This Good Friday I will be taking a service of reflection at St John’s Launceston, entitled, The Weekend that Changed the World. Following is the outline of my notes,

 1. ATONEMENT – WHY WE NEED IT (Romans 1:16-32)

• Consider God. God is good.
• Consider evil. Evil is more complex than “the goodies versus the baddies”
• Consider us. Evil finds an echo in the heart of every person.
• Consider Frodo.

2. REDEMPTION – WHY DID GOD BECOME HUMAN? (Isaiah 43:1-4, Romans 5:1, 6-8, Genesis 22:13, 14)

• The cross in Islam and Christianity
• “City of Wrong: A Friday in Jerusalem”
• Who is God?
• What is God like?
• How does God act?

3. ABSOLUTION – WHO WOULD BOTHER? (Luke 15:11-32, 1 John 4:10)

• It’s in the prayer Book!
• The hardest words in the world
• The hardest act in the world
• The hardest act to follow
• Who will follow?
• Absolution without penance is . . . ?

4. RECONCILIATION – THE JOY OF ‘ABBA’ Father (Colossians 1:13-22, 2 Corinthians 5:17-19, Luke 24:30, 31)

• Relationship – separated and restored
• Making peace through his blood, shed on the cross
• The person we were meant to be! – The joy of reconciliation
• The place we were meant to be – The joy of being in God’s family

5. RESCUE – GOD ACTS TO SET US FREE (Matthew 20:1-15, John 8:3-11, Galatians 5:22-26)

• Rescue is grace
• Rescue is a Rescuer
• Rescue is life in the Spirit
• Rescue from and rescued for –
  • From Futility for purpose
  • Form Ignorance for truth
  • From Loneliness for community
  • From Selfishness for servanthood
  • From Death for life

[The actual reflections can be heard at St John’s Launceston ‘Download Sermons’, 2 April, available here. ] – later edit

I would like to thank Revd Roger Hesketh and his team at St John’s who have organised a special (three hour) reflection service centered on, The Weekend that Changed the World.

The service which will capture the themes, Atonement, Redemption, Absolution, Reconciliation and Rescue will include; hymns, times of reflection, prayerful reflection, Bible readings, media clips, music, renewal of Baptism vows, my talks on the 5 themes, an invitation to lay a nail at the foot of the cross, and an invitation to light a candle to symbolise the breaking of the power of darkness that Jesus’ sacrifice achieved.

I am sure if you would be interested in conducting a reflection service next Good Friday, Roger would be more than willing to share his ideas.