Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Opening the door of Faith
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Opening the door of Faith
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opening the Door of Faith Acts 14.21-28 I stood at the back of the exhibition, and chatted with the artist. He was a local man, and we were glad to support him. We had even bought one of his paintings, a marvellous study of a bird in flight. ‘What does it feel like,’ I asked, ‘se…
The Pastoral Letters - Opponents of the Truth
The Pastoral Letters - Opponents of the Truth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opponents of the Truth 2Timothy 3.1-9 It was a scrappy end to the game, but perhaps it was inevitable. We were winning by what should have been a safe margin; and with a few minutes to go the opposition seemed to realize that their cause was hopeless. Perhaps for that reason, tho…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - On Timothy
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - On Timothy
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Timothy Philippians 2.19-24 When I taught in the university, one of my annual tasks was to interview candidates for admission the following year. The first time I did this, a young man came for interview who seemed quiet and subdued. He wasn’t very sure of himself, and didn’t …
2 Corinthians - Painful Visit, Painful Letter
2 Corinthians - Painful Visit, Painful Letter
by SPCK - N T Wright
Painful Visit, Painful Letter 2 CORINTHIANS 1.23-2.4 I was trying to hang a picture and just couldn’t get it right. I didn’t calculate the height accurately enough, and when I stood back I realized it had to be about an inch higher up. Then when I tried to move the picture-hook s…
2 Corinthians - Our Boasting Proved True
2 Corinthians - Our Boasting Proved True
by SPCK - N T Wright
Our Boasting Proved True! 2 CORINTHIANS 7.11-16 The first time I stayed with my friends in Germany I explained to them just how beautiful the north of England was. They had never seen it, and they had only heard a little about the hills and woods, the mountains, the ancient castl…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Opposition in Nazareth
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Opposition in Nazareth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opposition in Nazareth Matthew 13.54-58 She came home from school with all the wide-eyed excitement of an eager eight-year-old, clutching the clarinet case to her like a favourite teddy bear. She had had her first music lesson on the new instrument that morning. She couldn’t wait…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Conversion and Call
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Conversion and Call
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Conversion and Call Galatians 1.10-17 John Henry Newman was one of the great figures of nineteenth-century England. A brilliant thinker and writer, a spellbinding preacher and a deeply sensitive soul, he left the Anglican Church and became a Roman Catholic in 1845. After a…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Paul's Perspective
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Paul's Perspective
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Perspective Philemon 1.15-25 ‘I have sometimes been told’, said my friend, ‘that God is an artist, and that we are his paintings.’ ‘Yes,’ I said, ‘and actually I think Paul says something like that, in Ephesians 2.10: “We are his handiwork.”’ ‘Well,’ my friend replied, ‘th…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Distress Over the Galatians
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Distress Over the Galatians
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Distress Over the Galatians Galatians 1.1-9 Imagine you’re in South Africa in the 1970s. Apartheid is at its height. You are embarked on a risky project: to build a community centre where everybody will be equally welcome, no matter what their colour or race. You’ve design…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's First Visit to Peter
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's First Visit to Peter
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s First Visit to Peter Galatians 1.18-24 A few years ago in England a strange advertisement appeared on large billboards. Without explanation, it simply said, ‘IT IS. ARE YOU?’ It was, of course, designed to tease, so that when the answer was revealed a few weeks later every…
2 Corinthians - Paul's Plans and God's "Yes"
2 Corinthians - Paul's Plans and God's "Yes"
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Plan and God’s “Yes” 2 CORINTHIANS 1.15-22 One of my students once arrived very late for a tutorial. I was working on an extremely tight schedule, and I wasn’t amused at having the day disrupted. I thought the student needed to know how far out of line his behaviour was. I…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Fatherly Concern
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Fatherly Concern
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Fatherly Concern Thessalonians 2.9-12 Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Paul’s missionary work is that when he arrived in a new town the people there had quite literally never seen anything of the sort before. They had seen other travelling teachers, but none like th…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Paul's Reasons for Thanks
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Paul's Reasons for Thanks
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Reasons for Thanks Philippians 1.1-11 . There is a wonderful old prayer attributed to the sixteenth century sailor Sir Francis Drake (1540–96).He prays that when God leads us to undertake any great piece of work, he will also remind us ‘that it is not the beginning, but th…
2 Corinthians - Paul's Companions Are on Their Way
2 Corinthians - Paul's Companions Are on Their Way
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Companions Are on Their Way 2 CORINTHIANS 8.16-24 The smart white van pulled up outside the college one afternoon, and two men got out. Three or four students were in the common room, watching television. The men, wearing white coats like technicians, walked into the colle…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Joy and Crown
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Joy and Crown
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Joy and Crown Thessalonians 2.17-20 There were tear-jerking scenes on the television last night. Twin baby girls had been adopted by a couple from another country, who had found the children being advertised for adoption over the Internet. But another couple, from the chil…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Pentecost Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Pentecost Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Day of Pentecost - Year A Numbers 11.24–30 Acts 2.1–21 John 7.37–39 Jesus, quoting Scripture, says that rivers of living water will flow out of the believer’s heart. But no Old Testament text says exactly that. Which Scripture is he referring to, then? Isaiah 55, of course, i…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Peace and Hope
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Peace and Hope
by SPCK - N T Wright
Peace and Hope ROMANS 5.1-5 I recently heard of a famous comedian who had been a familiar figure on radio and television for many years. His quick wit and endless supply of jokes guaranteed him a big audience. But when he died, the published obituaries told a darker story as well…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - People of the Lie