SPCK - N T Wright
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Kindness that Imitates God Himself
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Kindness that Imitates God Himself
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Kindness that Imitates God Himself Ephesians 4.25-5.2 The best-known literary figure in eighteenth-century England was Dr Samuel Johnson. A native of Lichfield in Staffordshire, he spent most of his adult life in London. He wrote many works, especially his famous Dictionary a…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Off with the Old, On with the New
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Off with the Old, On with the New
by SPCK - N T Wright
Off with the Old, On with the New Ephesians 4.17-24 We couldn’t understand why the agency was being so unhelpful. We had answered the advertisement and were eager to rent the apartment that we had been offered. There were some minor problems, but nothing too difficult to sort out…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Grown-Up Christianity
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Grown-Up Christianity
by SPCK - N T Wright
Grown-Up Christianity Ephesians 4.11-16 ‘Don’t be a baby.’ The words were meant to hurt, and they did. But they had the desired effect. The schoolboy had been whimpering about somebody being mean to him. He was hoping that the teacher would come to his rescue. But he suddenly rea…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Live Up to Your Calling
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Live Up to Your Calling
by SPCK - N T Wright
Live Up to Your Calling Ephesians 4.1-10 If you buy a new car, what’s the first thing you do? Do you sit down for an hour and read through the manual, to make sure you know every little detail about it before you take to the road? Or do you at once get behind the wheel and go for…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Love, God's Power - In Us
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Love, God's Power - In Us
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Love, God’s Power – In Us Ephesians 3.14-21 Love and power, power and love: these are the themes of perhaps two-thirds of the novels, plays and poems ever written. The love of power has laid waste continents and empires. The power of love has driven weak people to do powerf…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Wisdom for the Rulers
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Wisdom for the Rulers
by SPCK - N T Wright
Wisdom for the Rulers Ephesians 3.8-13 There was once a young prince whose distant uncle was king of a great empire. The prince was carefree and happy, neither very rich nor very poor. One day, a great disaster struck. The king, his uncle, was killed in an earthquake, and all the…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Secret Plan Unveiled at Last
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Secret Plan Unveiled at Last
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Secret Plan Unveiled at Last Ephesians 3.1-7 Naomi had started a small dressmaking business. She had always been skilful with her hands, and had a good eye for colour and pattern. Now she realized she could turn these abilities to good use, not only to make clothes for hers…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Unveiling the New Temple
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Unveiling the New Temple
by SPCK - N T Wright
Unveiling the New Temple Ephesians 2.17-22 One of the greatest worldwide problems of our time is the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers. People in the West sometimes try to pretend that the world is now a civilized place where most people can go about their business in peace, …
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Two into One Will Go
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Two into One Will Go
by SPCK - N T Wright
Two into One Will Go Ephesians 2.11-16 We lived for four years by the banks of the Ottawa river, north-west of Montreal. It is a great river, already over 400 miles long by the time it passed our village. By the time it reached us it was over a mile wide. Not far downstream, howe…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Grace, not Works
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Grace, not Works
by SPCK - N T Wright
Grace, not Works Ephesians 2.8-10 In the mid-1970s a country vet in a small town in northern England suddenly became world-famous. James Herriot, quite suddenly and in mid-life, wrote books that sold in huge quantities around the world. Herriot (whose real name was Alfred Wight) …
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Warning Signs on the Wrong Road
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Warning Signs on the Wrong Road
by SPCK - N T Wright
Warning Signs on the Wrong Road Ephesians 2.1-7 Many years ago, I was staying for a few days in Cape Town, South Africa. Among the people I wanted to meet was an elderly man who lived on the edge of the city, in one of the outer suburbs. We arranged by telephone that I should dri…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Knowing the Power of the King
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Knowing the Power of the King
by SPCK - N T Wright
Knowing the Power of the King Ephesians 1.15-23 ‘So how strong is it?’ My friend was showing me his new telescope. It was set up in an upstairs room, looking out towards sea. ‘Well, take a look.’ I had been scanning the horizon with my own small binoculars. There were a couple of…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Inheritance and the Spirit
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Inheritance and the Spirit
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Inheritance and the Spirit Ephesians 1.11-14 Not far from where I was born there is an ancient castle. It stands imposingly, high above the banks of a river, defying anyone to attack it. These days, the likely attacks come from bank managers and tax-collectors rather than mar…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Choice and the Plan
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - The Choice and the Plan
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Choice and the Plan Ephesians 1.4-10 Have you noticed how sometimes you have a story in the back of your mind which keeps peeping out even when you’re talking about something else? Imagine you’ve come back from work and the train has been late again. You stood for half an hou…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Blessings on the Sovereign God
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Blessings on the Sovereign God
by SPCK - N T Wright
Blessings on the Sovereign God Ephesians 1.1-3 The most successful tourist attraction to appear in London in recent years is the ‘London Eye’. From a distance it looks like a giant Ferris wheel, but this is no fun-fair ride. For a start, it’s far, far bigger: it rises to 450 feet…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Introduction
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - 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…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - Glossary
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - Glossary
by SPCK - N T Wright
GLOSSARY 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 Paul sees not only himself b…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - False Teachers