Friday, April 10, 2009
Passion Of The Christ Service on Good Friday at Tinney Chapel
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The service of worship today, Good Friday, is taken from an early Christian service called Tenebrae, which is a Latin word for darkness or shadows. One of the prominent features of this service is the gradual extinguishing of candles until only a single light, considered a symbol of our Lord, remains. As it gets darker and darker, participants can reflect on the great emotional and physical pain that was very real for Jesus that evening.
This service, conducted by Pastor Sue Gross, concluded with the congregation singing, "The Old Rugged Cross."
Lay Readers for the service: Joe Dan Boyd, Cheryl Ann Newton, Peggy Boyd, Mary Marrs, Gailya Gearner,
The sword, leaning against the Cross, was on loan from Doris Miller, and was a prized possession (from the War Between The States) of the late Rev. Gene Miller, former Associate Pastor of Tinney Chapel.
The sword is in this service to commemorate the memorable account of Peter severing the ear of Malchus during the initial confrontation preceding the arrest of Jesus (John 18:10-11). Elsewhere, in Luke 22:49-52, Jesus quickly ends the confrontation and heals the ear. Some explanation for the presence of a sword among the Disciples is presented in Luke 22:35-39, which suggests that it fulfills prophecy: "That He was reckoned among the transgressors" (Luke 22:37).
