Good Friday is the most solemn day of the church year. It holds profound significance for Christians, commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. We solemnly remember the sacrificial acts of Jesus, who bore the sins of humanity and “reconciled to himself all things, whether in heaven or on earth, making…
Hymn Guide: O Sacred Head
“O Sacred Head” is a deeply moving devotional hymn about the Passion of Christ. It explores and celebrates the paradox that Jesus’ suffering is both ugly, in its external form, and also beautiful, in its salvific love. The hymn is most fitting to be sung during Lent, Holy Week, the Stations of the Cross, alongside funerals,…
Hymn Guide: When I Survey The Wondrous Cross
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” is one of the first hymns written in the English language; three hundred years later, it remains one of the finest. Isaac Watts composed and published the text in his groundbreaking 1707 work, Hymns & Spiritual Songs. Because of the emphasis on the cross, it is especially fitting for the…
Good Friday: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Good Friday is the most somber day of the Christian year. On this day, we remember the death of Jesus on the cross. Good Friday? Why do we call the day “Good Friday?” The etymology of Good Friday goes back to Middle English, where “good” had the sense of “holy.” At the time, other days…
10 Ways to Preach the Good Friday Sermon
As a pastor, when I encouraged people to attend our Good Friday liturgy, I would say something like this: “On Good Friday, we gather to remember the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and his death upon the Cross. If you’re wondering whether to attend, I ask you to consider one question. Would you…
When God Seems Silent: A Good Friday Reflection
In Shusaku Endo’s famous novel Silence, two Portuguese priests are sent as missionaries to Japan. The year is 1637, and the Japanese church is struggling under the weight of religious persecution. These priests want to encourage the fledgling flock, so they give their lives to a dangerous voyage and the possibility of martyrdom. When they…
Holy Week at Home: Good Friday Resources
Each week, the Evergreen Project Team is publishing a Resource Roundup for Ministry in a Pandemic. Earlier this week, in our Resource Roundup we included a number of Holy Week & Easter Resources—articles, websites, and other resources. Today, we want to focus specifically on Good Friday resources. It seems like Good Friday is actually more…
Good Friday: A Collect Reflection
Good Friday Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross; who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen….
Holy Week: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Starting on Palm Sunday, we embark on what’s known as “Holy Week.” As I put it in my overview of the Church calendar and the Christian liturgical year, The last week of Lent, Holy Week, remembers the last week of Christ’s earthly life, beginning with Palm Sunday’s commemoration of Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt…
I’m not an Anglican During Holy Week
I love being an Anglican Christian. This Communion is my home, these are the people I’m called to serve with, and I’m thankful for the beauty of this tradition. But during Holy Week, I’m not an Anglican. I’m not a Baptist either. Or a Presbyterian. Or a Roman Catholic. Maundy Thursday On Maundy Thursday, my feet…
