Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Test
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Test
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Test Genesis 21: 33- 22: 2 I am writing at the beginning of Lent, and I have been thinking about the story of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, when he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Every time I get to the end of that sentence, I hav…
Job for Everyone - The Way I Have Walked (II)
Job for Everyone - The Way I Have Walked (II)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way I Have Walked (II) Job 31 13-23 On Sunday we had a meeting to discuss our church’s ministry to homeless people; many live in our area, and we are next door to a community center. They know that Sunday morning is an obvious time to drop by to see if we have food, and we tr…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response Psalm 78: 1-37 Yesterday in church the Old Testament reading was the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, and we followed that reading with some congregational discussion of which of these commands seem most import…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Ultimate Sacrifice
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Ultimate Sacrifice
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Ultimate Sacrifice 2 Kings 3:4-27 The writer of a letter in today’s newspaper, in the aftermath of the U.S. president’s firing of his top commander in Afghanistan, asks whether “we must continue to sacrifice our brave men and women” there. By the time you read this, we will p…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Universal and the Local
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Universal and the Local
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Universal and the Local JOSHUA 22:1- 34 Like a number of denominations, the Anglican/Episcopal church to which I belong is in a mess because different parts of the world and different groups in the same parts of the world hold conflicting views about the real nature of Christ…
Job for Everyone - The Way We Are
Job for Everyone - The Way We Are
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way We Are Job 30 1-31 Today a woman came to see me and wept. Her husband left her after ten years of marriage, leaving her with two small children to look after. On her account, his leaving came right out of the blue; there was no clue that he was unhappy in the marriage. Bu…
Job for Everyone - THe Way I Have Walked (III)
Job for Everyone - THe Way I Have Walked (III)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way I Have Walked (III) Job 31 24-40 A year or two ago, a friend of mine lost his wife after she had been ill for a while, and to my horror I was aware of feeling something like satisfaction at this event because my wife had recently died after being ill for many years. Someh…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder Genesis 47:27-48:22 I have known more than one grandfather who made a nuisance of himself by whipping out a folder of photographs of his grandchildren at the slightest provocation, to inflict them on other people. I understand the intensity of…
Job for Everyone - The Way We Were and the Way I Thought We Would Be
Job for Everyone - The Way We Were and the Way I Thought We Would Be
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way We Were and the Way I Thought We Would Be Job 29: 1-25 They say that if your spouse dies after a time of illness and/or gradual decline, initially your memories are dominated by the nature of those last months, but that eventually older memories come to reassert themselve…
Psalms for Everyone - The Wretched of the Earth
Psalms for Everyone - The Wretched of the Earth
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Wretched of the Earth Psalm 9: 19- 10: 18 My stepdaughter and her husband spend their lives seeking to make known the plight of Darfuri refugees in Chad; they make dangerous visits there from time to time. They tell horrifying stories about the way the Sudanese government tre…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Then He Died
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Then He Died
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Then He Died Genesis 5: 1-20 Three years ago, a friend of ours died. When he was about thirty, he developed a brain tumor. He had surgery and recovered, he fell in love, and I preached at his wedding. Then, within weeks the tumor reappeared. He died before he and his bride finish…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - There are Times When You Have to Choose
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - There are Times When You Have to Choose
by SPCK - John Goldingay
There Are Times When You Have to Choose 1 Kings 18:19-46 The soccer World Cup is about to start in South Africa, and I have just had a letter about it from a friend in Lebanon. Lebanon doesn’t have a team playing in the World Cup, so people in that country choose a foreign team t…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - They All Did What was Right in Their Own Eyes
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - They All Did What was Right in Their Own Eyes
by SPCK - John Goldingay
They All Did What Was Right in Their Own Eyes JUDGES 17:1-13 I am an Episcopalian/Anglican priest, but I don’t really believe in priesthood. One of the first things God pointed out at Sinai was that the whole people of God is a priesthood (see Exodus 19), and the New Testament re…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - To Be a Blessing
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - To Be a Blessing
by SPCK - John Goldingay
To Be a Blessing Genesis 12: 2b When my grandmother died, she left her legacy to be divided among her grandchildren. Her legacy was about two hundred pounds (about three hundred dollars), and we got about twenty pounds each. I bought two prints with it: one sits behind me as I wr…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Three Strong Women and Three Feeble Men (I)
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Three Strong Women and Three Feeble Men (I)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Three Strong Woman and Three Feeble Men(I) JUDGES 4:1- 24 Men can have mixed feelings about strong women, though for me strong women are not as worrying as strong men. Before my wife became disabled, she was quite capable of standing up to me; in my head I can still hear her sayi…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Three Strong Women and Three Feeble Men (II)
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Three Strong Women and Three Feeble Men (II)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Three Strong Woman and Three Feeble Men(II) JUDGES 5:1- 31a The other Sunday we sang the hymn “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing,” whose second verse begins, “Here I raise my Ebenezer.” I asked if anyone knew what this referred to, and hardly anyone did. (The answer is in 1 Samue…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - This Is It!
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - This Is It!
by SPCK - John Goldingay
This Is It! Genesis 2: 21-25 I once took part in a workshop where students produced dramatic, modern versions of stories in Genesis. The one I most remember was a retelling of Genesis 1 by Julia Bolden. There were a number of neat aspects to the story. It is set in a house instea…
Psalms for Everyone - Throwing Things onto God