Love's Sacrifice: Reflecting On Good Friday (All-Age Service)

Love's Sacrifice: Reflecting on Good Friday (All-age service)

On Good Friday we think about one of the central events of our Christian faith – the day when Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross to save us from our sin.

Today is an opportunity for us to think and reflect on the truth of the Gospel – The Good News - that when we trust in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we are forgiven of all of our sins – past, present and future.

The Good News is that we can be in a real relationship with Our Heavenly Father because of what Jesus did on Good Friday.

Because of God’s love for us, Jesus died so that we could be forgiven and our relationship with Father God restored.

Point 1: God's Amazing Love

In John 3:16, we encounter the heart of the Gospel message "For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life."

We will never fully understand the depth of God's love.

God’s love is amazing, it is a love that knows no boundaries, it is a love that reaches out to every person, in every part of the world, with the offer of the gift of forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe in Jesus.

Commenting on John 3:16 the famous preacher Billy Graham said, "God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'"

Point 2: The Marvellous Demonstration of God’s Grace

God's grace is usually defined as undeserved favour. Grace cannot be earned; it is something that is freely given.

The preacher Dwight L. Moody described grace like this, "Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favour."

As Christians, we rely on God's grace every day, and grace is central to God's character.

In Romans 5:8, we encounter a marvellous demonstration of God's grace manifested in Christ's sacrificial death, "But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

While we were still sinners, while we were far from God and undeserving of God's love or favour, Jesus willingly gave His life to reconcile us to Father God.

This act of grace highlights the depths of God's love and mercy towards us, and the significance of Christ's death.

Point 3: Responding to the Sacrifice

The sacrificial death of Jesus Christ calls for a response from each one of us.

"But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12 (NLT)

John 1:12 reminds us that by believing in Jesus and accepting Him as Lord and Saviour, we become children of God.

Our response to Jesus’ sacrifice requires a personal commitment to follow Him with all our heart and mind.

When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, we give Him control of our life, and willingly follow Him.

John 1:12 emphasizes the transformative power of faith in Jesus Christ, and our adoption into God's family.

The writer and preacher Steve Lawson said,

"Salvation is not a reward for the righteous, it is a gift for the guilty."

Point 4: The Call to Follow Christ's Example

"We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters." - 1 John 3:16 (NLT)

In 1 John 3:16, we are called to emulate Christ's sacrificial love by laying down our lives for others.

As we reflect on how Jesus was willing to die for us, we are compelled to live lives of selflessness, compassion, and service, following, and mirroring His example to a broken world.

As we consider the significance of Good Friday, let us respond to the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ with gratitude, humility, and obedience.

May we embrace the gift of salvation offered freely to us through His death on the cross and live as children of God, bearing witness to His love and grace in this broken world.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, one final Bible verse for us to think about - 1 John 4:10: "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins"

Let us embrace the reality of Good Friday,

God's Amazing Love, God’s Marvellous Grace, Jesus’ Sacrifice for us, and the Call to follow Christ’s Example.

As we leave this place, may we carry the message of Good Friday with us, sharing the hope and salvation found in Jesus Christ with everyone we encounter.

May the cross of Christ be ever before us, guiding us in our journey of faith and may we be Transformed by the Truth of God’s Word and love.

May God bless us. AMEN