SPCK - N T Wright
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Calls the Disciples
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Calls the Disciples
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Calls the Disciples Matthew 4.18-25 If you go to Galilee today they will show you a boat that might have belonged to Andrew and Peter, or perhaps the Zebedee family. In one of the most remarkable archaeological finds anywhere in the Holy Land (which is full of them), a boat…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Announcing the Kingdom
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Announcing the Kingdom
by SPCK - N T Wright
Announcing the Kingdom Matthew 4.12-17 I once knew a small boy (no, it wasn’t me, actually) who used to telephone people at random. When a voice answered the phone, he would say, ‘Are you on the line?’ ‘Yes,’ the unsuspecting victim would reply. ‘Well, get off quick!’ he would sh…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Temptation in the Wilderness
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Temptation in the Wilderness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Temptation in the Wilderness Matthew 4.1-11 Jennifer went for a long walk in the woods. It had been an exhausting six months, and she needed time to think. She had concentrated on the campaign. Ever since her local party had told her, to her surprise, that they wanted her to be t…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Baptism
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Baptism
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus’ Baptism Matthew 3.11-17 It’s safe to say that John was as surprised as we are. Or at least, as we should be if we read this passage without knowing what’s coming. To get the flavour, imagine that we are going to a huge concert hall, packed to the doors with eager and excit…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Preaching of John the Baptist Matthew 3.1-10 The road, the water, the fire and the axe. Four powerful symbols set the scene for where the story of Jesus really starts. Think first of a police motorcade sweeping through a city street. First there appear motorcycles with flashi…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Travels to Egypt
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Travels to Egypt
by SPCK - N T Wright
Travels to Egypt Matthew 2.13-23 I was once preaching at a big Christmas service where a well-known historian, famous for his scepticism towards Christianity, had been persuaded to attend by his family. Afterwards, he approached me, all smiles. ‘I’ve finally worked out’, he decla…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Magi Visit Jesus Matthew 2.1-12 I was convinced it was a helicopter. It was a dark night, and a bright light was shining just above the nearby town. Surely, I thought, the police must be out looking for a criminal; or perhaps there had been an accident. We had just come from …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Birth of Jesus
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Birth of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Birth of Jesus Matthew 1.18-25 One of the most memorable movies I have seen is the film of Charles Dickens’s novel Little Dorrit. It is actually two films, both very long. The two films don’t follow in sequence, telling the first and second halves of the story; instead, each …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Genealogy
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Genealogy
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus’ Genealogy Matthew 1.1-17 In Oscar Wilde’s play The Importance of Being Earnest, the hero is asked about his family background, and is forced to confess that he had lost both his parents. He had been found, as a tiny baby, in a handbag. The indignation that greets these rev…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Introduction
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - 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…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Glossary
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Glossary
by SPCK - N T Wright
GLOSSARY apostle, disciple ‘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 Paul sees not only himself but several others outside the Twelve as ‘…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Final Remarks
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Final Remarks
by SPCK - N T Wright
Final Remarks 2 Thessalonians 3.14-18 Every parent knows that there are times when a child has to be punished. No parent worthy of the name will want to do so in anger and bitterness. Every true father or mother faces the difficult task of communicating to a child the fact that, …
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Dangers of Idleness
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Dangers of Idleness
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Dangers of Idleness 2 Thessalonians 3.6-13 The dancers swept on to the stage in perfect formation. It was breathtaking. Even I, who know almost nothing about ballet, found the whole performance enthralling. And part of the beauty of a well-performed ballet is the way in which…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Requests for Prayer
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Requests for Prayer
by SPCK - N T Wright
Requests for Prayer 2 Thessalonians 3.1-5 Among all the strange dreams that visit us at night, one of the most frustrating – which happens to me quite frequently – is the dream of trying to run and discovering that it’s impossible to do so. My legs feel like lead: they become hop…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Exhortation to Steadfastness
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Exhortation to Steadfastness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Exhortation to Steadfastness 2 Thessalonians 2.13-17 ‘Stand firm and hold on tight.’ When did you last hear those words? On an airport bus, perhaps, taking you from the terminal building to the plane. On a boat ferrying passengers across a busy river. On a narrow mountain ledge w…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Lawless One
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Lawless One
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Lawless One 2 Thessalonians 2.1-12 Horatio Nelson (1758–1805), England’s most famous naval commander, is remembered for many things; but one of the best-known incidents in his life occurred when he was leading the siege at Copenhagen in 1801. He was informed of a signal instr…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Coming of Jesus
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Coming of Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Coming of Jesus 2 Thessalonians 1.7b-12 Shortly before Christmas 1988, a Pan Am jumbo jet, en route from London to the United States, exploded in mid-air over the small Scottish town of Lockerbie. All those on board were killed, as were several on the ground where the flaming…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Greetings and Thanksgiving