When you think of God, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? In other words, when you think of the attributes of God, what do you think of?

Here in the south, many of us might describe God as a loving God, a merciful God, that He is a forgiving God and He is an all-powerful God. You see those descriptions in the Bible of who God is. These are descriptions that make us feel good about God and who He is.

The problem is when Easter rolls around we hear a lot of different words. We hear words like sin and the cross and the crucifixion, God’s wrath, and God’s judgment, the sacrifice He made and the spilling of the blood of His Son, Jesus. And for many people, this isn’t really pleasant. It’s kind of like a lot of people feel about Good Friday, they say, I’d just as soon forget about Good Friday and move on to Easter.

But the heart of the Christian faith starts at the cross. In fact, without the cross, the Biblical story of redemption makes no sense.

Today I'd like to share with you a Good Friday message I gave a few years ago, to briefly walk you through the events of Good Friday, and make four important points that I think will be very helpful to you, particularly as you prepare your heart for Easter.