Hebrews for Everyone - The Sacrifice of the Messiah
Hebrews for Everyone - The Sacrifice of the Messiah
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Sacrifice of the Messiah Hebrews 9.11-14 The first time we moved house we could hardly believe our luck. We went from a basement flat to a house above ground. The flat had been damp, even to the point of growing fungus on the walls; the house was warm and snug. We had had no …
Hebrews for Everyone - The Messiah's Work in the Heavenly Sanctuary
Hebrews for Everyone - The Messiah's Work in the Heavenly Sanctuary
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Messiah’s Work in the Heavenly Sanctuary Hebrews 9.23-28 ‘It was such a great day,’ she said. ‘I’d really like to do it all over again!’ We were looking at the photographs two weeks after the wedding. All their friends and relatives had been there. The sun had shone. The musi…
Hebrews for Everyone - Warning of Judgement
Hebrews for Everyone - Warning of Judgement
by SPCK - N T Wright
Warning of Judgment Hebrews 10.26-31 It was said of the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula, who went mad and did all sorts of bizarre things, that he took to inventing new laws, and having them carved in small letters on tablets and then placed high up on walls, too high for people to …
Luke for Everyone - The Magnificat: Mary's Song of Praise
Luke for Everyone - The Magnificat: Mary's Song of Praise
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise Luke 1.39-56 What would make you celebrate wildly, without inhibition? Perhaps it would be the news that someone close to you who’d been very sick was getting better and would soon be home. Perhaps it would be the news that your country had e…
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold :Conclusions
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold :Conclusions
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL (ii) The Continuous Story (e) The Story Retold: Conclusions This brief summary of multiple retellings of Israel’s story as a whole or in par…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Magi Visit Jesus Matthew 2.1-12 I was convinced it was a helicopter. It was a dark night, and a bright light was shining just above the nearby town. Surely, I thought, the police must be out looking for a criminal; or perhaps there had been an accident. We had just come from …
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Samaria, the Spirit and Simon Magus
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Samaria, the Spirit and Simon Magus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Samaria, the Spirit and Simon Magus Acts 8.4-25 As a bishop, one of the things I do quite a lot is to go round laying hands on people and praying for God’s holy spirit to come upon them. It is often a very moving and exciting time, not least at the Easter Vigil when we come in da…
Luke for Everyone - John the Baptist Confronts the Crowds
Luke for Everyone - John the Baptist Confronts the Crowds
by SPCK - N T Wright
John the Baptist Confronts the Crowds Luke 3.10-20 A cartoon shows a sceptic shouting up to the heavens, ‘God! If you’re up there, tell us what we should do!’ Back comes a voice: ‘Feed the hungry, house the homeless, establish justice.’ The sceptic looks alarmed. ‘Just testing,’ …
Luke for Everyone - Opposition to Jesus in Nazareth
Luke for Everyone - Opposition to Jesus in Nazareth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opposition to Jesus in Nazareth Luke 4.14-30 The commentators were ecstatic after the game. ‘He played like a man inspired,’ they said. What images does that conjure up for you? A sports star, perhaps, running rings round the opposition and scoring a brilliant goal. Or, from a di…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Love: The Bridge to God's Future
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Love: The Bridge to God's Future
by SPCK - N T Wright
Love: The Bridge to God’s Future 1 Corinthians 13.8-13 When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a young man, living with his father Leopold (himself a fine musician) in Vienna, he is said to have played a trick on him from time to time. Young Wolfgang would come home from spending a riot…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Adultery and Oaths
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Adultery and Oaths
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Adultery and Oaths Matthew 5.27-37 As I was getting ready to write this section, an email arrived from an old friend in another country. His church, he said, was facing a question that troubles a great many churches in our day. What did Jesus really mean in his teaching about …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Murder and Reconciliation
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Murder and Reconciliation
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Murder and Reconciliation Matthew 5.21-26 It happened again the other day. It is sadly common. A leading politician makes a gesture of contempt towards the opposition. Someone on the other side reacts angrily. Soon dozens of people are on their feet, shouting. Insults fly to a…
The Holy Scriptures
The Holy Scriptures
by Norman J Goreham (1931-2021)
A prayer for enlightenment as we read the Scriptures, this could appropriately be sung as a Gradual hymn before the reading of the Gospel in the Liturgy. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES John 16:15, Luke 24:32 1 Come, Holy Spirit, open sightless eyes and in the truth of Jesus make us wise. 2 …
Responsive Prayer: We cannot comprehend
Responsive Prayer: We cannot comprehend
by Andrew Pratt
Responsive Prayer: We cannot comprehend based on Psalm 147 We cannot comprehend the height and depth, the brightness and beauty of the stars above our heads, so in awe we praise you O God. You rebuild broken cities and gather together the outcasts, bringing peace we dare not imag…
Times and Seasons - So easy now to judge – original sin?
Times and Seasons - So easy now to judge – original sin?
by Andrew Pratt
So easy now to judge – original sin? So easy now to judge: that one was right, another wrong. But we were never there in the narrow trench or corridor of power. We never heard the thunder’s fire, nor found ourselves strung up upon the wire. We never had to make that bleak decisio…
The Accused
The Accused
by Andrew Pratt
Meditation/monologue/drama: The Accused Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Romans 8: 1-11 'The accused'! It felt strange standing there and hearing those words. They were talking about me. Fair enough I suppose, but we never like to hear the truth about ourselves do we? 'The accused'!…
There we were, off up a mountain again