Good Friday at WCC!
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Introduction
The Journey to the Cross allows us to meditate and pray the journey taken by Jesus on the last days of his earthly life. In seven stations, you will travel with Jesus from the moment of his arrest to his resurrection.
Similar paths of prayer have been walked by millions of Christians over 2,000 years.
Please pray that God would change your heart as you seek and meditate on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Scripture, visual aids, a suggested prayer, and suggested actions are provided at each station to help you pray through the same steps Christ walked during His Passion.
May God bless you on your journey.
Matthew 16:24
“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
Instructions
There are 3 different ways you can participate in the Journey to the Cross Prayer Interactive Prayer Walk
1.) In-Person: Join us in the Ministry Center at WCC on Good Friday, April 2nd between 12pm and 10pm to physically walk station to station. The walk will take approximately 30-45 minutes.
2.) This Webpage: Scroll down through this page and visit each station virtually. Read Scripture and pray at your own pace.
3.) Video: Experience the walk virtually as if you were there is person by watching a recorded version of the walk here:
Scripture
Matthew 26:36-46
36 Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter.
41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.
45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!”
Prayer
Lord, we know every time we choose what we desire and what we want- every time we give in to our weakness-we betray you. Lord we want to be like you.
Give us strength, at this moment, to watch with you. Give us power, at this moment, to pray with you and to you.
At this moment, help us to continue this journey with you to the cross and into eternity. Help us to remember that we are walking steps with you because you are right here with us. Amen
Action
Take a flower with you to remember the Garden of Gethsemane.
Scripture
Matthew 27:11-16
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.
13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”
14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd.
16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Barabbas.
17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?”
18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
Prayer
Christ, it is Your plan to become my sin. It is so difficult for me to understand that You love me. Without Your grace, I too, would have shouted with the crowd, “Crucify Him!” But now, Lord, knowing your story, knowing your love for me, knowing You died to give God glory, I praise you.
I thank You for taking my punishment-God’s wrath. I thank You for suffering in my place. Help me to remember every day that I am not innocent of Your blood. Amen
Action
Use the towel to wash your hands.
Scripture
Matthew 23:27-37
27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Go ahead, then, and complete what your ancestors started!
33 “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation.
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.
Prayer
Jesus, I’m sorry. You endured the cross for the joy set before You. And now the weight of my sin begins to be fully applied. First in scourge, then in the crown of thrown and ultimately in the cross.
O, Lord, God Almighty, You bear the weights of all my sins, and, though they wearied You, You carried them all the way to Your death. I adore You, O Christ and I praise Your name. Because of Your holy cross, You have redeemed the world. Amen
Action
Grab a piece of purple cloth to take with you
Scripture
Luke 23:26
26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.
Prayer
You ask me constantly to carry Your cross. You ask me every day to join with You in sacrifice. Dear Lord, teach me to suffer with You, make it pleasant for me to suffer for your sake, and when my time comes to help You bear the cross, give me Your courage and Your strength to step forward and do my part.
I adore You, O Christ and I praise Your name, because by Your holy cross You have redeemed the world. Amen
Action
Look in the mirror
Jesus hangs by the nails driven through his hands and feet. A sponge with vinegar is stuck in his mouth, and soldiers below him gamble for his clothes-even as the blood, breath and life drain from his body.
Scripture
Luke 23:32-34
32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Prayer
O Jesus, dear Jesus though You have never sinned, You hang there on the cross. I should be there, not You. You hang there in my place.
I adore You, O Christ, and I praise Your name because You desired to save me. Amen
Action
Take a cross from the basket to take with you
Jesus’ head drops, and it is finished. A soldier jams a spear between his ribs as a test, and the blood and water that issue forth show conclusively that the Savior of the world is indeed dead.
The price is paid.
And we are redeemed.
Scripture
Luke 23:44-46
44 It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,
45 for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.
46 Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Prayer
Christ You were faithful even to death and You promised to be faithful forever even to me – the unfaithful. Help me to be faithful to You in life.
For even when all seems lost, You are still at working giving life. Death is not the final word for You, and I adore You. Amen
Action
On the paper provided, write a sin that you need to confess and nail it to the cross
Sunday Morning – Easter. The stone is rolled away, the tomb is empty except for some burial clothes. First, the women find it this way and soon after, the disciples come to investigate. It truly is empty! The word goes forth: He is risen! HE is risen! Death could not win, the tomb does not have the victory.
Jesus Christ is stronger even than death!
Scripture
Luke 24:1-8
1 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.
2 They found the stone rolled away from the tomb,
3 but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.
4 While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.
5 In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?
6 He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:
7 ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
8 Then they remembered his words.
Prayer
My heart rejoices, Jesus, that the tomb could not hold You. You burst forth with new life, and You give me new life. I accept the gift You’ve given me – help me never to take it for granted!
I adore You, O Christ, and praise Your name because of Your great love for me and because of the new life that You give me. Amen
Action
Partake in Communion in remembrance of Jesus’ death and resurrection
Thank you for joining us on the Journey To The Cross
Let us help you take your Next Best Step right now!