We celebrated our Good Friday service by eating a meal together, just as Jesus did at the Last Supper with His disciples.
After the meal, we shared Holy Communion and had a service where we focussed on our Lent theme of ‘changing.’
Change is possible because of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are daily being transformed and conformed to His image (see 2 Cor 3:17-18, Rom 8:29). On the one hand, this change is instantaneous when we believe on Him (see John 3:36), but on the other hand, this is an ongoing process of ‘being made holy’ (see Heb 10:10,14). Change can often seem to us painful and unpleasant (after all, the biggest change ever was only made possible through the painful reality of Good Friday), but we can be secure in God’s ability to change us, even though He himself remains unchanging. (Mal 3:16)
We remembered that Good Friday is not the end of the story. Even Easter Sunday is not the end of the story, for Jesus continues to work in our world today, saving and changing all who will believe in Him. Sally Welch says, ‘the wonder of the empty tomb must continue to send its echoes into our daily lives… as we share the story of God’s loving purposes for every one of his children.’ (‘Sharing The Easter Story’, P 220) This is our task now, to spread the good news of that first Easter to all.