Good Friday | April 10, 2022 | Didn’t see that coming
What's so good about Good Friday? When you think about the story of Jesus, it doesn't look so good. One week after entering Jerusalem, Jesus was betrayed, imprisoned, and killed. Instead of setting up a kingdom on earth, he dies a criminal's death. But that was all according to God's plan! When God created humanity, he did it to have a relationship with him- but sin ruined that relationship. Jesus wasn't here to set up a kingdom. He came to restore our relationship with God! That's why Good Friday is so good!
KEY VERSES
Matthew 21:8-9-11 NLT-8 Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.9 Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the LORD! Praise God in highest heaven!”10 The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked.11 And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
John 1:29 NLT - 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Isaiah 53:3-9 NLT - 3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!5But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.6 All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.7 He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.8 Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.9 He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.
Matthew 26:53-54 NLT - 53 Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect us, and he would send them instantly? 54 But if I did, how would the Scriptures be fulfilled that describe what must happen now?”
John 10:18 NLT - 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”
1 Peter 2:24 NLT - 24 He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.
Romans 6:23 NLT - 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 3:23-25 NLT - 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.24Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past
1 John 4:9-10 NLT - 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.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.
John 3:16 NLT - 16 “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.
HEARING WHAT GOD IS SAYING
One of the best ways to hear what God is saying right now is to look at what He has said in the Bible with a few friends. Discovery Bible Study is an easy-to-use way to hear from God, make good changes in our lives, and share with others what God is up to. Grab some friends, pick a verse or story from above and dive in deeper to this week’s message.
Recap
+ Reconnect
To begin the study, each person answers these questions:
- What are you thankful for?
- What is causing stress for our neighbors and people around us?
- What can we as individuals or as a group do to help?
+ Recap
- Have someone retell the story from your previous meeting.
- Did you live out your response from last week?
- Did you tell anyone else about the story from last week?
Discovering What God Is Saying
+ Read and Retell the Bible Story
- One person reads the story out loud to the group.
- Someone else in the group retells the story in their own words as they remember it, and others fill in what’s missing.
+ Read and Look
- Read the passage again (different version if possible)
- What does this passage say about God, Jesus, or His plan?
+ Read and Look Again
- Have 1-2 more people retell the story as if they were telling a neighbor outside their home.
- What does this passage say about people in general?
Doing What God Is Saying
+ Consider
- What in me needs to change to better DO what God is showing me today?
- How will you respond to/obey this passage in a tangible, perhaps even costly ways in the next 48-72 hours?
- Have someone record these for prayer time, and for the beginning of the next meeting.
Sharing what God is saying
+ Praying Together
- Take prayer requests
- Pray together
+ Share
- Who in your life needs to hear this story?
- Who could you invite to study the Bible like this?
GIVING
Everything that happens at Canyon Ridge is because of your generous gifts. When you give to God through Canyon Ridge, you're helping reach thousands with the Gospel each week and making a difference for the people of Las Vegas and around the world!