practiced all around us, though we experience the fullness of mercy in our relationship with God.
Mercy is one of the dominant attributes that allows us to have the relationship with God that we do! Mercy is seen with Jesus on the cross. Though we had not earned Him taking our place, though there is no bribe big enough for Him to accept taking our place (as if He would accept it), we see God have mercy on us by having Jesus take our rightful place on the cross.
Though this example may be one of the more obvious displays of the mercy of God, we see it play out in our day to day. God has mercy on us by continuing to provide for us, and show His love for us. God has mercy on us by continuing to be with us. God has mercy on us by answering our prayers and meeting us where we are. We see the mercy of God in many facets of our lives, and today we get to thank Him for the mercy of the cross. Our God is a God of mercy
Practice regarding Mercy
Take some time to reflect on the ways God has extended mercy to you throughout your life. As you recall different instances of God’s mercy, thank you for the mercy He has bestowed and will continue to bestow upon us.
Mercy: Prayer starter:
Dear Father God, I praise and thank You for Your loving-kindness and great mercy which is new every morning and remains steadfast and sure throughout the day. Thank You for the glory of the cross.. knowing that I was estranged from Your heart of love and an outcast from the kingdom of heaven. Words cannot describe my gratitude that You sent Your only begotten Son to come to earth as a Man- so that I might be forgiven of all my sins and live with You eternally in heaven.
Author Unknown
Sacrifice
When a sacrifice is made, it usually means that one thing is exchanged for something greater. You might sacrifice going out to dinner to save money. We might sacrifice our free time to serve a greater cause. Someone might sacrifice a resource they have to help and serve another.
In each case, sacrifice represents some sort of exchange. Sacrifice is also what characterizes Good Friday. In the Word we see that the Israelites in the Old Testament would make a sacrifice to God for their sins, though the sacrifice would not last. The sacrifice was only as good as the next time forgiveness was needed.
Something greater was needed, which is where we see Jesus enter the scene. It was the sacrifice of Jesus, known as the Lamb of God, that would be our perfect and thorough sacrifice that would atone for our sins once and for all. Though the cost was heavy Jesus, the lamb of God was sacrificed for our sins, making a way to God, and making Good Friday good.
Practice regarding sacrifice
Reflect on the sacrifice of Jesus. Think about the cost of our salvation, and allow it to move us towards gratitude for the sacrifice and love of God
Sacrifice: Prayer starter
Holy God, as I think about the sacrifice of Jesus I am moved to gratitude. I know the cost was great, and is more than I could repay. Please accept my gratitude, my worship, and my love. Thank you for your great sacrifice. Amen