Good Friday

Good Friday is the day we gather as the church to, in funeral-like fashion, remember the bloody murder of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Good Friday is a big deal at Mars Hill every year. This year is the biggest ever. Our film crew took the RED cameras to Universal Studios in Hollywood and filmed a roughly thirty-minute film of Jesus’ crucifixion with the help of professional actors and the award-winning makeup artist who did The Passion of the Christ and No Country for Old Men. The dialogue in the film is basically a word-for-word summary of the four gospels rolled into one, with a bit of creative license. This past week I was deeply moved while watching the near-final cut. We have chosen to use the medium of film because, unlike the days in which the New Testament was written, we have not seen the horror of crucifixion. The debut of the film will be on Good Friday at each of our Mars Hill Campuses, as well as via live online streaming at 8 p.m. in each of our "top sermon download" cities (Sydney, London, New York, and Chicago). The film will be shown as part of a Good Friday service that will include live music and communion. Historically, these services are packed, so show up early. Also, if you have young children, the intensity of the content is likely too much for them to bear, so prayerfully consider whether your children under age ten should be checked into children’s ministry. For more details on service times and locations, as well as free sermons on the cross and live online streaming times for Good Friday, visit //www.marshillchurch.org/media/good-friday/preview. Lastly, the Good Friday film and services will not include much theological explanation, but for those who want to study the cross more, my book Death by Love: Letters from the Cross should be helpful, and you can read or download a free chapter from the book here. Stay tuned for all of the Easter details tomorrow. In the mean time, visit the Good Friday and Easter pages.