Luke for Everyone - Teachings on the Sabbath
Luke for Everyone - Teachings on the Sabbath
by SPCK - N T Wright
Teachings on the Sabbath Luke 6.1-11 A relative of mine likes to tell of an occasion when he flew, with some business friends, to Ireland to watch a rugby match. When they got off the plane, there were no customs officers waiting to receive them. So two or three of them went into…
The Pastoral Letters - The Character of a Bishop
The Pastoral Letters - The Character of a Bishop
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Character of a Bishop 1Timothy 3.1-7 A friend gave me a lift in the car the other night. He’s a politician and has been a member of parliament for 25 years. But now he’s decided to run for a new kind of public office: he’s hoping to be a candidate to be Mayor of London. ‘Sudd…
The Pastoral Letters - The Character of Deacons
The Pastoral Letters - The Character of Deacons
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Character of Deacons 1Timothy 3.8-13 We had just begun to taxi out to the runway, and I was settling back in my seat and wondering what the airline might come up with for lunch. Suddenly the plane stopped. After a short pause, the captain came on the intercom. ‘Sorry, folks,’…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Challenge of Love
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Challenge of Love
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Challenge of Love 1 John 3.11-4.6 One of my favourite stories from the Old Testament is found in the book of 2 Kings, chapter 6. The context is one of continual skirmishing, and sometimes open warfare, between Israel, the northern half of the people of God, and Syria, their n…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Challenge of Faith
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Challenge of Faith
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Challenge of Faith James 1.1-8 I used to think the waves had come from far away. Standing by the sea and watching the grey-green monsters roll in, it was easy to imagine that this wave, and then this one, and then the one after that, had made the journey from a distant land. …
New Testament Wisdom for Everyone - The Challenge of Faith
New Testament Wisdom for Everyone - The Challenge of Faith
by SPCK - N T Wright
1 THE WISDOM OF THE SPIRIT THE CHALLENGE OF FAITH James 1: 2-8 I used to think the waves had come from far away. Standing by the sea and watching the grey-green monsters roll in, it was easy to imagine that this wave, and then this one, and then the one after that, had made the j…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - The First Exodus
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - The First Exodus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The First Exodus 1 Corinthians 10.1-5 As you drive on the main road through central Northumberland, between Newcastle upon Tyne and the Scottish border, you see frequent signs saying things like ‘150 Accidents Last Year On This Road,’ and ‘Number of Speeding Fines Last Month: 37’…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Final Judgement is the Only One That Counts
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Final Judgement is the Only One That Counts
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Final Judgment Is the Only One that Counts ROMANS 14.7-12 As I pondered this passage, a verse from an old 1960s song came into my mind: And they argue through the night: Black is black, and white is white; Then walk away both knowing they are right. And nobody’s buying flower…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Finished Achievement of the Messiah
Hebrews for Everyone - The Finished Achievement of the Messiah
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Finished Achievement of the Messiah Hebrews 10.11-18 Many of us in the modern world do our work sitting down. I’m sitting at a desk as I write this; I’m aware that my posture isn’t perfect, that I’m in danger of getting stiff shoulders, and that if I took more time to walk ar…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The First and the Last
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The First and the Last
by SPCK - N T Wright
The First and the Last Matthew 19.23-30 ‘I’m telling you the truth,’ Jesus replied. ‘In God’s great new world, when the son of man sits on his glorious throne, all of you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones – yes, you! – and rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. 29An…
New Testament Wisdom for Everyone - The First And The Last
New Testament Wisdom for Everyone - The First And The Last
by SPCK - N T Wright
5 THE RENEWAL OF THE WORLD THE FIRST AND THE LAST Matthew 19: 23-30 Once, as a boy, I watched a large party of hunters on horseback chasing a fox over open country. Even if you disapprove of foxhunting, as many do, it was a fine sight on a cold wintry day. Down the hillside they …
John for Everyone Part 1 - The First Disciples
John for Everyone Part 1 - The First Disciples
by SPCK - N T Wright
The First Disciples John 1.35-42 I was staying with my uncle in Toronto. I was nineteen at the time. He took me with him for a day on one of his hobbies: clay-pigeon shooting. I hadn’t even seen the sport before, let alone done it. Little disks of clay are propelled from a machin…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Fifth Sunday of Easter Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Fifth Sunday of Easter Acts 11.1–18 Revelation 21.1–6 John 13.31–35 You only discover the flavour of today’s Gospel if you remember that it comes immediately after Judas’s departure, and immediately before Peter’s rash promise to lay down his life for Jesus – and Jesus’ sorro…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Final Challenge
John for Everyone part 2 - The Final Challenge
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Final Challenge John 12.44-50 One of the oldest clichés in the movie business is the final showdown between the arch-opponents. The hero and the villain have been plotting against one another all through the story. Their allies and helpers have struggled and fought. There hav…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Fifth Sunday of Lent Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Fifth Sunday of Lent (Passiontide begins) Isaiah 43.16–21 Philippians 3.4b–14 John 12.1–8 Two stark characterizations from John: the full-blown devotion of Mary and the brooding cynicism of Judas. (On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I think this may perhaps be the same story …
Hebrews for Everyone - The God of Peace Be With You
Hebrews for Everyone - The God of Peace Be With You
by SPCK - N T Wright
The God of Peace Be With You Hebrews 13.17-25 I was chatting with a friend who had recently become a bishop. He was and is a wonderful man, scholarly, wise, outgoing, full of ideas and devotion and love and goodness. You might have thought any church would be glad to have him as …
2 Corinthians - The God of All Comfort
2 Corinthians - The God of All Comfort
by SPCK - N T Wright
The God of All Comfort 2 CORINTHIANS 4.13-18 ‘To Carthage then I came,’ wrote T. S. Eliot in one of his famous poems. One can imagine someone picking up the poem in a bookshop and wondering what on earth he was talking about. Had he gone to the real Carthage, in North Africa? If …
2 Corinthians - The God Who Comforts the Downcast