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Service of Shadows
Good Friday - April 15th - 7 pm
Online Liturgy
For those unable to attend the live service we have created an online experience for you to participate in.
Service of Shadows is a journey into darkness, to a place of deep shadows.
We accompany Jesus in his last hours.
We witness the cruelties and the suffering He endures.
We listen to the words of condemnation and ridicule.
In all this He is innocent. He is the faithful servant of God, doing his Father's work; bringing the gospel of love, peace and hope.
Instructions
Below you fill find a progressive journey of Jesus' walk towards death. Each part is made up of music, scripture, art, and reflection. Here are a few ways you could prepare to more fully engage in this liturgy.
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Mark out a quiet hour where you can fully engage in the reading below and not be disturbed.
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Turn your phone off, quiet the speaker, and shut yourself off to any distractions that may try to pull your attention away.
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As you prepare to participate, begin with simply dimming as many lights in the house as possible.
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In a central location light 7 candles, each representing a scene in the liturgy.
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You will need pen and paper available for every member participating and a trashcan.
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Directly below you will see a Spotify playlist. Click the link and be prepared to be able to play certain songs throughout the liturgy.
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The point of the whole evening is to remember how Christ suffered Friday evening in order that we may fully appreciate what He accomplished Sunday morning. Tonight's practice may feel sad, dark, even revealing. Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you in these feelings.
Open With Prayer
And so, in this 'Tenebrae' liturgy, we are invited to walk solemnly and attentively with Jesus.
Please enter humbly, worship deeply, and leave quietly this evening.
Be still and know that God is here.
Open with pray and invite God's Holy Spirit to speak and lead as we remember Christ's suffering.
Betrayal
Part I
Play Song 1 - "Lord Have Mercy by Revival Worship" as you read the following text
When it was evening, Jesus took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”
Jesus answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”
Judas, who betrayed him, said,
“Surely not I, Rabbi?”
Jesus replied, “You have said so."
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
(Matt 26:20-29)
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy
Extinguish Candle 1
Agony
Part II
Play Song 2 - "What Wondrous Love Has This By Josh Garrels" as you read the following text
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples,
“Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated.
Then he said to them,
“I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.”
And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed,
“My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet not what I want but what you want.”
Then he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter,
“So, could you not stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Again he went away for the second time and prayed,
“My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.”
Again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy.
So leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words. Then he came to the disciples and said to them,
“Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.”
(Matt 26:36-46)
What wondrous love is this
O my soul, O my soul
What wondrous love is this
O my soul
What wondrous love is this
That caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse
For my soul, for my soul
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul
While he was still speaking, Judas, one of the twelve, arrived; with him was a large crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; arrest him.”
At once he came up to Jesus and said,
“Greetings, Rabbi!” and kissed him.
Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you are here to do.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
(Matt 26:47-50)
Extinguish Candle 2
Accusation
Part III
Play Song 3
"Now and at the Hour" by the Brilliance
As soon as it was morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council. They bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”
He answered him, “You say so.”
Then the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate asked him again, “Have you no answer? See how many charges they bring against you.”
But Jesus made no further reply, so that Pilate was amazed.
Now at the festival he used to release a prisoner for them, anyone for whom they asked. Now a man called Barabbas was in prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the insurrection.
So the crowd came and began to ask Pilate to do for them according to his custom.
Then he answered them, “Do you want me to release for you the King of the Jews?”
For he realized that it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed him over.
But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas for them instead.
Pilate spoke to them again, “Then what do you
wish me to do with the man you call
the King of the Jews?”
They shouted back,
“Crucify him!” “Crucify him!” “Crucify him!”
Pilate asked them, “Why, what evil has he done?”
But they shouted all the more,
“Crucify him!” “Crucify him!” “Crucify him!”
So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.
(Mark 15:1-15)
O merciful God
Forgive us, forgive us
O merciful God
Forgive us, forgive us
(repeat)
CONFESSION
Take a moment to reflect and write out ways we have sinned against God in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. Write them on a piece of a paper and hold on to it.
As you finish individually pray these words to God.
For all the things we have done and left undone
For all the things we have done and left undone
O merciful God
Forgive us, forgive us
O merciful God
Forgive us, forgive us
Extinguish Candle 3
Crucifixion
Part IV
Play Song 4
"There is a Fountain" By Chris Rice
Then the soldiers led him into the courtyard of the palace and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus. Then they brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull).
Please stand for the reading of the Crucifixion as you are able.
And they offered him wine mixed with myrrh; but he did not take it. And they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots to decide what each should take.
It was nine o’clock in the morning when they crucified him. The inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” And with him they crucified two bandits, one on his right and one on his left.
Those who passed by derided him, shaking their heads and saying,
“Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!”
In the same way the chief priests, along with the scribes, were also mocking him among themselves and saying,
“He saved others; he cannot save himself.
Let the Messiah, the King of Israel, come down from the cross now, so that we may see and believe.”
Those who were crucified with him also taunted him.
(Mark 15:16-32)
ASSURANCE
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On a piece of paper draw a cross and place it in the center of the room.
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As the music plays, take silent a moment to confess what you have written on your paper.
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Draw a nail on your piece of paper.
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When you're ready, lay your paper on the cross symbolizing your sin that nailed Jesus there.
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Pray or sing these lyrics.
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains:
Lose all their guilty stains,
Lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in His day;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away:
Washed all my sins away,
Washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he,
Washed all my sins away.
Extinguish Candle 4
Death
Part V
From noon on, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is,
“My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me?”
Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
My God, have You forsaken me?
Forsaken me, forsaken me
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
My God, have You forsaken me?
Forsaken me, forsaken me
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished. He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
My God, have You forsaken me?
Forsaken me, forsaken me
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge
my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
1Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
(Isaiah 53:1-12)
My God, have You forsaken me?
Forsaken me, forsaken me
When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” At once one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” Then Jesus cried again with a loud voice and breathed his last.
Silence.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After his resurrection they came out of the tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many. Now when the centurion and those with him, who were keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were terrified and said,
“Truly this man was God’s Son!”
(Matthew 27:45-54)
Extinguish Candle 5
APERIT
Part VI
Play Song 5
"Rest" By Simon Wester
Devotional
The word April is derived from the latin word “aperit,” which means to open. Spring is the time where we celebrate all of the buds opening and flowers blooming. Yet again nature has survived the cold dark emptiness of winter. It has sprung out of the dirt in defiance and with life.
Perhaps you have found your soul in a type of winter since last Easter. Perhaps you have noticed a hardening, a darkening, a quietness sneaking around your heart and soul. Satan does this, he is a king of sneaks and is very good at it. He quietly comes in the window left ajar, that hurtful word spoken, that plan that was disappointed, that offense extended. He comes in and starts whispering just as he did to us at the beginning in the garden. “Did God really say that? Does He really care?” and slowly, in the quiet, dark of winter our souls can become hardened and deaf to the Spirit’s call.
Every year we gather to mourn the death of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Every year we gather to partake in a funeral service, a service of shadows. Tonight there is no hope, tonight there is no promise of joy. Tonight is the moment in the movie where all seems lost and no help is in sight. It is the moment of uttermost despair and sadness. The promise, the answer, God's salvation has been stuck to a tree and breathes no more.
Take a breath. Now two. And one more.
Today, in this moment, you have an invitation. What is the condition of our soul? Your heart? What role do you play tonight in the Service of Shadows? Has your voice become one of denial? Have you run away from the Truth? What was the name of the nail that stuck our Lord fast to His tree?
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. Isaiah 53:5
Service of Shadows reminds us that Christ’s hurt can comfort our hurting. That in suffering He can heal our suffering. It reminds us of our great debt of sin which Jesus payed once and for all, again and again. His grace cannot run dry. No winter can keep his love from springing forth anew.
Today we prepare our hearts to open yet again to the joy of our salvation, the hope of our salvation, Jesus Christ. Service of shadows is not the end, but the point in the story where all seems lost, hopeless. It is the moment before Sunday morning where Jesus comes to the rescue in just the nick of time.
It give us pause for reflection and evaluation. To clear our ears, open up our hearts, and remove any obstacles that have crept in the dead of winter between us and our Savior. What we thought dead in winter was just waiting for the right time to spring from the ground with new life.
Extinguish Candle 6
Burial
Part VII
Play Song 6
"Amazing Grace" By Sleeping At Last
The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that impostor said while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise again.’
Therefore command the tomb to be made secure until the third day; otherwise his disciples may go and steal him away, and tell the people, ‘He has been raised from the dead,’ and the last deception would be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers; go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone.
(Matt 27:62-66)
Amazing grace
How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost
But now I’m found
Was blind but now I see
Leave the last candle lit, but move it to another room. This candle represents Jesus. On Friday He was hidden in the grave, but 3 days later He was raised. Though dark it may be, Christ has defeated death.
Death be not proud
Death be not proud
Death be not proud
‘Cause even death will die