Poem: We were ashamed
Poem: We were ashamed
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: We were ashamed We were ashamed. We’d been caught out. We thought he hadn’t heard us. We wouldn’t have been talking about it if we’d known. We were ashamed. Boasting about our own achievements. Scoring points over each other. Even though we knew none of us could better him.…
Poem:True wisdom
Poem:True wisdom
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem:True wisdom Is wisdom found in argument, boasting, or sharp debate, or is it found in selfishness, in envy, or in hate? Does wisdom fire ambition that is ruthless in its drive, or cause a fight or quarrel in the battle to survive? Does wisdom harbour bitterness, or twist the…
Prayer: God of healing power
Prayer: God of healing power
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: God of healing power God of healing power we come to pray for those who have a special need for your care. We pray for those whose brains have been physically damaged, often from birth, and for those who suffer from some form of dementia. We pray for those whose learning …
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus Luke 16.19-31 We have all seen him. He lies on a pile of newspapers outside a shop doorway, covered with a rough blanket. Perhaps he has a dog with him for safety. People walk past him, or even step over him. He occasionally rattles a few c…
Luke for Everyone - The Persistent Widow and the Tax-Collector
Luke for Everyone - The Persistent Widow and the Tax-Collector
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Persistent Widow and the Tax-Collector Luke 18.1-14 Come with me into a court of law, where a civil case is being tried. I haven’t often been in a court, but we see them on the television and in the newspapers, and from time to time legal cases are widely reported and make hi…
Luke for Everyone - Ten Lepers Healed
Luke for Everyone - Ten Lepers Healed
by SPCK - N T Wright
Ten Lepers Healed Luke 17.11-19 What would make you shout for joy at the top of your voice? What would make you fall on the ground – yes, flat on your face! – in front of someone? Two explorers were lost in the South American jungle not long ago. For nine months they wandered abo…
Luke for Everyone - Forgiveness, Faith and Obedience
Luke for Everyone - Forgiveness, Faith and Obedience
by SPCK - N T Wright
Forgiveness, Faith and Obedience Luke 17.1-10 There is a famous story about a man who wrote a book with the title, Humility and How I Achieved It. The title is almost as self-contradictory as, in Jesus’ world, the phrase ‘the good Samaritan’ would have been. One of the paradoxes …
Reflection: One body
Reflection: One body
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: One body Don’t know much about cars – not being a driver. Don’t know much about engines – not being a mechanic. Don’t know how to fill up a petrol tank - not owning a vehicle. Don’t know about tyre treads, or changing wheels – never having dealt with them. Only know a…
Poem: Bread
Poem: Bread
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Bread They’d eaten bread in the desert, just like their ancestors. It had provided food for them in their need, as it had done so many years before. So is that all they wanted? Not entirely. No. History repeated itself. Bread and fishes were not enough to satisfy them., jus…
Luke for Everyone - Jesus Sends Out the Seventy
Luke for Everyone - Jesus Sends Out the Seventy
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy Luke 10.1-16 I had lunch with a friend who told me how, earlier in the year, his teenage son had been taken seriously ill. For weeks he had been going to doctors and specialists, all of whom had been puzzled by his symptoms. Finally he went to a senior…
Reflection/meditation: Two miracles
Reflection/meditation: Two miracles
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection/meditation: Two miracles Is this a contradiction to the temptations? Or is it a confirmation of power for the sake of his disciples? Why would Jesus, having rejected the miraculous turning of stones into bread, now prove just what he could do by feeding five thousand p…
John for Everyone part 2 - Glossary
John for Everyone part 2 - Glossary
by SPCK - N T Wright
GLOSSARY accuser, see the satan age to come, see present age apostle, disciple, the Twelve ‘Apostle’ means ‘one who is sent’. It could be used of an ambassador or official delegate. In the New Testament it is sometimes used specifically of Jesus’ inner circle of twelve; but Paul …
Luke for Everyone - Prologue
Luke for Everyone - Prologue
by SPCK - N T Wright
Prologue Luke 1.1-4 ‘SPACE ALIENS TOOK MY BABY’, screams the headline. Or perhaps ‘GRANDMOTHER SWIMS ATLANTIC’. And what do people say? ‘It must be true; it was in the newspapers.’ ‘I saw it on television.’ ‘The person who told me was told by someone who was there at the time.’ W…
Luke for Everyone - Introduction
Luke for Everyone - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
INTRODUCTION On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spirit had swept through Jesus’ follo…
John for Everyone part 2 - Introduction
John for Everyone part 2 - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
INTRODUCTION John for Everyone Part 2 On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spirit had s…
Poem: Older and wiser
Poem: Older and wiser
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Older and wiser A small child set to say a psalm, standing before proud parents, Sunday-best-dressed scholars, kind, caring teachers and a curious crowd of anniversary onlookers, rolls round the words, ‘Lift up your heads, O ye gates and be ye lifted up, you everlasting doo…
Reflection/Poem: Job