Praying for Jerusalem, Praying for Grace
Praying for Jerusalem, Praying for Grace
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Praying for Jerusalem, Praying for Grace Psalm 122-123 When people would ask me what I expected to miss about leaving England to move to the United States, I would say that one of the main things was proximity to Israel. From London I could get there in four hours or so, and I us…
Recognising Jesus
Recognising Jesus
by Paul Glass
A meditation how we recognise Jesus in our lives Luke 24. 13-35 ‘Recognizing Jesus.’ So how do you recognize Jesus? Is it something in his walk, his voice, the way he holds himself? Is it the things he says? The things he doesn’t say? I mean that’s what we’re meant to do as Chris…
Easter morning voices
Easter morning voices
by Sally Spencer
The story of the resurrection from Matthew 28 as told by a Soldier, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea and a disciple. Easter morning voices The soldier: Do you know, the only thing we were really worried about was ourselves. I’m ashamed when I look back. The governor, that Pila…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Deal with Being Swindled
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Deal with Being Swindled
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Deal with Being Swindled Psalm 109 This weekend we plan to go to a new movie about some of the victims of the financial meltdown in the first decade of this century. They are the staff of a high-end condo block who discover that the occupant of the penthouse has been engag…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - A Question of Power
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - A Question of Power
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Question of Power Psalm 110 My wife keeps going on about power. I don’t take it personally. Actually, it works in my favor, because her fixation lies with the way contemporary Western thinking is preoccupied by questions about who has power and about how power features in the r…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - What to Do When God’s Promises Fail
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - What to Do When God’s Promises Fail
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What to Do When God’s Promises Fail Psalm 108 I was talking the other day with a friend who has been an associate pastor in a flourishing Pentecostal church for a year. He did not have a Pentecostal background, but this fact had not seemed to matter, because nothing very Pentecos…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Yes, Yahweh Has Begun to Reign
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Yes, Yahweh Has Begun to Reign
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Yes, Yahweh Has Begun to Reign Psalm 96 Today’s news includes a report about forces in Yemen firing on people protesting the government and killing some of them. In Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan soldiers have faced sharply increased attacks by insurgents from their base in Pakista…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Will You Just Shut Up and Listen?
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Will You Just Shut Up and Listen?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Will You Just Shut Up and Listen? Psalm 95 One of the most formative experiences of my life was being a chorister in the choir at the cathedral in my home city in England. I learned to sing and to read and write music, and I wouldn’t have become a music freak except for that expe…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Real King of Kings
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Real King of Kings
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Real King of Kings Psalm 97-98 According to news reports, Muammar el-Qaddafi, who had ruled Libya for over forty years, once declared, “I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims, and my international status …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound Psalm 99-100 Yesterday I received what initially seemed a puzzling invitation to a weekly, early-morning prayer meeting, described as “sacred space for a variety of prayer traditions.” It seemed puzzling because I always thought of s…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - I Have Hope for Zion, but Is There Hope for Me?
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - I Have Hope for Zion, but Is There Hope for Me?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I Have Hope for Zion, but Is There Hope for Me? Psalm 102 Every morning when we wake up, my wife prays our morning prayers, and almost invariably she thanks God for another wonderful day. An hour later, I sit at my desk thinking about that day’s passage for The Old Testament for …
Imagining the Lectionary: The sacrificial shape of Good Friday
Imagining the Lectionary: The sacrificial shape of Good Friday
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday Reflection Accompanying images: “Trimmed for the future”, “Helen Huntington Jennings Christ Crucified”, “Crown of Thorns Coventry Cathedral” and “Christ Crucified in Coventry Cathedral” Recovering from depression is p…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Leadership Challenge
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Leadership Challenge
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Leadership Challenge Psalm 101 The news yesterday reported that a recent poll indicates that people’s distrust of government in the United States is at its highest level ever, and that people have a deep sense of economic anxiety and doubt about the future. The apparent air o…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - One Way to Evade Compassion Fatigue
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - One Way to Evade Compassion Fatigue
by SPCK - John Goldingay
One Way to Evade Compassion Fatigue Psalm 79 The expression “compassion fatigue” has been around for a while. The nature of modern communications media means that we become instantly aware of suffering in different parts of the world, but we cannot deal with all that suffering or…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Bring Back! Come Back!
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Bring Back! Come Back!
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Bring Back! Come Back! Psalm 80 It’s nearly three hundred years since the First Great Awakening, a revival of religious life in Britain and even more in the British colonies in America a few decades before the War of Independence. This First Great Awakening was mostly a movement …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On the Relationship between Worship and Sermon
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On the Relationship between Worship and Sermon
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On the Relationship between Worship and Sermon Psalm 81 We went to the first regular seminary chapel service of the quarter yesterday, and there was lots of resounding singing, (tuneful) shouting, and melodious guitar and piano (equivalent to the harp?). There were no horns this …
Times and Seasons - Resurrection God
Times and Seasons - Resurrection God
by Jan Berry
A communion prayer for Easter Prayer of Thanksgiving Resurrection God, meeting us in our questioning, our searching for what is real, our clinging to what we know, meet with us now in bread and wine. We give you thanks for this bread, broken and shared in the brokenness of our gr…
Times and Seasons - The place of resurrection