Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Obedience
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Obedience
by SPCK - N T Wright
True Obedience Matthew 7.24-29 There is a long-standing tradition among those who climb mountains in my part of the world. Often the hills, even the low ones, are covered in mist or cloud, and on many tracks and trails there is a good chance of getting lost and missing the way. S…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The New Way of Life
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The New Way of Life
by SPCK - N T Wright
The New Way of Life 1 Peter 3.8-16 Most of us know the feeling of getting into a car we haven’t driven before. You have a look round, see where the switch for the lights is, check the angle of the mirrors, and so on. It may take a moment to figure out, with some of today’s cars, …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of Clean and Unclean
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of Clean and Unclean
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of Clean and Unclean Matthew 15.10-20 One of the best-loved characters in children’s stories is Winnie-the- Pooh. In one escapade of this down-to-earth, loveable toy bear (the creation of the writer A. A. Milne), Pooh attempts to trap an Elephant – or, as he mispronou…
John for Everyone Part 1 - The Official's Son
John for Everyone Part 1 - The Official's Son
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Official’s Son John 4.43-54 Remember the treasure hunt and the clues? (Think back to 2.1–12.) Here is the second clue, the second ‘sign’. But this time there’s something strange about it. There’s a bit of a cloud hanging over the whole story. Something is not quite right, not…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Promise of a New Covenant
Hebrews for Everyone - The Promise of a New Covenant
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Promise of a New Covenant Hebrews 8.7-13 One of my favourite rivers is the Coquet, which rises in the heart of my native part of England, and runs down into the North Sea about fifty miles south of the border with Scotland. It isn’t a long river, even by national standards, l…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel ROMANS 9.1-5 This morning’s newspaper carries a whole page of correspondence about an ugly fact of modern life: anti-Semitism is on the rise again. Jews have been attacked and threatened, vilified and abused in many cities in our supposedly ci…
Mark for Everyone - The Preaching of John the Baptist
Mark for Everyone - The Preaching of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 1.1–8 The Preaching of John the Baptist... ...You are sound asleep and dreaming, when suddenly the door bursts open and a bright light shines full in your face. A voice, breaking in on your dream-world, shouts, ‘Wake up! Get up! You’ll be late!’ And without…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Priests and the Guards
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Priests and the Guards
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Priests and the Guards Matthew 28.11-15 In the world of science, there is a particular form of behaviour that occurs when a long-held belief is under attack. The most famous instance of it was when Copernicus (1473–1543) argued that Earth and the other planets go round the su…
Luke for Everyone - The Preaching of John the Baptist
Luke for Everyone - The Preaching of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Preaching of John the Baptist Luke 3.1-9 Imagine massive floods sweeping through the countryside. Ancient cities suddenly find themselves under several feet of water. People aren’t expecting it, and now can’t quite believe it’s happening. If the authorities have enough warnin…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Purpose of the Blood
Hebrews for Everyone - The Purpose of the Blood
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Purpose of the Blood Hebrews 9.15-22 To some, this passage is one of the most central in scripture; to others, it’s one of the most shocking. After the twentieth century, in which more human blood was spilled through war, torture and miscellaneous violence than in all previou…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Preaching of John the Baptist Matthew 3.1-10 The road, the water, the fire and the axe. Four powerful symbols set the scene for where the story of Jesus really starts. Think first of a police motorcade sweeping through a city street. First there appear motorcycles with flashi…
The Pastoral Letters - The Problems in Crete
The Pastoral Letters - The Problems in Crete
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Problems in Crete Titus 1.10-16 There is a famous puzzle which young philosophers love. Imagine a postcard, blank on both sides except for a single sentence on each. You pick it up and read it. The side you’re looking at says, ‘The statement on the other side of this card is …
John for Everyone part 2 - The Seed Must Die
John for Everyone part 2 - The Seed Must Die
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Seed Must Die John 12.20-26 Every autumn, when I was a boy, we used to collect horse chestnuts. We would watch the trees as the chestnuts started to fall, usually in late September or early October. The prickly, green outer shell would often split; if it didn’t, we would slic…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after Ascension Day) Acts 1.15-17, 21-26 1 John 5.9-13 John 17.6-19 The interesting thing about the choice of Matthias has nothing to do with Matthias himself. Nor is it the striking method of his selection, which if applied today would simpli…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Servant
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Servant
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Servant Matthew 12.15-21 The bishop sat at his desk and put his head in his hands. Another three letters had just arrived complaining at the way in which a particular parish had changed its style of music. The director of finance had just reported that unless people in the di…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Second Sunday of Epiphany Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Second Sunday of Epiphany Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Second Sunday of Epiphany Isaiah 62.1–5 1 Corinthians 12.1–11 John 2.1–11 Nuptial imagery rings through the Bible like a peal of wedding bells. The first two chapters of Genesis reach their climax in the creation of man and woman in God’s image; the last two chapters of Rev…
Revelation bible study guide - The Seven Plagues