As Jesus suffered on the cross, he spoke seven last “words,” messages to those around him and to us. On this most solemn night of the year, we remember and reflect on these words, and learn more about Jesus, even as Jesus learned more about us.
You are invited to join us for worship in our beautiful sanctuary, or by watching our livestream (or the video that will be posted following the service). All are welcome!
Good Friday: Seven Last Words
Last Words!
Psalm 22, Selected Passages from Matthew, Luke, and John
April 18, 2025
Preacher: Rev. Pat Raube
Union Presbyterian Church, Endicott, NY
Prelude
“Via Dolorosa,” James Conely
©2021, Lorenz Publishing Co., All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
* Call to Worship
Blessed be the name of the Lord our God,
who redeems us from sin and death.
For us and for our salvation,
Christ became obedient unto death,
even death on a cross.
Blessed be the name of the Lord.
* Hymn # 97 PH (verses 1, 2, 3)
“Go to Dark Gethsemane”
(Public Domain)
Go to dark Gethsemane,
All that feel the tempter’s power;
Your Redeemer’s conflict see,
Watch with Him one bitter hour;
Turn not from His griefs away,
Learn from Jesus Christ to pray.
Follow to the judgment hall;
View the Lord of Life arraigned;
O the wormwood and the gall!
O the pangs His soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;
Learn from Christ to bear the cross.
Calvary’s mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at His feet,
Mark the miracle of time,
God’s own sacrifice complete;
“It is finished!” hear Him cry;
Learn from Jesus Christ to die.
Prayer of the Day Rev. Pat Raube
Beloved people of God:
This is the day when Christ, our Passover Lamb,
surrendered himself to those who would kill him,
setting us free from sin and death forever.
Let us pray:
Almighty God,
look with mercy on your family
for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed
and to be given over to the hands of sinners
and to suffer death on the cross;
who now lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Scripture Psalm 22:1-11
A reading from the Psalter, Psalm 22, beginning at verse 1.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night but find no rest.
Yet you are holy,
enthroned on the praises of Israel.
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
To you they cried and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
But I am a worm and not human,
scorned by others and despised by the people.
All who see me mock me;
they sneer at me; they shake their heads;
“Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”
Yet it was you who took me from the womb;
you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.
Introduction to the Seven Last Words
First Word Xavier Rivera
Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
~ Luke 23:34
Meditation
Second Word Rich Kastl
Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
~ Luke 23:43
Meditation
Anthem Choir
“When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” Hal H. Hopson
©1998, The H.W. Gray Company
Used by Permission. CCLI License #CSPL068847
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ, my God;
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.
Third Word Channel Rivera
When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.”
~ John 19:26-27
Meditation
Fourth Word Mary
And about three o’clock Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
~ Matthew 27:46
Meditation
Hymn # 599 PH
“Jesus, Remember Me,” Jacques Berthier
©1981, Les Presses de Taizé, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.
Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom.
Fifth Word Brian Moore
After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty.”
~ John 19:28
Meditation
Sixth Word Peg Corwin
When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.”
~ John 19:30
Meditation
* Hymn # 102 PH
“Were You There?” Melva W. Costen
©1990, Melva Wilson Costen, All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission under ONE LICENSE.
License #A-728112. All rights reserved.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree?
Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?
Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they pierced Him in the side?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Oh! Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?
Seventh Word Rev. Jeff Kellam
Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Having said this, he breathed his last.
~ Luke 23:46
Meditation
The Solemn Intercessions
Dear people of God,
God sent Jesus into the world,
not to condemn the world,
but that the world through him might be saved,
that all who believe in him
might be delivered from the power of sin and death
and become heirs with him of eternal life.
Silence
Let us pray for the one holy universal
and apostolic church of Christ throughout the world:
for its unity in witness and service,
for all church leaders and ministers
and the people whom they serve,
for all the people of this presbytery,
for all Christians in this community,
for those about to be baptized (particularly N., N.),
that God will confirm the church in faith,
increase it in love,
and preserve it in peace.
Silence
Eternal God,
by your Spirit the whole body of your faithful people
is governed and sanctified.
Receive our prayers
which we offer before you
for all members of your holy church,
that in our vocation and ministry
we may truly and devoutly serve you;
through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty
Holy eternal One have mercy upon us.
Let us pray for all nations and peoples of the earth,
and for those in authority among them:
for the President of the United States,
and the Congress and Supreme Court,
for the members and representatives of the United Nations,
for all who serve the common good,
that by God’s help
they may seek justice and truth,
and live in peace and concord.
Silence
Almighty God,
kindle, we pray, in every heart
the true love of peace,
and guide with your wisdom
those who take counsel for the nations of the earth,
that justice and peace may increase,
until the earth is filled
with the knowledge of your love;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty
Holy eternal One have mercy upon us.
Let us pray for all who suffer
and are afflicted in body or in mind:
for the hungry and homeless,
the destitute and the oppressed,
and all who suffer persecution, doubt, and despair,
for the sorrowful and bereaved,
for prisoners and captives
and those in mortal danger,
that God will comfort and relieve them,
and grant them the knowledge of God’s love,
and stir up in us the will and patience
to minister to their needs.
Silence
Gracious God,
the comfort of all who sorrow,
the strength of all who suffer,
hear the cry of those in misery and need.
In their afflictions show them your mercy,
and give us, we pray, the strength to serve them,
for the sake of him who suffered for us,
your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty
Holy eternal One have mercy upon us.
Let us pray for all who have not received the gospel of Christ:
for all who have not heard the words of salvation,
for all who have lost their faith,
for all whose sin has made them indifferent to Christ,
for all who actively oppose Christ by word or deed,
for all who are enemies of the cross of Christ,
and persecutors of his disciples,
for all who in the name of Christ have persecuted others,
that God will open their hearts to the truth
and lead them to faith and obedience.
Silence
Merciful God,
creator of the peoples of the earth and lover of souls,
have compassion on all who do not know you
as you are revealed in your Son Jesus Christ.
Let your gospel be preached with grace and power
to those who have not heard it.
Turn the hearts of those who resist it,
and bring home to your fold those who have gone astray;
that there may be one flock under one shepherd,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty
Holy eternal One have mercy upon us.
Let us commit ourselves to God,
and pray for the grace of a holy life,
that with all who have departed this life
and have died in the peace of Christ,
and those whose faith is known to God alone,
we may be accounted worthy
to enter into the fullness of the joy of our Lord,
and receive the crown of life in the day of resurrection.
Silence
Eternal God of unchanging power and light,
look with mercy on your whole church.
Bring to completion your saving work,
so that the whole world may see
the fallen lifted up,
the old made new,
and all things brought to perfection
by him through whom all things were made,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Holy God,
Holy and mighty
Holy eternal One have mercy upon us.
Tolling of the Bell
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.
Depart in silence.