C H O F Ministry

Tag: Good Friday

  • “How’s Your Friday”

    Good Friday Word for the weekend

    Praise the Lord and Happy “Good” Friday Everyone. 😀
     
    Back in 1995 there was a movie called “Friday”. I’m sure many of you have seen it. The movie is centered around Craig Jones (Ice Cube) who had a bad Friday. He got fired for stealing cardboard boxes, his rent was due, had a domineering girlfriend, Joi (Paula Jai Parker), who he really didn’t like and his best friend, Smokey (Chris Tucker), owes the local drug dealer some money and this is all before noon. And as the day went on, his day didn’t get any better as he encountered many things.
     
    His day didn’t get better until Friday night after he won a fight against the neighborhood bully.
     
    Beloved, this morning I want to ask you three questions. My first question is: on this day over 2,000 years ago as Jesus hung on the cross, do you think any of the people that was present call that day a “good” day? The high priest Caiaphas and the Pharisees has just got rid of a popular, powerful important preacher.
     
    But, they had no idea about the true value or worth of the man they just crucified. Pontius Pilate, was an uncompromising Roman governor, and he unenthusiastically allowed Jesus to be crucified to pacify the mob and their leaders demanding Jesus’ life. Beloved, Pilate turned Jesus over to the execution squad, who looked at it as just another death sentence to be carried out along with two others that day. That was until the centurion realized they’d killed the Son of God!!!
     
    My second question is: do you think the disciples call it a “good” day? Well if any of the disciples did call it “good,” it was only after encountering the risen Christ.
     
    And my third question is: do you think Jesus would have called that Friday “good”? You see, the scene at Gethsemane the night before was agonizing!!! Jesus begged His Father to spare Him from His awful mission.
     
    But, perhaps later, when He returned to heaven to be with God, he finally said, “Yes, Father, that was a good day.”
     
    Beloved, the term “Good Friday” first occurred in the fourth century. Some think it was originally called “God’s Friday.” But today, we can call it “good” if we appreciate the fact that Jesus’ trial, punishment, and death brought our salvation. These truths are seen through the spiritual spectacles of faith. So, in that sense it truly is “Good Friday”!!!
     
    But like Craig, many of us have started out some Fridays that were not good.
    But by the end of the weekend, we realize Friday turned out to be not so bad after all.
     
    Beloved, our resurrected Savior’s Friday started out bad but turned out Good. John 19:30 says: Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
     
    Have a blessed Good Friday and an Awesome Resurrection Weekend!!! 😀

  • Good Friday

    Good Friday MEDIA

    Good Friday, also known as “Holy Friday,” is the Friday immediately preceding Easter Sunday. It is celebrated traditionally as the day on which Jesus was crucified. If you are interested in a study of the issue, please see our article that discusses the various views on which day Jesus was crucified. Assuming that Jesus was crucified and died on a Friday, should Christians remember Jesus’ death by celebrating Good Friday?

    The Bible does not instruct Christians to remember Christ’s death by honoring a certain day. The Bible does give us freedom in these matters, however. Romans 14:5 tells us, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Rather than remembering Christ’s death on a certain day, once a year, the Bible instructs us to remember Christ’s death by observing the Lord’s Supper. First Corinthians 11:24-26 declares, “…do this in remembrance of me…for whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.”

    Why is Good Friday referred to as “good”? What the Jewish authorities and Romans did to Jesus was definitely not good (see Matthew chapters 26-27). However, the results of Christ’s death are very good! Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” First Peter 3:18 tells us, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”

    Many Christian churches celebrate Good Friday with a subdued service, usually in the evening, in which Christ’s death is remembered with solemn hymns, prayers of thanksgiving, a message centered on Christ’s suffering for our sakes, and observance of the Lord’s Supper. Whether or not Christians choose to “celebrate” Good Friday, the events of that day should be ever on our minds because the death of Christ on the cross—along with His bodily resurrection—is the paramount event of the Christian faith.