Prayer: Trust beyond imagination
Prayer: Trust beyond imagination
by Andrew Pratt
Prayer: Trust beyond imagination God, parent and guardian, stand by us in our weakness we pray, that when even our imagination can see no way through, a spark of faith is kept alive in our hearts; Kindle it, we pray. At those times when are tempted to challenge and condemn others…
Prayer: God of greatness and glory
Prayer: God of greatness and glory
by Andrew Pratt
God of greatness and glory, God of splendour and surprise, God of cross and manger; God of hope in present danger, Your voice shakes the earth, sounding like thunder, breaking cedars. Your voice is like flames consuming the wilderness. Your nature seems destructive in its power, …
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Choice and the Plan
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Choice and the Plan
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Choice and the Plan Ephesians 1.4-10 Have you noticed how sometimes you have a story in the back of your mind which keeps peeping out even when you’re talking about something else? Imagine you’ve come back from work and the train has been late again. You stood for half an hou…
Reflection/Meditation: 'What are you doing this afternoon?'
Reflection/Meditation: 'What are you doing this afternoon?'
by Andrew Pratt
Reflection/Meditation: 'What are you doing this afternoon?' 'What are you doing this afternoon?' I'd been referred to an ophthalmologist. He thought I might lose my sight. There was a possibility of chronic glaucoma. This was 11 o'clock. By 3 that afternoon I'd had laser treatmen…
Reflection/Dialogue on 1 Corinthians 12:12–31a
Reflection/Dialogue on 1 Corinthians 12:12–31a
by Andrew Pratt
Reflection/Dialogue on 1 Corinthians 12: 12–31a Notes: A reflection on 1 Corinthians 12:12–31a as a conversation between a person and God on the phone or the internet without a video link. First speaker: A committee of one, me, is so much easier to handle don't you think? Well, a…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 11 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 11 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 11 Jeremiah 23: 1-6 Ephesians-2: 11-22 Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56 In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, we get a strong sense of the enormous pressure Jesus and the disciples were under at this point in his ministry. Jesus is at the height of his popularity and although his con…
We three Kings - Meditation
We three Kings - Meditation
by Andrew Pratt
A mediation on the song 'We three kings' we three kings, the magi, wise men, ‘scholars’ Extract: We three kings - A meditation for Epiphany - by Andrew Pratt A small boy stood in a church hall. It was Christmas time. They were going to sing 'Good King Wenceslas'. 'You will be the…
Times and Seasons - We will remember them
Times and Seasons - We will remember them
by Andrew Pratt
We will remember them I saw them coming back down the long and winding road. It was a strange home coming. Few cheered. Trudging by they wheeled round the church. The sandstone clock tower had seen it all before. Time had been marked by the tombstones in the church yard. Continue…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Man Who Has Learned How To Be A Prophet
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Man Who Has Learned How To Be A Prophet
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Man Who Has Learned How to Be a Prophet 2 Samuel 12: 1- 15a A pastor once came to talk to me because he had had an affair. He had actually “got away with it.” He thinks his wife never realized, but he knew he had behaved in a way that was both wrong and stupid, and he knew he…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Bread from Heaven
John for Everyone Part 1 - Bread from Heaven
by SPCK - N T Wright
Bread From Heaven John 6.26-35 The historian was in a hurry to finish his Ph.D. There was one chapter to go, which concerned the painting that had been so important during his period, and the influence the artists had had on the wider thought and culture of the time. He went hast…
John The People's Commentary - The Parting of the Ways
John The People's Commentary - The Parting of the Ways
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The Parting of the Ways John 6: 56-71 JOHN This chapter’s setting has moved from up in the mountains for the feeding, across the storm-tossed lake to a crowd in Capernaum. The last part of this discourse at least has been Jesus’ teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum (6:59). The …
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - What do You Most Want?
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - What do You Most Want?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What do You Most Want? 1 Kings 3:1-15 I used to ask a friend of mine from time to time, “What would you like to do?” The question would usually relate to concerts; I would outline possibilities to her, but she would usually ask me to decide. Just last week she protested that this…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Eating and Drinking the Son of Man
John for Everyone Part 1 - Eating and Drinking the Son of Man
by SPCK - N T Wright
Eating and Drinking the Son of Man John 6.47-59 One of the most moving, and often forgotten, stories about King David concerns the time when he was fighting the Philistines, who had occupied his native town of Bethlehem. Among David’s fiercely loyal fighting men he had three in p…
Reflection: Solomon’s Temple
Reflection: Solomon’s Temple
by
Reflection: Solomon’s Temple A temple filled with a cloud of glory and ready to receive a God who had been faithful to the people and had travelled with them to safety and security. A temple dedicated by a king, knowing his ambition had been achieved to make a permanent place o…
The Things He Carried - 5. The Hopes of God