At Hope Chapel’s Good Friday service 2025, Pastor Andrew Cole led the congregation through a profound and moving reflection on the significance of the cross. In a spirit of reverence and gratitude, he invited everyone to pause, to reflect, and to respond to the incredible sacrifice that Jesus made for all humanity.

 

The Cross: From Brutality to Beacon

Pastor Andrew opened by reminding the congregation that while the cross once symbolized brutal suffering, shame, and death, it now stands as a powerful beacon of hope and love. The weight of Good Friday, he said, should not be sanitised or softened — the suffering Jesus endured was beyond human comprehension, yet through it, he demonstrated the greatest act of love the world has ever known.

Quoting Luke 23, Pastor Andrew recalled Jesus’ words from the cross:
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
In the midst of unimaginable pain and public humiliation, Jesus’ heart overflowed with forgiveness — a forgiveness that still speaks to every generation.

Breaking Barriers, Opening Access

In his death, Jesus fulfilled ancient prophecies, becoming the perfect sacrificial Lamb. His blood dismantled the barrier between humanity and God, symbolised by the temple veil tearing from top to bottom. No longer separated, we now have direct access to intimacy with the Father — an invitation into daily relationship, not distant ritual.

Pastor Andrew urged everyone to remember that Jesus’ sacrifice wasn’t for a select few, nor something that could be earned or bought. It was a gift for every single person, freely given but at the highest cost.

A Response to the Cross

During the week leading up to Good Friday, members of Hope Chapel had physically installed a cross outside the building — a tangible reminder of the weight of what Christ carried. Pastor Andrew recounted how, when the cross was lifted into place, one person hugged it tightly to steady it.
“That’s carrying the cross,” someone commented — a small moment that carried big meaning.

Just as Jesus called his followers to carry their own crosses, we are called to lives marked by humility, service, and love. It’s not always easy. It’s often inconvenient. But it’s the invitation Jesus gives us: to be vessels of grace in a hurting world.

A Love That Endures Betrayal and Pain

Pastor Andrew reflected on the loneliness Jesus faced in his final hours: the betrayal by Judas, Peter’s denial, the abandonment by those closest to him, and the violent cries of the crowd demanding his crucifixion. In confronting humanity’s darkest tendencies, Jesus still chose compassion.

“When Jesus looked at the crowd, he had compassion on them,” Pastor Andrew said.
It was that same compassion that carried him through the agony of the cross — and it’s the same compassion he extends to each of us today.

The Cross: God’s Covenant Fulfilled

In a powerful moment, Pastor Andrew connected the sacrifice of Jesus back to the story of Abraham and Isaac. Centuries before, Abraham walked up Mount Moriah with his beloved son, ready to surrender everything to God. Yet God provided a ram caught in the thicket as a substitute.

Centuries later, on that very same mountain — now called Calvary — God Himself would provide the ultimate sacrifice. There would be no substitute for Jesus.
This act wasn’t just a rescue mission — it was the fulfilment of God’s covenant of love, made across generations, for all humanity.

Living in the Light of the Cross

Good Friday is not a day for sadness alone. It is a day of gratitude, hope, and deep reflection.
Pastor Andrew reminded the congregation:

  • The cross shows us that true power is found not in domination, but in sacrificial love.
  • The cross challenges us to extend compassion, not judgement, to a broken world.
  • The cross reminds us that darkness is never the end — resurrection is coming.

We are resurrection people — living proof that hope is stronger than death, and love is stronger than hate.

Closing Words

As the service moved into a time of communion, Pastor Andrew invited everyone to remember:
Jesus saw you from the cross. He saw you, loved you, and chose to endure the cross for you.
The service closed with the blessing Pastor Andrew has made a tradition at Hope Chapel:

The Lord bless you and keep you.
The Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you.
The Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Forever and ever. Amen.