Celebrating Good Friday!

It was to be the most humiliating and excruciating way to extinguish a life. Whips designed to dig into the flesh, and a body, nailed to an intentionally splintered wooden beam were only the start of the cruelty. From that point they would hang in the air by their flesh for hours as gravity caused the body to sag. As the body would continue to sag, the lungs would fill with blood and fluid, eventually suffocating the life out of the person. This was Roman crucifixion. 

It was not created specifically for Christ. Rather, it was a commonly used Roman way of sending a message of their authority. 

So, with all of this being true, why, and/or, how can we then celebrate the day that Christ was crucified on a cross as a, “Good Friday”? Well, what makes Good Friday, good, is not what Romans carried out and Jewish crowds initiated and cheered on. Instead, what makes that Friday good, is that Christ’s crucifixion was/is, in a very real sense where He substituted Himself for us! It was good that Christ hung on the cross for you, instead of you. Because, only Christ could be a “good enough” sacrifice for the sins of us all:

 

 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 2:14

We each owed a debt for our sins that we could not repay! At the cross, Christ cancelled that debt! It is because of Christ that this heinous place of intended shame is now the Christ followers place of victory and strength. 

So today, in this period of social distance, I pray and encourage each of us to remain passionately determined to connect with all that is good about Good Friday! As a church we will not be able to gather this year as we have in the past. Instead, this year we are encouraging a day of solemn reflection and meditation on the “Good of Good Friday, Now”.Lets reflect on how Christ’s work on the cross is still powerfully at work in our lives. Plan now, to make Friday a day to get quiet to really hear from the Lord by praying, reading the crucifixion passages of the Bible and hearing from the Lord. 

Good!

This Good Friday, our ministers and elders will be helping to lead us, through three 15 minute messages focusing our attention on the crucifixion of Christ. A new message will be released on our website & app coinciding with the hours Christ hung on the cross, at 9am, Noon and 3pm. 

As much as we pray that this Good Friday will be a time of each of us individually connecting with the Cross of Christ, deeply. There is also a great opportunity to invite your family, friends and co-workers to tune in, log on and connect with this day long celebration of Christ’s great work in our soul. 

 

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Members and Friends of LongView, you can support our continuing ministry work to those in need of groceries and support during the COVID-19 crisis, on line at longviewbible.org or via mail: LongView Bible Church, PO Box 86, Owings Mills, MD 21117