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Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Is Circumcision Necessary
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Is Circumcision Necessary
by SPCK - N T Wright
Is Circumcision Necessary Acts 15.1-11 ‘I thought we’d settled this!’ Dennis was furious. Halfway through the second week of term and it had happened again. They had sat around the kitchen table, the five of them, in the old house they had rented for their second year at college.…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Mission and Magic
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Mission and Magic
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mission and Magic Acts 13.1-12 Jim was full of enthusiasm when he left college. From his earliest memories he had been passionate about justice, about fairness, about people respecting one another and being able to live together in harmony. He had always admired the police (in En…
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…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Out of his Own Mouth
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Out of his Own Mouth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Out of His Own Mouth Acts 22.12-22 In British football, the ‘manager’, or head coach, is often the most important character in the whole unit. Players come and players go, but if the manager is good he can make things happen, win tournaments, put on excellent performances no matt…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Among the Philosophers (I)
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Among the Philosophers (I)
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul Among the Philosophers (I) Acts 17.22-34 One of the signs of being really good at chess is that you can play more than one opponent at the same time. Sometimes grand masters will put on a display where they play several different people all at once, walking from one chessboa…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Among the Philosophers (II)
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Among the Philosophers (II)
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul Among the Philosophers (II) Acts 17.22-34 So we continue with our chess game, with Paul playing the role of grand master and taking on all the players of Athens at once. We have seen how he agrees with the Academy that it is indeed impossible, granted what was available to t…
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 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…
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…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Reaches Athens
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul Reaches Athens
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul Reaches Athens Acts 17.10-21 There seems to be an increasing fashion in the sporting world, especially in sports that originated in Europe, for ‘World Cup’ contests, and similar events organized in geographical regions. Unless you are a very avid sports fan, these events see…
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's Conversion (One More Time)
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul's Conversion (One More Time)
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Conversion (One More Time) Acts 26.12-23 ‘Listen to the tune,’ says the music teacher. The children sit round her, spellbound. They love this bit. ‘Now sing it back to me – Johnny!’ Johnny does his best. Then Sophie. Then Philip. ‘Well,’ says the teacher, ‘you’re not doing…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul. You're Mad
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul. You're Mad
by SPCK - N T Wright
“Paul, You’re Mad”Acts 26.24-32 I was once lecturing to a group of students in Oxford. We were just getting to the point at the centre of the lecture – I think it was dealing with Romans 8.3 – where I wanted to explain as clearly as I could the full Pauline meaning of the death…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Preaching and Prison in Philippi
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Preaching and Prison in Philippi
by SPCK - N T Wright
Preaching and Prison in Philippi Acts 16. 11-24 A friend of mine, a few years after being ordained, was sent to work in an inner suburb where, for a long time, vice had reigned unchecked. The police knew what was going on but were following a policy of containment rather than con…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Publicy Vindicated
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Publicy Vindicated
by SPCK - N T Wright
Publicly Vindicated Acts 16.35-40 One of the most famous cases in ancient Roman law was the one brought by the young upstart barrister Cicero against the rich, aristocratic proconsul Gaius Verres. Verres, like many Roman aristocrats of his generation, had discovered how to play t…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Riot in the Temple
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Riot in the Temple
by SPCK - N T Wright
Riot in the Temple Acts 21.27-36 On the news every day, as I write this, there is footage of American and British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. Like many others, I was of the opinion that we were wrong to start what we did in that part of the world, and I haven’t changed that…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Roman Citizenship Comes in Useful