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Reflections for Lent

The Beauty of the Cross

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Lent devotional in Isaiah 52 - 53 to help you delight in the beauty of Christ. Delight in the beauty of Christ afresh this Easter Some of the richest prophecies about the cross of Christ can be found in Isaiah chapters 52 and 53 (the last of the ’Servant Songs’). Take time to go through these familiar yet extraordinary chapters in the run up to Easter with this Lent devotional by Tim Chester. You will be thrilled and challenged as you see how Jesus matched every part of every prophecy, and brought glory to his name through his beautiful sacrifice on the cross. Contains 47 days of short, stirring reflections as well as a link to an original song, See Jesus Stripped of Majesty.

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

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About the author

Tim Chester

154 books186 followers
Dr Tim Chester is involved in The Crowded House, a church planting initiative in Sheffield, UK. He was previously Research & Policy Director for Tearfund UK, and has been published widely on prayer, mission, social issues and theology. He is married to Helen and has two daughters.

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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
35 reviews2 followers
April 21, 2019
I really enjoyed this book and spending Lent in Isaiah. What a gift this book has been! If you're looking for a great Lent book or just want to dig deeper into the Servant's Song in Isaiah 52-53, I highly recommend this book. The song he includes at the end is also a great song to use to worship and reflect leading up to the resurrection. He Lives!!! He is making all things new!!
37 reviews1 follower
April 9, 2023
A good reflective devotional to take you through the powerful words of Isaiah 52 and 53 and
Profile Image for Thomas Creedy.
430 reviews40 followers
February 19, 2019
As someone who has rubbished Lent in the past, and then worked for an Anglican rooted publisher (which publishes a number of Lent books each year, and sees it as a significant communications opportunity) I’ve gradually come to appreciate the role of these key notes in the symphony of the traditional church calendar. Thus, I’m glad to see that one of my favourite author/teachers, Tim Chester, has written a Lent book.

The introduction to this book sets the scene: “We often speak or sing about the cross. Of corse we do; it’s central to our faith. This section of Isaiah is an invitation to pause; to take it slow; to go down deep…”

My review continues at my blog: https://www.thomascreedy.co.uk/book-r...
Profile Image for Adam Thomas.
873 reviews10 followers
April 24, 2019
I don't normally do Lent (or Advent) devotionals, but I thought I would this year. I'm glad I did. Tim Chester is always worth reading, and in these reflections he offers a slow walk around the riches of the cross, based (though sometimes loosely) on the Servant Songs in Isaiah, especially chapter 53. Suitable for anybody who wants to get to know their Saviour better, whether in Lent or any other time of year.
565 reviews7 followers
January 12, 2022
A useful guide to focus on Lent, which I'm embarrassed to say I've never done before.
I will use it yearly
Profile Image for Elizabeth.
141 reviews6 followers
April 5, 2021
A really good reminder of what the work of the cross means for Christians. My heart can grow numb to that, so it was a refreshing read to prepare for Easter.
Profile Image for Gerald Wilson.
205 reviews5 followers
March 29, 2024
I grew up in a church that didn’t do Lent or follow any liturgy so the idea of daily devotions in the run up to Easter is new to me. I found this book by Tim Chester and, having read several of his books before, thought I would try this. I probably would have read a book of this length much more quickly if I wasn’t restricted to a daily reading of just a few pages. Would I try something similar in the future? I don’t think so. There’s nothing wrong with it but it’s not really for me. It’s based on Isaiah chapters 52&53 and has some good content, just a bit slow for me.
573 reviews7 followers
May 19, 2024
I received this book as a gift from friends from church in 2021. It's a book of readings throughout lent up to Easter Sunday. Each Sunday invites you to read through a passage and pray through it. Through the week, the passage is broken into smaller bits. Most days end with a poem, quote, or section of a song that relates to the passage.

I did well with the daily readings until a couple of days before Easter when I travelled. I remembered and finished this week.

I found it to be very well done. It was a book I'd like to make a practice of reading annually.
755 reviews21 followers
March 26, 2025
Isaiah 53. The gospel on full display. Terrific.

One note, and I'm NOT going to lower the rating over this (I get super annoyed when people give a book a 1-star rating on Amazon because the package it got delivered in got rained on), but the layout of this book isn't great. I love The Good Book Company, but they did a much better job with the layout, font, format, chapter divisions, etc. of Our Radiant Redeemer. I'd love to see them update the format of this book to match the flow and feel of Radiant.
94 reviews
April 21, 2019
One of the best devotional books of this nature that I've read in some time. Avoids focusing solely on sin and repentance. The cross is rightly central, but placed within the narrative of salvation history in an encouraging way. Just occasionally in weeks 4 and 5 of lent some of the material felt repeated, but much less so than in some other seasonal devotions I have read. This would be a very good choice for a lent book for an individual, small group or whole church.
Profile Image for Kyle McFerren.
176 reviews4 followers
April 10, 2023
I've loved several of Tim Chester's commentaries, but wasn't crazy about this Lenten devotional. It's not that there was anything wrong with the information he presented; it just didn't feel much like a devotional - more like a commentary broken down for daily reading. It was also pretty repetitive after a while, and I felt he presented the atonement in kind of a one-dimensional way.

Overall, not terrible, but there are better books for Lent out there.

Profile Image for Emma Bell.
7 reviews
March 31, 2024
Really fab Easter devotional! I enjoyed the length and quality of each daily meditation on Isaiah 52-53. It was a helpful reflection tool over the Lent period, drawing my attention to all that it cost Jesus to die on the cross, but also all that his death, burial and resurrection achieved for those who believe in him. Would read again!
3 reviews
April 22, 2019
Excellent!

An excellent Lent or year-round devotional. I need to be reminded daily that My salvation is 'Such a Great Salvation.'
Profile Image for Alan Aspray.
22 reviews
April 25, 2019
Another valuable book of readings by Tim with fresh looks at familiar chapters of Isaiah.
Profile Image for Shakeel Nurmahi.
16 reviews1 follower
May 8, 2023
An easy to follow and inspiring lent book. Much valued among church members as we looked at this together.
Profile Image for Robyn.
34 reviews11 followers
May 13, 2019
A wonderful book to soak up the word of God even more and further see the beauty of the Cross and what it means to us. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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