Prodigals
Prodigals
by Chris Goan
Prodigals, coming home - A liturgy for one voice with congregational response. Our fathering arises from human brokenness And so is easily broken We are your prodigals, coming home Our fathering arises in a place where we struggle for power and control And so it can become oppres…
Worship Together - Bodies, places and spaces
Worship Together - Bodies, places and spaces
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Bodies, places and spaces Creating all-age worship: the key components Part 1: Worship Together Churches are amazing spaces. Whether a whitewashed medieval stone building or a 1990s brick-built hall, these spaces are often the largest that we engage with during our week. If we go…
Worship Together - Skeletons and Shapes
Worship Together - Skeletons and Shapes
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Skeletons and Shapes Creating all-age worship: the key components Part 1: Worship Together When my niece was about 4 years old I took her with me to a mid-week Book of Common Prayer Eucharist in the market-town Anglican church near where she lived. She was at the age when doing a…
Reflection: The Fear of the Lord
Reflection: The Fear of the Lord
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: The Fear of the Lord ‘The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord?’ Doesn’t sound to me like the foundation for a good relationship. Unless you’re getting ‘wised up’ to the fact that the Boss is in charge and you’d better behave yourself, or else! But that won’t make …
Luke for Everyone - Glossary
Luke for Everyone - Glossary
by SPCK - N T Wright
GLOSSARY Luke for Everyone accuser, see the satan age to come, see present age apostle, disciple, the Twelve ‘Apostle’ means ‘one who is sent’. It could be used of an ambassador or official delegate. In the New Testament it is sometimes used specifically of Jesus’ inner circle of…
Luke for Everyone - On The Road to Emmaus
Luke for Everyone - On The Road to Emmaus
by SPCK - N T Wright
On The Road to Emmaus Luke 24.13-27 If the story of the prodigal son has a claim to be the finest story Jesus ever told, the tale of the two on the road to Emmaus must have an equal claim to be the finest scene Luke ever sketched. It’s a shame to break it in half, as we’ve done (…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Introduction
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
INTRODUCTION Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spiri…
Imagining the Lectionary: Living God's liberating vision - faith takes you higher, love takes you deeper, discipleship takes you into the heart of life (Proper 12B)
Imagining the Lectionary: Living God's liberating vision - faith takes you higher, love takes you deeper, discipleship takes you into the heart of life (Proper 12B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Living God's liberating vision - faith takes you higher, love takes you deeper, discipleship takes you into the heart of life (Proper 12B) Reflection accompanying images: “York Wheel 1, York Wheel 2 text, York Wheel 3, York Wheel 4” The Wheel of York tak…
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Fig Tree
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Fig Tree
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Fig Tree Luke 13.1-9 If the New Testament had never been written, we would still know that Pontius Pilate was an unpleasant and unpopular Governor of Judaea. The Jewish historian Josephus lists several things he did which upset and irritated the local Jewish po…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Burial of Jesus
John for Everyone part 2 - The Burial of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Burial of Jesus John 19.38-42 The camel was called Michael. He stood, with his owner, outside the walls of Jerusalem. Our day’s tour was over, and one member of the party at least was keen to do something different. I went with her to speak to the camel’s owner, one of the ma…
John for Everyone part 2 - Obeying and Loving
John for Everyone part 2 - Obeying and Loving
by SPCK - N T Wright
Obeying and Loving John 15.9-17 John for Everyone Part 2 Like an innocent child wandering by itself into a kitchen and pressing the switches that will set the house on fire, some biblical texts have been taken out of their original setting and used in ways that would have horrifi…
In Christ we have an inheritance
In Christ we have an inheritance
by Marjorie Dobson
All-age, children’s section: In Christ we have an inheritance Beg, borrow, or use a Russian doll – those rounded wooden shaped ones that look like one doll, but have several decreasing sizes of similar dolls inside. The one I used had five, the smallest being about 1½/2 inches hi…
Poem: Dance of death
Poem: Dance of death
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Dance of death A swish of silken skirt and swaying body; bright unbound hair and darkened dazzling eyes; bejewelled dress revealing, then concealing; devices all designed to mesmerize. The music slowed, the dance grew yet more sensual, the guests were captivated by the sigh…
Meditation/Poem: It isn’t always easy
Meditation/Poem: It isn’t always easy
by Marjorie Dobson
Meditation/Poem: It isn’t always easy It isn’t always easy to wait quietly and patiently for God to work and to bring hope back into our lives. We are impatient by nature. We want to get things done quickly and resolve problems as soon as possible. We say, let trouble take its co…
Prayer: Everything and nothing
Prayer: Everything and nothing
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Everything and nothing Most people would not understand the truth of having nothing, yet possessing everything. Yet, time and again, that truth is demonstrated by people who seem to have lost everything, other than hope and faith and love. Loving God, please help us to ke…
Prayer: Storms of life
Prayer: Storms of life
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Storms of life When the winds of change drive us in directions that are alien to us: God, keep us on a steady course towards the goal you have set for us. When our lives are rocked by circumstances beyond out control: God, keep us from sinking beyond our depth. When storm…
Poem/reflection: What happened to wisdom?