Rhythms of remembering - Saturday Midday Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Saturday Midday Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
Midday and Night Prayer for all seasons Saturday Midday Prayer God said: When you call upon me I will answer you. I will be with you in trouble, and I will deliver you. Our Father in heaven, for you love all your creation...
The Living God - God and the darkness of faith
The Living God - God and the darkness of faith
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
An almighty God: power, compassion and suffering 3 God and the darkness of faith When I was young my family took vacations in County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. We loved its beautiful beaches and rugged countryside. However, Atlantic rainstorms, sweeping in from the wes…
The Living God - Creator of heaven and earth
The Living God - Creator of heaven and earth
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 One of my favourite stories from the classical age concerns the Greek philosopher Aristippus (c. 435 –c. 356 bc), who found himself shipwrecked on the Aegean island of Rhodes. He had no idea where he was. Was this strange place uninhabited? Would he …
The Living God - Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation
The Living God - Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation One of my memories of my time as an undergraduate at Wadham College, Oxford, is admiring the portrait of Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) that adorned the panelled walls of the college’s dining hall. I…
The Living God - Getting some help: C.S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers
The Living God - Getting some help: C.S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Getting some help: C. S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers After an initial period as an atheist, Lewis developed a faith in God in 1930 and moved towards a definite Christian commitment late in 1931. As he began to explore his faith he clearly gave some thought to the idea of the Trin…
The Living God - Going deeper into reality: the Trinity and ‘surface faith’
The Living God - Going deeper into reality: the Trinity and ‘surface faith’
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Mystery or muddle? The Trinity 5 Going deeper into reality: the Trinity and ‘surface faith’ Now some will read these words and rightly wish to raise an objection. Their faith is simple; and they like it that way. They trust in God and believe firmly that they’ve been redeemed thr…
The Living God - Forebears of faith: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
The Living God - Forebears of faith: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Which God Are We Talking About? 1 Forebears of faith: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Everyone loves exploring their family history. Sometimes it’s just because we enjoy finding out things about the past. I was fascinated to discover that a relative had been one of the last people to ge…
The Living God - Humanity as the bearer of the image of God
The Living God - Humanity as the bearer of the image of God
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 Humanity as the bearer of the image of God At least three ways of thinking about our identity, role and place in the greater scheme of things are opened up when we consider that we bear ‘the image of God’...
The Living God - God and suffering: understanding and coping
The Living God - God and suffering: understanding and coping
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
An almighty God: power, compassion and suffering 3 God and suffering: understanding and coping Two great questions arise whenever someone is confronted with suffering, whether in their own lives or the lives of those who matter to them. How can I make sense of this? And how can I…
The Living God - God as a person: four insights
The Living God - God as a person: four insights
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
A personal God: love and faithfulness 2 God as a person: four insights Appreciating that God is personal is central to a right understanding of the creeds. Let’s look at four insights that will help us grasp this more fully. First, in speaking of God as a person we’re making it c…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Easter
Journeying With Mark Year B - Easter
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
6 Easter Exploring the text Probably one of the best-known features of Mark’s Gospel is its ending – or, depending on your perspective, its lack of ending. Unlike the other Gospels, the accounts of resurrection in Mark are sparse in the extreme. In Matthew an angel appears to Mar…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Christmas
Journeying With Mark Year B - Christmas
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
2 Christmas Exploring the text Mark’s Gospel provides slim pickings at Christmas time. Unlike the Gospels of Matthew and Luke it provides no run-up to the birth of Jesus and no account of the events surrounding his birth. It does not even, like John’s Gospel, provide a poetic int…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Passion - Holy Week
Journeying With Mark Year B - Passion - Holy Week
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
5 Passion – Holy Week Exploring the text The Revised Common Lectionary’s decision to intersperse Mark’s Gospel with John’s Gospel is nowhere more frustrating than in Holy Week. As we noted in the Introduction, Mark’s Gospel builds from the moment that John the Baptist bursts on t…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Lent
Journeying With Mark Year B - Lent
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
4 Lent Exploring the text During Lent we prepare ourselves for the Passion of Christ, looking forward to that time when Jesus’ suffering and death will bring redemption to the world. In Mark’s Gospel, we discover that we are not the only ones expecting Jesus’ death: Jesus too loo…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Ordinary Time
Journeying With Mark Year B - Ordinary Time
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
7 Ordinary Time Exploring the text The aim of Mark’s Gospel is to introduce us to Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There are many ways in which we can encounter him – for example, through his calling of his followers or in the moments of great revelation at the baptism, transfigurat…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Advent
Journeying With Mark Year B - Advent
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
1 Advent Exploring the text The season of Advent is about waiting, both for the Jesus who came to earth as a baby and for the victorious, risen and ascended Christ who will return to earth as King. One of the challenges of Advent is to keep our vision fixed not only on the more t…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Epiphany
Journeying With Mark Year B - Epiphany
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
3 Epiphany Exploring the text In the season of Epiphany we celebrate the revelation of God in the world, and in particular his revelation to the Magi in Matthew’s Gospel. Yet again this idea seems to run counter to Mark’s Gospel, which appears on the surface to be more concerned …
the greatest prayer - Our Father in Heaven