Good Friday 4.3.2026
GOOD FRIDAY
APRIL 3, 2026
7:00 p.m.
Good Friday continues the three-day observance of Christ’s Passover and marks the day of his crucifixion. As such, it is a time of repentance, focus on the cross, and restrained joy and praise for our redemption. In keeping with this character, elaborate words of praise are omitted and the altar remains bare, having been stripped on Maundy Thursday.
This year we read the Passion Account from St. Matthew. Connections between the reading and this year’s Lenten theme – God’s Love, For Us – will be made in the hymns. The service is one of Tenebrae – meaning the sanctuary will gradually darken as the service progresses. Given the solemnity of the day, silence is observed at various times to reflect upon the Word of God. Our worship reflects both the sorrow of Christ’s painful sacrifice and the triumph of his accomplished mission.
May God bless us through our hearing, observing, and responding.
+ The congregation and pastor enter in silence +
OPENING VERSE (Stand)
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
Make haste, O God, to deliver me;
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ, Lamb of our salvation
RESPONSORY
We have an advocate with the Father; Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.
He was delivered up to death; He was delivered for the sins of the people.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven and whose sin is put away.
He was delivered up to death; He was delivered for the sins of the people.
We have an advocate with the Father; Jesus is the propitiation for our sins.
He was delivered up to death; He was delivered for the sins of the people.
HYMN Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle LSB 454
1 Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle;
Sing the ending of the fray.
Now above the cross, the trophy,
Sound the loud triumphant lay;
Tell how Christ, the world’s redeemer,
As a victim won the day.
2 Tell how, when at length the fullness
Of the_appointed time was come,
He, the Word, was born of woman,
Left for us His Father’s home,
Blazed the path of true obedience,
Shone as light amidst the gloom.
3 Thus, with thirty years accomplished,
He went forth from Nazareth,
Destined, dedicated, willing,
Did His work, and met His death;
Like a lamb He humbly yielded
On the cross His dying breath.
4 Faithful cross, true sign of triumph,
Be for all the noblest tree;
None in foliage, none in blossom,
None in fruit thine equal be;
Symbol of the world’s redemption,
For the weight that hung on thee!
D 5 Unto God be praise and glory;
To the Father and the Son,
To the_eternal Spirit honor
Now and evermore be done;
Praise and glory in the highest
While the timeless ages run.
PRAYER OF THE DAY
The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Let us pray. Almighty God,
graciously behold this Your family for whom our Lord Jesus
Christ was willing to be betrayed and delivered into the
hands of sinful men to suffer death upon the cross; through
the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and
reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and
forever. Amen.
FIRST READING (Be seated) Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Who has believed what they heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for sin,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
ANTHEM Jubilation Choir Lamb of God Setting: F. Melius Christiansen
Lamb of God most holy, Who on the cross didst suffer,
Patient, still and lowly, Thyself to scorn didst offer;
Our sins by Thee were taken, Or hope had us forsaken;
Have mercy on us, O Jesus!
SECOND READING Hebrews 4:14–16; 5:7–9
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. . . .
In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him.
This is the Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
NICENE CREED Hymnal, Back cover
I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.
And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life ✠ of the world to come. Amen.
PRAYERS (kneel)
Let us pray for the whole Christian Church…
Let us pray for all the ministers of the Word…
Let us pray for our catechumens…
Let us pray for all in authority…
Let us pray our Lord God Almighty that He would deliver the world …
Let us pray for all who are outside the Church…
Let us pray for peace…
Let us pray for our enemies…
Let us pray for the fruits of the earth…
Into your hands, O Lord, we commend all for whom we pray,
trusting in your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
HYMN (Stand) O Love, How Deep Sts. 1, 4, 5 LSB 544
1 O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!
4 For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.
5 For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.
+ THE PASSION OF JESUS CHRIST +
PASSION READING 1 Matthew 26:36-46
HYMN Jesus I will Ponder Now Sts. 1, 2, 6 LSB 440
1 Jesus, I will ponder now
On Your holy passion;
With Your Spirit me endow
For such meditation.
Grant that I in love and faith
May the image cherish
Of Your suff’ring, pain, and death
That I may not perish.
2 Make me see Your great distress,
Anguish, and affliction,
Bonds and stripes and wretchedness
And Your crucifixion;
Make me see how scourge and rod,
Spear and nails did wound You,
How for them You died, O God,
Who with thorns had crowned You.
6 Graciously my faith renew;
Help me bear my crosses,
Learning humbleness from You,
Peace mid pain and losses.
May I give You love for love!
Hear me, O my Savior,
That I may in heav’n above
Sing Your praise forever.
PASSION READING 2 Matthew 26:47-68
HYMN Alas! And Did My Savior Bleed Sts. 1, 2, 4, 5, LSB 437
1 Alas! And did my Savior bleed,
And did my sov’reign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?
2 Was it for crimes that I had done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity, grace unknown,
And love beyond degree!
4 Thus might I hide my blushing face
While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness,
And melt mine eyes to tears.
5 But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away:
’Tis all that I can do.
PASSION READING 3 Matthew 26:69-75
HYMN A Lamb Goes Uncomplaining Forth Sts. 1-3 LSB 438
1 A Lamb goes uncomplaining forth,
The guilt of sinners bearing
And, laden with the sins of earth,
None else the burden sharing;
Goes patient on, grows weak and faint,
To slaughter led without complaint,
That spotless life to offer,
He bears the stripes, the wounds, the lies,
The mockery, and yet replies,
“All this I gladly suffer.”
2 This Lamb is Christ, the soul’s great friend,
The Lamb of God, our Savior,
Whom God the Father chose to send
To gain for us His favor.
“Go forth, My Son,” the Father said,
“And free My children from their dread
Of guilt and condemnation.
The wrath and stripes are hard to bear,
But by Your passion they will share
The fruit of Your salvation.”
3 “Yes, Father, yes, most willingly
I’ll bear what You command Me.
My will conforms to Your decree,
I’ll do what You have asked Me.”
O wondrous Love, what have You done!
The Father offers up His Son,
Desiring our salvation.
O Love, how strong You are to save!
You lay the One into the grave
Who built the earth’s foundation.
PASSION READING 4 Matthew 27:1–14
HYMN O Dearest Jesus, What Law Hast Thou Broken Sts 1, 4, 7 LSB 439
1 O dearest Jesus, what law hast Thou broken
That such sharp sentence should on Thee be spoken?
Of what great crime hast Thou to make confession,
What dark transgression?
4 What punishment so strange is suffered yonder!
The Shepherd dies for sheep that loved to wander;
The Master pays the debt His servants owe Him,
Who would not know Him.
7 O wondrous love, whose depth no heart hath sounded,
That brought Thee here, by foes and thieves surrounded!
All worldly pleasures, heedless, I was trying
While Thou wert dying.
PASSION READING 5 Matthew 27:15–26
HYMN O Sacred Head, Now Wounded Sts. 1, 4, 5 LSB 450
1 O sacred Head, now wounded,
With grief and shame weighed down,
Now scornfully surrounded
With thorns, Thine only crown.
O sacred Head, what glory,
What bliss, till now was Thine!
Yet, though despised and gory,
I joy to call Thee mine.
4 My Shepherd, now receive me;
My Guardian, own me Thine.
Great blessings Thou didst give me,
O Source of gifts divine.
Thy lips have often fed me
With words of truth and love;
Thy Spirit oft hath led me
To heav’nly joys above.
5 What language shall I borrow
To thank Thee, dearest Friend,
For this Thy dying sorrow,
Thy pity without end?
O make me Thine forever!
And should I fainting be,
Lord, let me never, never,
Outlive my love for Thee.
PASSION READING 6 Matthew 27:27–44
HYMN O Perfect Life of Love Sts. 1, 3, 5, 7 LSB 452
1 O perfect life of love!
All, all, is finished now,
All that He left His throne above
To do for us below.
3 No pain that we can share
But He has felt its smart;
All forms of human grief and care
Have pierced that tender heart.
5 In perfect love He dies;
For me He dies, for me.
O all-atoning Sacrifice,
I cling by faith to Thee.
7 Yet work, O Lord, in me
As Thou for me hast wrought;
And let my love the answer be
To grace Thy love has brought.
PASSION READING 7 Matthew 27:45–56
HYMN Upon the Cross Extended Sts. 1, 6, 7 LSB 453
1 Upon the cross extended
See, world, your Lord suspended.
Your Savior yields His breath.
The Prince of Life from heaven
Himself has freely given
To shame and blows and bitter death.
6 Your cords of love, my Savior,
Bind me to You forever,
I am no longer mine.
To You I gladly tender
All that my life can render
And all I have to You resign.
7 Your cross I place before me;
Its saving pow’r restore me,
Sustain me in the test.
It will, when life is ending,
Be guiding and attending
My way to Your eternal rest.
PASSION READING 8 Matthew 27:57–66
LORD’S PRAYER
+ We leave in silence +
Those serving:
Greeter: Lynn Jacquez
Reader: Dede Dixon
Saturday, April 4 Easter Vigil Worship– 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 5 Easter Worship – 8:00 and 10:30 a.m.
Special for Easter: Easter Breakfast between 9 and 10:30 a.m.
Children’s Easter Egg Hunt – 10:00 a.m.
Offerings support the church’s mission work – both here and through our many partners. Offerings may be placed in the box at the sanctuary entrance or sent to the church through our website or the mail. Fellowship Cards help us welcome new people and track participation. Please fill one out and place it in the offering box following the service.
