Passion Service 2026

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Tonight, we've gathered for a service that is intentionally different. The air in this room carries a weight, and we want to invite you to lean into that. This is not a night for easy comfort or familiar tradition. This is a night for brutal reality. As we begin, we want to center our hearts on a difficult truth. The cross wasn't just a tragic event in history. It was the place where our specific sin and our deepest shame was laid bare. We are the ones who put Jesus there. It was for us that the nails were driven. It was our debt that held Him to the wood. But the mystery we sit in tonight is that knowing all of it, He still chooses us. So as the music begins and the words are spoken, we invite you to resist the urge to look away. Don't rush to the hope of Easter just yet. Stay here. Let the silence be uncomfortable. Let the reality of the crucifixion stir your heart, not as a story you've heard, but as a sacrifice made for you. Take a moment to prepare your soul to remember the cost. Let your attention be present. Open your eyes to the cross and behold the Savior. Heavenly Father, we center our hearts on You. Our hands are open. Our hearts are open to look at this familiar event in a new way. Our minds are open to leave here different after looking at the cross. God, help us to not pull away when it gets difficult. We want to lean in and look to You and be amazed by all that You have done for us. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Crucify my Lord Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Don't Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Don't Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they fell into the tree? Were you there when they fell into the tree? Don't Sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble Were you there when they fell into the tree? Yeah Oh Oh You can wash away my sin You can make me whole again Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh precious is the flow that makes me white as snow No other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh nothing but the blood of Jesus Oh Nothing but the blood

Nothing but the blood In John 17, Jesus prayed for us and for all who would believe. So right now, let's just posture our hearts for prayer and receive the word of the Lord. Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. said I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do and now father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world yours they were and you gave them to me and they have kept your word now they know that everything that you have given me is from you for I have given them the words that you gave me and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you and they have believed that you sent me I am praying for them I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me for they are yours all mine are yours and yours are mine but I am glorified in them and I am no longer in the world but they are in the world and I am coming to you holy father keep them in your name that you have given me that they may be one even as we are one while I was with them I kept them in your name which you have given me I have guarded them and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction that the scripture might be fulfilled now I am coming to you and these things I speak in the world that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves I have given them your word the world has hated them because they are not of the world just as I am not of the world do not ask that you take them out of the world that you keep them from the evil one they are not of the world just as I am not of the world sanctify them in the truth your word is truth as you sent me into the world so I have sent them into the world and for their sake I concentrate myself that they also may be sanctified in truth I do not ask for these only but also for those who will believe in me through their world that they may all be one just as you father are in me and I in you they also may be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me the glory that you have given me I have

given to them that they may be one even as we are I in them you me that they may become perfectly one so that the world may know you sent me and love them even as you loved me father I desire that they also you have given me may be with me where I am to see my glory that you have given because you loved me before the foundation of the world even though the world does not know you I know you and these know that you have sent me I made known to them your name and I will continue to make it known that the love with which you have loved me may be in them and I in them so why did Jesus come to die why what you say is true but he also came to absorb the wrath of God he came to be obedient in perfection he came to achieve his own resurrection from the dead to show the wealth of God's love and grace for sinners he came to show his own love for us he came to cancel the legal demands of the law against us to become a ransom for many he came for the forgiveness of our sins to provide the basis for our justification he came to complete the obedience that becomes our righteousness he took away our condemnation he came to bring us to faith and keep us faithful he came to make us holy blameless and perfect to give us a clear conscience. He came to obtain for us all things that are good for us, to heal us from moral and physical sickness. He came to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. He came to deliver us from this present evil age, to reconcile us to God, to bring us to God. He came so that we might belong to Him. He came to give us confident access to the holiest place, to become the place where we meet God. He came to end the old priesthood and become our eternal high priest,

to become a sympathetic and helpful priest. He came to free us from the futility of our ancestry, to free us from the slavery of sin. He came so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, so that we would die to the law and bear fruit for God. He came to enable us to live for Christ and not ourselves, to make His cross the ground of all our boasting. He came to enable us to live by faith in Him, to create a people passionate for good works. He came to give marriage its deepest meaning, to call us to follow His example of lowliness and costly love. He came to create a band of crucified followers. He came to free us from bondage to the fear of death, so that we would be with Him immediately after death. He came to secure our resurrection from the dead. He came to disarm the rulers and authorities. Why did Jesus come to die? He came so the guilty could be forgiven, so the broken could be healed, so the slave could be free, so the dead could live. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Thank you. ìPrecious blood has left me forgiven. Pure like the whitest of snow. Powerful to make sin and shame retreat. This covenant is making me whole. So I will rise and lift my head. For by his mercy my life was spared. The highest name has set me free. Because of Jesus my heart is clean. Purify my heart in your presence. Teach me to discover the joy. Of holiness that forms as you draw me close. In you what was lost is restored. So I will rise and lift my head. For by his mercy my life was spared. The highest name has set me free. Because of Jesus my heart is clean. ♪ Jesus, my heart is clean ♪ ♪ So I will rise and lift my head ♪ ♪ For by His mercy my life was filled ♪ ♪ The highest name has set me free ♪ ♪ Because of Jesus, my heart is clean ♪ ♪ Because of Jesus, my heart is clean ♪ ♪ So I will rise and lift my head ♪ ♪ For by His mercy my life was filled ♪

♪ The highest name has set me free ♪ ♪ Because of Jesus, my heart is clean ♪ ♪ So I will rise and lift my head ♪ ♪ For by His mercy my life was filled ♪ ♪ The highest name has set me free ♪ ♪ Because of Jesus, my heart is clean ♪ Jesus, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, Whom do you seek? They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them when Jesus said to them, They drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, And they said, Jesus answered, This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant and cut off his right ear. The servant's name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest's house. And Peter was following at a distance.

And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down next to the high priest and said to him, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus of Nazareth, sat down together. Peter sat down among them. Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, But he denied it, saying, And a little later someone else saw him and said, But Peter said, Man, I am not. And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted saying, But Peter said, And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, And he went out and wept bitterly. Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, Prophesy, who is it that struck you? And they said many other things against him, Feebing against him When day came the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together both chief priests and scribes

And they led him away to their council and they said if you are the Christ tell us But he said to them if I tell you you will not believe If I ask you you will not answer But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God So they all say are you the Son of God then and he said to them you say that I am Then they said what further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips Then When Judas he's betrayer saw that Jesus was condemned He changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders saying I Have sinned by betraying innocent blood They said what is that to us? She told yourself and throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple Departed and he went and hanged himself But the chief priests taking the pieces of silver said It is not lawful to put them into the treasury since it is blood money So they took counsel and brought with them the potter's field as a burial place for strangers Therefore that field has been called the field of blood to this day Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah saying And they took the thirty pieces of silver The price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel And they gave them for the potter's field as the Lord directed me You Then they led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled But could eat Passover So Pilate went outside to them and said what accusation do you bring against this man? They answered him if this man were not doing evil we would not have delivered him over to you Pilate said to them take him yourselves and judge him by your own law The Jews said to him

It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him Are you king of the Jews Jesus answered do you say this of your own accord or did others say it to you about me? Pilate answered Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me What have you done? Jesus answered my kingdom is not of this world If my kingdom were of this world My servants would have been fighting that I might not be delivered over to the Jews, but my kingdom is not from the world Then Pilate said to him So you are a king Jesus answered you say that I'm a king for this purpose. I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice Pilate said to him Hmm What is truth? You Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted and they had been a Notorious prisoner called Barabbas So when they had gathered Pilate said to them whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ. For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him a psalms while he was sitting on the judgment seat his wife sent words to him have nothing to do with that righteous man for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream. Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor

again said to them which of the two do you want me to release for you and they said Barabbas. Pilate said to them then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ. They all said let him be crucified. And he said by what evil has he done but they shouted all the more let him be crucified. So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing but rather that a riot was beginning he took water and washed his hands before the crowd saying I am innocent of this man's blood. See to it yourselves. And all the people answered then he released for them Barabbas and having scourged Jesus delivered him to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away inside the palace that is the governor's headquarters and they called together the whole battalion and they clothed him in a purple cloak and twisting together a crown of thorns they put it on him and they began to salute him and they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him and when they had mocked him they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him and they let him out to crucify him. So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and he went out bearing his own cross to the place called the place of a skull which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. There they crucified him and with him two others one on either side and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross it read Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews. Many of the Jews read this inscription for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Aramaic in Latin and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate do not write the king of the Jews but rather this man said I am king of the Jews. Pilate answered what I have written I have written. When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and divided them into four parts. One part for each soldier also his tunic but the tunic was seamless woven in one piece from top to bottom. So they said to one another let us not tear it but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be. This was to fulfill the scripture which says they divided my garments among them for my clothing they cast lots. So the soldiers did these

things and the people stood by watching but the rulers scoffed at him saying he saved others let him save himself if he is the Christ of God his chosen one the soldiers also mocked him coming up and offering him sour wine and saying if you are the king of the Jews save yourself there was also an inscription over him this is the king of the Jews one of the criminals who were hanged railed at him saying are you not the Christ save yourself and us but the other rebuked him saying do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation and we indeed justly for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds but this man has done nothing wrong and he said Jesus remember me when you come into your kingdom and he said to him truly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise but standing by the cross of Jesus where his mother and his mother's sister Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby he said to his mother then he said to the disciple behold it's your mother and from that hour the disciple took her to his own home after this Jesus knowing that all was now finished said to fulfill the scripture a jar full of sour wine stood there so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth when Jesus had received the sour wine he said it is finished and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit and the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom when the centurion who stood facing him saw that in this way he breathed his last he said truly this man was the son of God since it was the day of preparation and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath for that Sabbath was a high day and the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away so the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with him but when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead they did not break his legs but one of the soldiers pierced his side with a

spear and at once they came out blood and water he who saw it has borne witness his testimony is true he knows that he is telling the truth that you also may believe for these things took place that the scripture might be fulfilled not one of his bones will be broken and again another scripture says they will look on him whom they have pierced after these things Joseph of Arimathea who was a disciple of Jesus but secretly for the fear of the Jews asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus and Pilate gave him permission so he came and took away his body Nicodemus also earlier had come to Jesus by night came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes about 75 pounds in weight so they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices as is the burial custom of the Jews now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid so because of the Jewish day of preparation since the tomb was close at hand they laid Jesus there the soldiers tried to clear the narrow street but the crowd pressed in to see the man condemned to die on Calvary he was bleeding from a beating there were stripes upon his back and he wore a crown of thorns upon his head and he bore with every step the scorn of those who cried out for his death down the Via Dolorosa called the way of suffering like a lamb came the Messiah Christ the King but he chose to walk that road out of his love for you and me down the Via Dolorosa all the way to Calvary down the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day the soldiers tried to clear the narrow street but the crowd pressed in to see the man condemned to die on Calvary ♪ For them to die on Calvary ♪ ♪ Now Nazia, Dolorosa, call the waves suffering ♪

♪ Like the Lamb King, the Messiah Christ, the King ♪ ♪ But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me ♪ ♪ Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary ♪ ♪ The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men ♪ ♪ Paid its way to the heart of Jerusalem ♪ ♪ Down the Via Dolorosa, call the waves suffering ♪ ♪ Like the Lamb King, the Messiah Christ, the King ♪ ♪ But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me ♪ ♪ For you and me ♪ ♪ Down the Via Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary ♪ Jesus, we remember. We slow down and we pause and we reflect on what you went through on our behalf. Doing for us what we could not do for ourselves. And Lord, as we remember and as we reflect, would it bring us to a place of gratitude, of thankfulness, and ultimately, Lord, would it bring us to a place of worship? Jesus, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, may you receive the reward of your suffering. We pray this in your name, Jesus, amen. Amen. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ I should've told her. I didn't think it was that big of a deal. So, I don't know. Sometimes I just, I don't tell the whole truth. No.

Let's say it out loud. You didn't forget to tell her the truth. You rehearsed a softer version, a version where you survive the moment clean, and then you chose the lie. Not a mistake, not a slip, a decision. I didn't mean to hurt her, but you did. Because lies always hurt. They always take, they always cost. You call it a wedge, but a wedge separates slowly. No, this was a nail driven hard into the coffin of the intimacy you claim to protect. Let's say it plainly. It's not that you lied. It's that you were willing to become what a lie requires, a liar. I wish I had been a better father when the kids were small. Better is a safe word, a word to protect you from yourself. Let's tell the truth though. You are a better father than I am. You are a better father than I am. You are a better father than I am. You are a better father than I am. You are a better father than I am. You were absent. Not because life got busy not because work demanded it you chose distraction over discipleship Comfort over connection. I was just tired Nice try I see what you're trying to do

Tired is a pride word You were escaping not tired You hid behind the word provider so that you wouldn't have to become present say it clearly You traded their childhood for your convenience I Wish I hadn't said those things to the people I love it just gets so angry You Wish Your actions didn't have consequences But you don't regret the anger the anger felt good didn't it it felt justified It felt like control in a life where you secretly feel powerless Those just weren't accidental angry words they were chosen weapons you sharpen them you aim them you swung them and afterward You didn't repent you rehearsed excuses That's just how I was raised. Well, they pushed me too far. Oh They should have known better But the truth you chose anger because dominance felt safer than love You There are things I regret things I've never told anyone Here we are The room no one enters the floorboards where you hid the truth You didn't bury things because they were small you buried them because they revealed who you are You weren't ashamed of the actions. You were ashamed of the appetite behind them. You promised God You'd never do it again And then you did again and again And the worst part you tried so hard to keep up the appearance of holiness

So no one would suspect how deep the rot went You fear exposure more than you fear sin you fear being found out more than being wrong That's why shame owns you Because you love your reputation More than repentance You Why do I struggle like I do why do I drift from God so quickly You didn't drift Drifting is accidental. You didn't trip over it. You didn't fall into a hole you dug the hole You're never going to be free until you learn how to be honest and from the sound of things It doesn't seem like you're very interested in either You walked one compromise at a time one ignored conviction after another One skipped prayer that became a skipped week that became a forgotten Bible collecting dust beside your bed You say you miss God, but really you just miss the feeling of closeness without the obedience of intimacy He didn't move You did You didn't get lost You hid The truth is, I'm just ashamed. I've been trying to wash these lies clean, trying to convince myself that it wasn't that bad. But I made a choice, and I deserve the condemnation that's coming. I need someone to fix it. The truth is, it only gets worse. If people knew who I really was, they'd lose all respect. I can't fix me. I've tried and tried and tried. I fail every time. And if I'm honest, I deserve it. And if I'm honest, I deserve it.

The truth is, I can't fix this. I don't know how to fix this, and every time I try, I just end up in the same spot. The truth is, I can't get those years back. The damage is done, and I can't undo it. I am not enough to fix it on my own. I am not enough to fix it on my own. The truth is, I'm stuck in hell on earth. I can't make me less angry. I try to push it down, but it comes back up. I can't do this on my own. Play more The truth is the voices get loud. They linger, they grip, they call my name and they never quit. The truth is that I've played games with shame and guilt. I've given in more times than I can count. The truth is that the power is not in gaining control, but it's in losing it all. The truth is that these voices that speak have no hold on me because you set me free. As I consider the cost of what you've done, I can't imagine the weight of it all. My words are weak, shallow, and frail, but they're what I have. So Jesus, I say thank you for the nails. Thank you for the nails. I can hear the echoes of the hammer in the hallways of my soul. Thank you for the nails that pierced your skin and tore through your forearms and splintered tendon and nerve. Were you afraid? Were you afraid as you hung there? Did you ever think about calling the angels? I mean, you had to, right? How did you choose to stay when you had to push up on that nail driven through your feet just to breathe? Did you scream? Did you grieve? What exactly did you see as the guard beat and beat the steel through your body? With every blow, could you hear the sound of hell's dominions swirling all around? I mean, what was louder? Was it Satan's laugh or the hammer? Thank you for the nails, Jesus.

Thank you for the nails. Crown, you traded glory for pain, you traded honor for my shame, thank you for the crown. They wove mockery into a circle and they placed it where reverence belongs. They bowed before you with laughter, called you king, and they never knew how right they would actually be. I mean, it really is a tragedy how blind the guilty can be. And it's an even scarier thing to speak of being guilty, knowing that everyone sitting here listening is quietly thinking, he isn't talking about me. When the thorns broke the skin and scraped the bone off your skull and the blood traced its way down your face, did you feel the curse of Eden or did you look up and lean in? I mean, did you remember the garden when the ground first rebelled and where the thorns were born as a punishment for my sin? Did you know as they pressed it deeper that you were lifting this curse by letting it rest on your head? Of course you did. When they punched you in the face and you looked into your pooling blood on the ground, could you see my reflection, every single one of my broken intentions? Thank you for the crown. I made it with my own hands. Thank you for the whip, the sound of it. I mean, my God, the sound of it all. I mean, it's here where I run out of questions. Honestly, it's just easier if we don't even think about it, because if I actually think about you strapped to a post and pilot's courtyard getting destroyed for my choices, that means I have to stop and think about me, which is terrifying, because let's be honest, if I stopped and looked inside, what would I actually see? The sound of it. I mean, my God, the sound of it all. Why am I so good at pretending this is a question this moment demands? I'm just chasing and racing for more comfort. I use spiritual words. I know what to say, but what does your rape dignity and mangled body really mean to me day to day? What does this mean? What does this mean to you? It demands to be answered. Thanks, Jesus. Appreciate the help. That cannot be what this is all about. What have we tried to do to our Savior, to God's only son? What have we done? How can I repay this? What can I do?

That must be the most insulting question to you. I mean, what am I going to do? Pick your skin up and put it back on the bone? I'm going to pick your chunks of flesh up from the dirt, comb your beard and say, I'm sorry. Oh, God, who am I? You were mindful of me. Thank you for the whip. I fashioned it without even knowing. Thank you, Jesus, for obeying the Father. That's what this is really all about, isn't it? That you would climb up this hill, choosing to let them kill, thinking that they were walking out their best laid plans. But the truth is, this was the Father drawing a finishing line in the sand. One side of the line is life. One side is death. One side is the Father. One side is me, mine, more and Satan forever. I mean, it sounds extreme as I say it, but it's pretty fitting considering the heinous nature of the crime being committed. Jesus, you chose this. It is wild to think about for the joy set before you. You and endured the hell of all of this before you sat back down in glory at the right hand of the before you sat down at the right hand that's what he's like isn't it the father i mean he is just infinitely better this is what he's like what looks like horror may have its moment but he's not done yet because sunday is coming death may get its prize for a little while but it is a lie that this blood is undoing that's what this is all about giving the father his ultimate due giving him what he wanted that's what we mean when we say jesus died for you it's time to wake up church it's time to put the bed the things former don't sit there and act like you got it all together like because you got a little in your life and somehow you deserve to feel better you don't and neither do i i deserve the nails we deserve the hammer we deserve the crown on our brow we deserve the whip we deserve the slaughter we deserve hell and we deserve it forever thank you jesus because you obeyed we don't get any of what we deserve we get the father so so so so

so so