魯益師（C. S. Lewis）說，「將來」與「永恆」是兩回的事，「永恆」必定是與「現今」相連，永恆的生命是從現在開始，影響著現在，改變現在的一切。神要人「今天」為「永恆」而活，我們扎根於永恆，卻投身於現在，「現在」是時間與「永恆」的接觸點，「將來」若與「現在」無關的話，「將來」對你一點好處都沒有，只活在「將來」，現今什麼也不去做的人，是不會改變的人。
3. 魯益師（C. S. Lewis）《地獄來鴻》一書中，描寫魔鬼教導小鬼如何去對付基督徒，牠說有兩個好方法：第一、使人活在過去，忘記永恆，忘記現在，這是很好的方法，但更好的方法是第二個方法，使人活在遙遠的將來，離開現實，因為沒有「現在」的永恆，只是幻想，不會有什麼的作為。可惜今天很多的基督徒是活在魔鬼這兩個陷井之中。
這是在約翰福音中耶穌七句：「我是」的話之一，「我是復活，我是生命！」（I am the resurrection and the life.）「我是」是現在時態，今天我是生命糧，今天我是世界的光，今天我是好牧人，現在我是復活與生命，耶穌就在馬大的面前，不是過去的事情，也不是將來的事情，「我是」就在眼前，他有勝過死亡的能力，他有賜人生命的能力，有什麼事他不能解決的呢？
耶穌使拉撒路復活，只是一個記號，要讓我們知道並相信他是神的兒子，信他的人必得著豐盛的生命。
5. 當我們遇見人生的困難時，我們很容易把頭埋在過去的沙土之中，埋怨過去不可能改變的事，又或活在遙遠將來的夢幻之中，看不見耶穌與他的大能就在我們之中，神正與我們同在（God is with us now.）
3. 耶穌說：「你若信，就必看見神的榮耀。」（40 節）這「若」是第二個「若」，是將來的時態：「必將看見」，是向前看，態度是積極的，重點是我現在可以什麼？神可以做什麼？充滿了机會與盼望，第二個」若」是信心的「若」，相信就必看見（Believing is seeing.），這與人的習慣剛剛相反，我們是看見才相信，像多馬一樣，看見摸到才相信，可是耶穌卻說：「你若信，就必看見神的榮耀。」相信的福氣（the blessing of believing）之一，是當你願意相信，你必能看見神的榮耀。
1）耶穌向「仗著自己是義人」（Trust in their own righteousness）設一個比喻，中文翻譯得很好：「仗」是相信、倚靠的意思，原文直接的翻譯是「因為自己的義，而在神的面前很自信的人」，自信是一件好事，有自信的人才快樂，才能成功，我們從孩子小的時間，就開始培養孩子的「自信心」，這是向上爬不可缺的條件之一。但在神面前的自信卻不管用，沒有人能夠靠自己的德行而自信蒙神的喜悅或饒恕！
2. 用一梯子作為實物教材是從同工李牧師介紹的一本書中啟發的想法，Donald B. Kraybill, The Upside-Down Kingdom, Herald Press, Scottdale, Pennsylvania, 1978. National Religious Book Award Winner.
這是一本很好的書，「界線的問題」也是書中討論的重點之一。
3. 預備的時候也拜讀以下的一本書，Bill Hybels and Rob Williams, Descending Into Greatness, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1993.
中心：耶穌受盡各種的痛苦是要讓我們與神相交來往。 工能：記得耶穌死的那一天使我們知道他是何等的愛我們。 Focus: the pains Christ suffered to provide us access to God (the veil is torn.)
Function: Remember the day Christ died so that we know that He loves us.
大綱 Outline
Worship Singing
We Fall Down
O Wonderful Cross
Grace Flow Down
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
一、耶穌被打與被蔑視，馬太廿七 27-31 （李迪牧師，英語翻譯為國語）
1. The mockery and beating, Matt 27:27-31. Pastor Dick (English to Mandarin)
二、耶穌被釘十字架，馬太廿七 32-36 （潘德牧師，粵語翻譯為英語）
2. The crucifixion, Matt 27:32-36. Pastor Tak (Cantonese to English)
聖餐第一部分：分餅
Communion Part I: The Bread
三、耶穌在十字架上受的羞辱，馬太廿七 37-44 （陳祖幸牧師，國語翻譯為英語）
3. The mockery on the cross, Matt 27:37-44. Pastor Zuxing (Mandarin to English)
四、在十架下的婦女，馬太廿七 55-56 （羅一強牧師，國語翻譯為英語）
4. The Women at the cross, Matt 27:55-56. Pastor Andrew (Mandarin to English)
詩歌：「你在那裡？」
Hymn: "Were You There?"
五、耶穌的死，馬太廿七 45-50 （關少佳牧師，粵語翻譯為英語）
5. The death, Matt 27:45-50. Pastor Kenny (Cantonese to English)
六、耶穌的死的反應，馬太廿七 51-54 （林永健牧師，英語翻譯為國語）
6. The after-effects of the death, Matt 27:51-54. Pastor Brian (English to Mandarin)
聖餐第二部分：分杯
Communion Part I: The Cup
呼召與回應詩（At the Cross）
Altar Call and Response Song (At the Cross)
七、埋葬，馬太廿七 57-66 （關明道牧師，英語翻譯為國語）
7. The burial, Matt 27:57-66. Pastor Sam (English to Mandarin)
一、耶穌被打與被蔑視，馬太廿七 27-31 （李迪牧師，英語翻譯為國語）
1. The mockery and beating, Matt 27:27-31. Pastor Dick (English to Mandarin)
1. Call this Good Friday – we acknowledge our Lord’s sacrifice, Jesus Christ’s death on the cross
2. The Setting: Want to take you back to that day, experience it anew, recognize the complete sacrifice of our Lord on that day. Imagine that you were in His place… Out on a public square in Jerusalem… Crowds of people, Romans, soldiers, Jews, the Sanhedrin, the Sadducee, the Pharisees… Shouting and yelling and cursing… Hatred was in the air… They are screaming for blood – your blood! Friends? Fearing for their own lives, they’ve hidden away… They’ve abandoned you… You are Jesus and you are all alone in your humiliation and suffering…
3. The Beating: And the soldiers – they’ve been beating you… You’ve been enduring the torture of a bloody whipping. You’ve been tied to a post by your hands, your feet off the ground so that your body is just hanging there. Two Romans soldiers stand on each side of you holding wooden handles with strands of leather thongs, the end of which are filled with bits of rock and bone and metal sharpened to cut into your skin; to dig out your flesh. And they hit you and hit you until your body is oozing blood. As if the crowds are not satisfied with this bloody display, the soldiers put on a show. Scripture tells us,
Matthew 27:27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. 28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
4. The Mockery: The soldiers strip you of your bloody clothing and then dress you up as a king. They give you a robe, a crown and a scepter. But it’s just an old soldier’s robe, a painful crown of thorns and a reed for a scepter. The soldiers pretend to worship you, falling on their knees and hailing you as king of the Jews. They spit on you and strike you in the head time and time again with the reed. “Hail, King of the Jews!” “Hail, King of the Jews!” “Hail King of the Jews!” But they don’t mean it. They don’t know what they are doing. They don’t know that you are indeed, King of King and Lord of Lords.
5. Do you feel what it was like to be Jesus? How would you have responded? Jesus didn’t shout back at hostile Jews. Jesus didn’t fight back against Roman cruelty. Jesus loved with all his love for this is the declared purpose of God: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
6. It is God’s purpose that Jesus’ body is broken this day. It is God’s purpose that Jesus’ blood is spilled. It is God’s purpose that Jesus’ dignity is stripped. Yet God is not done: Jesus must die…
二、耶穌被釘十字架，馬太廿七 32-36
（潘德牧師，粵語翻譯為英語）
2. The crucifixion, Matt 27:32-36. Pastor Tak (Cantonese to English)
马太福音 27:32-36
六、耶穌的死的反應，馬太廿七 51-54
（林永健牧師，英語翻譯為國語）
6. The after-effects of the death, Matt 27:51-54. Pastor Brian (English to Mandarin)
51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
1. Thank-you, Pastor Kenny. Christ died. “It is finished.”
2. Verse 51 said, “And look.” Something happened that immediately followed the death of Christ. The veil, or the curtain, that separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place in the temple.
3. The Holy of Holies was God’s dwelling place. He lived there above the Ark of the Covenant between two cherubim. No one, even the priests, except the High Priest once a year on the Day of Atonement, was allowed to go inside the Holy of Holies.
4. It was a huge curtain, 30 feet high and 30 feet wide, made of the finest linen. Imposing and completely blocking the entrance to the Holy of Holies.
5. This veil had separated us from the Holy God for thousands of years since Moses’ time until now. The veil was torn. It symbolically indicates that the access to God has now been opened to all by the death of Christ. Before God was veiled. No one could go to the Father. But now it is done. The access is re-opened. You and I can now go before the Holy God because of the death of Christ.
6. It was torn in two from top to bottom, as if God has reached down from heavens and torn that thing into two. The Bible said that “earth shook and the rocks were split.” A major earthquake in a region that had no history of earthquake.
7. I don’t know that the earth shook because of fear or because of joy. Now we can go to God without fear for our sins are forgiven because Christ died on the cross. Now we can rejoice that God has reconciled us with Him because Christ died on the cross.
8. Tonight the Holy God is here, completely and totally accessible to us because Christ died on the cross. You can approach Him without fear. You can confess your sins to Him. You can tell Him your burden. You can pray for His power and presence. He is here, completely and totally accessible to you through Jesus Christ.
9. This cup represents the blood of Jesus. It represents the greatest miracle—now sinful man can approach the Holy God. Our sins are forgiven. Come and drink the cup.
10. Altar Call: you can come as individuals, as a family, or as a group to the tables. Take the cup, offer a prayer. If you come as a family, let the head of the household says a prayer of thanksgiving. If anyone of you want a pastor or an intercessor to pray for you, you can come forward to the front with your cups. And we will pray for you. After the prayer, drink the cup and return to your seats quietly. Susie will be leading us to sing.
(Communion—the Cup and the Altar Call)
Congregational singing: At the Cross
七、埋葬，馬太廿七 57-66
（關明道牧師，英語翻譯為國語）
7. The burial, Matt 27:57-66. Pastor Sam (English to Mandarin)
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb. The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, 'After three days I will rise.' Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, 'He has risen from the dead,' and the last fraud will be worse than the first." Pilate said to them, "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can." So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard. (Matthew 27:57-66 ESV)
Waiting for the resurrection. Raise expectation. Typical funeral. But atypical finally.
A year of many funerals.
We remember those whom we love one last time.
We see Jesus' funeral and at first it is typical but then it turns into something abnormal or atypical. The Pharisees were not done yet. But they feared the truth of the words of Jesus.
So they sent guards to jesus' tomb to watch it. It's like bringing something to notice that you didn't want to be noticed. Just makes this more anxious.
STORY: Annie’s birthday next Wednesday and I was preparing a gift for her and she came home and I quickly rushed to hide it but in my haste I slammed the door to the room where I hid it and she immediately asked me “what are you doing? Why did you slam the door?” And it was too late, the door sound built up the excitement and anxiousness of what she knew was coming, her birthday. She tried to get into the room and I stopped her and then I made her promise not to look.
Rebirth of Christ in 3 days. In three days we will gather again and have a birthday party of sorts. These next three days are days of excitement and anticipation of what is coming. It's better than Christmas and your birthday combined. It's gonna be HUGE. 3 days later when we gather to remember the resurrection we not only remember Jesus but we remember why we don't suffer for eternity, why we don't experience lifelong pain and suffering, and why we don't need to be afraid or angry. We remember that we have complete access to God because of Jesus' life. These were Jesus’ words about how He felt about us.
John 15:13 says “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” His resurrection is our HOPE, our LOVE. So when we gather together on Sunday we come to celebrate our lives and the freedom that is provided by Jesus. While the story seems to be over, we know that we haven’t hit the climax of Jesus’ life and our own.
那一天是當他千辛萬苦來到羅馬拉特朗聖若望教堂的大殿（Basilica of Saint John Lateran），用膝蓋攀爬彼拉多審判院前的階梯，這階梯是從耶路撒冷搬到羅馬的，耶穌曾經一步步爬上這道階梯，接受彼拉多的審問，路德親吻每一階梯（Scala Sancta） ，這是每一個虔誠的尋道者對基督最高的認同與善行，然而當路德到達頂端的時候，路德不知不覺地站起來，心中冒起良知的控告，「這樣做真能赦罪嗎？」他立刻知道自靠、自力的救法是走到了絕路。
