Lectionary 18/04/2025
- Easter Vigil - NT and Psalm - Year ABC
- Good Friday - Years A, B & C
Lectionary Readings
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Jesus Weeps for Jerusalem
Jesus Weeps for Jerusalem
by Dave Hopwood
Triumph, Tears and Talents Bible Ref: Matthew 21-26; Mark 11-14; Luke 19-22; John 11&12 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 re…
Jesus Prays for a Way Out
Jesus Prays for a Way Out
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
An empty cave, the stone removed
An empty cave, the stone removed
by Andrew Pratt
An empty cave, the stone removed, a neatly folded shroud remained, confusion magnified their grief, no sense that life might be regained. So terrified, the women ran, afraid, their world turned upside down, and while the light of dawn had come, their fear became a tattered gown. …
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - From Worldview to Theology
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - From Worldview to Theology
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD Chapter One RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY? 2 Philemon and the Study of Paul (iii) From Worldview to Theology The particular claim of the present book, then, embodied in the transition between Part II and Part III, is that when we understand the worldview of Pau…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Jewish Responses to Pagan Philosophy
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Jewish Responses to Pagan Philosophy
by SPCK - N T Wright
3. Athene and Her Owl: the Wisdom of the Greeks Jewish Responses to Pagan Philosophy Before we do that, one final task remains. Granted that Paul grew up in the world of strict Pharisaic Judaism, what response might we expect him to have to the world of pagan philosophy? It would…
The Living God - Creator of heaven and earth
The Living God - Creator of heaven and earth
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 One of my favourite stories from the classical age concerns the Greek philosopher Aristippus (c. 435 –c. 356 bc), who found himself shipwrecked on the Aegean island of Rhodes. He had no idea where he was. Was this strange place uninhabited? Would he …
The Living God - Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation
The Living God - Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation One of my memories of my time as an undergraduate at Wadham College, Oxford, is admiring the portrait of Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) that adorned the panelled walls of the college’s dining hall. I…
Rhythms of remembering - Easter - Tuesday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Easter - Tuesday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
EASTER - Tuesday Morning Prayer Alleluia, blessed be God: you come to redeem us, alleluia. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news, who announces salvation...
Rhythms of remembering - Ordinary Time - Wednesday Evening Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Ordinary Time - Wednesday Evening Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
ORDINARY TIME - Wednesday Evening Prayer Blessed are you, O God, God of all the ages, and of all creatures. Blessed is your unfailing love towards us, to those before us, and all who will come after us,...
Rhythms of remembering - Lent - Saturday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Lent - Saturday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
LENT - Saturday Morning Prayer Blessed are you, O God: you watch with us in our darkness. My soul waits for you more than the night-watch for the morning, more than the night-watch for the morning. Psalm 130.5...
Rhythms of remembering - Christmas - Monday Evening Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Christmas - Monday Evening Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
CHRISTMAS - Monday Evening Prayer O magnify the Lord with me; for God’s mercy lasts for ever. Blessed are the poor, for they are free to hear; those who have nothing left are able to receive; those who are fast bound – they know what freedom means...
Rhythms of remembering - Christmas - Friday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Christmas - Friday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
CHRISTMAS - Friday Morning Prayer RHYTHMS of Remembering Blessed are you, O God: glimpsed in a baby. Joyful is the dark, holy, hidden God, rolling cloud of night beyond all naming, Majesty in darkness, Energy of love, Word-in-Flesh, the mystery proclaiming. Brian Wren...
Barren cross
Barren cross
by Joy Sykes
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Real King of Kings
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Real King of Kings
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Real King of Kings Psalm 97-98 According to news reports, Muammar el-Qaddafi, who had ruled Libya for over forty years, once declared, “I am an international leader, the dean of the Arab rulers, the king of kings of Africa and the imam of Muslims, and my international status …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Being Open to the Unexpected
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Being Open to the Unexpected
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Being Open to the Unexpected Psalm 113-114 In commenting on Psalm 108, I spoke of a friend’s Pentecostal church that seemed to have no more expectation of God’s acting than evangelical or mainline churches do. But yesterday I sat in the ophthalmologist’s waiting room reading a…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - His Commitment Is Forever
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - His Commitment Is Forever
by SPCK - John Goldingay
His Commitment Is Forever Psalm 136 A former student of mine served as an armed forces chaplain in Iraq for two years after graduating from seminary. One week he called me from there. He had felt compelled to preach on the idea of God’s steadfast love. He remembered my explaining…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - God’s Faithfulness, Not Mine
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - God’s Faithfulness, Not Mine
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God’s Faithfulness, Not Mine Psalm 143 Contrary to the resolve she had announced a few days ago, first thing this morning my wife sat at her computer checking the news. Eventually I asked her what had happened to her resolve to begin the day with her time of devotion, and in horr…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Epiphany
Journeying With Mark Year B - Epiphany
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
3 Epiphany Exploring the text In the season of Epiphany we celebrate the revelation of God in the world, and in particular his revelation to the Magi in Matthew’s Gospel. Yet again this idea seems to run counter to Mark’s Gospel, which appears on the surface to be more concerned …
Journeying With Mark Year B - Easter
Journeying With Mark Year B - Easter
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
6 Easter Exploring the text Probably one of the best-known features of Mark’s Gospel is its ending – or, depending on your perspective, its lack of ending. Unlike the other Gospels, the accounts of resurrection in Mark are sparse in the extreme. In Matthew an angel appears to Mar…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - In at the kill
Four Gospels, One Jesus - In at the kill
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
In at the kill The Passion, Mark 14—15 At last we come to the ending – the Markan Passion, a dark scene to which the whole gospel has been leading. Jesus has made his way to Jerusalem, and this geographical concentration has brought the conflict into focus: a lion’s story should …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Where is he who is born King of the Jews?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Where is he who is born King of the Jews?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Where is he who is born King of the Jews? Infancy narratives, Matthew 1—2 Mark begins with ‘the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ’, but Matthew picks another key word – genesis: ‘the book of the generation (biblos geneseos) of Jesus Christ, son of David, son of Abraham’ (1.…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's vindication
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Teacher's vindication
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The Teacher’s vindication The Resurrection, Matthew 28 This atmosphere of supernatural intervention openly visible to all continues into Matthew’s resurrection account, as does his desire to tie up the loose ends and explain the difficulties. While Mark ends with a characteristic…
Enabling Church: inclusion of disabled people - Author's introduction
Enabling Church: inclusion of disabled people - Author's introduction
by SPCK - Gordon Temple and Lin Ball
Author’s Introduction: Living interdependently The life experience of those in the African bush is so different from that of those in Europe, as I discovered on a trip to Malawi and Uganda. I felt privileged to spend time with some of the poorest people on the planet: blind peopl…
Enabling Church: inclusion of disabled people - Knowing we're made in his image
Enabling Church: inclusion of disabled people - Knowing we're made in his image
by SPCK - Gordon Temple and Lin Ball
1 Knowing we’re made in his image Genesis 1.26 –31; 1 John 3.2 Purpose: to explore what it means to be human, made in God’s image; to challenge prejudices about what is ‘normal’. Prayer Thank God for the Bible – his inspired message to us all – and for all that it can teach us of…
the greatest prayer - Prologue The Strangest Prayer
the greatest prayer - Prologue The Strangest Prayer
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
PROLOGUE The Strangest Prayer The Lord’s Prayer is Christianity’s greatest prayer. It is also Christianity’s strangest prayer. It is prayed by all Christians, but it never mentions Christ. It is prayed in all churches, but it never mentions church. It is prayed on all Sundays, bu…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book I (Pss. 1-41)
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book I (Pss. 1-41)
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book I (Pss. 1-41) Book I opens, in Psalm 1, with words encouraging faithful meditation upon the Torah. The book continues in Psalm 2 with words of warning to the nations and their rulers to recognize the God of Israel as king over all. The psalms are framed (1:1 and 2:11) with t…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Family Wisdom
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Family Wisdom
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Family Wisdom (Prov. 1-9) A prologue announces that the book aims to impart wisdom (1:2–7). Thick with vocabulary essential to that endeavor, the prologue defines wisdom primarily in relational terms. Wisdom requires that everyone, the young and the wise alike, listen to instruct…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book IV
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book IV
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book IV (Psalm 90-106) Book IV opens with “A Prayer of Moses, the Man of God.” It is the only psalm in the Hebrew Psalter ascribed to Moses. Its words are a plea to God for mercy: “Turn [shub], O YHWH! How long? Change your mind [nakham] concerning your servants” (90:13, my trans…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book V
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book V
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book V (Psalms 107-150) Book V of the Psalter opens with Psalm 107, a community hymn celebrating God’s graciousness in delivering the community of faith from exile in Babylon. The psalmist says: “Let the redeemed of YHWH say so, those he redeemed from trouble and gathered in from…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Restoration and the Return of the Divine
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Restoration and the Return of the Divine
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Restoration and Return of the Divine (Ezekiel 25: 1- 48: 35) The oracles against the nations in chapters 25–32 form a kind of hinge in the book, as the scathing, judgment language against Israel comes to an end after the sign-action involving the lack of mourning observance for E…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Personified Daughter Zion
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Personified Daughter Zion
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Personified Daughter Zion (Isaiah 47: 1-15; 49: 14 – 50: 3; 51: 17 – 52: 12; 54: 1-17) Babylon’s fall is imagined throughout Isaiah 41–48, climaxing in chapter 47, where Daughter Babylon herself is taunted. Once tender and delicate, she will now sit throneless in the dust. She wi…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book II
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book II
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book II (Psalms 42-72) Book II of the Psalter, like Book I, contains many lament psalms. But unlike Book I, not all of the psalms are attributed to David. The Korahites, who were, according to the book of Chronicles, temple singers during the reigns of David and Solomon, mix thei…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Creating and Ordering the World
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Creating and Ordering the World
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Creating and Ordering the World (Genesis 1-11) Creation is not merely the initial coming into being of the universe and its life forms; it includes also the ordering and continuous unfolding of the world. All of Genesis 1–11 is about the creation of the cosmos, including the more…
The heavens declare
The heavens declare
by Diane Brennan
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Risk of Serving the Powerless
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Risk of Serving the Powerless
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Risk of Serving the Powerless Chapters 11–16, set in Jerusalem, parallel chapters 1–8, set in and around Galilee; each section has a major speech of Jesus in the middle: chapter 4 (parables) and chapter 13 (eschatological discourse)…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Passion of Jesus
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Passion of Jesus
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Passion of Jesus Jesus’ conflict with the Jerusalem authorities escalates. Our labels for these authorities are problematic at best: “Jewish” is anachronistic; “religious” as opposed to “political” is modern and Western. In first-century Jerusalem, the temple authorities, who…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
by BRF - Dick France
MARK’S GOSPEL- A DRAMA in THREE ACTS After a prologue which sets the scene, Mark’s story unfolds in three main sections, each of which has a distinct geographical setting: 1:1–13 Prologue (set in ‘the wilderness’) 1:14—8:21 Act 1: Galilee 8:22—10:52 …
Traces of Glory Year B - Easter Day - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Easter Day - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Easter Day Blessed be the risen Lord; He has broken from the tomb and opens for us the gate to life eternal. Blessed be the risen Lord; He comes to his disciples, where two or three gather together he is there. Blessed be the risen Lord; He comes from the dead with life, He bring…
52 Reflections on Faith - Easter Sunday: transforming lives
52 Reflections on Faith - Easter Sunday: transforming lives
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Easter Sunday: transforming lives Once upon a time, a small caterpillar popped out of its egg and found itself sitting on a leaf. It had striped fur and was called Stripe. As Stripe made his way slowly along the branch of the tree and down the trunk, he looked into the distance a…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - He Is Not There
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - He Is Not There
by BRF - Dick France
“He is Not Here” All four Gospels tell about the finding of the empty tomb early on Sunday morning. The details do not all agree—how many women? which women? the stone already gone or an angel rolling it back? How many angels and where were they? and just what did they say? But t…
52 Reflections on Faith - God and the world: Separate or together
52 Reflections on Faith - God and the world: Separate or together
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
God and the world:Separate or together? William Blake’s best-known painting is probably The Ancient of Days. Originally done in 1794 as the frontispiece for one of his illustrated books, it’s now in the British Museum. Often reproduced as a popular art poster in recent decades, t…
Traces of Glory Year B - Day of Pentecost - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Day of Pentecost - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
The Day of Pentecost Come, Holy Spirit, Come upon us, Come around us, come within us; Come to lead us, come to guide us, That we may work in your power, And rest in your presence: Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Who lives and reigns with you and the Father, One god, for ever. Amen…
The Act of Prayer Year B - Day of Pentecost - Year B
The Act of Prayer Year B - Day of Pentecost - Year B
by BRF - John Birch
Day of Pentecost Year B The Act of Prayer Praying through the lectionary ACTS 2:1–21 Romans 8: 22-27 PSALM 104: 24-34, 35b JOHN 15: 26-27, 16: 4b-15; Opening prayer Loving Father, be the focus of our lives as we meet together in your name. Precious Jesus, be the cornerstone on wh…
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 13 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 13 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 13 Traces of Glory Year B O Lord our God, you give us the true bread that comes down from heaven, even your son Jesus Christ our Lord; grant that as they receive him into your life we may be filled with the fullness of his love and abide in him as he abides in us; through …
Isaiah for Everyone - A Day When There Will Be a Song to Sing
Isaiah for Everyone - A Day When There Will Be a Song to Sing
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Day When There Will Be a Song to Sing Our city’s annual Black History Parade this year had the theme “Looking back and remembering: we’ve come a mighty long way.” The words reminded me of the hymn, “We’ve Come This Far by Faith.”…
52 Reflections on Faith - Seeing God: a way of life
52 Reflections on Faith - Seeing God: a way of life
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Seeing God: a way of life Where do you ‘see God’? Where do you experience God? Where is God most real to you? There are probably particular times in your life when you sense God’s presence more than you normally do—special places where you feel close to God. You might have had a …
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 19 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 19 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 19 O Lord, as Peter confessed you as Christ, give us boldness to proclaim your redeeming love and saving power in the world; may we be ready to beat the cross and give ourselves for others and the advancement of your kingdom; we ask this in your Name, Jesus our Lord, who w…
Psalm 46:5
Psalm 46:5
by Rev David East
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Traces of Glory Year B - Bible Sunday - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Bible Sunday - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Bible Sunday Father, we give you thanks for your holy word spoken of old by the prophets and apostles, for all that is written in the Scriptures, that is proclaimed by evangelists and preachers; we pray that we may heed your word and come to know the Word made flesh, even Jesus C…
Traces of Glory Year B - The Second Sunday Before Advent - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - The Second Sunday Before Advent - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
The Second Sunday Before Advent God of all power and might, give us grace to trust you in the darkness as well as in the light. In the face of danger and adversity be our strength and hope, that we may live and work to your praise and glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is …
The Act of Prayer Year C - Third Sunday of Advent - Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Third Sunday of Advent - Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Third Sunday of Advent Year C Opening prayer This is Advent, the season of expectation. In homes throughout the land, Christmas cards stand on mantelpiece and windowsill. Festive trees are adorned with tinsel and baubles, and children wonder what gifts will lie beneath the tree t…
glimpses of glory - Third Sunday of Advent - Year C
glimpses of glory - Third Sunday of Advent - Year C
by SPCK - David Adam
The Third Sunday of Advent Good and gracious God, grant us a glimpse of your glory, That we may rejoice in your presence and abide in peace; Through Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, One God, now and forever. Amen…
Isaiah for everyone - A Time to Cry and a time to Whoop
Isaiah for everyone - A Time to Cry and a time to Whoop
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Time to Cry and a Time to Whoop We had dinner with a young couple a few months ago and were delighted to discover that they were expecting their first baby. It was not their first pregnancy; the wife had had a miscarriage last year. I remember how distressing it was when my fir…
Isaiah for everyone - Our Ideas and Plans, and God’s
Isaiah for everyone - Our Ideas and Plans, and God’s
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Our Ideas and Plans, and God’s This morning we had the last regular seminary chapel of the year, the last regular seminary chapel ever for people who were graduating. The preacher was an eighty-year-old retired professor who told us stories about his experience at that stage of h…
glimpses of glory - Christmas Day - Year C
glimpses of glory - Christmas Day - Year C
by SPCK - David Adam
Christmas Day Almighty Father, we rejoice in the coming of Christ our Lord. We pray that, as he has taken on our humanity, through your grace and goodness we may share in your divinity, and so partake in the radiance of your glory; through him who came down for us and is alive an…
The Act of Prayer Year C - Third Sunday of Epiphany Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Third Sunday of Epiphany Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Third Sunday of Epiphany Year C Opening prayer Lord God, we are here today to listen to your word, bring the prayers that are on our hearts and join together in fellowship. Speak to us through scripture, hymns, prayer and meditation…
The Womens' Bible Commentary - The Mothers and Fathers of Israel
The Womens' Bible Commentary - The Mothers and Fathers of Israel
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Mothers and Fathers of Israel Commentaries on Genesis 12–50 generally focus on Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, ancestral heroes of Israel. Their life stories are built from traditional elements such as the hero’s unusual birth, his stormy relationship with his brothers, yo…
The Womens' Bible Commentary - Women at the Cross and Empty Tomb
The Womens' Bible Commentary - Women at the Cross and Empty Tomb
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Women at the Cross and Empty Tomb In the final three chapters of this Gospel, women all but disappear. This is so because the reader enters the world of male politics, violence, and bonding, but also because Luke is describing last preparations and authorization of male figures f…
The Act of Prayer Year C - Third Sunday of Easter Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Third Sunday of Easter Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Third Sunday of Easter Year C Opening prayer May the God of life, who spoke to the heart of Saul on the road to Damascus, speak to us in this place as we gather for worship, bring our prayers and listen to his word. May we see his light, follow where he leads us and be used in se…
embodying mark - 8 Into the Silence
embodying mark - 8 Into the Silence
by SPCK - meda a a stamper
8 Into the Silence They have been in the story all along, but silent and invisible, unnamed like the woman with her alabaster jar, until now. Even once some of them are named, at the death and the burial (15.40 – 41, 47), still they are motionless and voiceless…
Psalm 19 - the glory of |God
Psalm 19 - the glory of |God
by Colin Smith
This reflection/commentary is a very personal Psalm attributed to David who seeks to lift our Spirits. It is suitable as a short talk or sermon (1315 words) It strongly emphasises the beauty of the natural world. and Gods faithfulness, God's Laws are also seen as beautiful and s…
Broken For You
Broken For You
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
Crown of Thorns left on top of Cross. Art illustration for PowerPoint slide or Poster. TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) Insert as…
Rainbow Cross PPT
Rainbow Cross PPT
by Marjorie Dobson
A meditation for Lent/Easter/Good Friday contrasting the bleak darkness of the cross with the rainbow joy of Easter morning. The PowerPoint is set to move slides automatically and is suited to having background music being played. You can amend or remove the automatic timers by …
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Good Friday
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Good Friday
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Full Service - Good Friday Service Contents: Opening Hymn: My song is love unknown Prayers: Introduction: Reading: Mark 15.1-20 Hymn: In the cross of Christ I glory Reading: Mark 15.29-32 A Chief Priest: Reading: Luke 23.44-49 The Unseen Joseph: Prayer: God of the past and fut…
Good Friday Jesus
Good Friday Jesus
by Jane Bingham
Good Friday Jesus Meditation on The Crucified tree form - the agony Theyre Lee-Elliott (1903-1988) A painting in the Methodist Modern Art Collection http://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/reflecting-on-faith/the-methodist-modern-art-collection/index-of-works/crucified-tree-form-th…
Intercessions for Years A, B and C Book - Good Friday
Intercessions for Years A, B and C Book - Good Friday
by SPCK - Ian Black
Good Friday – Years A, B and C Lord, we will lift your name on high And praise you before all people. Jesus, for us and for our salvation, you were despised and rejected. May your passion turn our faltering hearts to the depth and breadth and height of your love. Jesus, for us an…
Lent for Everyone Year A - Good Friday Year A
Lent for Everyone Year A - Good Friday Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
HOLY WEEK: GOOD FRIDAY Matthew 27.33 –56 Overwhelmed with horror at what we are seeing, we join the crowds as they hurry along behind the soldiers with their prisoner. Forget the calm tableau of so many historic paintings of the scene, with Mary and John standing at a discreet di…
The Last Supper
The Last Supper
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
The Argument about Greatness
The Argument about Greatness
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
Jesus Washes His Disciple's Feet
Jesus Washes His Disciple's Feet
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
The Bread and the Wine and the New Covenant
The Bread and the Wine and the New Covenant
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
Denial, Betrayal and a New Commandment
Denial, Betrayal and a New Commandment
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
The Way to God
The Way to God
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
It started with a kiss
It started with a kiss
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
Jesus Prays for His Disciples
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
Jesus is Arrested
Jesus is Arrested
by Dave Hopwood
It Started with a Kiss… Bible Ref: Matthew 26; Mark 14; Luke 22; John 13-18 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 linki…
The Blacksmith
The Blacksmith
by David A. Campton
THE BLACKSMITH Good Friday - Easter Day Monologue Holiday-makers! Damned nuisance if you ask me! Every year it's the same Hardly any work for the ten months after Pentecost, then they all flock into Jerusalem for the Passover. And they all want a few wee jobs done when they're he…
One link in the chain of command
One link in the chain of command
by David A. Campton
One link in a Chain of Command Monologue for Holy Week and Good Friday Matthew 8: 5-13; 27: 54; Mark 15: 39; Luke 7: 1-10; Luke 23: 47 I’m just one link in a chain of command… I receive orders and I give them… My name is Marcus Antoninus Proclus, senior centurion of the Tenth Leg…
The desolate Messiah dies
The desolate Messiah dies
by Gareth Hill Publishing/Song Solutions CopyCare
Hymn – The desolate Messiah dies The desolate Messiah dies spreadeagled on the cross: unwanted by the earth he made, Death’s trophy to the world displayed and, as the final scene is played, all hope is lost. The disregarded Christ hangs high as nations turn away. How can a king b…
The Jewish Trial
The Jewish Trial
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Peter Denies Jesus Three Times
Peter Denies Jesus Three Times
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Judas Returns Thirty Pieces of Silver
Judas Returns Thirty Pieces of Silver
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
The Roman Trial
The Roman Trial
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Herod Meets Jesus
Herod Meets Jesus
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Pilate Releases Barabbas
Pilate Releases Barabbas
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
The Crown of Thorns and the Flogging
The Crown of Thorns and the Flogging
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Jesus is Crucified
Jesus is Crucified
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
The Two Criminals Crucified with Jesus
The Two Criminals Crucified with Jesus
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
John and Mary, the Mother of Jesus
John and Mary, the Mother of Jesus
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Jesus Dies
Jesus Dies
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
The Centurion Believes
The Centurion Believes
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Joseph of Arimathea Asks for the Body of Jesus
Joseph of Arimathea Asks for the Body of Jesus
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Guards Stationed by Jesus' Tomb
Guards Stationed by Jesus' Tomb
by Dave Hopwood
Slaughter of the Innocent Bible Ref: Matthew 26 -27; Mark 14 -15; Luke 22-23; John 18-19 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 r…
Eggs and Ashes Book - Three Prayers for Good Friday
Eggs and Ashes Book - Three Prayers for Good Friday
by R Burgess/C Polhill (Wild Goose Publ)
Three prayers for Good Friday: The denial of your image Our inhumanity Religious power abused Forgive us, Father, for all the times we label others, forgetting each one is made and loved by you. Forgive us, Jesus, for the little choices that blind us to the pain we cause others t…
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday - stop the hurt and break the cycles of despair
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday - stop the hurt and break the cycles of despair
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday – stop the hurt and break the cycles of despair Reflection accompanying image “Stop The Hurt” Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detac…
Imagining the Lectionary: high street crucifixion
Imagining the Lectionary: high street crucifixion
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday – High Street Crucifixion Reflection accompanying image “Christ crucified on the high street” God so loved the world.....so how can something which matters so much seem to mean so little to so many, not least when so many have so much hid…
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday point of view
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday point of view
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday point of view Reflection accompanying image “Good Friday Roman point of view” So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified hi…
Such blasphemous extravagance
Such blasphemous extravagance
by Andrew Pratt
Such blasphemous extravagance as limb is torn from limb; expense is unaccountable, is this the final sin? There is no god, yet pain is god, and God is very real, amid the carnage and the fear, the hatred that we feel And did God look through human eyes and touch with human hand…
Where bodies hang in bloody torment
Where bodies hang in bloody torment
by Andrew Pratt
Where bodies hang in bloody torment, as once prefigured by the cross, we see again in coarse oppression, such human hate and human loss. The nails once hammered through Christ’s body, are now replaced with guns or wire, sophisticated ways of torture, yet no less sharp the fear th…
Prayer: God of truth
Prayer: God of truth
by Marjorie Dobson
God of truth, even today we live in a world where power corrupts and people are put to death unjustly. We remember those who are persecuted for their beliefs and those who live under an oppressive regime. We recognise that it was religious people who hounded Jesus, mocked his lif…
The cross is our symbol – a symbol of grief.
The cross is our symbol – a symbol of grief.
by Marjorie Dobson
Blessing: The cross is our symbol – a symbol of grief. The cross is our symbol – a symbol of love. The cross is our symbol – a symbol of hope Let us carry that cross into a grieving world as a sign of the love and hope that God offers to all his children. Amen ©Marjorie Dobson
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday Snapshot
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday Snapshot
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Good Friday Snapshot Reflection accompanying image “Jesus dies on the cross” In this one snapshot the cost of loving like God loves is starkly apparent. Jesus takes on all that is life-denying and spirit-crushing and refuses to concede defeat or turn…
Good Friday Crucifixions: Holy Week in Abstract
Good Friday Crucifixions: Holy Week in Abstract
by David Perry
Good Friday Crucifixions: Holy week in Abstract Reflection accompanying image “Henry Moore upright motives monochrome” The first time that I saw this group of Henry Moore's 'Upright Motives' the picture of the three Good Friday crucifixions came instantly to mind. The very fa…
God's wondrous love
God's wondrous love
by Norman J Goreham (1931-2021)
This hymn is based on words of St. Hippolytus of Rome (c 170-c 236): “This tree, wide as the heavens itself, has grown up into heaven from the earth. It is an immortal growth and towers between heaven and earth. It is the fulcrum of all things…the centre of the cosmos.”
Prayers for All Occasions Book - Holy Week and Easter Prayers
Prayers for All Occasions Book - Holy Week and Easter Prayers
by SPCK - Ian Black
A selection of prayers for Holy Week Including Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Day Easter Prayer Risen Lord, in bursting from the tomb you have broken the power of death and we see there is no darkness... Taken from Prayers for All Occasions by Ian Black
Prayers for All Occasions Book - Prayer - Passion of Christ
Prayers for All Occasions Book - Prayer - Passion of Christ
by SPCK - Ian Black
Passion of Christ Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, we give you thanks and praise for you endured the horror of the nails, piercing your hands and feet, the crown of thorns... Also available as part of a selection of prayers for Holy Week and Easter - click here Taken from Prayers for Al…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Sunday: Week 2 in Lent Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Sunday: Week 2 in Lent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B WEEK 2: SUNDAY... ...Imagine you are standing there in the dark, at the foot of the cross. The sun’s light has failed, and through your tears all you can see is this horrible pole stretching up, with Jesus hanging there, his whole body so tortured th…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Good Friday Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Good Friday Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B HOLY WEEK GOOD FRIDAY... ...We stopped the car outside the most unlikely looking house. One wall looked as if it was going to collapse at any moment. The door was hanging off on one hinge. An upstairs window was broken. There was a rustle in the bush…
Mark for Everyone - The Death of Jesus
Mark for Everyone - The Death of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 15.33–39 The Death of Jesus... ...There are times when I envy musical composers, and this is one of them. If I were capable of setting this brief but shocking story to music, I know how I would start. Darkness at noon: low chords on the heavy brass, a brood…
Mark for Everyone - The Burial of Jesus
Mark for Everyone - The Burial of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 15.40–47 The Burial of Jesus... ...Yesterday a friend came to see me in great excitement. He had been in Jerusalem a few weeks earlier, and had happened to be present when an archaeologist stumbled upon a previously unknown first-century tomb, just outside …
Reflections for Holy Week - Bowl and Towel
Reflections for Holy Week - Bowl and Towel
by Michaela Youngson
Bowl and towel John 13.1-20 Ordinary, everyday, ready to be filled with water, a bowl lies waiting to fulfil its purpose and a towel laid over it waiting to comfort, to dry, to warm. They are not changed by their use, not worn out or broken or destroyed, soon they are washed, dri…
Reflections for Holy Week - Jar and Nard
Reflections for Holy Week - Jar and Nard
by Michaela Youngson
Jar and Nard Matthew 26.6-13 A jar, fit to hold something precious, broken open to allow its contents to flow in scandalous, intimate, tactile generosity. The pot is royal purple and holy blue, with silver strands that hint at wealth. The colour of death, the colour of lent...
Easter Tree - Palm Sunday to Easter Day
Easter Tree - Palm Sunday to Easter Day
by Rev Elaine Halls
A booklet containing instructions with texts to reflect on the events of Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Day. Craft based, ideal for the over 7's. Die cut sets were used for the original but items could be drawn and photocopied instead. More info from revs…
Open with God Book - Good Friday Prayer
Open with God Book - Good Friday Prayer
by Christine Odell
Good Friday Reading: Mark 15.20b-39 or Mark 15.6-39 Place a cross somewhere prominent and ask those present to reflect on it and the feelings of the first disciples on Good Friday. Nothing can prepare us, loving God, for the reality of this day. We, Christ’s disciples, had not wa…
Good Friday Service
Good Friday Service
by Christine Odell
Good Friday Service A service of linked Call to Worship, hymns, Old and New Testament readings, prayers and meditations Call to Worship: Today is a solemn day. The day when we remember the sufferings and death of Christ our Lord upon the cross: the total self-giving of Love for t…
Last Journeys with Jesus - Holy Week Service
Last Journeys with Jesus - Holy Week Service
by Christine Odell
Last Journeys with Jesus A service of readings, Hymns, eyewitness meditations and prayers suitable for Good Friday/Holy Week Out of the Tomb – John 11:32-44 – Lazarus I am aware of darkness. I am alone and icy cold. I cannot move, for the bonds of death hold me fast. I am beyon…
Were You There? - Stations of the Cross Service
Were You There? - Stations of the Cross Service
by Christine Odell
Were you there…? A service of meditations based on the Stations of the Cross including an order of service, suggested hymns, Bible readings and 14 meditations. 2. Jesus bears his cross I watched his father, Joseph, As he fashioned the boy’s cradle. His cradle was made of the fine…
Hymn - What was the weather like that day
Hymn - What was the weather like that day
by Andrew Pratt
What was the weather like that day? Cold, wet and overcast with rain, or bright and warm with sun and clouds? What formed the back cloth to this pain? What motivated those who came, to watch this scene, to play this game? There is so much we do not know, save tortured death withi…
Holy Week 2: Good Friday judges the Church
Holy Week 2: Good Friday judges the Church
by David Perry
Holy Week 2: Good Friday judges the Church Reflection accompanying image “The curtain of the temple was torn in two” and "You can't evict an idea". On Good Friday in Jerusalem, as Jesus died, we are told that the sky went dark, an earthquake struck, and the curtain in the Temple …
Holy Week 1: Shopping for Easter
Holy Week 1: Shopping for Easter
by David Perry
Holy Week 1: Shopping for Easter Reflection accompanying image “Shopping for Easter” The shops are full of Easter gifts. One of the local pubs is even displaying a large sign which says "Come and celebrate Easter with us". Good times lie ahead. Shoppers are spoilt for choice and…
John for Everyone part 2 - The Arrest of Jesus
John for Everyone part 2 - The Arrest of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Arrest of Jesus John 18.1-14 He came, looking for someone. He came on the evening breeze, came as he had always come. Came because they knew each other, and used to spend time together. Came to the garden, because that’s where they always met. That’s where he was at home. And…
John for Everyone part 2 - Peter Denies Jesus
John for Everyone part 2 - Peter Denies Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Peter Denies Jesus John 18.15-27 There is a part of the human brain which seems to be closed off for much of the time, but which can be reached at once through the sense of smell. You can be walking down the street, thinking of something completely different, when a single sniff …
John for Everyone part 2 - Pilate and the Judaeans
John for Everyone part 2 - Pilate and the Judaeans
by SPCK - N T Wright
Pilate and the Judaeans John 18.28-32 I watched today as the television interviewer fired questions at a man whose main aim seemed to be to answer them all at great length without saying anything at all. On and on the interviewer went, trying angle after angle; but the man stood …
John for Everyone part 2 - My Kingdom Is Not From This World
John for Everyone part 2 - My Kingdom Is Not From This World
by SPCK - N T Wright
My Kingdom Is Not from This World John 18.33-40 The ancient world knew more about kings than we moderns do. Where kings and queens still exist today, they mostly live and work within a carefully constructed framework. They are not ‘absolute’ monarchs, but ‘constitutional’ ones. T…
John for Everyone part 2 - Blood and Water
John for Everyone part 2 - Blood and Water
by SPCK - N T Wright
Blood and Water John 19.31-37 He came up at the end of the service and shook me warmly by the hand. ‘I didn’t really know why I was coming here this morning,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t normally have made the effort. I’d have gone somewhere closer to home. But something made me come. A…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Sympathetic High Priest
Hebrews for Everyone - The Sympathetic High Priest
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Sympathetic High Priest Hebrews 4.14-5.3 I have just finished reading a fascinating wartime diary, written by an Anglican clergyman who was captured by the Germans in 1940 and spent the next five years in various prison camps, ministering as best he could to the thousands of …
Hebrews for Everyone - The Son Becomes the Priest
Hebrews for Everyone - The Son Becomes the Priest
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Son Becomes the Priest Hebrews 5.4-10 A man I know inherited a business from his father. It sounds rather a grand sort of thing: the son comes in, fresh from his excellent schooling, to sit in a splendid office next to that of his father, and to take over in due course, rulin…
Journeying with Luke - Passion - Holy Week
Journeying with Luke - Passion - Holy Week
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
5 Passion – Holy Week Exploring the text In the previous chapter we noted the way in which the theme of temptation weaves its way through the whole of the Gospel of Luke, reaching its climax at Jesus’ crucifixion where he is tempted three times – first by the leaders, then by the…
RE Active - Easter
RE Active - Easter
by SPCK - Jenny Gray
Easter In each school year, the RE curriculum will probably build on what children already know about Easter. In Hertfordshire (at the time of writing), Year 3 focuses on how Christians celebrate Easter; Year 4 the Last Supper and Easter food; Year 5 the events of Holy Week; Year…
friends, FOES and families - Mary at the foot of the cross
friends, FOES and families - Mary at the foot of the cross
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Mary at the foot of the cross John 19.25-27 Mary came to the foot of the cross, drawn as by a magnet. This was the only place on earth to be; the whole universe spinning around this wasteland. There was no choice in her being there, only the necessity of a mother’s love. Sufferin…
friends, FOES and families - Good Friday: several excuses for not following Jesus to the cross
friends, FOES and families - Good Friday: several excuses for not following Jesus to the cross
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Good Friday: several excuses for not following Jesus to the cross I was too busy – it had been a horrendous week. By Friday I’m always exhausted. I had the shopping to do before everything shut for Sabbath. Everyone deserves a bit of time to themselves, don’t they? I did think ab…
Prayer: After the denial
Prayer: After the denial
by Colin Smith
In reviewing the previous weeks events (holy Week) and the threat to himself, Peter realises that he still loves Jesus. He falls into remorse and begging forgiveness. Prayer: After Peter’s Denial. Matthew 26:69-75 leaves Peter weeping bitterly over his betrayal of Jesus. This is …
Prayers for Good Friday
Prayers for Good Friday
by John Birch
Prayers of Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving for Good Friday ADORATION This is love. Not that you spoke words of comfort, walked with the unclean and unloved, shared wisdom, bread and fish, brought healing into lives... Continues CONFESSION You were a man of suffering acquai…
The view from above
The view from above
by David Barker
A dialogue for 2 characters, who look down on the scene in Jerusalem on Good Friday and comment on the events unfolding before them. The view from above Two characters are sitting high up, maybe on a trestle or on step-ladders, looking down, swinging their legs …. 1 This is great…
Hot Cross Bun
Hot Cross Bun
by Alan M Barker
Image suitable for use in a PowerPoint slide (see below) PowerPoint Slide Size- This image is full size which is 3648 x 2736 pixels and 1.8MB The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce imag…
LWPT Meditations - Meditation on the Cross - Year B
LWPT Meditations - Meditation on the Cross - Year B
by Susan Thorne
Meditation on the Cross - Year B Some say it was the nails that held him. The sharp iron, mined from rock, melted, moulded, forged to pierce wrist and foot, to plunge deep into wood to keep the victim fast. When He called dry land forth from water, shaped mountains, hid minerals,…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 22:14
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 22:14
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart also in the midst of my body is even like melting wax. Recovering from heart surgery I could not find a more vivid expression to describe my aching body and soul. Anaesthesia, sedation and painkil…
There is a season - Good Friday Introduction
There is a season - Good Friday Introduction
by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston
GOOD FRIDAY Were you there when they crucified my Lord? INTRODUCTION The emphasis of this liturgy is on the journey made by Jesus on Good Friday. We walk from station to station, and so make that journey with him. The frequent movement helps keep children from getting restless, …
There is a season - Good Friday Liturgy
There is a season - Good Friday Liturgy
by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston
GOOD FRIDAY Were you there when they crucified my Lord? We gather in the chairs by the font. Hymn Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble. Were you there when they crucified m…
Beneath The Cross
Beneath The Cross
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Psalms for Everyone - My God, My God, Why?
Psalms for Everyone - My God, My God, Why?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
My God, My God, Why? Psalm 22: 1-18 Each Palm Sunday as part of our church’s worship we read the story of Jesus’ trial and execution, with members of the congregation taking different parts. There are a number of frightening moments in the story. Particularly sickening is the poi…
Psalms for Everyone - On Facing Two Sets of Facts
Psalms for Everyone - On Facing Two Sets of Facts
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Facing Two Sets of Facts Psalm 22: 19-31 Two friends of ours were giving us an amusing account of a difference they had discerned between the way they approach problems in their relationship and in other aspects of life. It was amusing yet also serious and profound. When there…
Good Friday (2)
Good Friday (2)
by Alan M Barker
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Theology of a Pharisee
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Theology of a Pharisee
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL The Theology of a Pharisee It is not difficult to draw out from what has already been said the main lines of Pharisaic theology, bringing into brief and I hope sharp focus the larger and longer treatm…
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - The Sympathetic High Priest
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - The Sympathetic High Priest
by SPCK - N T Wright
PART 1 NEW TESTAMENT TEACHING ON PRAYER OTHER CHRISTIAN TEACHING THE SYMPATHETIC HIGH PRIEST Hebrews 4: 14-16 I have just finished reading a fascinating wartime diary, written by an Anglican clergyman who was captured by the Germans in 1940 and spent the next five years in variou…
Crucifixion
Crucifixion
by Sue Brown
Crucifixion Just another crucifixion; but this time there was more interest than usual. You always get some spectators: the ghoulish, taking twisted pleasure in the pain. Sometimes a kinsman or woman stands nearby, heartbroken, distraught; wiser perhaps to stay away and weep at h…
Christ Crucified
Christ Crucified
by Don Stott
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Christ died for our sins
Christ died for our sins
by Don Stott
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Cross and Nail
Cross and Nail
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Good Friday montage
Good Friday montage
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Crown of Thorns
Crown of Thorns
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Why Good Friday
Why Good Friday
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Good Friday Cross, robe and crown of thorns
Good Friday Cross, robe and crown of thorns
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Helen Huntington Jennings Christ Crucified
Helen Huntington Jennings Christ Crucified
by David Perry
Image accompanying reflection "Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday" TIP - PowerPoint Slide Size - The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is: Reduce the image size to 2014 x 768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally…
Christ Crucified in Coventry Cathedral
Christ Crucified in Coventry Cathedral
by David Perry
Image accompanying reflection "Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday" TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) I…
Crown of Thorns Coventry Cathedral
Crown of Thorns Coventry Cathedral
by David Perry
Image accompanying reflection "Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday" TIP - PowerPoint Slide Size - The Ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is :- Reduce the image size to 2014 x 768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportiona…
Imagining the Lectionary: The sacrificial shape of Good Friday
Imagining the Lectionary: The sacrificial shape of Good Friday
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday Reflection Accompanying images: “Trimmed for the future”, “Helen Huntington Jennings Christ Crucified”, “Crown of Thorns Coventry Cathedral” and “Christ Crucified in Coventry Cathedral” Recovering from depression is p…
Trimmed for the future
Trimmed for the future
by David Perry
Image accompanying reflection "Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday" TIP - PowerPoint Slide Size The ideal way to insert into Powerpoint is: Reduce the image size to 1024 x 768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) …
They nailed him to the cross
They nailed him to the cross
by David Perry
Image of cross made from nails in Coventry Cathedral TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • …
Love so amazing
Love so amazing
by David Perry
Christ crucified sculpture with words from Isaac Watt's hymn "When I survey the wondrous cross" superimposed. TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image …
Cross words
Cross words
by Steve Boxall
Poem for Good Friday The tree that was made into a cross Cross words The tree, Part of God’s creation, spoken into existence. Full of life, holding life, supporting life, Once crowned with branches, leaves dancing in summer winds. Now straight, stark and still, No sweeping curves…
Bread of Life
Bread of Life
by Rachel Marsh
Last supper TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Powerful Ox
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The Powerful Ox
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The powerful ox Symbolism and meaning After the human face of God in Matthew’s Teacher of Israel and the bounding lion of Mark, the next symbol for Jesus might seem odd: to us, the ox seems somewhat slow and stupid – and, indeed, some commentators have been known to call Luke, wi…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The hour of glory
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The hour of glory
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The hour of glory The Passion, John 18—19 The sight of an eagle climbing up into the sky is glorious. So, too, for John, the death of Jesus sets him free of the earth to return to his Father on high; the hour of his Passion is also the hour of glory. This is the supreme irony. As…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From four gospels back to one Jesus
Four Gospels, One Jesus - From four gospels back to one Jesus
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
From four gospels back to one Jesus This basic unity of story outline within the plurality of portraits brings us to the second set of questions regarding the relationship of the four images to the search for the historical Jesus: what continuity is there between Jesus himself an…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Second Isaiah
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Second Isaiah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) The sixteen chapters that begin with “Comfort, comfort my people” comprise a complex but thematically continuous piece focusing on Jerusalem’s restoration as the Babylonian era ended. The prophet is self-effacing and barely visible, but certain aspect…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Main Point
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Main Point
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Main Point Hebrews 04: 14-10: 39 The central section consists in large part a series of technically sophisticated allegorical arguments from Scripture arguing that Jesus is a suitable and effective high priest, indeed, the great high priest of “the true tent that the Lord, an…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - "My Servant" Israel
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - "My Servant" Israel
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Beginning in chapter 41, Israel is proffered a re-envisioned role as God’s servant. The relationship between Israel and the servant was obscured for decades by Bernhard Duhm’s theory of four servant songs in chapters 42, 49, 50, and 53, discontinuous with their contexts...
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jesus' Last Days
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Jesus' Last Days
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Jesus’ Last Days John 13-21 Chapters 13–17 are known as the Farewell Discourse, because here Jesus speaks to his disciples just prior to his arrest, trial, and death. Jesus prepares his disciples for his departure from them and for their life in his absence. What Jesus envisions …
52 Reflections on Faith - Passion Sunday: responding to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Passion Sunday: responding to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
5 Passion Sunday: Responding to God In the summer of 2010, the famous Passion Play at Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany, was performed for yet another very successful season. The residents of the village have presented their play of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection every…
52 Reflections on Faith - Good Friday: access to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Good Friday: access to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Maundy Thursday: washing the feet Maundy Thursday is the first of the three holy days leading up to Easter. Christians usually think of it as the day when the Eucharist was instituted. Jesus ate a meal with his disciples in Jerusalem the night before he died, thereby inaugurating…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The King's Last Words
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The King's Last Words
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
THE KING’S LAST WORDS The soldiers have finished crucifying Jesus and shared out his clothes; there is nothing left now, but to wait for death to come. John’s focus moves to the foot of the cross, where there are four women: the mother of Jesus; his mother’s sister; Mary wife of …
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - BETRAYED in a GARDEN
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - BETRAYED in a GARDEN
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
BETRAYED in a GARDEN Jesus has finally finished ‘speaking these words’ of the Farewell Discourses and his Prayer, and so now he takes his disciples out across the Kidron valley to a garden (18:1). We notice immediately that John’s account of the passion is both similar to the oth…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - From GARDEN to COURTYARD
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - From GARDEN to COURTYARD
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
From GARDEN to COURTYARD When Jesus warned the disciples after washing their feet that they could not follow where he was going, Peter offered to lay down his life for Jesus (13:37). Despite Jesus’ warning that he was more likely to deny him and everything in the Farewell Discour…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST Jesus was taken into the house of Annas, but before we could learn what happened, we were taken out into the courtyard to see how Peter was admitted and his first quiet denial of Jesus. We know from Jesus’ warning to Peter that two more denials are to…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - REBUKES and Denials
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - REBUKES and Denials
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
REBUKES & DENIALS The scene has moved from the garden to the house of Annas, the old high priest. We have seen that John is building the tension by oscillating between events out in the courtyard and the preliminary hearing taking place in the house.
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ACCUSED before PILATE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ACCUSED before PILATE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
ACCUSED before PILATE It is ‘now early in the morning’, proi, the end of the last watch from 03.00 to 06.00 a.m. which has been spent at Caiaphas’ house. We are not told what happened there. At daybreak Jesus is taken from Caiaphas’ house to the Roman headquarters. After the osci…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Are You King of the Jews?
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - Are You King of the Jews?
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
ARE YOU KING of the JEWS? The trial oscillates between Pilate’s own interrogation of Jesus inside and those outside the headquarters. The first three scenes develop the theme of kingship, starting with Pilate’s questions.
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - HAIL KING of the JEWS
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - HAIL KING of the JEWS
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
HAIL, KING of the JEWS We have had three trial scenes so far: outside “the Jews” have demanded the death penalty, inside Pilate discussed kingship with Jesus, and then came outside again to declare his innocence in an attempt to release him. The rejection of this offer sends Pila…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - NO KING BUT CAESAR
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - NO KING BUT CAESAR
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
NO KING BUT CAESAR Pilate had thought it was all over; Jesus had been whipped and the idea that he was a king duly mocked, so everything was all set for his release, when those wretched religious leaders brought the gods and their offspring into it! Unsettled by this mention of s…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is CRUCIFIED
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is CRUCIFIED
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The KING is CRUCIFIED Through these seven balanced trial scenes, Pilate moved from mocking Jesus to a grudging respect for his kingship while “the Jews” rejected the rule of God, preferring Caesar. Now Pilate ‘hands him over to them’, using the word for ‘betray’, after the action…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The DEATH of the KING
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The DEATH of the KING
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The DEATH of the KING The Romans would usually leave a crucified body hanging on the cross to be picked clean by animals and birds, as a warning to others, like the old gibbets for hanged highwaymen at cross-roads. According to John, it is the Day of Preparation for the Passover,…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is BURIED
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - The KING is BURIED
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
The KING IS BURIED After describing Jesus’ three last sayings and the flow of blood and water from his side, suddenly John inserts a narrative comment with two of his key words both used twice, ‘witness’ and ‘truth’ (19:35). John the Baptist was a ‘witness’ to Jesus at the very s…
Traces of Glory Year B - The Fifth Sunday of Easter - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - The Fifth Sunday of Easter - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
The Fifth Sunday of Easter God of love, may we abide in your presence and so abide in your love: as we freely receive your love, let us freely share with others all that you have given us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, for ever …
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Good Friday - Year B
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Good Friday - Year B
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Full service Good Friday - Year B service contents: Hymn: O Sacred Head, sore wounded or Foretaste of Friday Prayer – in this prayer the words in bold print are said a single person responding to the leader. The following hymn begins unannounced after a short silence. Hymn: There…
Darkness came over the land
Darkness came over the land
by Twelvebaskets and Andrew Pratt
A composition image created by Twelvebaskets Ltd Original 'Eclipse of the sun' by Andrew Pratt Original 'Silhouette of Cross' by Jo Fagan Image layering, blending and text by Twelvebaskets Ltd For details of composition images and accreditation see our Terms & Conditions Andrew P…
I am thirsty
I am thirsty
by Win Hawkins
“I am thirsty” Lord Jesus, at the start of your ministry you hungered in the desert and yet you were able to resist the devil’s temptations through knowing the truth of the scriptures. Now as your ministry in human form comes to its end - its cruel end on a cross - you are thirst…
Today you will be with me in Paradise
Today you will be with me in Paradise
by Win Hawkins
“Today you will be with me in Paradise” Did you really speak those words, Lord Were they really meant for me? I’m a robber and a sinner I’m a wicked man you see. I’ve always been a wrong ‘un My life was always bad But to see you here beside me Well that makes me very sad. I’ve he…
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 23 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 23 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 23 Holy and Strong One, we praise you for Jesus Christ our great High Priest, who has entered into the fullness of the kingdom in heaven and opened for us a gate of glory. May we approach the throne of grace and boldness, and in time of need know your mercy and grace; thro…
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…
Isaiah for everyone - Beautiful Feet
Isaiah for everyone - Beautiful Feet
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Beautiful Feet My feet went all nasty a few years ago in Jerusalem. Visiting Jerusalem was the only occasion when I got to wear sandals continually for two weeks, and the skin on my heels frayed. One result was that it became impossible to keep them clean…
Isaiah for everyone - The Man Who Kept His Mouth Shut
Isaiah for everyone - The Man Who Kept His Mouth Shut
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Man Who Kept His Mouth Shut I just came across a comment someone made when my first wife died five years ago. “We are forever grateful that she paid the price of her discipleship.” She “stands tall” among people who have “worked for our comfort and edification . . . Her direc…
52 Reflections on Faith - All Saints Day: Humility and service
52 Reflections on Faith - All Saints Day: Humility and service
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
All Saints Day: Humility and service Residents of Southampton know all too well that their local football team is known as ‘the Saints’. The well-known song ‘O when the saints go marching in’ is often sung for the team, both at home and away. The mere sound of the song can bring …
Meditation - THE GOOD FRIDAY CROSS
Meditation - THE GOOD FRIDAY CROSS
by John Hill
THE GOOD FRIDAY CROSS A Meditation John Hill There are occasions when it is an honour to be chosen to do something. Once the initial fears and trepidation have decreased, after the full realisation and knowledge of the responsibility, expectations have sunk in and there has been …
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Good Friday - Year C
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Good Friday - Year C
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Good Friday - Year C Service contents: Hymn: When I survey the wondrous cross or A carpenter hung on a cross Reading: Psalm 22 Prayer: Agony Hymn: In the cross of Christ I glory or When loneliness oppresses me Reading: Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Hymn: Throned upon the awful tree or In th…
52 Reflections on Faith - Justification by faith: Computer studies
52 Reflections on Faith - Justification by faith: Computer studies
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Justification by faith: Computer studies Sometime back in the late 1980s, I took an adventurous step and bought an Amstrad computer. Thinking of it now, it feels like a computer dinosaur. Actually, mine was only a word processor and I bought it partly, at least, under the sad ill…
journeying with John - 4 Passion and Holy Week
journeying with John - 4 Passion and Holy Week
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
4 Passion and Holy Week Each of the Gospels brings its portrayal of Jesus to a climax with his death. Although the themes are different in each Gospel, it is important to pay close attention to the themes that come to the fore in the crucifixion accounts, since they tell us somet…
embodying mark - 7 Following the King
embodying mark - 7 Following the King
by SPCK - meda a a stamper
7 Following the King Finally we come to the terrible death of the Son, betrayed, denied and deserted by his male followers; mocked by passers-by, who shake their heads and say ‘Aha’, and by the religious authorities, who have condemned him in a kangaroo court and handed him over …
Crucified with Christ
Crucified with Christ
by Colin Smith
This short reflection (684 words) considers what Paul meant by being “crucified with Christ” It associates the crucifixion of Jesus’s body with his total surrender of both his body and his will to his heavenly father as demonstrated by Jesus in Gethsemane Fortunately we do not h…
The Vine at Home - The Vine At Home - Good Friday
The Vine at Home - The Vine At Home - Good Friday
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
A Free Resource to use at home for for Good Friday. The Vine at Home series has been especially published to use during the Coronavirus. It is adapted from The Vine, which is a weekly resource create to be used in Local Arrangement services and service preparation. The Vine at Ho…
ALL THE FLOWERS
ALL THE FLOWERS
by Audrey Hogan
This is a poem for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. The sorrow of Good Friday and the Joy of Easter morning. An Allegorical poem which is based upon observations of nature in spring time. Jesus being King of creation, it seems right that nature itself should join in the sorrow of G…
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by Christian Assembly Team
Thirty Pieces of Silver (30) Bible ref: Matthew 26:14-16 and Matthew 27:3 Excellent as one of the last assemblies before Easter, this can also be used at any time to demonstrate trust and betrayal. The Bible includes thousands of stories; many of them include significant or speci…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Glossary
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Glossary
by SPCK - N T Wright
GLOSSARY Acts for Everyone Part 2 age to come, see present age apostle, disciple, the Twelve ‘Apostle’ means ‘one who is sent’. It could be used of an ambassador or official delegate. In the New Testament it is sometimes used specifically of Jesus’ inner circle of twelve; but Pau…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Resurrection Plus the name of Jesus equals trouble
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Resurrection Plus the name of Jesus equals trouble
by SPCK - N T Wright
Resurrection Plus the Name of Jesus Equals Trouble Acts 4.1-12 I cherish the remark attributed to a bishop who complained that he didn’t seem to be having the same impact as the first apostles. ‘Everywhere St Paul went,’ he said, ‘there was a riot. Everywhere I go they serve tea.…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Second Sunday of Easter Year B
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by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Second Sunday of Easter Acts 4.32–35 1 1 John 1.1—2.2 John 20.19–31 The recent popularity of The Lord of the Rings has helpfully given new vitality to the word ‘fellowship’. The people who make up the ‘fellowship of the ring’ are not natural allies. They have little in comm…
Maker of Life and Lord of Lords
Maker of Life and Lord of Lords
by Andrew T Murphy
A hymn about grace, atonement and discipleship. The hymn would be ideal for Lent or Passiontide, and has a traditional style and metre for use by most congregations. A suggested tune is 'Abridge (St Stephen)' [CM], although there are plenty of others.
God resists a partial judgment
God resists a partial judgment
by Andrew Pratt
God resists a partial judgment, spinning justice in the air, mercy breathes in word and action when the Spirit's breath is there. Here the wicked face comeuppance, here the weak are heard at last, where each human word and action counts for more than prayer or fast. Verses 3-4 fo…
The Joy Of God's Word
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by Norman J Goreham (1931-2021)
This hymn is based on the prayer of the Venerable Bede (673-735), teacher of the faith and translator of the Scriptures: “I pray you, good Jesus, that, as you have given me the grace to drink in with joy the word that gives knowledge of you, so, in your goodness, you will grant m…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - Faith and Works
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by SPCK - N T Wright
Faith and Works James 2.14-26 That’s the wrong way round, isn’t it? That’s what we are inclined to think as we read that final verse. If I were to use ‘the body and the spirit’ as a picture for ‘faith and works’, I would make ‘faith’ correspond to the ‘spirit’ and ‘works’ to the …
Jesus suffered
Jesus suffered
by Don Stott
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Hymn: A legal agreement gave God and the people
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by Andrew Pratt
A legal agreement gave God and the people a new sense of confidence, comfort and peace. The covenant forged led to new understanding, God's spirit within them had brought them release; Verses 2-3 follow Tune: WAS LEBET, WAS SCHWEBET Metre: 12.11.12.11 Andrew Pratt (born 1948)…
Hymn: Held in the arms of God's love and compassion
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by Andrew Pratt
Held in the arms of God's love and compassion, Jesus had kept them right up to the end, these his disciples, now named as Apostles, each of these strangers now counted as friend. Jesus had taught them by word and example, shared times of suffering, illness and grief. Spell-bound …
We stand in awe and wonder at this moment
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We stand in awe and wonder at this moment, we are Your people and You know our worth; the covenant we make with firm intention will set our course for now upon this earth. When we are lost to love and feel abandoned, out in the desert of our doubt and fear, God take us by the han…
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Prayer: Everything and nothing Most people would not understand the truth of having nothing, yet possessing everything. Yet, time and again, that truth is demonstrated by people who seem to have lost everything, other than hope and faith and love. Loving God, please help us to ke…
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Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Third Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Third Sunday Before Advent Jonah 3.1-5, 10 Hebrews 9.24-28 Mark 1.14-20 ‘Once, only once, and once for all.’ The hymn that starts thus withdraws with the left hand some of what it gives with the right, hinting that Christ’s unique sacrifice is still somehow present in the e…
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by Rose humphrey
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JOHN: The people's bible commentary - From GARDEN to COURTYARD
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
From GARDEN to COURTYARD When Jesus warned the disciples after washing their feet that they could not follow where he was going, Peter offered to lay down his life for Jesus (13:37). Despite Jesus’ warning that he was more likely to deny him and everything in the Farewell Discour…
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by SPCK - Judith Dimond
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Impossible gifts are with God for the giving
by Andrew Pratt
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The Things He Carried - 5. The Hopes of God
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by SPCK - Stephen Cottrell
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What news is good? That Christ will live forever?
by Andrew Pratt
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by Marjorie Dobson
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by Marjorie Dobson
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by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 7.14–23 ..Back to jokes again. Have you ever told a joke and seen a row of blank stares? They didn’t get it? What can you do? Explain it? Surely that’ll take all the fun out of it. Yes, but a parable isn’t a joke. This one in particular was no laughing matt…
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We will love the God we worship
by Andrew Pratt
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by SPCK - Stephen Cottrell
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Sometimes words are not enough
by John Birch
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Imagining the Lectionary: The sacrificial shape of Good Friday
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: the sacrificial shape of Good Friday Reflection Accompanying images: “Trimmed for the future”, “Helen Huntington Jennings Christ Crucified”, “Crown of Thorns Coventry Cathedral” and “Christ Crucified in Coventry Cathedral” Recovering from depression is p…
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by Roger Price
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Mark for Everyone - Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 10.46–52 Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar... ...It took some weeks of persuasion before they came to see me. The grown-up son was desperate to get his ailing and depressed mother into some kind of a home where she would be properly cared for. As long as she lived…
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by Andrew Pratt
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Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Easter Day Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Easter Day Isaiah 25.6-9 1 Corinthians 15.1-11 John 20.1-18 This Gospel reading is not, as one writer has suggested, ‘a sanitized story about a trip to a garden and a lovely surprise’. If Easter is in any sense the happy ending after a sad story, that is the least important thing…
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by Tim Marshall
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by Andrew Pratt
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by Marjorie Dobson
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Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Wednesday Holy Week Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
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Hymn: We will give thanks for the light we've received
by Michael Docker
We will give thanks for the light we've received; For we have found Christ who said if we believed Then we would see greater than yet we have seen - The things of God's Kingdom and all that they mean. We are beginning to turn from the past; For we have seen Christ's life show dea…
Hymn: Here a neighbour stands as Jesus
Hymn: Here a neighbour stands as Jesus
by Andrew Pratt
Here a neighbour stands as Jesus, here is God, yes, face to face, here our faith finds restoration, here we meet and share God's grace. Here while eyes look with compassion hands reach out and peace is shown; we are held in loving kindness filled with joy that God has sown. Verse…
Jerusalem rejoice and sing
Jerusalem rejoice and sing
by Andrew Pratt
Jerusalem rejoice and sing as new things come to pass; a revelation is revealed, that love will live and last. Beyond a detrimental end, beyond the cross and tomb, the Christ was raised, would live again beyond the dark and gloom. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: AMAZING GRACE Metre: CM …
People will gather in praise for creation
People will gather in praise for creation
by Andrew Pratt
People will gather in praise for creation, praise for the love that has brought us to birth. Nations acknowledge a oneness of purpose, this is God’s dream for the whole of the earth. Those who are weeping will find consolation, comfort and peace that the world cannot give... Vers…
Prayer: Weeping God
Prayer: Weeping God
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Weeping God Weeping God, we come to join in your tears for those people who are refugees, or have been taken captive from their own country. We weep for those fleeing from violence and oppression; for those falsely accused of rebellion, when only seeking for justice; for …
Drama/Monologue: Say the word!
Drama/Monologue: Say the word!
by Marjorie Dobson
Drama/Monologue: Say the word! Can you believe it? He didn’t even come to the house. He never saw the man yet. But all he had to do was to speak a word … Amazing! Wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Claudius is a great friend of mine, of course. We’ve …
As Jesus came riding along on a donkey
As Jesus came riding along on a donkey
by Andrew Pratt
As Jesus came riding along on a donkey, the pavement was holy, he hallowed the ground. The stones will cry out if the people are silent, a day filled with joy and with praising is found. Then those who had followed and those who came after sang loudly while waving their palms i…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Fourth Sunday before Advent Mark 12: 28-34 Gaze on Jesus still in the Temple after hours of debate. Imagine him standing in the outer Temple courts where the doves are fluttering and goats bleating and penned ready for sacrifice. Five hundred years old, the Temple is the gold…
Prayer: The changing world
Prayer: The changing world
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: The changing world Dear God, sometimes when we look at the world we live in, we are filled with despair at the selfishness and greed that we see around us. It seems as if so many people are concerned solely with their own business and no one cares about morality, or selfl…
Intangible strands bind your people together
Intangible strands bind your people together
by Andrew Pratt
Intangible strands bind your people together, as one in your Body, so wonderf'lly made, close joined by humanity, sisters and brothers, yet fractured and broken, you find us dismayed; For we have not trusted the person of Jesus, the risks that he took, the example You gave. When …
How can we look, and not be moved
How can we look, and not be moved
by Andrew Pratt
1 How can we look, and not be moved by lives that end and eyes that plead, where parents cry while families part amid their last despairing need. 2 Once we were distanced from the ones that suffered while we stood to stare. God give the gift of empathy that we might offer more th…
Confrontation
Confrontation
by Marjorie Dobson
Confrontation Arrogant, exclusive, toffee-nosed, know-it-alls are a prime target for ridicule – and on the receiving end of plenty of it. But do they care? Not much. Usually they can easily retreat into their exclusivity, surround themselves with those of like minds and justify t…
The Spirit came that breathed across the waters
The Spirit came that breathed across the waters
by Andrew Pratt
The Spirit came that breathed across the waters, existent since the very dawn of time, the essence of the Word at once incarnate, providing sound to what was human mime; Like lightning unleashed within the cosmos, the unexpected flame of life set free, that alloys different langu…
Glorious and blessed God
Glorious and blessed God
by Gareth Hill Publishing/Song Solutions CopyCare
Hymn – Glorious and blessèd God Glorious and blessèd God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am yours, only by your grace. Now your will, not mine, be done in all things, as you determine and, wherever I may go, shield me by your grace.... (c) Gareth Hill Publishing/…
Monologue: It's all so familiar
Monologue: It's all so familiar
by Andrew Pratt
Monologue on 1 Corinthians 13 (I use the name Andrew. It is best if the reader inserts their own name here). It's all so familiar: 'Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity', they translate that as 'love' now - makes more sense, charity has the w…
Hymn: Grace and peace to all God's people
Hymn: Grace and peace to all God's people
by Andrew Pratt
Grace and peace to all God's people from the Word before all worlds, all transcendent cosmic lover, in our presence grace unfolds. Born into the world among us, Christ the Word, incarnate Love knowing human strength and weakness, raise our eyes to things above. Verses 3-4 follows…
Poem: Determination
Poem: Determination
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Determination Nothing could deter him. Not religious opposition. Not the wily Herod. Not the prophetic predictions. Not the Pharisees with their plotting, nor the teachers with their testing, nor the disciples and their doubting. Nothing could stop him. Continues... ©Marjor…
Dialogue/drama: Trouble for the future
Dialogue/drama: Trouble for the future
by Marjorie Dobson
Dialogue/drama: Trouble for the future A I can’t see much future in that kind of life, can you? I mean, it was all about wars and disasters and earthquakes and things. I think that’s too scary to even think about it. B Well, he did say that all that kind of thing was just routine…
Numbers in the Bible Assembly Collection - Forgiveness 70 times 7 Assembly
Numbers in the Bible Assembly Collection - Forgiveness 70 times 7 Assembly
by Christian Assembly Team
Forgiveness – Seventy times Seven Bible ref: Matthew 18:21-35 There’s quite a lot in this assembly so you will have to keep it moving or edit as you feel necessary... Today we are going to be thinking about forgiveness. What does the word “forgive” mean? (Establish a child-friend…
To God we come and lift our voices high
To God we come and lift our voices high
by Gareth Hill Publishing/Song Solutions CopyCare
Hymn – To God we come and lift our voices high To God we come and lift our voices high; children of hope, we sing his majesty! Called to be faithful to the Lord of life - to change the world, one person at a time. In faith we build communities of Grace; hold broken lives for God’…
Prayer: God of all grace and glory
Prayer: God of all grace and glory
by Andrew Pratt
Prayer: God of all grace and glory God of all grace and glory you have given us everything we need. Through hardship and affliction you have walked with us. When nights have been sleepless, or broken by the crash and thunder of rioting you have guarded and protected us. In conseq…
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
JESUS before the HIGH PRIEST Jesus was taken into the house of Annas, but before we could learn what happened, we were taken out into the courtyard to see how Peter was admitted and his first quiet denial of Jesus. We know from Jesus’ warning to Peter that two more denials are to…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 15 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 15 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 15 Isaiah 56.1, 6–8 Romans 11.1–2a, 29–32 Matthew 15.10–28 This strange story of the Canaanite woman clearly scratches an itch for Matthew’s readers. If you put this version and Mark’s version side by side (Mark 7.24–30), you w…
Hymn: You're not far from God's Kingdom