Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - The Claim of the Jew - and Its Problems
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - The Claim of the Jew - and Its Problems
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Claim of the Jew – and Its Problems ROMANS 2.17-24 In my country, the police struggle hard to maintain their credibility. It used to be quite easy. The police force had a great tradition of community service; they were known and respected. They knew when to be gentle and let …
Mark for Everyone - The Crucifixion
Mark for Everyone - The Crucifixion
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 15.16–32 The Crucifixion... ...Peacekeeping forces, which have become a regular feature of our world, often have to contain themselves in the face of severe local provocation. They can easily build up a backlog of resentment and anger against the people who…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - The Conversion of Saul
Acts for Everyone part 1 - The Conversion of Saul
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Conversion of Saul Acts 9.1-9 When I was young, nobody much in the culture I knew practised yoga. It was regarded as peculiar, a bit too exotic, and probably likely to lead to dislocation of your joints. There was a suspicion, as well, that you might find yourself getting int…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Dangers of Idleness
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Dangers of Idleness
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Dangers of Idleness 2 Thessalonians 3.6-13 The dancers swept on to the stage in perfect formation. It was breathtaking. Even I, who know almost nothing about ballet, found the whole performance enthralling. And part of the beauty of a well-performed ballet is the way in which…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Coming of the Son of Man
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Coming of the Son of Man
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Coming of the Son of Man Matthew 24.29-35 A friend of mine is a composer. (It’s something I would like to have been myself, had things worked out differently, so I take a particular interest in what he does.) I watched one day as he worked on a particular piece he was writing…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Cup He had to Drink
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Cup He had to Drink
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Cup He Had to Drink Matthew 20.17-28 When I was a boy we used to read eagerly about the heroes of old. One of the most famous was King Arthur, a British king from the early sixth century. We had plenty of books that told stories about him, and you can go and see his various c…
Luke for Everyone - The Cost of Discipleship
Luke for Everyone - The Cost of Discipleship
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Cost of Discipleship Luke 14.25-35 Imagine a politician standing on a soap-box addressing a crowd. ‘If you’re going to vote for me,’ he says, ‘you’re voting to lose your homes and families; you’re asking for higher taxes and lower wages; you’re deciding in favour of losing al…
Luke for Everyone - The Coming of The Kingdom
Luke for Everyone - The Coming of The Kingdom
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Coming of the Kingdom Luke 17.20-37 What does the word ‘apocalypse’ conjure up to you? Hollywood fantasies? Stars falling from the sky, volcanoes and earthquakes? People in terror, panicking and rushing this way and that? The Bible has plenty of apocalypses, and sometimes the…
Luke for Everyone - The Crucifixion
Luke for Everyone - The Crucifixion
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Crucifixion Luke 23.27-43 My first day at the lumber camp was probably the hardest. I was issued with thick leather gloves, and sent off to the first shed, where the planks arrived after the huge trees had been sliced up. The boards came out sideways on a huge conveyor belt, …
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Death of God's Son
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Death of God's Son
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Death of God’s Son Matthew 27.45-56 In many Christian bookshops around the world today you can buy posters to hang on the wall which remind you of some aspect of the Christian faith and life. Often they have biblical texts, set against a background of glorious scenery. Someti…
Mark for Everyone - The Death of Jesus
Mark for Everyone - The Death of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 15.33–39 The Death of Jesus... ...There are times when I envy musical composers, and this is one of them. If I were capable of setting this brief but shocking story to music, I know how I would start. Darkness at noon: low chords on the heavy brass, a brood…
Revelation for Everyone - The Day is Coming!
Revelation for Everyone - The Day is Coming!
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Day Is Coming! Revelation 6.9-17 There are three ways of ending a game of chess. The first is that one player or the other simply wins the game. There is no question: this is checkmate, and that’s the end of it. The second is that both players realize the game is unwinnable, …
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Day of the Lord
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Day of the Lord
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Day of the Lord 2 Peter 3.1-10 The late Bishop Stephen Neill spent some time, early in his life, as a missionary teacher in India. Once he suspected that the class he was teaching had been cheating. The boys who were not so good at the subject had been copying from the work o…
Revelation bible study guide - The Day Is Coming
Revelation bible study guide - The Day Is Coming
by SPCK - N T Wright
THE DAY IS COMING Revelation 6 All doctors, and all pastors, know that when someone comes to them with a problem, the problem they talk about may not be the only problem they have. The pain that gets someone into the doctor’s office may well be only a symptom of much deeper ills,…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Death of John the Baptist
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Death of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Death of John the Baptist Matthew 14.1-12 Imagine a movie set in a desert. The plot requires that the hero should travel across barren, dusty country for several days, somehow surviving not only the heat and drought but also the attacks of predators. At the very beginning of …
Luke for Everyone - The Death and Burial of Jesus
Luke for Everyone - The Death and Burial of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Death and Burial of Jesus Luke 23.44-56 It really happened. It wasn’t a mistake. We didn’t get it wrong. It’s true. You can rely on it. This is the main emphasis of Luke’s account of Jesus’ death and burial. He began his book by telling ‘Theophilus’ that he could rely on thes…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Death of Jesus
John for Everyone part 2 - The Death of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Death of Jesus John 19.25-30 A colleague of mine worked in Lebanon during the awful civil war in the second half of the twentieth century. He reported an interesting phenomenon, which helps us to understand what was happening at the foot of the cross. Rival militias were stal…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Feeding of the Five Thousand