00:00:02.840 Why is Good Friday
00:00:05.320 good?
00:00:08.320 Good Friday is good
00:00:10.480 because the price we couldn't pay got
00:00:12.360 paid and the stain we couldn't clean got
00:00:14.520 clean.
00:00:16.160 Good Friday is good because the world
00:00:17.880 was without hope
00:00:19.720 but the lamb was without blemish.
00:00:23.600 Good Friday is good
00:00:25.440 because the worst thing that could ever
00:00:26.840 happen was simultaneously the best thing
00:00:28.880 that would ever happen.
00:00:31.480 Good Friday is good because on that
00:00:33.200 cross, on that day, the great shepherd
00:00:35.880 of the sheep walked through the valley
00:00:37.360 of the shadow of death for us.
00:00:40.200 Good Friday is good
00:00:42.120 because even though the cross isn't
00:00:43.720 pretty
00:00:45.320 it's beautiful.
00:00:47.360 Good Friday is good because we have a
00:00:49.120 king who would rather die for his
00:00:51.040 enemies than kill them.
00:00:54.400 Good Friday is good
00:00:56.560 because I am not good
00:00:59.560 but he is.
00:01:01.960 Good Friday is good
00:01:04.239 because Friday
00:01:06.040 is not the end of the story.
00:01:16.600 Amen. Welcome once again everyone to
00:01:19.840 Good Friday and that video really sums
00:01:23.320 up a lot of why we call it Good Friday.
00:01:25.960 It is good because it's not the end of
00:01:27.880 the story, but before we get to Sunday,
00:01:30.200 we're going to jump into discussing Good
00:01:32.680 Friday and tonight I want to take time
00:01:35.720 to really unpack and talk about the last
00:01:39.400 words that Jesus said on the cross.
00:01:43.240 You know, it's not just an event that
00:01:44.840 took place and something we talk about
00:01:47.000 what happened, but I think it's
00:01:48.360 important to understand what was said.
00:01:51.040 What did Jesus say if if your last words
00:01:54.280 are so important, if any of us knew
00:01:56.400 we're going to be passing away that our
00:01:58.400 very last words are so important. We
00:02:00.400 should really look and understand the
00:02:02.920 words that Jesus spoke while he was
00:02:05.360 being crucified. Literally from the
00:02:07.800 cross, he speaks seven, what is commonly
00:02:11.480 known as seven sayings or seven words of
00:02:13.920 Jesus. They're actually all distinct
00:02:16.200 things that we're going to unpack and
00:02:17.840 see that they weren't just things
00:02:19.240 that were spoken thousands of years ago,
00:02:21.400 but they still apply to us today. These
00:02:24.400 words that were spoken from the cross
00:02:26.560 are still speaking to each of us in
00:02:29.600 2026.
00:02:31.200 So, we're going to look at some
00:02:32.440 different passages in the the four
00:02:34.480 Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
00:02:37.240 And the whole story of Jesus being
00:02:39.360 crucified is written out. It's listed
00:02:41.959 between all four of the Gospels. And
00:02:44.680 starting right in Luke 23 verse 34,
00:02:48.360 it it says that when they came to the
00:02:50.120 place called the skull. Many
00:02:51.680 translations, other places, it's called
00:02:53.680 Golgotha, the place of the skull. That's
00:02:56.560 where Jesus was crucified. He says,
00:02:59.000 "They crucified him and the criminals
00:03:00.640 there, one on his right and one on his
00:03:03.160 left." Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive
00:03:06.480 them, they know not what they do."
00:03:09.640 Now, we read through that and we say,
00:03:11.400 "That's nice. Jesus said, 'Forgive
00:03:13.519 them.'" Jesus would always forgive
00:03:15.040 people. But to understand what was
00:03:17.440 taking place here,
00:03:19.160 Jesus was being mocked, was being spit
00:03:22.000 on, was being hit, abused, beaten,
00:03:25.360 whipped, nailed to a cross, physically
00:03:28.280 stretched out on a wooden cross,
00:03:31.200 dying his last moments.
00:03:34.280 And his first response is not one of
00:03:36.360 anger,
00:03:37.519 but of forgiveness.
00:03:39.720 He doesn't say, "Judge them, expose
00:03:42.200 them, get back at them." He says,
00:03:45.160 "Father, forgive them."
00:03:48.000 See, forgiveness is not the result of
00:03:49.920 the cross,
00:03:51.280 but it's the reason for it.
00:03:53.520 Before anyone repents, before anyone
00:03:55.960 understands, before anyone could do any
00:03:58.800 good work, Jesus is already extending
00:04:02.520 mercy
00:04:03.840 and forgiveness.
00:04:05.880 Imagine someone hurting you deeply,
00:04:08.440 and instead of defending yourself, you
00:04:10.920 start praying for them.
00:04:12.920 Now, I know every one of us have had
00:04:15.040 somebody hurt us.
00:04:16.519 Have had somebody lie to us, have
00:04:17.720 somebody betray us.
00:04:19.640 Unfortunately, many of us have had
00:04:20.959 family members or close people very
00:04:23.240 close to us who have hurt us.
00:04:25.680 But Jesus,
00:04:27.320 he doesn't try to get back at them. He
00:04:29.520 extends forgiveness. He prays for them.
00:04:33.120 And he does so on a cosmic scale.
00:04:36.640 Some of us tonight are carrying
00:04:38.520 bitterness.
00:04:40.280 Some of us are carrying offense and
00:04:42.520 unforgiveness.
00:04:44.240 But if Jesus can forgive from the cross,
00:04:47.480 he can forgive those who are literally
00:04:49.919 killing him,
00:04:51.560 what right do we have to hold on to
00:04:54.320 something he died for? Something he gave
00:04:57.640 his life for us to release.
00:05:01.960 See, when we choose not to forgive,
00:05:04.720 what we're really saying is that we're
00:05:06.520 higher than the sacrifice of Jesus.
00:05:10.040 That Jesus' sacrifice on the cross and
00:05:12.440 his forgiveness isn't good enough
00:05:15.560 when we choose not to extend
00:05:17.480 forgiveness.
00:05:18.960 Now, forgiveness doesn't mean it's okay
00:05:21.320 that everything that somebody said or
00:05:22.919 did to you. It doesn't condone their
00:05:24.840 actions or words. And it doesn't mean
00:05:26.919 you go running back and be best friends
00:05:28.560 with the people who maybe hurt you or
00:05:30.160 stabbed you or betrayed or lied about
00:05:31.919 you. But God commands us to forgive.
00:05:35.960 He tells us it's not an option, it's
00:05:38.040 something we must do because it sets us
00:05:41.880 free. It's not about setting the other
00:05:44.000 person free, it sets us free when we
00:05:46.720 extend forgiveness.
00:05:49.600 So, the person that hurt you, the person
00:05:51.680 that wounded you, they're in the wrong,
00:05:54.400 and it doesn't justify what they did or
00:05:56.560 said, but our responsibility
00:05:59.320 is to extend forgiveness.
00:06:01.840 Just as Jesus did. To accept the
00:06:04.480 forgiveness that Jesus paid on the
00:06:06.360 cross, the forgiveness that he extends
00:06:08.840 to us
00:06:10.120 is enough for us to extend forgiveness
00:06:13.240 to others.
00:06:16.520 Now, one of the criminals hanging there
00:06:18.600 in Luke 23:39,
00:06:22.000 remember there's one on the right, one
00:06:23.400 on the left, and one says to Jesus, he
00:06:25.160 reviles him and says, "Are you not the
00:06:27.200 Messiah?
00:06:28.600 Save yourself and us." The other,
00:06:31.840 however, rebuking him, said in reply,
00:06:34.919 "Have you no fear of God? For you are
00:06:37.520 subject to the same condemnation.
00:06:40.800 And indeed, we have been condemned
00:06:43.040 justly, for the sentence we received
00:06:45.880 corresponds to our crimes. But this
00:06:48.440 man," pointing to Jesus, "has done
00:06:50.640 nothing criminal."
00:06:52.320 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when
00:06:55.120 you come into your kingdom." He replied
00:06:57.480 to him, "Amen. Yes, I say to you, today
00:07:01.680 you will be with me in paradise."
00:07:05.000 The one criminal mocks Jesus. He He's
00:07:08.240 questioning Jesus, while the other one
00:07:10.400 recognizes him and responds with faith.
00:07:14.680 So, what is your response to Jesus?
00:07:17.400 Do you mock Jesus?
00:07:19.200 Do you question Jesus? Do you say,
00:07:21.480 "Okay, God, where are you? God, are you
00:07:23.800 really good? God, if you're so good,
00:07:26.120 then how come it doesn't look like very
00:07:27.919 good things are happening in the world,
00:07:29.560 or happening in my life?"
00:07:31.480 Or are you like the other criminal who
00:07:33.120 says, "You know what? I deserve
00:07:34.760 punishment, yet Jesus, I still trust in
00:07:37.840 you. Remember me. Save me."
00:07:41.280 See, salvation is not earned.
00:07:44.800 It's received.
00:07:46.520 This man who's dying on the cross, and
00:07:49.200 Jesus looks to him and says, "Today,
00:07:51.400 you'll be with me in paradise." I
00:07:53.520 believe that says you're going to be
00:07:55.400 saved. You're going to spend eternity
00:07:57.400 with me, not separated from me. But yet
00:08:00.080 this man, he wasn't baptized. He wasn't
00:08:03.440 a perfect attender at church. He didn't
00:08:05.480 get his life fixed first.
00:08:08.000 He simply turned to Jesus and trusted in
00:08:11.240 him.
00:08:12.560 And at the end of his life,
00:08:14.680 with nothing to offer,
00:08:16.880 grace met him anyway.
00:08:20.200 That we're saved by grace through faith
00:08:24.360 in Christ.
00:08:26.040 That it's not our works that save us, so
00:08:29.320 that none of us can boast. Ephesians
00:08:31.520 2:8-9, that we're saved by grace through
00:08:34.080 faith. It's God's grace, his mercy, that
00:08:37.679 saves us, not our good works.
00:08:41.200 Anybody that says it's grace plus
00:08:43.880 anything else is not following the true
00:08:46.000 gospel. That grace is what saves us.
00:08:48.920 It's his loving mercy, his sacrifice on
00:08:51.680 the cross, is all it takes for us to be
00:08:54.960 saved.
00:08:57.280 And once you really are saved,
00:08:59.480 then the works follow. Then the good
00:09:01.360 deeds follow. And our works support the
00:09:04.560 saving grace of what Jesus already did,
00:09:06.360 not a means for salvation.
00:09:09.360 But some people think
00:09:11.000 I've gone too far.
00:09:12.680 I've messed up too much. It's too late
00:09:15.520 for me. Yet here is this man
00:09:18.240 who deserves capital punishment. He
00:09:21.200 deserves He even admits his crimes and
00:09:24.120 his sentence corresponds to his crimes.
00:09:27.520 He says, "I'm a criminal. I screwed up.
00:09:30.120 I deserve to be nailed to this cross. I
00:09:32.440 deserve to die."
00:09:35.080 But the cross says it's not too late for
00:09:37.400 him.
00:09:38.600 And it's not too late for you.
00:09:42.360 The cross offers forgiveness.
00:09:44.600 And it offers salvation.
00:09:46.680 I love one of the lines in that video we
00:09:48.480 just watched where the cross
00:09:50.320 it's not pretty but it's beautiful.
00:09:55.320 It was an ugly device used for killing people.
00:10:00.960 Yet it's the same it's a symbol of the
00:10:03.240 most beautiful act of love, of mercy,
00:10:06.560 and of sacrifice that any of us could ever
00:10:09.360 witness. To ever see the cross and what
00:10:11.760 it represents. It's not just a cute piece
00:10:15.400 of jewelry but it represents the sacrifice
00:10:17.960 of Jesus. The only way that we could truly
00:10:20.440 be saved.
00:10:23.080 You know, I resonate a lot with this
00:10:24.280 criminal in a sense of I deserve
00:10:26.640 punishment. I deserve death. I deserve
00:10:28.840 separation from God because of things
00:10:30.960 I've done. Yet by God's grace we can be
00:10:34.120 forgiven. By his mercy we can walk in
00:10:37.480 freedom.
00:10:39.480 In John 19 Jesus says he looks down and
00:10:42.240 he sees his mother
00:10:43.920 and and the disciple whom he loved,
00:10:46.600 John, the disciple who's writing this.
00:10:49.920 He said to his mother
00:10:51.760 Jesus says to his mother, "Woman, behold
00:10:53.680 your son."
00:10:55.120 Then he said to the disciple, "Behold
00:10:57.320 your mother." And from that hour the
00:10:58.839 disciple took her into his home.
00:11:02.440 Now many people read sometimes what
00:11:04.400 Jesus says to his own mother and he he
00:11:06.360 says, "Woman." It's not a disrespectful
00:11:08.640 term
00:11:09.680 but it's a term that he uses to address
00:11:11.440 her and says, "Woman, this is now your
00:11:13.120 son." Speaking to to to John. And he
00:11:16.000 says to John, "This is your mother." And
00:11:18.320 what he's actually doing was living out
00:11:20.360 the responsibilities that God has set
00:11:22.320 forth for him to care for his own
00:11:24.440 mother, to care for his family and
00:11:26.400 relatives. That Mary, his mother, was
00:11:29.080 most likely a widow. No no mention of
00:11:31.440 Joseph, no mention of Jesus' earthly
00:11:33.560 father.
00:11:34.800 So, she was most likely a widow and she
00:11:36.200 would need to be taken care of as Jesus
00:11:39.400 was moving on was was passing on.
00:11:42.320 Even in his suffering,
00:11:45.000 even while Jesus is being brutally
00:11:46.920 murdered and put on the cross,
00:11:49.360 he cares about his family. He cares
00:11:52.320 about relationships.
00:11:54.480 He's still connecting. He's still
00:11:56.600 building and creating community.
00:11:59.000 He's take making sure his mother is
00:12:01.000 going to be cared for.
00:12:02.720 In a moment he could be so selfish in
00:12:04.520 thinking about himself, he looks out and
00:12:06.840 still cares for the people
00:12:09.440 around him.
00:12:11.320 The cross doesn't just save us,
00:12:13.920 but it places us into a family.
00:12:17.080 Christianity is not about you and God
00:12:19.440 alone.
00:12:20.760 Yes, we all have to make a personal
00:12:23.200 decision of faith. Every single one of
00:12:25.480 us have an individual ability to make a
00:12:27.520 decision of faith trusting in Jesus.
00:12:31.200 It's not your family, it's not your
00:12:32.800 grandparents, it's not something that
00:12:34.480 somebody else did with you or for you
00:12:36.400 that saves you. It's a personal decision
00:12:39.200 that you have to make.
00:12:41.400 Your parents' and grandparents' faith
00:12:43.000 will not save you. It's your faith, your
00:12:45.800 trust.
00:12:47.240 And Christianity is meant to be lived
00:12:48.880 out in family. It's meant to be lived
00:12:50.640 out in community and in relationships.
00:12:55.080 In the world we live, it's very lonely
00:12:57.480 at times.
00:12:58.960 Technology and all the things that are
00:13:00.400 meant to connect us often actually
00:13:02.400 isolate us and make us feel very alone.
00:13:06.120 But at the cross, Jesus created
00:13:07.640 something new.
00:13:08.880 He created a spiritual family. A family
00:13:12.040 that goes beyond the natural genes and
00:13:14.320 beyond natural boundaries and it
00:13:15.920 connects us in a supernatural way that
00:13:18.880 doesn't always make sense, but it's
00:13:20.480 beautiful when you realize that you
00:13:22.320 belong to part of the family.
00:13:24.880 That his blood makes us sons and
00:13:27.080 daughters of his.
00:13:29.680 Within the church, within the family of
00:13:31.440 God, you can find purpose. You can find
00:13:33.640 meaning.
00:13:34.880 And you don't have to live life alone,
00:13:36.800 but you can live it in community.
00:13:40.360 After this
00:13:41.840 in verse 28, aware that everything was
00:13:44.040 now finished in order that the scripture
00:13:46.640 might be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I
00:13:50.120 thirst." There was a vessel filled with
00:13:52.240 common wine.
00:13:53.680 So, they put a sponge soaked in wine on
00:13:55.480 a sprig of hyssop, on a hyssop branch,
00:13:57.720 and they put it up to his mouth.
00:14:02.360 This is important because Jesus
00:14:04.640 didn't just die for us,
00:14:06.600 didn't just die for us, he became like
00:14:08.320 us.
00:14:09.240 He felt pain. He felt exhaustion. He
00:14:12.600 felt dehydration.
00:14:14.680 That he's not some distant savior. He's
00:14:16.640 not just a big guy in the sky. He he
00:14:19.200 cares about us. He's a savior who gets
00:14:22.640 us. He understands what we're going
00:14:25.200 through. He's a savior who feels and
00:14:28.160 cares and he sees what goes on in our
00:14:30.920 lives.
00:14:32.680 In Hebrews 4, verses 15 and 16
00:14:36.280 says, "For we do not have a high priest
00:14:38.320 who is unable to sympathize with our
00:14:40.880 weaknesses, but one who in every respect
00:14:44.280 has been tempted as we are, yet without
00:14:48.080 sin.
00:14:49.320 Let us then with confidence draw near to
00:14:51.920 the throne of grace that we may receive
00:14:54.080 mercy and find grace to help in time of
00:14:57.240 need."
00:14:58.720 Jesus understands because he became
00:15:01.880 flesh. He's God who puts on flesh. He
00:15:04.880 felt and suffered and experienced the
00:15:07.839 pain of life.
00:15:09.960 He sympathizes with our weaknesses. Not
00:15:13.000 one who doesn't understand, but he lived
00:15:16.120 out the temptations and the trials of
00:15:19.160 this world. Yet he did not sin.
00:15:23.920 The only one who did not sin. The only
00:15:26.560 one who could live a perfect life.
00:15:30.400 He understands what you're going
00:15:32.440 through.
00:15:33.880 He understands your pain.
00:15:35.720 He understands your grief.
00:15:37.520 He understands your struggles.
00:15:40.080 And I get it. At times we feel like
00:15:42.040 we're all alone.
00:15:43.520 We're the only ones who are struggling
00:15:45.440 with something. We're the only ones
00:15:47.120 dealing with the thoughts in our minds.
00:15:50.000 Jesus understands. He knows what you're
00:15:52.720 going through.
00:15:54.160 And if you would trust in him, and if
00:15:56.120 you would pray to him, and if you'd say,
00:15:58.000 "Jesus, I know you get this. Somebody
00:16:00.840 else might not understand, but God does.
00:16:03.760 God knows what you're experiencing
00:16:06.200 because he didn't just die a physical
00:16:08.880 death, he died a spiritual and emotional
00:16:12.040 death. He took on the pain and the
00:16:14.720 suffering that many of us experience in
00:16:17.720 this life."
00:16:19.360 He suffered the betrayal of his closest
00:16:21.840 friends.
00:16:23.160 Betrayed by Judas. He suffered the pain
00:16:25.839 of false accusations. The attack of his
00:16:29.080 fellow rabbis. The fellow teachers, the
00:16:31.440 guys he went to school with, the people
00:16:33.560 he was teaching with, the guys who
00:16:35.160 should have been on his team and
00:16:36.440 supporting him and cheering him on. They
00:16:38.600 falsely accused him and had him
00:16:40.680 crucified.
00:16:42.120 Yet he did not sin.
00:16:46.040 He's the only one worthy
00:16:48.520 to pay the sins of the world. The only
00:16:51.360 one worthy of our worship. The only one
00:16:53.680 worthy to be called king and lord. The
00:16:56.720 only one who could pay for our sins
00:16:59.880 is Jesus.
00:17:02.000 In Mark 15, it says, "At noon, darkness
00:17:04.959 came over the whole land until 3:00 in
00:17:07.040 the afternoon. And at 3:00, Jesus cried
00:17:10.199 out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, Eloi, Lema
00:17:12.880 Sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My
00:17:15.880 God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
00:17:19.839 Darkness covers the land in the middle
00:17:22.119 of the day when the sun is at the
00:17:23.720 highest.
00:17:25.000 Yet Jesus cries out, "My God, my God,
00:17:26.800 why have you forsaken me?" This is one
00:17:28.760 of the most profound moments in
00:17:30.760 scripture.
00:17:32.080 And there's
00:17:32.960 two main theological beliefs with this.
00:17:35.640 One is that Jesus was being forsaken,
00:17:38.040 separated from God, because God could
00:17:40.640 not look upon the sin of the world that
00:17:43.120 was placed upon Jesus.
00:17:46.200 I believe that Jesus was not fully
00:17:48.360 separated from God because he is God,
00:17:50.560 but in the natural, in his flesh, in his
00:17:52.440 humanity, he was separated from God
00:17:54.480 because he was bearing the sins of the
00:17:56.120 world. Anyone who says that God cannot
00:17:58.640 be in the presence of sin, I disagree
00:18:00.720 with that because he was in the presence
00:18:02.560 of Satan himself. He's in the presence
00:18:04.680 of Adam and Eve when they sinned. He's
00:18:06.400 in our presence at all times and yet we
00:18:08.680 still have sin.
00:18:10.480 Anyone who says God cannot, I question
00:18:13.120 what they're saying because God can do
00:18:15.360 whatever he chooses to do.
00:18:17.600 But here Jesus is crying out. He's
00:18:19.360 actually quoting the first verse of
00:18:21.840 Psalm 22. So in the Old Testament, Psalm
00:18:24.840 22 is a prophesying, a Messianic
00:18:27.760 prophecy, speaking into the future about
00:18:30.760 the coming Messiah. Hundreds of years
00:18:32.960 before Jesus came, and Jesus here is
00:18:35.560 quoting Psalm 22. I believe fulfilling
00:18:39.200 the prophecy of Psalm 22 saying, he's
00:18:41.720 quoting scripture. He's not necessarily
00:18:44.200 saying, "God, why are where are you?"
00:18:46.120 He's quoting the Messianic prophecy,
00:18:48.720 fulfilling that prophecy, fulfilling the
00:18:51.280 purpose that God has called him and sent
00:18:53.920 him to carry out here on the earth.
00:18:57.000 In that moment, he bore our sin. He
00:19:00.880 carried our guilt, our shame. He took
00:19:04.560 our place so that we didn't have to.
00:19:08.560 For the first time,
00:19:10.240 I believe in the greatest measure, he
00:19:12.360 took on the weight of our sin, the
00:19:15.240 weight of the world upon him.
00:19:18.960 Some of you right now, you feel distant
00:19:21.200 from God.
00:19:22.800 I believe you feel alone, maybe
00:19:24.480 forgotten. Like God doesn't see you. God
00:19:27.240 doesn't care.
00:19:28.720 But the cross declares that you are not
00:19:30.960 abandoned. You are not forsaken. God
00:19:34.080 knows and he's with you that you are not
00:19:36.800 alone. And even though Psalm 22 starts
00:19:39.560 in despair, it ends in victory. Jesus
00:19:43.480 did not stay dead. Remember, Friday is
00:19:46.160 good because Sunday is coming. Easter
00:19:49.240 Sunday is going to be a day of rejoicing
00:19:51.480 and celebrating.
00:19:53.440 Cuz what Jesus did was reunited us with
00:19:56.800 the Father. In Luke 23:44,
00:19:59.880 it says it was now about noon. So, we
00:20:01.560 just heard in Mark, noon until 3:00 in
00:20:04.280 the afternoon, total darkness went over
00:20:06.760 the land. Luke actually says because an
00:20:08.800 eclipse of the sun. Now, just a little
00:20:12.160 bit of sidebar, history has shown
00:20:14.560 science and astrology, they went back
00:20:16.600 and looked at cycles of eclipses and of
00:20:19.240 of the planets and the alignment, and
00:20:21.160 they actually can point back to this
00:20:22.880 very moment and say there was a solar
00:20:25.880 eclipse that happened right around this
00:20:27.960 exact time that the Bible talks about.
00:20:30.920 And it wasn't just some made-up story.
00:20:32.600 Like, why would this be in there unless
00:20:34.320 it actually happened? It happened in
00:20:36.800 real life, in history, and it's recorded
00:20:39.200 in the Bible. The Bible lines up with
00:20:41.240 history. The Bible lines up with
00:20:42.840 science. It lines up with what we know
00:20:45.680 of the stars and the moons in the sky.
00:20:48.400 But it says the veil of the temple was
00:20:51.320 torn down the middle. Jesus cried out in
00:20:54.440 a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I
00:20:57.800 commend my spirit." And when he said
00:21:00.120 this, he breathed his last.
00:21:03.000 That veil that was torn was the
00:21:05.360 separation between the Holy of Holies
00:21:07.960 and mankind. That the people that people
00:21:10.400 of God, the Israelites, they could not
00:21:12.120 go into the presence of God. It was a
00:21:14.360 symbolic separation of us and God. And
00:21:18.320 when Jesus breathed his last breath, it
00:21:20.480 says the veil was torn from top to
00:21:23.680 bottom. That men did not rip this
00:21:26.000 curtain, God did it. God ripped that
00:21:28.400 curtain, he tore it open, meaning that
00:21:30.680 he's now saying, "You can now come to
00:21:32.800 me." Boldly coming to the throne of God.
00:21:35.600 That that barrier and that separation
00:21:37.680 was removed. That now we can come to
00:21:40.680 God, that we don't need to go through a
00:21:42.200 priest, we don't need to go through a
00:21:43.800 system. Because of Jesus, we can come to
00:21:47.200 God. In 1 Timothy 2:15, it says there is
00:21:50.040 one mediator between God and mankind,
00:21:53.320 and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the one
00:21:56.560 who reconciles us. He brings us back
00:21:59.160 into a right relationship with God the
00:22:01.600 Father. It's not through works, it's not
00:22:04.040 through church, through all this other
00:22:05.720 stuff, it's through Christ alone. That
00:22:09.280 what once was separated, each and every
00:22:11.400 one of us was separated from God, we can
00:22:14.320 now be restored and reconciled because
00:22:17.920 Jesus, he died and he tore that veil.
00:22:21.040 God ripped that veil open so that we can
00:22:24.040 now enter into God's presence.
00:22:26.920 And in John 19:30,
00:22:29.160 when Jesus had taken the wine, he said,
00:22:31.400 "It is finished." And bowing his head,
00:22:35.080 he handed over his spirit.
00:22:38.000 He said, "It is finished." Not "I am
00:22:40.000 finished." He said, "It is finished." He
00:22:43.120 didn't lose his life, he gave his life
00:22:46.440 willingly. That Jesus willingly and
00:22:49.320 joyfully went to the cross because he
00:22:51.960 knew what it meant. That the work that
00:22:54.960 he came to do, he finished it.
00:22:58.280 The debt was paid. Our sin was defeated.
00:23:02.840 Access to God opened. And in that
00:23:05.840 culture, this phrase was used as a as
00:23:09.240 whenever a debt was paid in full. It is
00:23:11.880 finished. It was like paid in full
00:23:14.040 stamped on our life. When Jesus said it
00:23:16.360 is finished, he said, "It's paid in
00:23:17.680 full. It's done. There's no more debt.
00:23:20.560 There's no more anything that you have
00:23:22.440 to pay cuz I paid every bit of it."
00:23:26.080 Jesus paid it all.
00:23:29.040 So, we have to stop trying to earn what
00:23:31.680 Jesus already finished.
00:23:34.720 You don't have to fight for victory,
00:23:36.960 but fight from a place of victory.
00:23:40.160 We cannot earn God's forgiveness.
00:23:43.680 We can't earn his love.
00:23:46.120 He already has forgiven us. He's already
00:23:50.040 loving each and every one of us.
00:23:52.760 So, tonight,
00:23:54.320 the cross is still speaking.
00:23:57.000 It speaks of forgiveness.
00:23:59.480 And I don't know what each one of you
00:24:00.960 need.
00:24:02.120 You might not even know what you need.
00:24:04.480 If you need to forgive
00:24:06.240 somebody,
00:24:08.120 maybe you need to allow God to forgive
00:24:10.320 you for what you've done.
00:24:12.280 I hear it all too often.
00:24:14.320 I can't I can't forgive myself. I I hear
00:24:16.920 people say that. I say, "God has
00:24:18.640 forgiven you."
00:24:20.360 You can receive the forgiveness
00:24:23.680 that Jesus paid for on the cross. You're
00:24:25.520 not too far gone.
00:24:28.120 Maybe you need salvation.
00:24:30.720 Maybe you know, I I need saved.
00:24:34.000 Not because of anything you've done, but
00:24:35.600 because Jesus Christ wants to save you.
00:24:40.160 Maybe you need to be welcomed into the
00:24:41.400 family of God.
00:24:43.960 You're feeling alone right now. You're
00:24:45.800 feeling isolated. Maybe you have some
00:24:47.800 broken natural family relationships. God
00:24:50.440 wants to welcome you into the family.
00:24:54.600 Maybe you need to know that God cares.
00:24:57.280 That what you're going through, God
00:24:58.840 sees, He knows, and He cares.
00:25:01.840 Maybe it's His presence to just wrap His
00:25:03.600 arms around you, to love you, to welcome
00:25:05.840 you, to invite you. Maybe you don't need
00:25:08.000 to know that you can go to God.
00:25:11.040 You can go to God at any moment of any
00:25:13.400 time of any day.
00:25:15.280 Simply saying, "Father, heavenly Father,
00:25:17.920 God," whatever you want to call it, say,
00:25:19.600 "God, I want you. I want to know you. I
00:25:21.640 want to speak to you. God, I got some
00:25:23.440 stuff going on right now, and I I don't
00:25:25.120 know who to talk to." Go to Him. Talk to
00:25:27.720 Him.
00:25:29.520 Maybe you need to know that we live in a
00:25:31.600 place of victory.
00:25:33.360 Because
00:25:34.400 Good Friday's good because Sunday's
00:25:36.480 coming. We don't live trying to earn
00:25:38.480 something or hope for something. We know
00:25:40.680 our hope is in Jesus Christ. Amen.
00:25:47.320 So, we're going to move into a another
00:25:48.920 song, and I invite you to stay seated.
00:25:51.640 I want this to be a time of reflection.
00:25:54.120 The song is called Blown Away.
00:25:56.280 It's really focusing on what Jesus did,
00:25:58.840 what He went through, and how it blows
00:26:01.000 me away to think that He would do it all
00:26:03.440 again
00:26:05.080 because of His love, His grace, and His
00:26:06.800 mercy for for each of us.
00:26:09.520 So, let's
00:26:10.960 receive.
00:26:14.720 Oh, troubled Messiah,
00:26:18.840 You prayed through the night.
00:26:23.000 Unbearable sorrows,
00:26:27.120 the world on your mind.
00:26:32.360 Betrayed by the kiss of a friend, you
00:26:35.400 were taken
00:26:39.240 by your own free will.
00:26:43.680 Rejected and disowned by those you came
00:26:48.840 to heal.
00:26:52.080 Stripped of your
00:26:53.920 you were mocked, you were beaten.
00:26:58.840 Made a king
00:27:01.040 of fools.
00:27:04.360 A crown of sorrow driven deep into your
00:27:10.120 brow.
00:27:12.200 Yeah, you made no sound.
00:27:20.520 What you went through the loving
00:27:25.040 I'll never understand.
00:27:29.160 What blows my mind away
00:27:33.280 You love me as I am.
00:27:41.560 They called for a rebel.
00:27:45.680 A king for a thief.
00:27:49.800 You draining your kindness like rain through the streets.
00:27:59.280 Draped with the weight of the world on
00:28:02.280 your shoulders
00:28:06.120 as you climbed that hill.
00:28:11.600 A burden far too great for flesh and
00:28:16.040 bones to bear.
00:28:20.920 You stretched out your arms as you
00:28:23.200 welcomed those Roman
00:28:25.960 nails.
00:28:28.080 Your body
00:28:29.720 broken, forever
00:28:32.240 the very hands that shaped the world
00:28:36.400 hung up to
00:28:41.760 Lifted on high, crucified him and you
00:28:46.200 know no
00:28:47.440 sin.
00:28:48.880 The
00:28:49.880 Nazarene.
00:28:52.920 The Son of
00:28:54.920 Man, the Lamb
00:28:56.160 of God
00:28:57.160 who made
00:28:58.920 you well.
00:29:01.000 Given to
00:29:03.000 die.
00:29:09.240 What you went through, the loving
00:29:13.640 I'll never understand.
00:29:17.760 What blows my mind away
00:29:21.920 You love me as I am.
00:29:42.760 Precious Redeemer.
00:29:46.720 Lamb that was slain.
00:29:50.920 Hope for the hopeless.
00:29:55.040 Lifter of shame.
00:29:59.160 Friend to the sinner.
00:30:03.080 Grace to my soul.
00:30:07.360 Death is defeated.
00:30:11.280 Now my sin is gone.
00:30:15.400 And I'm blown away.
00:30:19.560 Yeah, I'm blown away.
00:30:25.160 Crushed by the weight of the world that
00:30:28.120 you came to
00:30:29.760 save.
00:30:32.040 You took my
00:30:34.000 place.
00:30:37.440 Your blood is rivers flowing freely to
00:30:43.640 the ground.
00:30:46.960 Yielding your spirit, you let out a
00:30:51.120 holy cry
00:30:53.680 as you gave your life.
00:30:58.320 All alone,
00:31:00.600 all alone,
00:31:02.240 survived
00:31:03.320 the night.
00:31:06.000 Oh, my Jesus Christ.
00:31:14.240 What you went through to love me,
00:31:18.840 I'll never understand.
00:31:22.920 What blows my mind away is
00:31:27.080 you'd do it all again.
00:31:35.040 Luke 23, after Jesus breathed his last,
00:31:38.480 the Roman officer who was overseeing the
00:31:40.600 execution,
00:31:42.280 he said, "Truly, this man was the Son of
00:31:45.440 God."
00:31:47.240 That even the Roman soldier who was
00:31:49.560 killing Jesus
00:31:51.280 came to recognize the reality of who
00:31:53.120 Jesus was.
00:31:55.240 And tonight,
00:31:56.840 each and every one of us
00:31:58.840 have an opportunity to respond to who
00:32:01.560 Jesus is.
00:32:03.360 Not just acknowledging the facts, but
00:32:05.840 truly trusting in him.
00:32:07.920 Placing our hope in Jesus.
00:32:11.120 So, I invite you to pray with me as I'm
00:32:13.000 going to lead us and I invite all of us
00:32:15.040 to pray
00:32:16.480 as you join as we join together.
00:32:17.760 Heavenly Father,
00:32:19.920 God, we know that you are perfect. God,
00:32:23.040 that you sent your Son to die for us.
00:32:27.480 Lord, I know that I have sinned.
00:32:30.560 I'm not perfect.
00:32:32.600 And that God, Jesus died on the cross
00:32:35.800 so that I could be forgiven.
00:32:39.760 Jesus, I trust in you.
00:32:42.680 I give you my life.
00:32:45.400 From this day forward,
00:32:47.320 I surrender to you,
00:32:49.560 the Son of God.
00:32:52.720 And I just invite you in this moment if
00:32:54.920 if there's anything that you felt God
00:32:56.480 speaking to you, something you need to
00:32:58.440 do,
00:32:59.920 don't leave without taking that step.
00:33:02.400 Don't leave without surrendering
00:33:04.160 something to Jesus. Maybe it's your very
00:33:05.880 own life.
00:33:07.600 And I also invite you in this time as
00:33:09.360 Jesus
00:33:10.920 reconciled us back to him,
00:33:13.560 that he made us right with God because
00:33:15.640 of his sacrifice.
00:33:17.440 Live that out from this day forward.
00:33:20.040 Live it out knowing that you were made
00:33:21.720 right with God, not because of your
00:33:23.400 doing, but because of what he's done for
00:33:25.440 us.
00:33:26.680 And I pray that that would bring honor,
00:33:27.920 glory, and praise to Jesus. Amen?
00:33:31.080 Amen. Well, I invite everyone here, if
00:33:33.520 you've never filled out a connection
00:33:35.720 card or never gave us your
00:33:37.840 information, we want to help you stay
00:33:39.800 connected to what's happening here.
00:33:42.240 Also, if you want to submit and
00:33:43.800 surrender your life to Jesus, we want to
00:33:45.840 help you with some next steps. So, one
00:33:48.160 of the best ways you can do that is you
00:33:49.360 can take your phone, scan the QR code on
00:33:51.760 the tap card on the seat in front
00:33:53.960 of you, or you can hold it to there.
00:33:55.560 It's a it'll pull up an NFC tag. We will
00:33:57.880 be able to follow up with you if you
00:33:59.200 fill out a connection card, or if you
00:34:01.440 want to surrender your life to Jesus,
00:34:03.040 there's a spot to do that on that tap
00:34:05.280 card on that landing page. One of those
00:34:07.720 important things, if you've never been
00:34:10.080 water baptized, we have water baptisms
00:34:13.040 coming up on April 26th. So, in just a
00:34:15.639 few weeks from now, Sunday morning, we
00:34:17.918 celebrate it right here on Sunday
00:34:19.520 morning. We set up a baptismal, we
00:34:21.600 baptize people, we celebrate what God is
00:34:24.239 doing in and through people's lives. So,
00:34:26.320 if you've never been fully submerged as
00:34:29.000 your decision of faith, we want you to
00:34:31.199 take that step to get signed up. We'll
00:34:33.360 have a conversation with you. We'll make
00:34:34.679 sure you are prepared and ready to be
00:34:36.840 baptized on April 26th. And last but not
00:34:40.199 least, in just 2 days, is Easter Sunday.
00:34:42.879 We have 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. services
00:34:45.879 right here this coming Sunday. So, we
00:34:48.040 invite you to come back and celebrate
00:34:50.040 the resurrection of King Jesus. Amen?
00:34:52.760 Well, if you could please stand to your
00:34:53.760 feet, I'm going to pray one more time
00:34:55.399 and then you'll be dismissed.
00:34:59.200 Father, we thank you God for this day.
00:35:00.760 God, we thank you that it it is good
00:35:02.560 because it's not the end of the story.
00:35:04.640 God, I pray for us to have a a safe trip
00:35:07.200 home. God, that we would enjoy our rest
00:35:09.400 of our weekend. Guys, we look forward to
00:35:11.080 Sunday when we recognize and we
00:35:13.200 celebrate what you have done rising from
00:35:15.800 the dead that you are risen. It's not
00:35:18.400 past tense, it's current tense cuz you
00:35:20.280 are alive, you are well. And Father, we
00:35:22.680 thank you that you hear us, that you
00:35:24.520 mediate for us, and God, that we can
00:35:26.120 come to you as a loving perfect Father.
00:35:29.160 It's in Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
00:35:32.360 Have a great rest of your evening. See
00:35:33.640 you Sunday.