Lectionary 23/11/2025
- Proper 29 /Ordinary 34 - Year C
- Christ the King/Sunday before Advent - Year C
Lectionary Readings
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God loves a scandal, look at Christ
God loves a scandal, look at Christ
by Andrew Pratt
God loves a scandal, look at Christ, his crying indignation will turn our tables round again, infect our generation. And those of us who hold some power, our influence diluted, will sense the end of all we love, our treasured schemes uprooted. Verses 3-5 follow Andrew Pratt (bo…
One each side, they hung discarded
One each side, they hung discarded
by Andrew Pratt
One each side, they hung discarded, human garbage left to rot. People jeering, heckling, teasing - just a side-show? awful plot? Soldiers hammered, people clamoured, flesh was torn and limbs were bent. ‘God forgive, O God forgive them’; Jesus’ words had clear intent. Verses 2-3 f…
Scattered sheep, you hear God's calling
Scattered sheep, you hear God's calling
by Andrew Pratt
Scattered sheep, you hear God’s calling, people driven far from home; sometimes those you trust deceive you. God is watching, do not roam. Verses 2-3 follow Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 22/8/2010 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England, www.stainer.co.uk. Please include any re…
Monologue:A chief priest
Monologue:A chief priest
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue: A chief priest Ha! We’ve got him this time. It’s all over! Finished! Done! The whole sorry, sordid episode has come to an end. And, with their leader gone, it won’t take long to round up the rest of his followers and dispose of them too. The crowd is on our side now. I…
Responsive prayer: God is our refuge
Responsive prayer: God is our refuge
by Marjorie Dobson
Responsive prayer: God is our refuge On those days when people seem to be aggressive and antagonistic: God is our refuge. On those days when bad news is the only news of the day: God is our refuge. On those days when tragedy and disaster bring fear and a sense of helplessness: Go…
Poem/meditation: Be still
Poem/meditation: Be still
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/Meditation: Be still When, in the stillness a storm threatens; the air becomes heavy, the clouds gather and the atmosphere is crackling with anticipated destruction: hear these words – be still and know that I am God. When, in the stillness, all is quiet and there is no one …
Some king, who hangs as others taunt
Some king, who hangs as others taunt
by Andrew Pratt
Some king, who hangs as others taunt, and sling their insults fuelled with hate. Here love was nailed as blood was drained, this was no sordid trick of fate. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: ABENDS; WINCHESTER NEW Metre: LM Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 11/11/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd,…
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…
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Proper 29 (34) - Year C
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Proper 29 (34) - Year C
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Proper 29 (34) - Year C - Christ the King – Sunday before Advent Service contents: Hymn: King of kings, majesty or Christ, our King before creation or Some king, who hangs as others taunt Prayer: Surprising God Reading: Jeremiah 23:1-6 Hymn: Light of the world, you stepped down i…
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
by Colin Smith
This short (1220 words) reflection/sermon identifies the stages involved in thanksgiving. Using a story and three relevant old and new testament Bible verses, these essential preconditions are identified i) Noticing a service has been done, ii) Realising what it has cost the pe…
All Desires Known - Most Holy and Most Humble Collect
All Desires Known - Most Holy and Most Humble Collect
by SPCK - Janet Morley
MOST HOLY AND MOST HUMBLE Collect John 1.1–14 Mighty God, most holy and most humble, you have chosen to hear our cry... Christmas Day (ABC); 2 before Lent (B); Lent 4 (B); Christ the King (C) Taken from All Desires Known by Janet Morley Published by SPCK
Prayers for All Occasions Book - Prayer - Christ the King
Prayers for All Occasions Book - Prayer - Christ the King
by SPCK - Ian Black
Christ the King Lord Jesus Christ, in you we see the splendour of God in human form, sharing our joys, sufferings and frailty. In your resurrection and ascension we see your majesty completed... Taken from Prayers for All Occasions by Ian Black
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…
Luke for Everyone - The Crucifixion
Luke for Everyone - The Crucifixion
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Crucifixion Luke 23.27-43 My first day at the lumber camp was probably the hardest. I was issued with thick leather gloves, and sent off to the first shed, where the planks arrived after the huge trees had been sliced up. The boards came out sideways on a huge conveyor belt, …
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Christ the King Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Christ the King Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Christ the King Jeremiah 23.1–6 Colossians 1.11–20 Luke 23.33–43 Today’s passages might, on a superficial reading, simply be making the fairly standard point that Christ’s kingship and authority are a challenge to most human understandings of power. That’s a good and important po…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Christ the King Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Christ the King Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
Christ the King Jeremiah 23.1–6 Colossians 1.11–20 Luke 23.33–43 Shepherds, shepherding stories, and shepherding metaphors abound throughout the Bible, as one would expect in that culture. The creative thing in Israel’s traditions, though, was the development of ‘the shepherd’ as…
Meditation - Sunday Before Advent Year C
Meditation - Sunday Before Advent Year C
by David Middleton
Meditation – Sunday before Advent Year C What is truth? John 18: 33-37 Revelation 1: 4b-8 God of Grace, Moving heaven and earth For love of a fallen race... Created by David Middleton on behalf of LWPT (Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust) for more information click here.
Meditation - sunday Before Advent Year C (2nd)
Meditation - sunday Before Advent Year C (2nd)
by David Middleton
Meditation – Sunday before Advent Year C Safe yourself Luke 23: 33-43 Save Yourself if you are the Messiah! The leaders laughed and scoffed at the sight of Jesus, nailed to a cross. His life slowly but certainly, ebbing away, he couldn’t save himself now! Finally Jesus was under …
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Peak of David's Achievement
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Peak of David's Achievement
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Peak of David’s Achievement 2 Samuel 8: 1- 10: 19 I’ve just started reading a social history of Britain since the end of the 1939–1945 war. It thus begins with the celebration of the allies’ victory over Nazi Germany, personalized as Winston Churchill’s victory over Adolf Hit…
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Christ the King Year C
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Christ the King Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Christ the King Luke 23: 33-43 Gaze on the two other men, hanging on their crosses. Though we know nothing about their crimes, we may picture them as nasty, brutish men, surly, dirty and dishevelled even before this execution. Were they violent men who had spent a lifetime harmin…
LWPT Meditations - Sunday Before Advent - Year C
LWPT Meditations - Sunday Before Advent - Year C
by Susan Thorne
Meditation – Sunday Before Advent Yr C Jeremiah 23:1-6 Luke 1:68-79 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43 I once saw a drama in church in which two angels were waiting in heaven for the first person to benefit from Christ’s sacrifice. The crucifixion was taking place, and the angels …
Looking towards Advent
Looking towards Advent
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…
Prayers for Stir up Sunday
Prayers for Stir up Sunday
by Christine Dutton
Prayers for Stir up Sunday as we begin our advent preparations. Loving Jesus, Thank you for the coming of advent, for the time to prepare, for the time to receive others as the host or be the guest in the home of family or friends. As we stir our Christmas puddings, as we mix our…
Crown is given
Crown is given
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…
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Wisdom and Gratitude
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Wisdom and Gratitude
by SPCK - N T Wright
PART 2 PRAYERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT PRAYERS OF PAUL WISDOM AND GRATITUDE Colossians 1: 9-14 We watched, holding our breath, as the mother duck left the pond at the head of her brood. There were seven ducklings in all: four black ones and three yellow ones. They were lively and sq…
The Living God - A Personal God
The Living God - A Personal God
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
A personal God: love and faithfulness 2 A personal God All of us like to complain about our employers. I met up with someone I had known back in the days when I was a research student in Oxford. Over a cup of tea I asked him how he was getting on at the college where he now worke…
Rhythms of remembering - Wednesday Midday Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Wednesday Midday Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
Midday and Night Prayer for all seasons Wednesday Midday Prayer Open my lips, O Lord: and my mouth shall declare your praise. You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the face of God to prepare the way,..
Rhythms of remembering - Advent - Thursday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Advent - Thursday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
ADVENT - Thursday Morning Prayer Blessed are you, O God: you come to set your people free. By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness...
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Will You Just Shut Up and Listen?
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Will You Just Shut Up and Listen?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Will You Just Shut Up and Listen? Psalm 95 One of the most formative experiences of my life was being a chorister in the choir at the cathedral in my home city in England. I learned to sing and to read and write music, and I wouldn’t have become a music freak except for that expe…
Praying for Jerusalem, Praying for Grace
Praying for Jerusalem, Praying for Grace
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Praying for Jerusalem, Praying for Grace Psalm 122-123 When people would ask me what I expected to miss about leaving England to move to the United States, I would say that one of the main things was proximity to Israel. From London I could get there in four hours or so, and I us…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What about the authors?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What about the authors?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
What about the authors? Redaction and composition I cannot always read my favourite newspaper at coffee-time in our staff common room, because someone else has bagged it already! Never mind, there are others around, and reading various papers reveals their different styles and vi…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Mountains
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Mountains
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Mountains For some strange reason, human beings connect mountains with God. In many ancient religions, worship took place on the ‘high places’. Even today, we talk of ‘mountain-top experiences’, despite having left behind the notion that mountains are closer to God’s supposed dwe…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox in the Temple and the stall
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox in the Temple and the stall
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The ox in the Temple and the stall Infancy and beginnings, Luke 1—4.13 Since the ox was the universal beast of burden, it is not surprising that Luke stresses the universal importance of Jesus. We have seen that the opening words of any ancient text were crucial. If Mark is not c…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Those who are burdened with heavy loads
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Those who are burdened with heavy loads
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Those who are burdened with heavy loads The ministry of the ox The keynote for Luke’s portrait of Jesus is set in his initial visit to the synagogue at Nazareth (4.16–30). Luke’s story is three times longer than the equivalent accounts which occur much later in Mark and Matthew (…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Strength to bear the burdens
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Strength to bear the burdens
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Strength to bear the burdens Luke’s spirituality As well as a patient steady plodder, carrying heavy loads, the ox was a very religious symbol for Jews, being used for sacrifice, and its horns representing the power of God. If Luke is the evangelist who depicts Jesus as the beare…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The sacrificial, saving victim The Passion, Luke 22—23 In Luke’s Passion narrative, Jesus becomes passive, like Mark’s lion being tied up and muzzled, or Matthew’s Teacher refusing to call up legions of angels. Here the reason is divine necessity: ‘it is necessary’ (dei) appears …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Origin of John the Baptist and Jesus
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - The Origin of John the Baptist and Jesus
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
The Origin of John the Baptist and Jesus (Luke 1) Against this background of the role of women in Luke, one can examine in more detail passages unique to Luke that focus on women. Three women appear in this section (Elizabeth, Mary of Nazareth, and Anna) in roles far more powerfu…
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 - Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2) The books of Samuel begin with the story of the birth of a son to a woman previously childless. According to the narrative, Hannah, the favored wife of Elkanah, has no children, because YHWH has “closed her womb.” Ha…
52 Reflections on Faith - Maundy Thursday: washing the feet
52 Reflections on Faith - Maundy Thursday: washing the feet
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…
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…
The Act of Prayer Year C - Second Sunday of Advent - Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Second Sunday of Advent - Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Second Sunday of Advent Year C Opening prayer This is Advent, the season of preparation. The shops are full of gifts that we might give or receive. Streets are decorated, and choirs begin the rounds of community centres and retirement homes with their seasonal offerings of carols…
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…
52 Reflections on Faith - Wisdom: Christ himself
52 Reflections on Faith - Wisdom: Christ himself
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Wisdom: Christ himself Late one evening, as I stood outside one of my churches in Essex talking to a churchwarden, he suddenly said, ‘Listen, I think that’s an owl.’ We craned our necks and pricked our ears into the night for a moment, hoping for another ‘hoot’, but alas it didn’…
52 Reflections on Faith - Trinity Sunday: The circle of life
52 Reflections on Faith - Trinity Sunday: The circle of life
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Trinity Sunday:The circle of life Probably the most popular icon of the Holy Trinity these days is the one by the Russian iconographer Andrei Rublev, which is displayed in the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. Reproduced widely, it has become very well known in recent years outside th…
52 Reflections on Faith - Icons: Looking through a window
52 Reflections on Faith - Icons: Looking through a window
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Icons: Looking through a window Icons can be a very powerful aid to prayer. They’re mostly found in Greek, Russian and other Orthodox churches but in the last few decades they’ve started to appear in the UK in Anglican churches and cathedrals…
Jeremiah for everyone - The Wicked Play on Words in a King's Name
Jeremiah for everyone - The Wicked Play on Words in a King's Name
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Wicked Play on Words in a King's Name Names often matter. When we married eighteen months ago, I encouraged my wife to keep her name as it was so that in seminary and church circles it signalled that she continued to be a person in her own right and not simply my wife…
Jeremiah for everyone - Another Wicked Play on Words
Jeremiah for everyone - Another Wicked Play on Words
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Another Wicked Play on Words For a while I was the faculty representative on the president’s cabinet in our seminary, which means I had to get up early once a month for a meeting of people in the administration to discuss big policy questions (but not so much their ongoing implem…
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 143