Prayer: How can we not sing your praise
Prayer: How can we not sing your praise
by John Birch
Prayers of Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving by John Birch ADORATION How can we not sing your praise? with heart and soul,? proclaim your name? throughout the world? God of creation, awesome in power, Sustainer, Provider, Saviour,?Father of all. Continues... CONFESSION By yo…
Prayer: You are our fortress
Prayer: You are our fortress
by John Birch
Prayers of Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving by John Birch ADORATION You are our fortress Our defender Protector from the storm The one in whom we take refuge. You are our foundation Our solid rock Continues... CONFESSION When faith is tested to the limit and we stumble forg…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Preface
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Preface
by SPCK - N T Wright
Preface This book brings together my reflections based on the weekly biblical readings in the official lectionary now in use in the Church of England. The pieces first appeared in the Church Times; the encouraging response to them suggests that they should be made available in a …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Glossary
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - 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 …
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Introduction
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - 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…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Introduction
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - 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…
Imagining the Lectionary: Hall of Mirrors (Proper 22B/Ordinary 27B)
Imagining the Lectionary: Hall of Mirrors (Proper 22B/Ordinary 27B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Hall of Mirrors (Proper 22B/Ordinary 27B) (Reflection accompanying image “Hall of Mirrors”) "He is the reflection of God’s glory and the exact imprint of God’s very being" (Hebrews 1:3) Entering into the visionary world of the gospel as lived out by Jesu…
Hebrews for Everyone - Looking to Jesus
Hebrews for Everyone - Looking to Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Looking to Jesus Hebrews 12.1-3 I went to a school that prided itself on its outdoor pursuits. Set high in the Yorkshire Dales in north-west England, it celebrated its location in several ways, the annual climax being a ten-mile cross-country race over steep, difficult ground. Of…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Messiah and His Brothers and Sisters
Hebrews for Everyone - The Messiah and His Brothers and Sisters
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Messiah and His Brothers and Sisters HEBREWS 2.10-18 Some while ago there was a movie by the name of A River Runs through It. It told the story of two brothers growing up in the beautiful Montana countryside. The older one was quiet, studious, hard-working; he got a good job …
Imagining the Lectionary: Child-like trust is the key to the Kingdom (Proper 22B/Ordinary 27B)
Imagining the Lectionary: Child-like trust is the key to the Kingdom (Proper 22B/Ordinary 27B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Child-like trust is the key to the Kingdom (Proper 22B/Ordinary 27B) Reflection accompanying images: “Receive the kingdom of God like a child” “Trust like a child’s” “You will not be overcome” If Methodism sings its theology, Catholicism carves it. Tucke…
Festivals Together - Past, present and future
Festivals Together - Past, present and future
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Past, present and future Remembrance Sunday Remembrance Sunday is often one of the few occasions in the church year where those gathered are truly of all ages. There will be men and women in their eighties and nineties and there will be young children from Brownies and Beavers, w…
Festivals Together - No time like the present
Festivals Together - No time like the present
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
No Time like the present Christmas Day Some churches have a strong tradition of family attendance on Christmas Day, while others seem to have a small gathering of regulars. There may also be visitors present, some familiar with church, others not. Whatever group are present, the …
Festivals Together - The first time ever
Festivals Together - The first time ever
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
The first time ever Easter Sunday Easter Sunday should be the most joyful event in the church year. Our churches are at their best on Easter Sunday, with glorious flowers and, where used, wonderful vestments. In the past churchgoers would wear their best – hence the tradition of …
Festivals Together - Fire, wind and adventure
Festivals Together - Fire, wind and adventure
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Fire, wind and adventure Pentecost Pentecost is a much less well-known festival, both in our culture and even in the church calendar, yet it is not just theologically significant but also rich in some of our more well-known symbols. The energy and excitement that emanate from the…
Festivals Together - Holding the baby
Festivals Together - Holding the baby
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Holding the baby Father’s Day Festivals Together Unlike Mothering Sunday, Father’s Day holds no place in the church calendar. Yet over the past fifty years it has grown massively in importance within UK culture. Children will prepare for it with the same enthusiasm as they employ…
Festivals Together - Feast with friends, sing with saints
Festivals Together - Feast with friends, sing with saints
by
Feast with friends, sing with saints All Saints’ Day (1 November) All Saints’ Day falls on 1 November, and is largely irrelevant to our contemporary culture. It happens to be the day after 31 October, or Hallowe’en, now a massive event for children and families. It is also the da…
Festivals Together - Too much, too bad
Festivals Together - Too much, too bad
by SPCK - Sandra Millar
Too much, too bad Harvest Harvest is unusual among the various festivals of the church and community year, in that it is elective – that means you get to choose when to hold the event. A church can choose the date, the time, the place and the content. There are no fixed readings,…
Festivals Together - Light in the dark