SPCK - N T Wright
2 Corinthians - Our Boasting Proved True
2 Corinthians - Our Boasting Proved True
by SPCK - N T Wright
Our Boasting Proved True! 2 CORINTHIANS 7.11-16 The first time I stayed with my friends in Germany I explained to them just how beautiful the north of England was. They had never seen it, and they had only heard a little about the hills and woods, the mountains, the ancient castl…
2 Corinthians - The God Who Comforts the Downcast
2 Corinthians - The God Who Comforts the Downcast
by SPCK - N T Wright
The God Who Comforts the Downcast 2 CORINTHIANS 7.2-10 What is your image of what a successful Christian ought to look like? Do you have in the back of your mind a picture of a person who goes through life in perfect faith and trust, obedient to God in everything, never afraid of…
2 Corinthians - Don't Be Mis-Matched
2 Corinthians - Don't Be Mis-Matched
by SPCK - N T Wright
Don’t Be Mis-Matched 2 CORINTHIANS 6.14-7.1 Every time a new Bible translation comes out, it seems, one of the questions people ask about it is whether the language is ‘inclusive’. When it mentions men, does it mention women as well? Does it imply that all Christians are basicall…
2 Corinthians - God's Servant at Work
2 Corinthians - God's Servant at Work
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Servant at Work 2 CORINTHIANS 6.3-13 We sat by the table, both of us exhausted. In between us, an equally tired toddler in a high chair. We had been up half the night with him, and his mood was reflecting how we felt. He was grumpy and thoroughly uncooperative. He was refus…
2 Corinthians - New creation, New Ministry
2 Corinthians - New creation, New Ministry
by SPCK - N T Wright
New Creation, New Ministry 2 CORINTHIANS 5. 16-6.2 When a new world is born, a new way of living goes with it. This is true in so many stages of life. It is true when a couple have their first baby; a whole new chapter has opened in their lives, and nothing will be the same again…
2 Corinthians - The Messiah's Love Makes Us Press On
2 Corinthians - The Messiah's Love Makes Us Press On
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Messiah’s Love Makes Us Press On 2 CORINTHIANS 5.11-15 ‘What on earth made you do that?’ The newspaper reporter was incredulous. A young woman had just won a competition. The first prize was a three-week trip around the world. The chance of a lifetime. And she had given it up…
2 Corinthians - The Judgment Seat of the Messiah
2 Corinthians - The Judgment Seat of the Messiah
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Judgment Seat of the Messiah 2 CORINTHIANS 5.6-10 The first thing we were shown when we went to Corinth was the judgment seat. You come up the road Paul would have walked, climbing a bit as you get to the middle of the town, and you find yourself standing in the ancient Forum…
2 Corinthians - A House Waiting in the Heavens
2 Corinthians - A House Waiting in the Heavens
by SPCK - N T Wright
A House Waiting in the Heavens 2 CORINTHIANS 5.1-5 ‘Life after death is one of the greatest mysteries in the world, but there’s no need to make it more mysterious than it should be. I recently went for the first time to the magnificent Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, beside St Pet…
2 Corinthians - The God of All Comfort
2 Corinthians - The God of All Comfort
by SPCK - N T Wright
The God of All Comfort 2 CORINTHIANS 4.13-18 ‘To Carthage then I came,’ wrote T. S. Eliot in one of his famous poems. One can imagine someone picking up the poem in a bookshop and wondering what on earth he was talking about. Had he gone to the real Carthage, in North Africa? If …
2 Corinthians - Treasure in Earthenware Pots
2 Corinthians - Treasure in Earthenware Pots
by SPCK - N T Wright
Treasure in Earthenware Pots 2 CORINTHIANS 4.7-12 Sir Oliver Franks was one of the most distinguished men in Oxford during my time as an undergraduate. He had been a professor of philosophy at an early age; he had been head of an Oxford college, still very young; he had been chai…
2 Corinthians - Light Out of Darkness
2 Corinthians - Light Out of Darkness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Light out of Darkness 2 CORINTHIANS 4.1-6 I walked into the smart office, slightly early for my appointment. The porter at the front door handed me on to an assistant, who walked with me up two grand flights of stairs and through an imposing door. It was a long time since I had m…
2 Corinthians - The Veil and The Glory
2 Corinthians - The Veil and The Glory
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Veil and the Glory 2 CORINTHIANS 3.12-18 The story is told of a time when there was to be a total eclipse of the sun. The newspapers and the radio and television stations repeatedly put out warnings, reminding people that they should not attempt to look directly at the sun. E…
2 Corinthians - Death and Glory
2 Corinthians - Death and Glory
by SPCK - N T Wright
Death and Glory 2 CORINTHIANS 3.7-11 The two teenagers were slumped in armchairs. Both of them had their headphones plugged into personal stereos, and had the faraway look of people being carried along by hidden sounds. One of them nodded her head gently in time with the beat. Th…
2 Corinthians - The Letter and the Spirit
2 Corinthians - The Letter and the Spirit
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Letter and the Spirit 2 CORINTHIANS 3.1-6 ‘I had to write a letter of recommendation last week. One of my former students is job-hunting, and the people who run the college he has applied to don’t know him, or not very well; so it is up to me to write to them, in a formal way…
2 Corinthians - The Smell of Life, The Smell of Death
2 Corinthians - The Smell of Life, The Smell of Death
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Smell of Life, the Smell of Death 2 CORINTHIANS 2.12-17 ‘What does that remind you of?’ The smell came strongly to me, a dark, heavy but essentially friendly aroma. I thought for a while. Pictures flashed to and fro in my memory. I sniffed again. Then, as though from far away…
2 Corinthians - Time to Forgive
2 Corinthians - Time to Forgive
by SPCK - N T Wright
Time to Forgive 2 CORINTHIANS 2.5-11 ‘What can I do for you, then?’ The doctor smiled over his spectacles. ‘It’s my memory,’ said the patient. ‘I just can’t remember things like I used to.’ ‘How long has this problem been going on?’ asked the doctor. The patient looked puzzled. ‘…
2 Corinthians - Painful Visit, Painful Letter
2 Corinthians - Painful Visit, Painful Letter
by SPCK - N T Wright
Painful Visit, Painful Letter 2 CORINTHIANS 1.23-2.4 I was trying to hang a picture and just couldn’t get it right. I didn’t calculate the height accurately enough, and when I stood back I realized it had to be about an inch higher up. Then when I tried to move the picture-hook s…
2 Corinthians - Paul's Plans and God's "Yes"