Transforming Preaching - A microcosm of ministry
Transforming Preaching - A microcosm of ministry
by SPCK - David Heywood
1 Why preach? A microcosm of ministry At the heart of the Church’s worship and life is the expectation that people will encounter God, and preaching is the activity that focuses and expresses this expectation. Karl Barth called it the ‘representative event at the centre of the Ch…
Transforming Preaching - The Challenge of Preaching
Transforming Preaching - The Challenge of Preaching
by SPCK - David Heywood
1 Why preach? The challenge of preaching Preaching is characteristic of the life of the Church. An expectation that the worship of the gathered Christian congregation will include a sermon can be traced back at least to the second century in the writings of Justin Martyr. Before …
Transforming Preaching - Introduction
Transforming Preaching - Introduction
by SPCK - David Heywood
Introduction I was never taught how to preach. My training included the opportunity to preach a sermon in front of a camera and review it, but little else. I have met many in a similar position. The only training we have received in preaching has come first through listening to o…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - "Risen with healing in his wings"
Four Gospels, One Jesus - "Risen with healing in his wings"
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
‘Risen with healing in his wings’ The Resurrection, John 20—21 Tolkien’s eagles provide one last example. At the battle with the evil Balrog on the bridge of Khazad-dûm, Gandalf the wizard sacrifices himself for his friends and falls to his death with the foe, ‘darkness took me, …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Four Gospels,... Four Portraits
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Four Gospels,... Four Portraits
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Four Gospels,… Four portraits Deep in the heart of the Kent countryside, perched on the side of a gentle hill sloping from the Downs to the flat plain of the Kentish Weald, is a large country house. Chartwell, as it is known, was the country home of Sir Winston Churchill from 192…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What are the gospels?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What are the gospels?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
What are the Gospels? Genre First, we need to ascertain what kind of creature we are about to encounter. If we were to treat a cartoon featuring Churchill as though it were a photograph, we would soon make mistakes in its interpretation. Similarly, one does not listen to a fairy …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Preface and Acknowledgements from the First Edition
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Preface and Acknowledgements from the First Edition
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Preface and Acknowledgements from the First Edition ‘I think you should read the gospels,’ my spiritual adviser pronounced, gazing into the roaring log fire as he swirled the golden liquid around his glass. It was a cold Christmas, and we were on retreat at Launde Abbey in the de…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Preface to the Revised Edition
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Preface to the Revised Edition
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Preface to the Revised Edition I am constantly amazed and humbled by the impact which this little book seems to have had over the last ten years since it was first published. It has been reprinted a number of times on both sides of the Atlantic and sells all around the world. The…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Preface to the SPCK Classics Edition
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Preface to the SPCK Classics Edition
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Preface to the SPCK Classics Edition It is hard to believe, looking back over more than twenty years, how the idea for this account of the four gospels’ portraits of Jesus first came to me and how the chapters almost seemed to write themselves…
Online Mission and Ministry - Building an online community
Online Mission and Ministry - Building an online community
by SPCK - Pam Smith
Building an online community Even if your vision is for a project run solely by yourself, it is worth thinking about community. The online world is full of abandoned Christian sites, sadly forsaken and clogged up with adverts and spam posts which say nothing about the Christian m…
Online Mission and Ministry - Looking after yourself and your team
Online Mission and Ministry - Looking after yourself and your team
by SPCK - Pam Smith
Looking after yourself and your team Why is it that so many movements and organisations spring up within the Church and within society form a noble and generous purpose, attract intelligent and conscientious people, flourish briefly, then become so preoccupied with questions of i…
Online Mission and Ministry - Appendix 1
Online Mission and Ministry - Appendix 1
by SPCK - Pam Smith
Appendix 1 Example of a worship and prayer service for a chat room Notes for leaders If you are able to copy and paste the words into the chat room, the service will flow much more smoothly. If you are cutting and pasting, leave time for people to read each line before posting ag…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From Jerome to the Book of Kells
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From Jerome to the Book of Kells
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
From Jerome to the Book of Kells The illuminated gospels Jerome’s translation quickly became the ‘Vulgate’, which means ‘Common’ version. The canonical order of Matthew– Mark–Luke–John applied to Ezekiel’s sequence was fairly standard and the four symbols can be found in frescoes…
Transforming Preaching - Involving the congregation
Transforming Preaching - Involving the congregation
by SPCK - David Heywood
4 Involving the congregation Interactive preaching Tim Stratford tells of the time he preached to a new congregation for the first time. To help give him confidence, he had chosen an existing sermon which had gone well on a previous occasion. But in the new church it met only gla…
Transforming Preaching - The varieties of structure