***See below for Good Friday service times.***

Tonight, Mars Hill campuses will hold Good Friday services. The Ballard and U-District campuses will be holding services together at Ballard, hosted by U-District Campus Pastor Matt Jensen and with music by King's Kaleidoscope. The band played last year at Ballard as well, and released a free EP of that set. This year, they'll record the Ballard 10:30 p.m. for a similar future release. The service is traditionally a dark one, the funeral-like day when we remember what we did to God before we remember what he did for us on Easter. In this post, band leader Chad Gardner, pictured below, answers some of our questions about how to prepare to worship, and lead that worship, in such a somber moment. "Psalm 51" [audio:http://mv.marshillchurch.org/files/2010/04/02/20100402_psalm-51_by_mars-hill-church_audio.mp3]

MHB: How will this year's set be different from last year's?

CG: We remember Good Friday every year because of Jesus. We focus on his death to gain perspective on his resurrection. For King's Kaleidoscope, we don't want to focus on creating a bigger show each year for the sake of having a bigger show. That said, we do have some new songs, we're adding a service, the band has a few new members and we're investing more in the production of the album this year. But ultimately, we come together to remember God's grace to us in Christ's death, and the salvation it has brought us.

What’s the song in your planned set that convicts you the most? That encourages you?

"What Have We Done" and "Psalm 51" are the most convicting as the lyrics are mainly about our sin and its devastating effects. "How Deep the Father's Love" and "Jesus Paid It All" are hopeful because they turn the focus back to Christ, his sacrifice for our sin, and his victory over death. We'll end the set with those songs because the truth is that in Christ we are completely new creations and our sin has been put to death for good. For me in particular, "How Deep the Father's Love." "How Deep the Father's Love" [audio:http://download.marshillchurch.org/files/2010/04/02/20100402_how-deep-the-fathers-love_by_mars-hill-church_audio.mp3]

What have you been praying and studying as we come into Easter?

I have been praying that God would continue to move and make us a Spirit-filled church. A body of people not conformed to a sinful culture that stands with its hands crossed and judges what comes from the stage, but a people so moved by the gospel that we cannot contain ourselves in worship. I'm praying that the band would not only rehearse the music, but they would practice wielding their voices and instruments to glorify God for what he has saved us from. I’m also praying that guests who attend Good Friday and Easter services would not be impressed by music or a film or a sermon but that they would encounter the living God. "Jesus Paid It All" [audio:http://mv.marshillchurch.org/files/2010/04/02/20100402_jesus-paid-it-all_by_mars-hill-church_audio.mp3]

I’ve heard some people call the music the church plays sometimes, but especially at the Good Friday service—loud, dark, minor keys—blasphemous, that it’s not reverent worship. Have you heard that? How do you respond?

If you were standing beneath Jesus while he was on the cross, bleeding, crying out in agony, struggling to breathe, if you looked into his eyes and saw his love for us, his persistence, his strength, his obedience to the Father, what would be an appropriate soundtrack? Would it sound like Easter? I think the sound of God dying is heart-wrenching and something we can't even come close to expressing with music. It's horrific, beautiful, messy, massive, holy, and devastating. That's what we're trying to catch a glimpse of musically. Chad Gardner is a deacon at the U-District campus. Hear more from King's Kaleidoscope in the music library. Check the list of Good Friday service times at the nine campuses after the jump:

Good Friday Service Times

Albuquerque 5:00 pm*, 7:00 pm Ballard 5:30 pm*, 7:30 pm*, 9:00 pm, 10:30 pm Bellevue 5:30 pm*, 7:30 pm* Downtown Seattle 6:00 pm*, 7:30 pm*, 9:00 pm Federal Way 6:30 pm*, 8:30 pm Olympia 6:00 pm*, 7:15 pm* Shoreline 6:00 pm*, 8:00 pm U-District U-District will be holding Good Friday services at the Ballard campus West Seattle 7:00 pm* * Childcare will be provided at this service.