Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Question about John
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Question about John
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Question about John Matthew 21.23-32 When the police finally caught up with the man, they took him off to a police station and sat him down. They let him get his breath back, and then the questions began. ‘What were you doing in that street at that time of night? What right d…
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David (We are used to hearing funeral tributes. This is an imagined one from the past.) He was a good king! Not necessarily a perfect man, but he was a good king. He tried to be wise in his judgements and to be fair to everyone. He believed in w…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Workers in the Vineyard
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Workers in the Vineyard
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Workers in the Vineyard Matthew 20.1-16 One of the great inventions of modern Western society is the trade union. For far too long those with money, land and privilege shamelessly exploited those who had none. When, after a long struggle, workers with no power except their ow…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of the Weeds
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of the Weeds
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Weeds Matthew 13.24-35 Why doesn’t God do something?’ That is perhaps the most frequent question that people ask Christian leaders and teachers – and those of some other faiths, too. Tragedies happen. Horrific accidents devastate lives and families. Tyrants and…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Other Parables
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Other Parables
by
Other Parables Matthew 13.44-53 I went last week to the final concert in a great music festival. The hall (a cathedral, actually) was packed to overflowing. It was a fine summer evening, and everyone had come determined to enjoy themselves. The two main pieces of music that were …
Vessels
Vessels
by Julie M Fairweather
Vessels And then when we are finally silent before You when we are stripped of our selves of our expectations - of others expectations Only then can Your grace flow into our empty vessels and we become what You intended for Your purpose - Your plan Continues... © Julie M. Fairwea…
Meditation: … but to serve
Meditation: … but to serve
by Marjorie Dobson
Meditation: … but to serve In a world where service to others is either taken for granted, or considered to be reserved for those who cannot make a success of their lives, how do we reverse this attitude, as Jesus said we should? In a world where wealth brings power and celebrity…
Poem: Morning light
Poem: Morning light
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Morning light Below, swirled a bank of pure white cloud. Above, the sun spilled brilliance of golden light. The balcony suspended in space, rooted to earth by the walls of the building was the only reality. The world had disappeared and the glory of the heavens shone around…
The Lord and His Prayer - Forgive Us Our Trespasses
The Lord and His Prayer - Forgive Us Our Trespasses
by SPCK - N T Wright
Forgive Us Our Trespasses CHAPTER FOUR One of the most vivid images in the whole New Testament is that of a man running. These days, people of all sorts run to keep fit. Even presidents and politicians have been known to don jogging suits, and even to be photographed taking exerc…
The Lord and His Prayer - Give Us This Day
The Lord and His Prayer - Give Us This Day
by SPCK - N T Wright
Give Us This Day CHAPTER THREE The danger with the prayer for bread is that we get there too soon. We come to prayer, aware of urgent needs, or at least wants. It’s tempting to race through the Lord’s Prayer, as far as ‘on earth as it is in heaven’, so that we can then take a dee…
The Lord and His Prayer - Deliver Us From Evil
The Lord and His Prayer - Deliver Us From Evil
by SPCK - N T Wright
Deliver Us From Evil CHAPTER FIVE The previous chapter focussed on the Running Father, as we looked at the prayer for forgiveness. This time, as we come to the prayer for Deliverance from Evil, the dominant image offered to us is that of the Waiting Mother. ‘The hopes and fears o…
The Lord and His Prayer - The Power and the Glory
The Lord and His Prayer - The Power and the Glory
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Power and the Glory CHAPTER SIX ‘In those days,’ says Luke, ‘there went out a decree from the Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.’ These words have become so well known, through constant repetition in carol services, that we may perhaps be forgiven for n…
The Lord and His Prayer - Thy Kingdom Come
The Lord and His Prayer - Thy Kingdom Come
by SPCK - N T Wright
Thy Kingdom Come CHAPTER TWO What are we praying for when we pray for God’s kingdom to come? The second main petition in the Lord’s Prayer – ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – rules out any idea that the kingdom of God is a purely heavenly (that is, ‘otherworldly’) reality. Thy kingdom come, w…
Festivals Together - Parade with passion
Festivals Together - Parade with passion
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Parade with passion Palm Sunday The Palm Sunday procession marks the beginning of the greatest week in the church calendar, the week when we engage again with the story of Jesus’ journey to the cross and beyond. The story is so powerful and contains so many core images and motifs…
Festivals Together - Food, feet and feelings