SPCK - N T Wright
2 Corinthians - Unbearably Crushed
2 Corinthians - Unbearably Crushed
by SPCK - N T Wright
Unbearably Crushed 2 CORINTHIANS 1.8-14 You watch from a distance as a friend walks down the street. You see him turn and go into a house. He strides in cheerfully and purposefully. You wait for a few minutes. Then you see him come out again – only now you see, to your horror, th…
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 1.1-7 The weekend I began work on this book was the weekend when Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother died. She had become a unique British institution. She was 101 years old, one of the few people ever to live in three centuries. The message was …
2 Corinthians - Introduction
2 Corinthians - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
INTRODUCTION On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spirit had swept through Jesus’ follo…
The Pastoral Letters - Judgment is Coming- So Get On With Your WorK
The Pastoral Letters - Judgment is Coming- So Get On With Your WorK
by SPCK - N T Wright
Judgment Is Coming – So Get On with Your Work 2Timothy 4.1-5 I was invigilating an exam on a hot summer day. The undergraduates were tired; it was the fourth or fifth exam they had sat already that week, and there were more to come. The sun beat down outside where their friends w…
The Pastoral Letters - Continue in the Scriptures
The Pastoral Letters - Continue in the Scriptures
by SPCK - N T Wright
Continue in the Scriptures! 2Timothy 3.10-17 There was once an American professor who went for a year to Oxford as a visiting academic. When he and his wife arrived, they were looking round one of the older parts of the college of which he was to be a member. Amid what appeared t…
The Pastoral Letters - Opponents of the Truth
The Pastoral Letters - Opponents of the Truth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opponents of the Truth 2Timothy 3.1-9 It was a scrappy end to the game, but perhaps it was inevitable. We were winning by what should have been a safe margin; and with a few minutes to go the opposition seemed to realize that their cause was hopeless. Perhaps for that reason, tho…
The Pastoral Letters - Vessels for God's Use
The Pastoral Letters - Vessels for God's Use
by SPCK - N T Wright
Vessels for God’s Use 2Timothy 2.20-26 ‘My wife and I are about to move house again. We’ve done it quite often enough already, but I have a new job to go to, and there it is. And so, once more, we’ve had to think about all the things we own – the clutter of old china and furnitur…
The Pastoral Letters - Foolish Words and the Word of Truth
The Pastoral Letters - Foolish Words and the Word of Truth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Foolish Words and the Word of Truth 2Timothy 2.14-19 ‘What we need to know’, said the young lawyer, ‘is what Professor Johnson really means by “reform”. He says he’s proposing a “reform” in the way we admit undergraduates to the College. But the word “reform” really means “the sa…
The Pastoral Letters - God's Word is not Tied Up
The Pastoral Letters - God's Word is not Tied Up
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Word Is Not Tied Up 2Timothy 2.8-13 ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones,’ goes the old rhyme, ‘but calling names won’t hurt me.’ It may be good to mutter little jingles like that if people are being rude to you, but actually the rhyme is only partly true. And when it come…
The Pastoral Letters - Conditions of Service
The Pastoral Letters - Conditions of Service
by SPCK - N T Wright
Rekindle the Gift! 2Timothy 1.1-7 PAUL FOR EVERYONE THE PASTORAL LETTERS 1Paul, an apostle of King Jesus by God’s will, according to the promise of life in King Jesus; 2to Timothy, my dear child. Grace, mercy and peace from God the father and King Jesus our Lord. 3I serve God wit…
The Pastoral Letters - Foes and Friends
The Pastoral Letters - Foes and Friends
by SPCK - N T Wright
Foes and Friends 2Timothy 1.15-18 The most difficult thing I have found in Christian ministry is opposition from people I thought were friends, or at least colleagues, fellow-workers. One of the hardest parts, of course, is the nagging thought that people who disagree with me mig…
The Pastoral Letters - Don't Be Ashamed
The Pastoral Letters - Don't Be Ashamed
by SPCK - N T Wright
Don’t Be Ashamed! 2Timothy 1.8-14 My grandfather was a clergyman, and like many of us who have to stand up and do things in front of other people he had a recurring nightmare. In his dream, he would find himself standing in the pulpit getting ready to preach a sermon, and look do…
The Pastoral Letters - What to Do with Money
The Pastoral Letters - What to Do with Money
by SPCK - N T Wright
What to Do with Money 1Timothy 6.17-21 ‘We’d have been all right if it hadn’t been for the stock-market crash.’ He was a delightful man, full of kindness and fun, looking back on a long and exciting life. He had travelled widely, met lots of interesting people, written books, cli…
The Pastoral Letters - The King's Royal Appearing
The Pastoral Letters - The King's Royal Appearing
by SPCK - N T Wright
The King’s Royal Appearing 1Timothy 6.11-16 As I write this, London is getting ready for another major royal event. It is the fiftieth anniversary of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, and the crowds and the television cameras are taking up positions to celebrate the day with …
The Pastoral Letters - Godliness and Contentment
The Pastoral Letters - Godliness and Contentment
by SPCK - N T Wright
Godliness and Contentment 1Timothy 6.6-10 It is hardly an exaggeration to say that this famous passage is an indictment of modern Western culture. Never before in history has there been such a restless pursuit of riches, by more and more highly developed means. Never before has t…
The Pastoral Letters - Slaves, Masters and Sound Teaching
The Pastoral Letters - Slaves, Masters and Sound Teaching
by SPCK - N T Wright
Slaves, Masters and Sound Teaching 1Timothy 6.1-5 Supposing the world goes on for another thousand years, and the Christians alive at that time look back at our generation, what will shock them most? We could each, no doubt, draw up our list of (other people’s) failings and fault…
The Pastoral Letters - Elders
The Pastoral Letters - Elders
by SPCK - N T Wright
Elders 1Timothy 5.17-25 I had an urgent message the other day from a friend. He is a priest, and was applying for a new job in a different country. The trouble is that he has family responsibilities, and after doing all the calculations he reckoned he simply couldn’t live on the …
The Pastoral Letters - Widows