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O Perfect Life of Love
124 pages, Paperback
Published January 13, 2025
3 people want to read
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April 25, 2025
I have a Lenten devotional already that I love and look forward to each year, but when I was alerted of a new release by Emmanuel Press, I couldn't resist looking to see what it was. Upon discovering that the meditations were based on movements of Bach's St. John Passion, I knew I was powerless to resist adding it to my personal library.
This devotional book did not disappoint. Choosing a performance of Bach's sacred oratorio is left to the reader (I found multiple options on YouTube). Each of the forty meditations matches to a movement; it is helpful to find a recording that has the performance bookmarked into movements for ease of selection. It is also up to the reader to choose to either listen or read first (I listened before reading).
The actual meditations are beautifully done, befitting Bach's musical work. Pastor Hamer does a lovely job of balancing the content between guiding the reader to notice particular features of the movement and connecting it to appropriate Lenten meditation, Law countered with Gospel, calls to repent paired with the hope we have in Christ.
I reached for this book eagerly each evening, and missed it on Sunday's when, in following the season of Lent, there were no readings. This is absolutely a permanent fixture in my Lenten practice going forward. I am already contemplating whether I will switch up the order in which I listen and read, and perhaps finding a new performance with which to pair the book.
This devotional book did not disappoint. Choosing a performance of Bach's sacred oratorio is left to the reader (I found multiple options on YouTube). Each of the forty meditations matches to a movement; it is helpful to find a recording that has the performance bookmarked into movements for ease of selection. It is also up to the reader to choose to either listen or read first (I listened before reading).
The actual meditations are beautifully done, befitting Bach's musical work. Pastor Hamer does a lovely job of balancing the content between guiding the reader to notice particular features of the movement and connecting it to appropriate Lenten meditation, Law countered with Gospel, calls to repent paired with the hope we have in Christ.
I reached for this book eagerly each evening, and missed it on Sunday's when, in following the season of Lent, there were no readings. This is absolutely a permanent fixture in my Lenten practice going forward. I am already contemplating whether I will switch up the order in which I listen and read, and perhaps finding a new performance with which to pair the book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review