“Knowing God without knowing our wretchedness makes for pride. Knowing our own wretchedness without knowing God makes for despair. Knowing Jesus Christ strikes the balance because he shows us both God and our own wretchedness.”
― Blaise Pascal
ISAIAH 44:21-28
21 Remember these things, O Jacob,
and Israel, for you are my servant;
I formed you; you are my servant;
O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.
22 I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.
23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it;
shout, O depths of the earth;
break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and will be glorified in Israel.
24 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer,
who formed you from the womb:
“I am the Lord, who made all things,
who alone stretched out the heavens,
who spread out the earth by myself,
25 who frustrates the signs of liars
and makes fools of diviners,
who turns wise men back
and makes their knowledge foolish,
26 who confirms the word of his servant
and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,
who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,’
and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,
and I will raise up their ruins’;
27 who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;
I will dry up your rivers’;
28 who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,
and he shall fulfill all my purpose’;
saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,’
and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.’”
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven: Give us this day our daily bread; And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us; And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen.
ART APPRECIATION
Observe the bald eagle and the golden eagle. The bald eagle is our national bird. It is not bald, but its white head looks featherless from a distance. The golden eagle is often called the “king of birds.”
1
John James Audubon (1785-1851) was interested in birds, nature, drawing, and music as a young child. Born in what is now Haiti, he lived in France as a child and came to America at age eighteen. At his family’s estate near Philadelphia, he hunted and drew birds. He also conducted the first known bird-banding experiment in North America. He tied strings around the legs of Eastern phoebes and learned that the birds returned to the very same nesting places each year. Audubon struggled off and on as a businessman, and in 1819, he sailed down the Mississippi to add to his portfolio of birds. After several years, Audubon sailed to England, where his drawings and paintings of birds were published as a book. This book called The American Woodsman, was a huge success. He continued throughout his life to study and draw birds and other animals. Today, the name Audubon is still strongly associated with birds and bird conservation.
2
MUSIC APPRECIATION
| “The Stars and Stripes Forever” by John Philip Sousa |
With the possible exception of “The Star Spangled Banner,” no musical composition has done more to arouse the patriotic spirit of America than this, John Philip Sousa’s most beloved composition. … Symbolic of flag-waving in general, it has been used with considerable effectiveness to generate patriotic feeling ever since its introduction in Philadelphia on May 14, 1897, when the staid Public Ledger reported: “It is stirring enough to rouse the American eagle from his crag, and set him to shriek exultantly while he hurls his arrows at the aurora borealis.”
3
John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) was born in Washington, D. C. on November 6, 1854. His father, John Antonio Sousa, was born in Spain of Portuguese parents, and his mother, Marie Elizabeth Trinkaus, was born in Bavaria.
Sousa received his early education in Washington public schools, while simultaneously studying music at a private conservatory. At age 13, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Band as a “boy” (apprentice) musician, but he also continued his private music studies. His most important teacher was George Felix Benkert, with whom he studied violin, harmony, and composition. After serving seven years with the marines, he was discharged. Thereafter, he performed as a violinist and conductor in various theater orchestras in Washington and Philadelphia.
By 1880, his fame as a conductor, composer, and arranger had been established. He was appointed leader of the U. S. Marine Band and held this position for 12 years, eventually molding the band into the finest military band in the world.4
- Lange, Krista, and Leigh Lowe. First Grade Enrichment: Classical Core Curriculum. Teacher Guide. Memoria Press, 2017. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Unit Home.” United States Marine Band, http://www.marineband.marines.mil/Audio-Resources/The-Complete-Marches-of-John-Philip-Sousa/The-Stars-and-Stripes-Forever-March/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025.
↩︎ - “John Philip Sousa: Articles and Essays: The March King: John Philip Sousa: Digital Collections: Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, http://www.loc.gov/collections/john-philip-sousa/articles-and-essays/biography/. Accessed 10 Jan. 2025. ↩︎
Providence School of Tifton 