1 Corinthians 13 – Page 3 – watercress words by Dr Aletha

updated April 3, 2025

Handel’s masterpiece-Messiah

Even though Messiah tells the story of Jesus, whose life unfolds in the Bible’s New Testament, many of the lyrics come from the Old Testament, like this passage from Psalms. Several Isaiah passages referring to Jesus are also lyrics for music in Messiah.

Gates, proudly lift your heads!

Open, ancient doors, the glorious King will come in.

Who is the glorious King? He is the Lord, the powerful soldier.

He is the Lord, the war hero.

Gates, proudly lift your heads!

Open, ancient doors, and the glorious King will come in.

Who is the glorious King?

The Lord All-Powerful is the glorious King.

Psalm 24:7-10, ERV

Handel-A doctor who cut hair

Handel’s father, Georg Handel, was a barber-surgeon, a term for physicians in the Middle Ages who performed operations and cut hair. Surgery was primitive and dangerous due to no anesthesia and no antibiotics to treat infection. Most surgery was done to treat war injuries.

For centuries, surgery was a craft rather than a profession, and it was often practiced by barbers. In fact, up until the time of Sweeney Todd, a London resident would commonly visit a barber-surgeon for the treatment of a health problem.

Besides providing grooming services, barber-surgeons regularly performed dental extractions, bloodletting, minor surgeries and sometimes amputations.
pbs.com

Is Messiah for Christmas or Easter?

We usually associate Messiah with Christmas, but Handel wrote it to be performed at Easter. For the lyrics, he used words from Scripture, choosing passages that tell the story of God sending Jesus to earth to redeem His people.

This article at Smithsonian.com explains how a surgeon’s son became a musician instead of a lawyer.

The Glorious History of Handel’s Messiah

a hymnal opened to the word Alleluia, with a tulip lying above

Let scripture DWELL in you

Many people find using their phones a convenient way to read and meditate on the Bible. And it’s easy to do so with the Dwell Bible App.

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Here is another Messiah story from my archives.

words for Lent – Good news

And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”Messiah selections from the New Testament

Keep reading

you cannot love without giving. Amy Carmichael — Amy Carmichael was an Irish missionary to India. She is known for opening a safe house called Dohnavur Fellowship after rescuing children from being trafficked in the Hindu temples. She served in India for fifty-five years without a furlough, and in the last twenty years of her life, she remained bedridden and wrote several books and poems about her deep love for Christ. Her dedication to serving God has inspired many Christians to become missionaries and to remain steadfast in their faith.https://bethanygu.edu/blog/stories/amy-carmichael/

And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test Jesus.

“Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?”

He said to him,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and most important command.

The second is like it:

Love your neighbor as yourself.

Matthew 22:36-39 CSB

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.