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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
The Gospel of Mark Bible Studies
The Book of Acts Bible Studies
January 2009
February 2009
March 2009
April 2009
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009
October 2009
November 2009
December 2009
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Good Friday April 10, 2009 Good Friday? Good Friday? As one person put it, “I hope that when I die, they don’t call it “Good Monday!” In one sense, there is nothing “good” about “Good Friday”. This day is about the death of Jesus on the cross. The death of one who was loved by so many people. The death of one who was condemned unjustly. The death of one who was young – in the prime of his life – and who died horribly. How many of us have faced such pain? How many parents the world over can identify with the sorrow of his mother because they too have lost a child? During this past year, we in this community have experienced the trauma of this tragedy. How many mothers and fathers have seen a son or daughter destroyed because of war? And how many of us have lost beloved friends? Good Friday? On this day we confront the reality of death and think of all who are suffering because of the death of a loved one – because of the death of an innocent. And in many instances (especially in this community during the past year) we may be thinking of ourselves who have been traumatized by the death of someone close to us – and we grieve. There is a song I once heard called “The Father’s Heart.” The song is about a father who has just lost a young daughter to illness. In the midst of his grief, he cries out to God in the same way that the Psalmist once did: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And then in the next several verses of the song the anguished father pours out his complaint that God had not answered his prayers to heal his daughter, and that God did not and could not know the pain that he was experiencing. But then in the song, God finally replies to the grief-stricken father in the depths of his heart. He reminds him that he too knew what it was like to lose his child to death. He reminds the father that he had watched his Son be beaten and nailed to a cross – and tells him how his heart had been torn in two as he watched him die. In the end, the father experienced some measure of peace. Not because he had all of his questions and complaints answered, but simply because he had been reminded that God understood his pain and what he was gone through. And I guess that this is what makes this Friday – this terrible Friday – “good”. “Good Friday” reminds us that we have a God who hears our cry and understands our pain – and that he has entered our human experience fully. “Good Friday” reminds us that God is not far away, but that he is with us always – even in the midst of our deepest pain, and even unto death. Yes, today we remember in the most complete way possible how much God loves us. He gave up his Son – his only Son – for us so that we might have eternal life. That is what this day is about. Good Friday? Good Friday? Yes, it is – it truly is – a good Friday! Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. -------------------- Pastor George Karres 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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