O Sacred Head, Now Wounded: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Pascha to Pentecost

A 48-Day Devotional Liturgy for Remembering Christ's Life, Death, and Resurrection

God's offer of eternal life through his work on the cross remains the greatest gift the world has known. But contrary to its importance, Holy Week always seems to pass by quickly and be associated with habitual practices that elicit little reflection. As a result, it can be challenging for Christians to establish routines for meditation on Christ's life, death, and resurrection.

O Sacred Head, Now Wounded by Jonathan Gibson presents a 48-day devotional liturgy to help readers effectively prepare their hearts from Pascha-more commonly known as Easter-to Pentecost. Following the same format as Be Thou My Vision, each daily reading includes applicable Scripture readings, hymns, prayers, creeds, and prompts for petition and confession to enrich personal meditation and family worship. This devotional will help individuals and families establish a posture of remembrance and gratitude as they reflect on what Christ has done for us through his temptations, life, trial, passion, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost.

• 42 Daily Readings Plus 6 Seasonal Devotions: Featuring Scripture readings, hymns, prayers, and creeds, as well as prompts for meditation, petition, and confession
• Created for Lent and Easter: Guides readers through the life and death of Jesus, from Pascha (Easter) to Pentecost
• Repetition throughout Readings: Scripture, hymns, and creeds repeat to help readers memorize important material
• Written by Jonathan Gibson: Author of Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship and O Come, O Come, Emmanuel: A Liturgy for Daily Worship from Advent to Epiphany

Read Chapter 1

Author:

Jonathan Gibson (PhD, University of Cambridge) is an ordained minister in the International Presbyterian Church, United Kingdom, and associate professor of Old Testament at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is a coeditor of and contributor to From Heaven He Came and Sought Her and author of Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship. Jonny and his wife, Jackie, have four children.

Endorsements:

"C. S. Lewis once expressed his view that modern worshipers who no longer used the church's liturgy were guilty of spiritual arrogance-the only reason for ignoring it being the assumption that we can do things better. What would the blunt-speaking Lewis say about corporate worship today? And no doubt the character of communal worship is inevitably reflected in the private devotions of Christians. So where can we find help? In O Sacred Head, Now Wounded, Jonny Gibson once again comes alongside us with another splendid volume to guide our personal disciplines, inform our spiritual meditations, and nurture and nourish our private devotions. In addition, he enables us to grow into a biblical appreciation of the fact that, while Paul, Apollos, and Peter are ours, so too is the ministry of the historic and worldwide family of God."
--Sinclair B. Ferguson, Chancellor's Professor of Systematic Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary; Teaching Fellow, Ligonier Ministries

"The most obvious virtue of O Sacred Head, Now Wounded is its comprehensiveness. It brings together passages from the Bible, the creeds and catechisms of the church, readings from the great Christians through the ages, and an abundance of liturgical materials. This abundance is firmly organized and meets the all-important criterion of being well thought out."
--Leland Ryken, author, Poetry of Redemption: An Illustrated Treasury of Good Friday and Easter Poems

"Jonny Gibson offers a disciplined structure for spiritual devotion rooted in ancient and Reformed Christianity. He has composed a daily rhythm of meditation and prayer, drawing from the Holy Scriptures, the creeds, the Heidelberg Catechism, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the church fathers and Reformed theologians, Reformed liturgies, and the Psalter. Though designed to prepare a Christian for the annual remembrance of Christ's death and resurrection in the traditional church calendar, these devotions could be used at any time of the year, for our Lord's redeeming work should always be at the forefront of our minds."
--Joel R. Beeke, Professor of Homiletics and Systematic Theology, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

"To some people, the word liturgy conjures up visions of dry-as-dust formal religion devoid of life and warmth. The irony is that evangelical informality, by which we often seem to say to God the first words that come into our heads, can result in dry-as-dust informal religion, sucked empty of depth and nourishment. There is a growing hunger for good liturgy. As a glad user of Jonny Gibson's earlier book Be Thou My Vision, I warmly commend these deeply scriptural aids to remembering Christ in his death, his resurrection, his ascension, and the outpouring of his Spirit. They will do your heart good."
--Christopher Ash, Writer in Residence, Tyndale House, Cambridge

"Just as Jonny Gibson's Be Thou My Vision has enriched both my private worship and my preparation for the leading of public worship, so his O Sacred Head, Now Wounded will be a significant and structured resource for worship, both personal and public, at a significant season of the year. There can be no more important subject for Christian reflection and meditation than the passion, death, and resurrection of our blessed Savior, Jesus Christ. I believe that the use of this resource will not only enable us to reflect carefully and thoughtfully on the saving work of our Redeemer but will also lead to a new desire to honor and glorify the one who loved us and gave himself for us."
--Stafford Carson, Principal Emeritus, Union Theological College, Belfast; Senior Director of Global Ministries, Westminster Theological Seminary

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