Good Friday three hour service Journey to Resurrection

 

Below is a template for a Good Friday three hour meditation service, which we used at our church in 2024. It draws on material from the Jubilate Collection Journey to Resurrection, and can easily be adapted to suit local resources.

For full resources go to: https://jubilate.co.uk/projects/journey_to_resurrection  

For more details contact Roger Peach Jubilate Coordinator, E: roger@jubilate.co.uk 

 

 

Good Friday three hour service 12-3pm template

Journey to Resurrection

 

Time	Theme	Reading	Hymn	Journey to Resurrection piece
12.00	Reflection 1 Palm  Sunday - Arrival	Luke 19:28-44	Ride on, ride on in majesty	Behold, the road to Zion’s hill
12.30	Reflection 2 Conflict	Luke 19:45-20:8; John 12:1-8	Here is love	See how a woman shows devotion
1.00	Reflection 3  Supper	Matthew 26:17–29; John 13:1-5,12-17	An upper room  did our Lord prepare	When Jesus knelt at Judas’ feet
1.30	Reflection 4 Struggle	Mark 14:26-50	Praise to the Holiest in the height	In the garden
2.00	Reflection 5 Trial	Mark 14:53-65, John 18:28-40	O to see the dawn	Drop, slow tears of anguish
2.30	Reflection 6 Cross	Matthew 27:26-50,55-56	1.How deep the Father’s love At end: 2.When I survey the wondrous cross	O Christ, I kneel before your cross

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Suggested structure for each 30 minute session:

Opening hymn 

Reading

Reflection

Journey to Resurrection piece

Silence

Prayer

 

Reflections Sample Overview

Behold, the road to Zion’s hill adorned to meet the King,

with palms of triumph lifted high the people’s praises ring …

The story so far has been a lengthy journey of which this is only the latest stage – albeit one so significant that all four gospel writers include it. Luke recorded soon after the transfiguration that Jesus knew his “exodus” (which he discussed in that encounter) was approaching, and resolutely set out for Jerusalem. Now he arrives. …

Christ’s protest at the sale of sacrificial animals within the temple area was quite deliberate: Mark records how he waited overnight before acting, while John notes that Jesus himself made the whip he used to expel the traders whose profiteering prevented, rather than assisting, true worship.

What now will that man do …

Bartholomew recollects: “I won’t forget that evening. We’d been staying at Bethany, but that night the Master said we’d celebrate Passover in Jerusalem. He knew it was dangerous – they were after him – so he’d planned a safe house. I was totally lost by the time we got there, where the meal was being cooked. …  

This passage raises several questions.

• Why do the disciples not cope better? Perhaps high hopes from their arrival a few days earlier blindside them to other possible outcomes. Perhaps Jesus’ sudden change of mood and talk of betrayal and sorrow leave them emotionally drained and unable to think clearly….

The Jewish leadership now had their man. To dispose of him, though, they needed at least the semblance of a legal process, and a charge which would persuade the Roman governor, Pilate, to authorise an execution. …

The men had fled in terror from Gethsemane, mostly to hide during the following hours; but the women, key members in Jesus’ community who often travelled with him, were present in helpless grief to witness his death:…