One of the things I’m going to miss most (among many!) during this unusual season when our church can’t gather is our annual “Facing the Cross Service,” a simple service we observe each year during Holy Week that recounts the last few days, death, and burial of our Lord through Scripture readings and hymns.
Since we cannot hold the service this year, I have prepared some resources to help our church families observe the sacrifice of Christ in a similar way, and I pray these might be useful and beneficial for others as well. The service, including Scripture readings and hymns, lasts about 45 minutes.
Full video of the service includes audio of the Scripture readings and piano accompaniments and lyrics of each hymn:
Service Order (PDF) – All the Scripture references and hymns are listed, so you could read the Scripture passages yourself and sing without the piano if you wish.
Collection of Passion Hymns (PDF), including all those used in this service
Audio of Scripture readings only (mp3) – You can pause between readings to sing.
Audio of Scripture readings and hymn accompaniments (mp3)
Audio of hymn accompaniments only (mp3) – You can pause between hymns to read Scripture.
Finally, here is a video of just the hymn accompaniments if you wish to read the Scripture passages yourself. Simply pause the video during the readings:
About Scott Aniol
Scott Aniol is the founder and Executive Director of Religious Affections Ministries. He is director of doctoral worship studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches courses in ministry, worship, hymnology, aesthetics, culture, and philosophy. He is the author of Worship in Song: A Biblical Approach to Music and Worship, Sound Worship: A Guide to Making Musical Choices in a Noisy World, and By the Waters of Babylon: Worship in a Post-Christian Culture, and speaks around the country in churches and conferences. He is an elder in his church in Fort Worth, TX where he resides with his wife and four children. Views posted here are his own and not necessarily those of his employer.
