Revelation for Everyone - Final Judgement
Revelation for Everyone - Final Judgement
by SPCK - N T Wright
Final Judgement Revelation 20.7-15 John was not the first to suppose that after God’s great act of rescue and restoration there might be a further challenge, a final fling of the powers of evil against the already-redeemed people of God. In one of his favourite books of scripture…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Michal, Again
The Women's Bible Commentary - Michal, Again
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Michal, Again Finally, when Ishbosheth is ready to make peace with David and to accept David as king over Israel as well as Judah, David refuses to agree until his wife Michal is taken away from the husband Saul had given her to (“annulling” her marriage to David) and returned to…
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Death of David
The Women's Bible Commentary - The Death of David
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Wives a as Symbol of Kingship Whatever justification Absalom might have claimed for killing Amnon, such as Amnon’s rape of Tamar, Absalom’s own royal ambitions are not hurt by having Amnon out of the way. Indeed, as soon as Absalom is admitted back into the royal household follow…
2 Corinthians - The Sign of a True Apostle
2 Corinthians - The Sign of a True Apostle
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Signs of a True Apostle 2 CORINTHIANS 12.11-18 All the time I have been writing this book, great events have been going on around me. A royal death, followed by the lying-in-state, the official mourning, and then the majestic and solemn funeral, have made the whole country pa…
Exodus and Leviticus - Ordination and Disaster
Exodus and Leviticus - Ordination and Disaster
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Ordination and Disaster LEVITICUS : 8- 1: 10: 20 There’s a joke that describes the pastor as six days invisible and one day incomprehensible. My first sermon after I was ordained had five points all beginning with the letter p. They were long or tricky words too—the only one I ca…
John The People's Commentary - Eat my Flesh and Drink my Blood
John The People's Commentary - Eat my Flesh and Drink my Blood
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood The debate between Jesus and the crowd since the miraculous feeding and walking on water has been exploring the text, ‘he gave them bread from heaven to eat’ (6:31). Like a rabbi preaching on the text, Jesus has taken each word or phrase in turn. F…
Mark The People's Commentary - An Abortive "Retreat"
Mark The People's Commentary - An Abortive "Retreat"
by BRF - Dick France
An Abortive “Retreat” This is the only time in Mark’s Gospel that the Twelve are called ‘apostles’. The word means ‘those sent out’, and it describes well the experience they have just shared as Jesus’ emissaries. But having been ‘sent out’, they now return and report back to the…
Psalms for Everyone - From Birth through Youth to MIddle Age and Old Age
Psalms for Everyone - From Birth through Youth to MIddle Age and Old Age
by SPCK - John Goldingay
From Birth through Youth to Middle Age and Old Age Psalm 71 Several people in our church are in their eighties or nineties, and yesterday several things made me think about the lifelong nature of their following Christ. The Gospel passage was Jesus’ story about laborers getting t…
Psalms for Everyone - How to Stand Tall-II
Psalms for Everyone - How to Stand Tall-II
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Stand Tall-II Psalm 54 I found myself thinking and talking about Martin Luther King Jr. again yesterday (see the comment on Psalm 52), the day set for the dedication of his memorial and the anniversary of his “I Have a Dream” speech. It fit neatly with the Scriptures that …
Psalms for Everyone - How to Stand Tall-I
Psalms for Everyone - How to Stand Tall-I
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Stand Tall-I Psalm 52 The dedication of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial was scheduled this weekend in Washington (but a threatened hurricane has caused a delay in this event). Inevitably, perhaps, there’s some difference of opinion about whether it is the right sort of…
Psalms for Everyone - The Marriage Challenge
Psalms for Everyone - The Marriage Challenge
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Marriage Challenge Psalm 45 When you’re young and you get married, you have to get your parents’ approval, but when you’re old and you get married, you have to get your children’s approval. So I was nervous about telling my sons that I was getting married again eighteen month…
Psalms for Everyone - Being Blesses and Being a Blessing
Psalms for Everyone - Being Blesses and Being a Blessing
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Being Blessed and Being a Blessing Psalm 21 Yesterday a young Christian man set off an explosion in Oslo, Norway, to preoccupy security forces, then took a ferry to a nearby small island. Hundreds of young people with political connections or political involvement were at camp th…
Psalms for Everyone - The Judge is on Your Side
Psalms for Everyone - The Judge is on Your Side
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Judge Is on Your Side Psalm 7 If you are an Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn and are accused of some wrongdoing, you can hire an Orthodox private eye who wears a black frock coat and a fedora—though when he goes undercover, he confines himself to a skullcap and fringed prayer shawl t…
Psalms for Everyone - The God Present in Jerusalem Is Also Present in the Wilderness
Psalms for Everyone - The God Present in Jerusalem Is Also Present in the Wilderness
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The God Present in Jerusalem Is Also Present in the Wilderness Psalm 63 When I came to the United States, I didn’t know that Jesus is a common Hispanic name, nor did I know that Jesus is pronounced “Heysus” in Spanish, which reduces the confusion. The difference in pronunciation …
Psalms for Everyone - Remembering Makes All the Difference
Psalms for Everyone - Remembering Makes All the Difference
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Remembering Makes All the Difference Psalm 57 I’ve been thinking about memory. As a result of a comment by a student, I found myself reflecting on the fact that we don’t think much about the link between memory and our life with God—our ethics and our spirituality—though there ar…
Psalms for Everyone - I Will Survive
Psalms for Everyone - I Will Survive
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I Will Survive Psalm 34 Our preacher yesterday told us how two years ago she had married a man who was soon abusing her. So after a short while she had to decide to leave him, though it was enough time for her to be pregnant. Thus she soon found herself divorced, jobless, and a s…
Psalms for Everyone - Self-Knowledge or Self-Deception
Psalms for Everyone - Self-Knowledge or Self-Deception
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Self-Knowledge or Self-Deception Psalm 18: 25-50 I know some Christians who have had affairs, and I have come closer to doing so than I should have done. When Christians talk about their affairs, the story regularly involves an element of denial and/or self-deception. Maybe the p…
Psalms for Everyone - The Lowly Will Inherit the Land