Online Mission and Ministry - Pastoral care and relationships
Online Mission and Ministry - Pastoral care and relationships
by SPCK - Pam Smith
Pastoral care and relationships ‘Pastoral care’ in a Christian context means supporting and caring for people who are undergoing problems and crises such as illness, unemployment, loneliness or bereavement through practical help, listening and friendship. The word ‘pastoral’ rela…
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Water - from sea to sip
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Water - from sea to sip
by BRF - Rona Orme
Amazingly, 70 per cent of the earth's surface is covered by water and around 60 per cent of the human body consists of water. God has provided plenty of water but many of us use far more than our share. Washing machines use much water in action, but also require a lot of water fo…
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Nature provides
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Nature provides
by BRF - Rona Orme
God provides food for all the plants and animals in the world - and enough food for humans, if people remember to share the resources of the earth. By pointing out how things work in nature, Jesus taught that it is important to trust God to provide what is required for each day. …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is BURIED
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is BURIED
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The KING IS BURIED After describing Jesus’ three last sayings and the flow of blood and water from his side, suddenly John inserts a narrative comment with two of his key words both used twice, ‘witness’ and ‘truth’ (19:35). John the Baptist was a ‘witness’ to Jesus at the very s…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The DEATH of the KING
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The DEATH of the KING
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The DEATH of the KING The Romans would usually leave a crucified body hanging on the cross to be picked clean by animals and birds, as a warning to others, like the old gibbets for hanged highwaymen at cross-roads. According to John, it is the Day of Preparation for the Passover,…
Mark The People's bible commentary - Golgotha
Mark The People's bible commentary - Golgotha
by BRF - Dick France
GOLGOTHA Crucifixion was a particularly cruel form of execution reserved normally for slaves and for political insurgents. The Roman writer Cicero called it ‘the most cruel and revolting punishment’ and the Jew Josephus called it ‘the most pitiable of deaths’. A crucified person …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - GOD SO LOVED the WORLD
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - GOD SO LOVED the WORLD
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
GOD SO LOVED the WORLD THINGS As we saw before, this passage can be read either as the end of Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus, or as a separate comment by the evangelist. Who says it, is less important than what it says, for it is one of this gospel’s supreme passages, full of…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Passion of Jesus
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Passion of Jesus
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Passion of Jesus Jesus’ conflict with the Jerusalem authorities escalates. Our labels for these authorities are problematic at best: “Jewish” is anachronistic; “religious” as opposed to “political” is modern and Western. In first-century Jerusalem, the temple authorities, who…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Prelude to the Passion of Jesus
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Prelude to the Passion of Jesus
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Prelude to the Passion of Jesus Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem is marked with a curiously ambiguous story, the so-called triumphal entry. On the way into the city, the people welcome him with honor, although their reference to “the coming kingdom [realm] of our ancestor David” (…
Arthur's Call - Loving and letting go
Arthur's Call - Loving and letting go
by SPCK - Frances Young
6 Loving and letting go At Faith and Light’s twentieth-anniversary celebration in Russia (see Chapter 3) I was asked to meet with parents each day, while their children (many adult) were engaged in activities with friends and helpers. Through an interpreter they kept asking their…
Arthur's Call - Arthur's vocation
Arthur's Call - Arthur's vocation
by SPCK - Frances Young
7 Arthur’s vocation Silent Word A man with a message? Half-focused eyes look up to the sky Through long thin fingers, gently splayed And slowly waved, like flesh-tinged twigs Obliquely catching light from the sun – Not grasping, demanding or easily bored, Just intrigued by finger…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Second Isaiah
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Second Isaiah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) The sixteen chapters that begin with “Comfort, comfort my people” comprise a complex but thematically continuous piece focusing on Jerusalem’s restoration as the Babylonian era ended. The prophet is self-effacing and barely visible, but certain aspect…
Meditation of a grandparent in a war zone