John for Everyone Part 1 - From Below of from Above
John for Everyone Part 1 - From Below of from Above
by SPCK - N T Wright
From Below or from Above John 8.21-29 ‘The house is on fire! Get up at once!’ She burst into the dormitory where several of the other girls were sleeping. She dashed to the nearest bed and shook the sleeper violently. ‘Come on! There’s no time! You’ll be burnt alive!’ ‘Go back to…
New Testament Wisdom for Everyone - Fruit of the Spirit
New Testament Wisdom for Everyone - Fruit of the Spirit
by SPCK - N T Wright
2 THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SELF FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT Galatians 5: 22-26 The Christmas decorations were spectacular. I went down the street from store to store, and in each window – and indeed in the street itself – there were pretty lights and multi-coloured decorations. Every sh…
Revelation bible study guide - Getting the Most Out of Revelation
Revelation bible study guide - Getting the Most Out of Revelation
by SPCK - N T Wright
Getting the Most Out of Revelation Many people today regard Revelation as the hardest book in the New Testament. It is full of strange, lurid, and sometimes bizarre and violent imagery. You might have thought that in a world of clever movies and DVDs, stuffed full of complex imag…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Gifts and Ministries
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Gifts and Ministries
by SPCK - N T Wright
Gifts and Ministries 1 Corinthians 12.27-31a Bishop Lesslie Newbigin, in his autobiography, Unfinished Agenda, tells how he served as secretary to the committee that was drawing up, during the 1940s, the constitution for the newly united Church of South India. The chairman raised…
Hebrews For Everyone - Getting through to the Sabbath Rest
Hebrews For Everyone - Getting through to the Sabbath Rest
by SPCK - N T Wright
Getting through to the Sabbath Rest Hebrews 4.1-10 I once heard a story about a priest who was fond of riding his horse – too fond, it turned out, because he was always out riding when he should have been working in his parish. So, according to the story, he called his horse ‘Sab…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Gethsemane
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Gethsemane
by SPCK - N T Wright
Gethsemane Matthew 26.36-46 There was once a small girl who had never seen her father anything but cheerful. As long as she could remember, he seemed to have been smiling at her. He had smiled when she was born, the daughter he had longed for. He had smiled as he held her in his …
John for Everyone part 2 - Glory and Blindness
John for Everyone part 2 - Glory and Blindness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Glory and Blindness John 12.37-43 It was seven o’clock in the evening when Susan called the family in. She had worked hard all day to prepare this meal, and she was excited, eyes sparkling, on edge to see what they would say. Delicious smells came from the kitchen. She sat them d…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Giving Up the Rights for the Gospel
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Giving Up the Rights for the Gospel
by SPCK - N T Wright
Giving Up the Rights for the Gospel 1 Corinthians 9.12b-18 A haunting song by Joni Mitchell describes a clarinet player standing by the side of the road in a busy city. He wasn’t like ordinary buskers, playing mediocre music in a bored sort of way and hoping for enough small chan…
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Glorify the Son
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Glorify the Son
by SPCK - N T Wright
PART 2 PRAYERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT PRAYERS OF JESUS GLORIFY THE SON John 17: 1-8 Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is full of action. Ghosts, murders, love scenes, plots, accidental killings, betrayals, recriminations and more plots. The play highlights the indecision of the hero when f…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Get Rid of the "Leaven"!
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Get Rid of the "Leaven"!
by SPCK - N T Wright
Get Rid of the “Leaven”! 1 Corinthians 5.6-13 If you’ve ever been in a Jewish home at Passover-time, you’ll know what Paul is talking about in verses 7 and 8. It’s a tradition that’s been kept for more than three thousand years, ever since the Jewish people came out of Egypt at t…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Hidden Treasure - King James
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Hidden Treasure - King James
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Hidden Treasure – King Jesus! Colossians 2.1-7 In many adventure stories such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous Treasure Island, the plot hinges on the discovery of an ancient chart or map. The people who have found it realize that, if only they could understand and follow…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - God's Strange Wisdom
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - God's Strange Wisdom
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Strange Wisdom 1 Corinthians 2.6-13 When my sister celebrated her 21st birthday, she and I were at university, a long way from home. So a cousin of my father’s, who lived nearby, invited the two of us to dinner to celebrate. He and his wife had no children of their own, and…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - God's Rescue Plan
Acts for Everyone part 1 - God's Rescue Plan
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Rescue Plan Acts 2.37-41 It’s one thing to discover you are driving along the wrong road. It may be frustrating, and even embarrassing if you have people in the car who thought you knew where you were going. But you can at least admit the mistake, turn round and set off aga…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - God's Purpose and Justice
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - God's Purpose and Justice
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Purpose and Justice ROMANS 9.14-24 I was never much good at pottery at school. I enjoyed the feel of the clay, but it never quite did what I wanted it to. I did succeed in making one or two small dishes, including an ashtray (that dates it, because the only person I would h…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - God's Promise and Abraham's faith
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - God's Promise and Abraham's faith
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Promise and Abraham’s Faith Galatians 3.1-9 A famous story tells of the tight-rope walker Charles Blondin (1824–97), who set up a rope across Niagara Falls and walked across several times. So confident did he become that he made the journey backwards as well as forwards, an…
The Pastoral Letters - God's Revealed Plan
The Pastoral Letters - God's Revealed Plan
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Revealed Plan Titus 1.1-4 ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ It’s the standard question children face from well-meaning adults. Often the answers are surprising. A ballet dancer. A gardener. This girl wants to run a bookshop. This boy wants to play the oboe. Sometim…
John for Everyone Part 1 - God's Son Breaks the Sabbath