The Bass River Pastoral Charge

The Presbyterian Church in Canada

St. Mark’s, Bass River; St. James, Beersville; St. Andrew’s, Clairville & Zion, West Branch

Minister: Rev. Alexander [Sandy] D. Sutherland; B.A., B.Th. M.Div

Manse #: 506-785-4383 Cell #: 506-521-0709 Email: alexander.sutherland@gmail.com

Bulletin Announcements: Cathy Little @ Fillmore Trucking #785-1083

Organist: Dolly MacDonald

ORDER OF SERVICE

Good Friday

April 2^nd 2010

Invitation to the memorial

And they rose from the supper and went into the night, out of the city and into the hills, the slopes called the Mount of Olives. And there Jesus asked his disciples to stay with him and keep watch while he prayed.

We are here to remember, to stay up to pray, to watch , and to wonder at the gift being given for our sakes.

And there in the garden across the Kidron Valley, Jesus prayed . . .

(So let us pray)

Opening Prayer

Scripture Reading: Psalm 22

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me,

so far from the words of my groaning?

²O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,

by night, and am not silent.

³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;

you are the praise of Israel.

⁴In you our fathers put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.

⁵They cried to you and were saved;

in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

⁶But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by men and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me mock me;

they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

⁸“He trusts in the LORD;

let the LORD rescue him.

Let him deliver him,

since he delights in him.”

⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb;

you made me trust in you

even at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰From birth I was cast upon you;

from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹Do not be far from me,

for trouble is near

and there is no one to help.

¹²Many bulls surround me;

strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

¹³Roaring lions tearing their prey

open their mouths wide against me.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart has turned to wax;

it has melted away within me.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;

you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶Dogs have surrounded me;

a band of evil men has encircled me,

they have pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones;

people stare and gloat over me.

¹⁸They divide my garments among them

and cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹But you, O LORD, be not far off;

O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

²⁰Deliver my life from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dogs.

²¹Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;

save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²²I will declare your name to my brothers;

in the congregation I will praise you.

²³You who fear the LORD, praise him!

All you descendants of Jacob, honour him!

Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴For he has not despised or disdained

the suffering of the afflicted one;

he has not hidden his face from him

but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;

before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.

²⁶The poor will eat and be satisfied;

they who seek the LORD will praise him—

may your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth

will remember and turn to the LORD,

and all the families of the nations

will bow down before him,

²⁸for dominion belongs to the LORD

and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;

all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—

those who cannot keep themselves alive.

³⁰Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord.

³¹They will proclaim his righteousness

to a people yet unborn—

for he has done it.

Hymn: (overhead) A new commandment [NBoP 225]Andrew Donaldson [Candles lit during anthem]

A new commandment I give unto you,

That you love one another as I have loved you,

That you love one another as I have loved you.

By this shall all know you are my disciples; if you have love one-for-another;

By this shall all know you are my disciples; if you have love one-for-another.

Scripture: John 18:1-11 –

¹When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it.

²Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. ³So Judas came to the grove, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons.

⁴Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?”

⁵“Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied.

“I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

⁷Again he asked them, “Who is it you want?”

And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”

⁸“I told you that I am he,” Jesus answered. “If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

¹⁰Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)

¹¹Jesus commanded Peter, “Put your sword away! Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?”

Hymn BoP 183 Alas! And did my Saviour bleed

Scripture: John 18:15-27 –

¹⁵Simon Peter and another disciple were following Jesus. Because this disciple was known to the high priest, he went with Jesus into the high priest’s courtyard, ¹⁶but Peter had to wait outside at the door. The other disciple, who was known to the high priest, came back, spoke to the girl on duty there and brought Peter in.

¹⁷“You are not one of his disciples, are you?” the girl at the door asked Peter.

He replied, “I am not.”

¹⁸It was cold, and the servants and officials stood around a fire they had made to keep warm. Peter also was standing with them, warming himself.

¹⁹Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.

²⁰“I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. ²¹Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”

²²When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?” he demanded.

²³“If I said something wrong,” Jesus replied, “testify as to what is wrong. But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?” ²⁴Then Annas sent him, still bound, to Caiaphas the high priest.

²⁵As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it, saying, “I am not.”

²⁶One of the high priest’s servants, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, challenged him, “Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove?” ²⁷Again Peter denied it, and at that moment a rooster began to crow.

Reflection: The denial of Christ

Peter was terrified. He was confronted by a world suddenly very hostile to who he was, and while he pretended to have courage to come to the temple square, he could only do it if he hid who he was and what he believed.

We are meant to draw a lot of straight lines between the kind of scene described in the bible and our own lives. One of the main signs of satisfaction with our own lives is the will to be open about what we do and what we believe.

Are there parts of your life that you’d rather never see the light of day. I am not speaking about those special privacies of husband and wife, or the security that exists between good friendship. That knowledge between husband and wife or between good friends is at least in the smallest sphere still public.

But what is it that you feel you need to hide in your life? A lot of people hide their faith. Not as though they are trying to be humble, but as if they were ashamed of what they believed, even to the point of not really looking at it themselves.

If someone was to come up to you now and ask you the same questions, or offer the same accusation that was offered to Simon Peter in the court yard, would you be afraid to answer the question, would you be scared to say what you believed.

If someone looked you in the eye and asked you if you were a Christian, would you fear their stare?

If you look in the mirror tonight, and you asked yourself if you believe, will you see that are you ashamed of Christ?

You may at times in you life deny Christ, that’s not an invitation, but the sad reality of our sin.

But Christ will never deny you.

Remember that, Christ Jesus does not deny you his love, even if you have denied him your whole life until this point. Christ still died for you, to forgive all those sins that you are ashamed of.

You do not have to be ashamed of Christ Jesus in you life anymore.

Choral Anthem – How deep the Father’s love for us Stuart Townend

How deep the Father's love for us

How vast beyond all measure

That He would 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 guilt 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 powr's, 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

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

Scripture: John 18:28-32 – Read by Freda Lynds

²⁸Then the Jews led Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness the Jews did not enter the palace; they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰“If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” the Jews objected. ³²This happened so that the words Jesus had spoken indicating the kind of death he was going to die would be fulfilled.

Hymn BoP 185 Beneath the cross of Jesus

Scripture: John 18:33-40- Read by Hunter Lynds

³³Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “It was your people and your chief priests who handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶Jesus said,

“My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place.”³⁷“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸“What is truth?” Pilate asked. With this he went out again to the Jews and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in a rebellion.

Reflection: Truth

What is truth?

What is the greatest truth in your life?

What are the great truths of the universe?

What is truth?

Truth is, that most people go through life without going on any great search for truth. Life is less about truth for them, than about the moment by moment satisfaction, day by day gratification of just getting through life without too m much trouble. It should be a bit of a warning flag in your own life if you find that you are more concerned with keeping yourself and other people happy than in figuring out and doing the right thing.

Our society does not have that many discussions about truth. It is a lot easier to talk about what is fun, or what works (for now), but to go through the trouble of trying to work out right from wrong, true from false, well that’s a lot of effort.

Seems so, doesn’t it? And it seems that’s what we keep falling back on.

But we have been fooled. Truth is not something that is illusive, or tricky. Truths are usually right in front of us.

Isn’t that the experience? When you have gone looking for truth, besides always finding it in the last place you look, is it often right where it should be.

What is the truth about Jesus?

Let’s go with the obvious as we have it.

He was a human being. A man; with day to day experiences that were not so different from our own except for a few advances in technology. Still he liked to go on trips, and the bible says that in the middle to the end of winter he often made a trip south.

A lot like the truth of a number of us here.

He loved his friends, and he honoured his parents. He knew what it was to put in a day’s hard work.

I guess we start finding differences between ourselves and Jesus when we start counting the number of times Jesus was willing to search for truth in not only his own life, but the lives of people around him. It got to the point where he was called ‘Rabbi’ which means teacher.

So when Pilate turned in his judgement chair to look at Jesus it was not inappropriate in the least. If Jesus had the reputation for teaching, it was good that Pilate posed that question to Jesus. Problem is, Pilate does not have the wits to wait for the answer, nor the will to see it before he passes judgement.

“Everyone on the side of truth listens”, Jesus said.

‘What is truth?’ said Pilate, without listening anymore, he went out and delivered the agreement that had a dangerous murder released instead of Jesus.

John 19:12-22 – Read by Shelley Cail

¹²From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

¹³When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴It was the day of Preparation of Passover Week, about the sixth hour.

“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.

¹⁵But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”

“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.

“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

¹⁶Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²²Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Prayer – Jesus Remember me [NBoP 206]