Tom Wright
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Another KIng
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Another KIng
by SPCK - N T Wright
Another King! Acts 17.1-9 Just north of where I am writing this, and visible from not far away, is the small but famous island of Lindisfarne, commonly known as ‘Holy Island’. It was the first beachhead of Christian faith in England, long before the Romans sent Augustine from Rom…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Publicy Vindicated
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Publicy Vindicated
by SPCK - N T Wright
Publicly Vindicated Acts 16.35-40 One of the most famous cases in ancient Roman law was the one brought by the young upstart barrister Cicero against the rich, aristocratic proconsul Gaius Verres. Verres, like many Roman aristocrats of his generation, had discovered how to play t…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Earthquake and Salvation
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Earthquake and Salvation
by SPCK - N T Wright
Earthquake and Salvation Acts 16.25-34 I remember old Bishop Stephen Neill, who was winning classical scholarships around the time my father was born, telling me how we should translate verse 30. He was used to hearing people quote the panic-stricken question of the Philippian ja…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Preaching and Prison in Philippi
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Preaching and Prison in Philippi
by SPCK - N T Wright
Preaching and Prison in Philippi Acts 16. 11-24 A friend of mine, a few years after being ordained, was sent to work in an inner suburb where, for a long time, vice had reigned unchecked. The police knew what was going on but were following a policy of containment rather than con…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Timothy- and New Developments
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Timothy- and New Developments
by SPCK - N T Wright
Timothy – and New Developments Acts 16. 1-10 A few weeks ago I had to choose a new close colleague to work with. It was difficult. There were some splendid people to choose from. Together with trusted friends and wise advisors, I prayed for God’s guidance, I did as much homework …
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Huge Row
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Huge Row
by SPCK - N T Wright
A Huge Row Acts 15.36-41 There is no point beating about the bush with this one. There are times in church work when leaders, including bishops, really want to knock two people’s heads together and tell them not to be so pig-brained (though actually most pigs wouldn’t dream of be…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Letter to the Churches
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Letter to the Churches
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Letter to the Churches Acts 15.22-35 Yet again in the news there is a story of a ‘leak’ from government sources. Official documents may say one thing, but someone whispering round the corner to a friendly journalist has said another. One minister denies that there is a proble…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Judgement of Jesus
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Judgement of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Judgement of Jesus Acts 15.12-21 One of the difficulties about living in the new European Union (I realize that this remark may be out of date as soon as it’s written, since new proposals come forward every few weeks, but the general truth still stands) is that there are at l…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Is Circumcision Necessary
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Is Circumcision Necessary
by SPCK - N T Wright
Is Circumcision Necessary Acts 15.1-11 ‘I thought we’d settled this!’ Dennis was furious. Halfway through the second week of term and it had happened again. They had sat around the kitchen table, the five of them, in the old house they had rented for their second year at college.…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Opening the door of Faith
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Opening the door of Faith
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opening the Door of Faith Acts 14.21-28 I stood at the back of the exhibition, and chatted with the artist. He was a local man, and we were glad to support him. We had even bought one of his paintings, a marvellous study of a bird in flight. ‘What does it feel like,’ I asked, ‘se…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Confusion in Lystra
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Confusion in Lystra
by SPCK - N T Wright
Confusion in LystraActs 14. 8-20 I have a sneaking sympathy for the medical profession. Two or three generations ago, everybody knew that there were all kinds of diseases that the doctors couldn’t cure. They would do their best with what was available. They would offer sympathy…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Iconium
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Iconium
by SPCK - N T Wright
Iconium Acts 14. 1-7 I once knew a young man who suffered seriously from depression. He was grappling with all kinds of issues, memories, buried fears, imagined guilt (and some real guilt, too).He had, on my recommendation, been to see one or two doctors, because his condition wa…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Light to the Gentiles
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Light to the Gentiles
by SPCK - N T Wright
A Light to the Gentiles Acts 13.44-52 Everyone who works with words – the poet, the journalist, the philosopher, the translator, the theologian – knows it all too well. We use a word one day and it seems perfectly all right. It does the job. The next day we are told it now means …
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Messianic Challenge
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Messianic Challenge
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Messianic Challenge Acts 13.26-43 At the time I am writing this there is a massive global debate taking place. Led by senior figures in science and government, people everywhere are asking whether the world and its atmosphere are really warming up at the alarming rate that th…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Address in Antioch
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Address in Antioch
by SPCK - N T Wright
Address in Antioch Acts 13.13-25 I sat in the small meeting room, intrigued at what I was hearing. I had been invited to a presentation organized by local councillors and businessmen in a particular area. They had a project, and they wanted support for it. There was an old factor…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Mission and Magic