Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Meat Offered to Idols
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Meat Offered to Idols
by SPCK - N T Wright
Meat Offered to Idols 1 Corinthians 8.1-6 There is a restaurant in Rome which is built around the ruins of an old temple. Two of the pillars are still visible. The restaurant makes a feature of them, and is proud of the ancient origins of the building where they now serve excelle…
John for Everyone part 2 - Mary Magdalene and the Risen Jesus
John for Everyone part 2 - Mary Magdalene and the Risen Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mary Magdalene and the Risen Jesus John 20.11-18 The first time I went to stay with a family in Germany, I learnt enough German before the trip to know the basic rules of politeness. When people say ‘you’ in German, there are two forms, like the old English ‘ye’ (for more than on…
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Mary's Song of Praise
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Mary's Song of Praise
by SPCK - N T Wright
PART 2 PRAYERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT OTHER EARLY CHRISTIAN PRAYERS MARY’S SONG OF PRAISE Luke 1: 39-55 What would make you celebrate wildly, without inhibition? Perhaps it would be the news that someone close to you who’d been very sick was getting better and would soon be home...
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - More about the "Little Ones"
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - More about the "Little Ones"
by SPCK - N T Wright
More about the “Little Ones” Matthew 18.8-14 Our neighbour was walking by the beach one day, with her dog, when suddenly the dog stopped and sniffed, and looked puzzled and wary. She stopped too, but she couldn’t see anything. Then she looked hard at the rocks in front of the dog…
Mark for Everyone - On Paying Taxes to Caesar
Mark for Everyone - On Paying Taxes to Caesar
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 12.13–17 On Paying Taxes to Caesar... ...I have on my desk one of the tribute-pennies from the reign of Tiberius Caesar. It is almost certainly the type that features in this story. It’s about the size of my thumbnail, but you can make out the writing quite…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - On Remaining Unmarried
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - On Remaining Unmarried
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Remaining Unmarried 1 Corinthians 7.25-31 I remember a cartoon from my childhood days. A young man sits in an office. He is talking on the telephone, but standing beside him is a huge figure with a bristling moustache, staring at him angrily: obviously the boss. The young man …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Judging Others
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Judging Others
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Judging Others Matthew 7.1-6 William Shakespeare based a whole play on the second verse of Matthew 7. Measure for Measure is classified as a ‘comedy’, and indeed everything works out very well in the end. But much of the play is dark and disturbing. Angelo, a noble but stern l…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Fasting and Lasting Treasure
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Fasting and Lasting Treasure
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Fasting and Lasting Treasure Matthew 6.16-24 The student looked crestfallen, as well he might. For weeks he had thought he was doing all right. Yes, he hadn’t been working as hard as he could have done; but he was in the college football team, and he was playing in a rock grou…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Prayer
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Prayer
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Prayer Matthew 7.7-12 I hate fundraising. Many people are good at it; many actually enjoy it; but I can’t stand it. I hate asking people for things anyway, and asking for money is the worst of all. As a result, I’m not very good at it. I understand that in some countries it’s …
Luke for Everyone - On Paying Taxes to Caesar
Luke for Everyone - On Paying Taxes to Caesar
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Paying Taxes to Caesar Luke 20.20-26 We went a few weeks ago to see the longest-running stage play in history. Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap has now been performed continuously for almost my entire lifetime. At the time of writing it has had over 20,000 performances. An…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - On Epaphroditus
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - On Epaphroditus
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Epaphroditus Philippians 2.25-30 When I was at school a first-year physics teacher once asked us the question in an examination: What are the advantages of having two eyes? The correct answer, of course, was that with two eyes you can see things in three dimensions, and learn …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Following Jesus
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Following Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Following Jesus Matthew 8.14-22 What do you always do first thing in the morning? For some, it will be shaving. For others, it will be making a cup of tea. For some, it will be vigorous exercise. For others, it will be reading the newspaper. Put it the other way: if someone fo…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Before Agrippa
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Before Agrippa
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul Before AgrippaActs 26.1-11 One of the great, though controversial, bishops of Durham in the first half of the twentieth century was Hensley Henson. He was a brilliant speaker and writer, a much loved (though sharp-tongued) pastor, and a great campaigner on all kinds of soc…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul the Pastor Looks Back - and Looks on
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul the Pastor Looks Back - and Looks on
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul the Pastor Looks Back – and Looks On Acts 20.13-27 ‘To know George’, said the speaker at his funeral, ‘you had to hear him preach.’ And immediately I felt a strong stab of regret. George Caird had been my teacher throughout my graduate years. I had attended his lectures and …
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Before the Sanhedrin
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Before the Sanhedrin
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul Before the Sanhedrin Acts 23.1-11 Ever since the French Revolution, politics has been seen in terms of a left–right spectrum. The further Left you go (it is assumed), the more you will favour freedom from constricting and aristocratic authority, loose structures, plenty of v…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Appeal to His Children
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Appeal to His Children
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Appeal to His Children Galatians 4.12-20 The French teacher was a strict disciplinarian. We weren’t allowed to speak a word of English during the classes, and neither did he. Everything, even trivial comments or requests, had to be made in French. He was determined that we…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul in Ephesus
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul in Ephesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul in Ephesus Acts 19.1-10 The response of the disciples Paul met at Ephesus has passed into common parlance, at least among theologians. Not long ago I was helping to organize a conference, and was inviting distinguished speakers from various parts of the world to attend and r…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Paul's Appeal