"Today you will be with me": Good Friday

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Fri 14 Apr 2017 — 2:00 pm
Jesus and one of the criminals swapped places

This morning, at our Good Friday service, we started in church with an all-age service, then went up onto Green Hill (by the cross) to continue our service in the open air. We then all returned to Kemsing Church for tea, fresh coffee, juice, hot chocolate - and, of course, hot cross buns.

In all, there were about 60 of us (45 adults, and 15 children), with a supporting cast on the hill of 2 dogs and 7 horses.

It was wonderful to discover Christ's love for us afresh, as we looked at Luke 23 and the story of the two criminals crucified with Jesus. One of the criminals used Jesus' death as an opportunity to laugh at him - a true king would not be hung up like that - just as many today think that Jesus' young death disproves any claim he had to be worth following. The other recognised Jesus' status as a king who would one day be acknowledged, but also his own guilt compared to Jesus' innocence. Jesus promised him a place in paradise, something totally undeserved, but made possible because he swapped his guilt for Jesus' total innocence. Today, too, many look at the death of Jesus and see this most wonderful exchange taking place with them.