Good Friday
The celebration of Good Friday as a separate day developed in fourth-century Jerusalem. When Good Friday emerged as a separate day commemorative of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ, it became at once the church’s great day of mourning. The name Good Friday is of English origin and is possibly derived from “God’s Friday” as “good-bye” is derived from “God be with you.”
The Service of Darkness, or in Latin, Officium Tenebrae, is a service held on Good Friday evening in which the progressive extinguishing of candles represents the snuffing out of the life of Christ. Worshippers gather to view, as it were, the head crowned with thorns—the focal point of this evening’s worship. The altar, stripped bare of its appointments on Maundy Thursday, recalls the stripping of Jesus’ body (John 19:23) and the humility and suffering that our Savior endured on our behalf. A reading from Isaiah (Isaiah 52:13-53:12) and the seven words from Jesus’ cross are the focal point of the readings and allow us to meditate on them. (1. Luke 23:32-34; 2. Luke 23:35-43; 3. John 19:25-27; 4. Matthew 27:45-46; 5. John 19:28-29; 6. John 19:30; 7. Luke 23:44-46)
And while the sounds and sights of Tenebrae are meant to be austere and stark, the service is never without hope and anticipation. As worship nears an end, the remaining candle, a symbol of our Lord himself, is carried out of the chancel, symbolizing his burial. But the silence is broken with a loud, resounding noise—the Strepitus—that foreshadows the rending of Christ’s tomb in triumph on Easter morning. With quiet drama, the candle then returns to the sanctuary. Even on Good Friday, we worship a living Christ, the guarantor that we, too, will never die.
April 3rd, 2026 (Good Friday) (Pastor Daniel Schroeder) John 19:30
“Tetelestai”
View/Download Service Folder here.
Handbell Choir Performance: “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded”
Arranged by Jason W. Krug
Published by Ring Out! Press
Handbell Choir Performance: “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross”
Arranged by Jason W. Krug
Published by Ring Out! Press
Alto Flute Solo by Linka Schroeder
“Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart”
From Christian Worship, hymn # 817
Stansa 3 of “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart”
For the video link of the service, click here or below
