Lectionary 17/08/2025
- Proper 15 /Ordinary 20 - Year C
Lectionary Readings
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The Light of the World
The Light of the World
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
The Truth Will Set You Free
The Truth Will Set You Free
by Dave Hopwood
The Truth Will Set You Free Jesus: When you have lifted up the Son of Man – remember this conversation. Then you will know I am who I claim to be. Pharisee: And then what? Jesus: Then if you hold onto my teaching you will know the truth – and the truth will set you free. Are you …
The Blind Man's Story
The Blind Man's Story
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
The Good Shepherd
The Good Shepherd
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
Jesus Sends Out Seventy Two Followers
Jesus Sends Out Seventy Two Followers
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
The Good Samaritan
The Good Samaritan
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
Martha and Mary
Martha and Mary
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
Clean Up on the Inside
Clean Up on the Inside
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
The Rich Fool
The Rich Fool
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
Be Ready and Prepared for the Son of Man
Be Ready and Prepared for the Son of Man
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
by Dave Hopwood
Seeing and Believing Bible Ref: Luke 10-13; John 9 & 10 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linking text as well as t…
Luke for Everyone - Reading the Signs of the Times
Luke for Everyone - Reading the Signs of the Times
by SPCK - N T Wright
Reading the Signs of the Times Luke 12.49-59 The great composer Ludwig van Beethoven used sometimes to play a trick on polite salon audiences, especially when he guessed that they weren’t really interested in serious music. He would perform a piece on the piano, one of his own sl…
Hebrews for Everyone - Faith and the Future: Moses and the Exodus
Hebrews for Everyone - Faith and the Future: Moses and the Exodus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Faith and the Future: Moses and the Exodus Hebrews 11.23-32 ‘The young man came from a wealthy family. His father was a well-respected figure in the community. Everyone expected the son to follow him in his profession and, like him, attain wealth and noble standing. But the young…
Hebrews for Everyone - Faith and the Future: The Great Crowd
Hebrews for Everyone - Faith and the Future: The Great Crowd
by SPCK - N T Wright
Faith and the Future: The Great Crowd Hebrews 11.32-40 It is said that on one occasion the sixteenth-century Spanish mystic Teresa of Avila confronted God about her own suffering, and received the response: ‘This is how I deal with my friends.’ ‘Well,’ she replied sharply, ‘in th…
Hebrews for Everyone - Looking to Jesus
Hebrews for Everyone - Looking to Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Looking to Jesus Hebrews 12.1-3 I went to a school that prided itself on its outdoor pursuits. Set high in the Yorkshire Dales in north-west England, it celebrated its location in several ways, the annual climax being a ten-mile cross-country race over steep, difficult ground. Of…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Workers in the Vineyard
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Workers in the Vineyard
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Workers in the Vineyard Matthew 20.1-16 One of the great inventions of modern Western society is the trade union. For far too long those with money, land and privilege shamelessly exploited those who had none. When, after a long struggle, workers with no power except their ow…
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 15 Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 15 Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 15 Jeremiah 23.23–9 Hebrews 11.29—12.2 Luke 12.49–56 Hebrews continues its great description of faith in today’s reading. From Moses down to the relatively recent past in the Maccabean revolts, the author of Hebrews reminds his readers of the story that they have inherited…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 15 Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 15 Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 15 Isaiah 5.1–7 Hebrews 11.29—12.2 Luke 12.49–56 This Lukan passage is high on the list of Things We Would Rather Jesus Hadn’t Said. It’s not gentle, it’s not meek and mild; it’s not even nice. Parents and children at loggerheads, in-laws getting across one another – what …
2 Corinthians - The Generosity of the Macedonian Churches
2 Corinthians - The Generosity of the Macedonian Churches
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Generosity of the Macedonian Churches 2 CORINTHIANS 8.1-7 A magazine in Britain has a regular cartoon feature entitled ‘Scenes You Don’t Often See’. It’s a sharp little comment on the selfishness of modern life, and has included drawings of such unlikely scenes as someone buy…
2 Corinthians - Copying the Generosity of the Lord Jesus
2 Corinthians - Copying the Generosity of the Lord Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Copying the Generosity of the Lord Jesus 2 CORINTHIANS 8.8-15 A few months ago there was a news item about a woman crossing the Atlantic Ocean single-handedly in a rowing boat. At least, she ended up doing it single-handedly; to begin with, her husband had been with her, but he h…
Meditation - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
Meditation - 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C
by David Middleton
Meditation – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr C Signs of the Times Luke 12: 49-56 There are some things we want to know and can’t, and there are some things we should recognise and don’t. That’s what Jesus seemed to be saying today. It’s all very confusing. And Jesus gets so exasp…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 36:1, 10
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 36:1, 10
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 36:1, 10 In the chapel at Bishop’s Lodge where we live and work there’s a sculpture over the Lord’s Table of Jesus bent over the city weeping, ‘If only you knew the things that make for peace’ (see Luke 19.41– 42). For centuries the Church has built up the experience of com…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:32
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 119:32
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 119:32 Freedom. We may not have been born free, but for freedom we were made and redeemed. Walking near our cottage where I was convalescing I penned these couplets: Free as a fly that dodges the swat, free as a fish that misses the plot, Free as the wind that snaps the twi…
Are we but a wasted vineyard
Are we but a wasted vineyard
by Andrew Pratt
Are we but a wasted vineyard where hypocrisy will choke every glimpse of fruitful loving? Is grace covered by a cloak? Verses 2-3 follow Tune: DRAKES BROUGHTON; LAUS DEO (Redhead) Metre: 8.7.8.7 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 24/7/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, www…
Faith is the tight-rope of travelling people
Faith is the tight-rope of travelling people
by Andrew Pratt
Faith is the tight-rope of travelling people, taut between mountains of mercy and grace. Pilgrims remember the fears of their parents, trials and deliverance they had to face. Hope kept the balance when human experience met with the fire and the dangers of life, torture and stoni…
Prayer: Disconcerting God
Prayer: Disconcerting God
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Disconcerting God Disconcerting God, there are times when we do not understand what is happening to us, or where we should go next. We recognize that we often take a wrong turn on our path to you and sometimes wilfully go our own way. Continues... ©Marjorie Dobson
Drama: A cloud of witnesses
Drama: A cloud of witnesses
by Marjorie Dobson
Drama/Monologue: A cloud of witnesses Reading: Hebrews 11: 29 – 12:2 (Followed by the speaker chatting to the visible, or unseen, person who has just read the lesson and responding to unheard answers.) A cloud of witnesses? What’s all that about then? Surely you don’t still think…
In the stress of expectation
In the stress of expectation
by Andrew Pratt
In the stress of expectation, Jesus feared his coming fate, here in anxiousness he waited unjust judgement of the state: but then fired with righteous anger brought the hypocrites to book, challenging their suppositions, then disarming with a look. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: CALON L…
Poem: Signs of the times
Poem: Signs of the times
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Signs of the times Couldn’t they see the signs? Why didn’t they understand the disruption that Jesus had brought, would bring? This good news was bound to set the world on fire; bound to cause division amongst families; bound to turn the world on its head. Continues... ©Mar…
LWPT Meditations - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
LWPT Meditations - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
by Susan Thorne
Meditation – 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr C Isaiah 5:1-7 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 When God wanted to warn his unfaithful people, he beguiled them into thinking they were about to hear a love song. “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard” (Isaiah 5:1).…
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Proper 15 Year C
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Proper 15 Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 15 Luke 12: 49-56 Gaze on the sky as yet another weather front approaches. Dirty clouds lurk overhead, and the rain begins to lash down at some unseen trigger. How the weather can affect our moods! We are so much more content and kind when the sky is blue. Gaze on the TV e…
The Living God - Moving on
The Living God - Moving on
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Which God Are We Talking About? 1 Moving on In this chapter we have explored two slightly different – but converging – themes. First, we have identified God relationally. Christians know and love – as they are in turn known and loved by – the same God known and loved by Abraham a…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Bring Back! Come Back!
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Bring Back! Come Back!
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Bring Back! Come Back! Psalm 80 It’s nearly three hundred years since the First Great Awakening, a revival of religious life in Britain and even more in the British colonies in America a few decades before the War of Independence. This First Great Awakening was mostly a movement …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Challenging the Gods and God
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Challenging the Gods and God
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Challenging the Gods and God Psalm 82 Two friends who live in the Philippines had lunch with us a week or so ago while on a visit home in the United States. One of them, a Chinese American, told us that in the Philippines he had a sense of the presence of evil spirits that he …
Transforming Preaching - The word of God
Transforming Preaching - The word of God
by SPCK - David Heywood
1 Why preach? The word of God Written words, spoken words Since the invention of the printing press over 500 years ago the printed word has been the world’s dominant form of communication. Once the privilege of a few, reading and writing have become a universal gateway to a world…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What about the authors?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What about the authors?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
What about the authors? Redaction and composition I cannot always read my favourite newspaper at coffee-time in our staff common room, because someone else has bagged it already! Never mind, there are others around, and reading various papers reveals their different styles and vi…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Talons bared for conflict
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Talons bared for conflict
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Talons bared for conflict The Book of Signs and “the Jews”, John 2—12 In Tolkien’s stories, Numenor is an Atlantis-like land blessed by Iluvatar (God) which overreaches itself and turns to evil. Its doom is presaged first by eagle-shaped clouds and then by eagles themselves; few …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book III
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book III
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book III (Pss. 73-89) Book III opens with “A Psalm of Asaph” (Ps. 73). Like the sons of Korah, Asaph was, according to the book of Chronicles, a temple singer during the reigns of David and Solomon. Fifteen of the seventeen psalms in Book III are attributed to Asaph and the sons …
The Act of Prayer Year C - Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Fourth Sunday of Advent - Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Fourth Sunday of Advent Year C Opening prayer The preparations are in place, the excitement mounts and, for those who are travelling to visit families, arrangements are finalised, clothes sorted, gifts wrapped and labelled…
Full Service - Proper 15 (20) - Year C
Full Service - Proper 15 (20) - Year C
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Proper 15 (20) - Year C Service contains: Hymn: God is here, as we his people or A house of prayer, where all may come Prayer: Doorkeepers Reading: Psalm 80:1-2, 8-19 and/or Isaiah 5:1-7 Poem: Sour grapes Hymn: Come, Lord, to our souls come down or Are we but a wasted vineyard Dr…
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 129 14/08/16
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 129 14/08/16
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
A selection of commentary, reflection and prayer ideas from various Christian authors and the full bible texts from the NRSV for this week's lectionary. NOW INCLUDING SERIALISED BOOKS FROM SPCK AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRF. Check below for details. Subscribe to Fresh Thoughts For S…
Jeremiah for everyone - Another Wicked Play on Words
Jeremiah for everyone - Another Wicked Play on Words
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Another Wicked Play on Words For a while I was the faculty representative on the president’s cabinet in our seminary, which means I had to get up early once a month for a meeting of people in the administration to discuss big policy questions (but not so much their ongoing implem…
Jeremiah for everyone - Truth to Power
Jeremiah for everyone - Truth to Power
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Truth to Power As I write, the Australian founder of Wikileaks is effectively a prisoner in the Ecuadorean embassy in London. If he leaves the embassy, Britain will arrest him and hand him over to authorities in Sweden that have sought his extradition…
The Women's Bible Commentary - A Series of Accusations
The Women's Bible Commentary - A Series of Accusations
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
A Series of Accusations That it is the elite men of Jerusalem who are the actual targets of Isaiah’s criticism becomes clear in the most explicit of the prophet’s accusations, a series of “woe” oracles detailing such atrocities as greedy accumulation of real estate at others’ exp…
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 3c Reading Luke and saving the planet
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 3c Reading Luke and saving the planet
by SPCK - Sebastian C.H. Kim and Jonathan Draper
Reading Luke and saving the planet After this brief snapshot of Palestine then and now, I return to the central issue: how does reading Luke affect the agenda of global warming? We have looked at the context for Jesus’ ministry, but what of its content?…
The Act of Prayer Year B - Second Sunday of Advent Year B
The Act of Prayer Year B - Second Sunday of Advent Year B
by BRF - John Birch
Second Sunday of Advent Year B Opening prayer As people walk by to purchase for those they love gifts that, in days to come, will fade from memory, within this place we gather in celebration of your loving gift to all of humankind…
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