1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Splendor is Gone
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Splendor is Gone
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Splendor is Gone 1 Samuel 4: 1b- 22 In his sermon yesterday, our rector (slightly apologetically) told us he had been watching a TV series about a psychopathic boy whom a police officer had adopted. The boy’s stepfather gave him a “code”: Don’t kill innocent people; make sure…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Sin of Sodom
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Sin of Sodom
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Sin of Sodom Genesis 19: 1-14 I have a number of friends and acquaintances who are attracted to members of the same sex or are in long-term, committed, quasi-marital or actually marital relationships with members of the same sex. I don’t take the view that same-sex relationsh…
Job for Everyone - The Silence of Friends
Job for Everyone - The Silence of Friends
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Silence of Friends Job 2: 9-13 The day my first wife died, we were planning to go to the beach, so I went on my own the next day. This may sound weird, but it seemed to make sense at the time, and when I got home I was glad I had gone, because there were twelve messages on th…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Story Reaches Its Lowest Point (II)
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Story Reaches Its Lowest Point (II)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Story Reaches Its Lowest Point (II) JUDGES 20:1-48 For some years now there has been ongoing tension between Russia and Georgia. Sometimes it seems open to being characterized as a little comical; Russia banned the import of Georgian wine on the grounds that it did not meet p…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Tale of Two Women
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Tale of Two Women
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Tale of Two Women 2 Kings 4:1-44 Among my friends are a number of young couples who have been hoping to have children, and it has never happened. They then go in for medical examinations of various kinds and for treatment of various kinds. One couple had eggs implanted, but the…
Job for Everyone - The Way I Have Walked (I)
Job for Everyone - The Way I Have Walked (I)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way I Have Walked Job 31 1-12 A year after my first wife Ann died, I was out to dinner with a group that included a former colleague whose wife had died a while previously. He had remarried a year or so later, and I was intrigued to hear the story. He began from the aftermath…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Test
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Test
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Test Genesis 21: 33- 22: 2 I am writing at the beginning of Lent, and I have been thinking about the story of Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, when he was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil. Every time I get to the end of that sentence, I hav…
Job for Everyone - The Way I Have Walked (II)
Job for Everyone - The Way I Have Walked (II)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way I Have Walked (II) Job 31 13-23 On Sunday we had a meeting to discuss our church’s ministry to homeless people; many live in our area, and we are next door to a community center. They know that Sunday morning is an obvious time to drop by to see if we have food, and we tr…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response Psalm 78: 1-37 Yesterday in church the Old Testament reading was the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, and we followed that reading with some congregational discussion of which of these commands seem most import…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Ultimate Sacrifice
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Ultimate Sacrifice
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Ultimate Sacrifice 2 Kings 3:4-27 The writer of a letter in today’s newspaper, in the aftermath of the U.S. president’s firing of his top commander in Afghanistan, asks whether “we must continue to sacrifice our brave men and women” there. By the time you read this, we will p…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Universal and the Local
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Universal and the Local
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Universal and the Local JOSHUA 22:1- 34 Like a number of denominations, the Anglican/Episcopal church to which I belong is in a mess because different parts of the world and different groups in the same parts of the world hold conflicting views about the real nature of Christ…
Job for Everyone - The Way We Are
Job for Everyone - The Way We Are
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way We Are Job 30 1-31 Today a woman came to see me and wept. Her husband left her after ten years of marriage, leaving her with two small children to look after. On her account, his leaving came right out of the blue; there was no clue that he was unhappy in the marriage. Bu…
Job for Everyone - THe Way I Have Walked (III)
Job for Everyone - THe Way I Have Walked (III)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way I Have Walked (III) Job 31 24-40 A year or two ago, a friend of mine lost his wife after she had been ill for a while, and to my horror I was aware of feeling something like satisfaction at this event because my wife had recently died after being ill for many years. Someh…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Younger Again Ahead of the Elder Genesis 47:27-48:22 I have known more than one grandfather who made a nuisance of himself by whipping out a folder of photographs of his grandchildren at the slightest provocation, to inflict them on other people. I understand the intensity of…
Job for Everyone - The Way We Were and the Way I Thought We Would Be
Job for Everyone - The Way We Were and the Way I Thought We Would Be
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Way We Were and the Way I Thought We Would Be Job 29: 1-25 They say that if your spouse dies after a time of illness and/or gradual decline, initially your memories are dominated by the nature of those last months, but that eventually older memories come to reassert themselve…
Psalms for Everyone - The Wretched of the Earth
Psalms for Everyone - The Wretched of the Earth
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Wretched of the Earth Psalm 9: 19- 10: 18 My stepdaughter and her husband spend their lives seeking to make known the plight of Darfuri refugees in Chad; they make dangerous visits there from time to time. They tell horrifying stories about the way the Sudanese government tre…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Then He Died
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Then He Died
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Then He Died Genesis 5: 1-20 Three years ago, a friend of ours died. When he was about thirty, he developed a brain tumor. He had surgery and recovered, he fell in love, and I preached at his wedding. Then, within weeks the tumor reappeared. He died before he and his bride finish…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - There are Times When You Have to Choose