Sorrow-a word for Lent

Charles Jennens gave George Handel the lyrics to Messiah, verses primarily from Isaiah, Psalms, Paul’s letters to the early church, and Revelation.

 

“He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.


Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!”

depiction of Christ on the cross
a church in Cuenca, Ecuador, photo by Dr Aletha

“But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.”

Isaiah 53, NLT

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

ornate altar in a church
altar in a Zanzibar church, by Dr Aletha

Jennens and Handel- musical collaborators

“Charles Jennens (1700-1773) was a wealthy English landowner and friend of George Frideric Handel (1685-1759). He was a a patron of the arts, skilled in music, literature, and the Bible, so he collaborated with Handel on some of his musical compositions.

Jennens gave Handel the lyrics to Messiahverses primarily from Isaiah, Psalms, the Apostle Paul’s letters to the early church, and Revelation.

Messiah tells the story of Christ’s coming, His victory over sin and death, His defeat of His enemies, victorious return to earth and establishment of His kingdom, and the believer’s victory over death through His resurrection.”

adapted from Handel’s Messiah at doctrine.org

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Did you know Handel’s father Georg was a physician, a barber-surgeon? Find out here

sharing the HEART of faith, hope, and love

Dr. Aletha

Join me in listening to RETURN a Lent devotional on the Dwell Bible app.(this is an affiliate link that helps this blog share the HEART of health).

Far from being rigid or legalistic, Lent is an invitation into the transformation of God’s renewing presence. It reminds us…that we can always return to the Lord and there find our true home and place of lasting peace.

RETURN, Dwell Bible app

Palm Sunday

Palm Sunday is the last Sunday in Lent and the Sunday before Easter. It’s the beginning of Holy Week, the most important week of the year for Christians.

Palm Sunday is the last Sunday in Lent and the Sunday before Easter. It’s the beginning of Holy Week, the most important week of the year for Christians.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem

“When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. He told them,

“Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. If anyone asks why you are doing this, just say, ‘The Lord needs them.’ He will at once let you have the donkeys.”

So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said,

“Announce to the people of Jerusalem:
‘Your king is coming to you!
He is humble and rides on a donkey.
He comes on the colt of a donkey.’ ”

The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.

Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches which they had cut from trees.  Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,

“Hooray for the Son of David!
God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hooray for God in heaven above!”

graphic from the LIGHTSTOCK.COM collection, affiliate link

When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

(Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-38; John 12.12-19)

via Matthew 21 Contemporary English Version | Bible.com.

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Learn more from another post on this blog

What is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday is one of several “holidays”, or more correctly holy days that Christians “celebrate”, meaning observe, in the weeks before Easter which we call Lent.

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