PREPARATION FOR THIS GOOD FRIDAY TENEBRAE SERVICE
The Tenebrae service ends with the recognition of the Seven Last Words of Christ from the Cross. It may help in your own observance to have seven candles nearby, or, if you prefer, just one candle to represent the Life of Jesus.
Our observance of Tenebrae begins with the candles unlit, then during the first song,you will light all the candles.
As the service closes, please extinguish your seven candles along with the GCC video, or, at the last word, “It is finished,” you extinguish the solitary candle representing the life of our Lord.
This service is the same whether you are together in a home with others, or whether you are observing this by yourself. As you come to responsive readings, please feel free to share the readings with others, and, if alone, please say the readings out loud.
OPENING PRAYER
A Word from Pastor Mike
There is no other day quite like today. It is fitting that we give time, thought, and prayer to what it means for us that Jesus willingly laid down his life for us. My prayer for you and for us all, is that in the midst of such unusual circumstances during this quarantine, that the Cross will become real to us through the ministry of God’s Holy Spirit.
RESPONSIVE READING
LEADER: We gather to see again the truth of the story which has given us hope;
Congregation: we ask God to use the Story of Jesus to shape our lives once again; that we may be united with Christ in His Death, and also be joyous in the Promise of Resurrection!
LEADER: Heavenly Father, hear our prayer: We ask that Your grace and mercy will be upon us all – those who have come to know your Son,
Congregation: and those who have yet to believe in Christ for Salvation.
LEADER: May we all move closer to becoming Your Easter People by embracing the Cross,
Congregation: And may we live as Jesus lived – showing forth Your love and mercy to all. In the name of Christ, we pray. Amen.
OPENING SONG - This is my Father’s World
Please sing along with the first two verses, then, when the music transitions to the new chorus (I have a Father…), please light the candle(s), and sing along if you’d like. The chorus transitions back to “This is my Father’s World” as it closes.
SCRIPTURE READING
From the Gospel of John, Chapter 1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him, not one thing came into being.
What has come into being in Him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it…
The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world…
And the Word became Flesh, and lived among us, …and we have seen His glory, the glory of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth…
From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
SONG - How Great Is Our God
PRAYER
If you are observing this service alone:
On this dark day, as the shadows deepen,I come to be present with Jesus.With the glory of Palm Sunday behind me and the victory of Easter not yet come,I sit in this space with a heart attuned to Jesus’ broken heart.In this world that is at once beautiful and holy and tragic,I seek to be present with those who suffer, as my Lord, Jesus was present.In the dark valleys of life, when sorrow threatens to overwhelm,I look upon the suffering of Jesus as He gave all for my salvation.Jesus Christ, holy friend,Give me grace to see you, and a heart to share your suffering.Through the grace of your Holy Spirit I pray, Amen.
If you are observing with others:
On this dark day, as the shadows deepen,We come to be present with Jesus.With the glory of Palm Sunday behind us and the victory of Easter not yet come,We sit in this space with hearts attuned to Jesus’ broken heart.In this world that is at once beautiful and holy and tragic,We seek to be present with those who suffer, as our Lord, Jesus was present.In the dark valleys of life, when sorrow threatens to overwhelm,We look upon the suffering of Jesus as He gave all for our salvation.Jesus Christ, holy friend,Give us grace to see you, and hearts to share your suffering.Through the grace of your Holy Spirit we pray, Amen.
SONG - The Old Rugged Cross
SCRIPTURE
This is the word of the Lord taken from portions of John 19:
Then [Pilate] handed him over to be crucified.
So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called
The Place of the Skull.
There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side,
with Jesus between them…
When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and
divided them into four parts, one for each…
This is the Word of the Lord from Isaiah 53:
Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others; a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, and as one from whom others hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases… but he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
NOTE
As we move to the final part of the Tenebrae service, please play the video below. You will be extinguishing candles during the close of this video, and ending in a time of prayer.