April 10 & April 17
Worship Center at 7:00 pm
Hallelujah
“The Great Hallel”, Psalms 113-118
Praying and Singing the Songs of Jesus
The psalms were Jesus’ songbook. Jesus prayed and sung psalms. More than any other book of the Bible, Jesus quoted the psalms.
The night before Jesus was crucified, he and his disciples prayed and sang a set of psalms before and after his final Passover. These 6 Psalms, 113-118, are called the Egyptian Hallel. “Hallel” means “praise”, hence, our word, “Hallelujah!”
Gospel writers Mark and Matthew tell us that right before Jesus and the disciples went to the Mount of Olives, they sang a hymn. These 6 psalms, then, were the last recorded songs our Savior prayed and sang.
As we draw near and enter into Lent, we’re going to join Jesus in praying and singing these exact same psalms. The cross is imminent, yet Jesus worshiped through psalms. He derived strength. He models for us how we can also pray and sing the psalms in times of rejoicing, suffering, truly, in all of life. Let’s join our Savior in praying and singing, “Hallelujah”.
