Good Friday

Today our Holy Week journey continues with Good Friday, the day to remember the last day of Jesus' life on earth. It was the night after the Passover and after Jesus went into the garden to pray. Jesus was betrayed by his friend Judas, arrested as a result, put to trial before the Jewish Council, turned over to Pontius Pilate (who tried to release him), and finally crucified on the cross.

But you may be asking yourself, why is this day called "good" if it's remembering the death of a man? You see, Jesus wasn't just any man- he was the son of God. A perfect man sent to this world to pay the price for our sins. For you see, without him we would all surely die an eternal death because our sin, our imperfections, separate us from God who demands perfection. You may be saying to yourself, though, that you aren't too bad...you haven't killed anyone or you haven't stolen anything, but there are those little flaws that we have...an unpleasant thought about our neighbor, speeding just slightly over the speed limit, a hurtful word, not helping someone when we should, etc. All of those imperfect actions- big or small- create a wall between us and God.

But the good news is...and here's where we can call today Good Friday...Jesus eliminated that barrier between us and God. He paid the price for our sins- yours and mine- once and for all on the cross. He paid the debt we owe, and therefore we can call today good. Jesus cleared a way for us to spend eternity in heaven with God for all who believe in Him.

Yes, we celebrate the death of a man today, but without His death, we would be lost forever. For that reason, we call today good!

At the end of worship tonight we had a solo sung called "Rise Again" by Dallas Holm and Praise. It is an older song, but I've never heard it before. It was so cool to end the service with the song because it reminded us of the hope of the empty tomb, which we celebrate on Sunday. Here's a version of the song I found. Try to listen to the words and don't look at the cheesey looking singers!