Worship
HERE is LOVE
Here is love vast as the ocean
Loving-kindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember
Who can cease to sing His praise
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heav'n's eternal days
On the mount of crucifixion
Fountains opened deep and wide
Through the floodgates of God's mercy
Flowed a vast and gracious tide
Grace and love like mighty rivers
Poured incessant from above
Heav'n's peace and perfect justice
Kissed a guilty world in love
No love is higher no love is wider
No love is deeper no love is truer
No love is higher no love is wider
No love is like Your love O Lord
© 2004 Thankyou Music
CCLI Song # 3287884 -- CCLI License # 2450133
how deep the father's love for us
How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts no pow’r no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
© 1995 Thankyou Music
CCLI Song # 1558110 -- CCLI License # 2450133
Good Friday: Surprised by the Cross - Mark 15:16-39
Feel the weight of the cross.
Intro: Without the brutality and the beauty of the cross of Christ, there is no Christianity. The cross is central to our belief. Good Friday is historically a special day of remembrance of the Cross of Christ. It is traditionally a somber day. Some may fast for the day, others choose to remain silent for the day. All need to remember the importance of the cross.
Context: Jesus had already been arrested, scourged, beaten and mocked. Roman soldiers added greater shame and humiliation by placing Jesus in a purple robe and making him wear a crown made of thorns.
History tells us the prisoners were expected to carry their own crossbeam from the prison to the place of death where there was already the upright in the ground. Going towards the place of death we meet the first of several people who are surprised by the cross.
I. An African Surprised by the Cross
- We may be surprised at how sudden the call to pain and suffering comes, but we can not dismiss the call join into the pain and suffering of Jesus.
- Simon, the African, is confirmation that this is a credible account of the crucifixion.
Cross Reference: Luke 9:23
II. A Centurion Surprised by The Cross of Christ
- This brutality upon Jesus was just the beginning of the ultimate sacrifice for the sin of the world —which would conclude with His sacrifice on the cross.
- The justice of God requires that our sin be paid for.
- Don’t miss this mission moment —the first recorded salvation after the cross was not a Jew, but a Gentile.
Cross Reference: Psalm 22
III. A Criminal Surprised at the Cross of Christ
- Acknowledging his own sin, the criminal turned to Jesus and recognized the perfection of Jesus —that is the very beginning of repentance.
- Calling on Jesus to save you is the fullness of repentance.
- The cross shows us God is both surprisingly loving and surprisingly just.
Takeaway: The why, or the purpose of the cross is explained by eyewitness Peter in his first epistle, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.” (1 Peter 3:18) At the cross God’s love was beautifully displayed in the brutality of His death so “…that he might bring you to God.” If you have not come to God, don’t be surprised that He desires you like He desired that thief, that Centurion and that Simon.
The first Good Friday ended darkly and with much confusion. Yet Peter’s explanation in 1 Peter 3:18 has a second and final sentence, “He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” Sunday was coming, so the evidence that sin was forgiven was coming.
The wonderful cross
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died
My richest gain I count but loss
And pour contempt on all my pride
See from His head His hands His feet
Sorrow and love flow mingled down
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet
Or thorns compose so rich a crown
O the wonderful cross
O the wonderful cross
Bids me come and die and find
That I may truly live
O the wonderful cross
O the wonderful cross
All who gather here by grace
Draw near and bless Your name
Were the whole realm of nature mine
That were an offering far too small
Love so amazing so divine
Demands my soul my life my all
© 2000
CCLI Song # 3148435 -- CCLI License # 2450133
lead me to the cross
Savior I come quiet my soul
Remember redemption's hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as loss
Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Oh lead me lead me to the cross
You were as I tempted and tried human
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now You're risen
To Your heart
To Your heart
Lead me to Your heart
Lead me to Your heart
© 2006 Hillsong Publishing
CCLI Song # 4785828 -- CCLI License # 2450133
10:30 am in the parking lot in back. Let's celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ together. Bring a chair and a picnic lunch.