Many people know that Handel wrote the music for Messiah, however, the man who chose the Bible passages for its libretto and gave them to Handel is hardly known at all. His name was Charles Jennens, and Messiah was born out of a tragic event in his life. Dr. Al Mohler, President of The Southern […]
Two years ago I read a mystery by George Bellairs that opens on Christmas Eve 1940 as Detective-Inspector Littlejohn is traveling to meet his wife who has evacuated to Yorkshire after their London flat was destroyed in the Blitz. On Christmas night they visit the Methodist church in a small village to hear the choir […]
Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of Me this night, for it is written, ‘I WILL STRIKE DOWN THE SHEPHERD, AND THE SHEEP OF THE FLOCK SHALL BE SCATTERED.’” Matthew 26:31 – – In bleakest grief men scattered by their fears; Mourning now without hope—despairing sorrow. Two days yet locked […]
O sacred Head, now wounded, with grief and shame weighed down, Now scornfully surrounded with thorns, Thine only crown; O sacred Head, what glory, what bliss till now was Thine! Yet, though despised and gory, I joy to call Thee mine. What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered, was all for sinners’ gain; Mine, mine was […]
“So he then handed Him over to them to be crucified. “They took Jesus, therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified Him, and with Him two other men, one on either side, and Jesus in […]
Psalm 118 is the last psalm of the ‘Egyptian Hallel.’ It is a song of Passover. Derek Kidner explains: “A short run of psalms used at the yearly Passover begins here [at Psalm 113], and is therefore commonly known as the ‘Egyptian Hallel’ (Hallel means Praise). Only the second of them (114) speaks directly of […]
As Jesus talked with His disciples the night before He died on the cross (John 13–16), He not only spoke to them about Himself and the events coming on the heels of that evening, but He spoke of their lives together and the suffering they would face as His disciples. He reassured them of His […]
Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and take for yourselves lambs according to your families, and slay the Passover lamb. You shall take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and apply some of the blood that is in […]
The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief corner stone. This is the LORD’S doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. Psalm 118:22–23 – If you look in the Gospels, you’ll find records of Jesus’ confrontations with the Pharisees during Holy Week. After telling the parable of the vine-growers killing the son of […]