SPCK

EPIPHANY And we have seen his glory INTRODUCTION Epiphany is a festival that often gets lost, coming so close after Christmas and often being seen as little more than the postscript to the Christmas story itself – ‘and then, twelve days later, three Kings arrived and gave Jesus p…

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There is a season - Christmas Liturgy

by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston

CHRISTMAS LITURGY The Word became flesh PART1: HUMANITY’S NEED FOR A SAVIOUR The church is in semi-darkness. The crib scene is set up in front of the altar, but there are no humans or angels in it. We gather in the nave. In the pews are stuffed animals – some predators, some pre…

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There is a season - Christmas Introduction

by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston

CHRISTMAS The Word became flesh INTRODUCTION In an ideal world, Christmas Eve would be a time of peaceful, joyful anticipation. Your church staff would have the time and energy to set up and host a three-hour celebration for the church’s children, and your families would enthusia…

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There is a season - ALL SAINTS' DAY LITURGY

by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston

ALL SAINTS/ALL SOULS Come, rejoice with us! As we gather, we write or draw, on the heart paper, the names of people we love who have died, and place the paper in the basket. We will include these names in our worship...

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There is a season - Harvest Liturgy

by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston

HARVEST LITURGY Unless a grain of wheat falls… As we gather, we bring our offerings of food to the altar, then go to our seats. When the service is ready to begin, the reader goes to the lectern. Reading Genesis 1.26 –31a Reader….. A reading from the book of Genesis. Then God sa…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - It's Over Even When It's Not Over

by SPCK - John Goldingay

The Importance of a Game Plan JOSHUA 8: 1-21 Three weeks ago I went to my first American football game. It was also my first experience of tailgating in the warm sunshine and of eating breakfast burritos, which (accompanied by mimosas) were perhaps the highlight of the day. I was…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - The Importance of a Game Plan

by SPCK - John Goldingay

The Importance of a Game Plan JOSHUA 8: 1-21 Three weeks ago I went to my first American football game. It was also my first experience of tailgating in the warm sunshine and of eating breakfast burritos, which (accompanied by mimosas) were perhaps the highlight of the day. I was…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Coveting Can Kill

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Coveting Can Kill JOSHUA 7: 16-26 Today (as I am writing this) is Black Friday, when the stores hope to get their books into the black as the year draws toward an end. People will have been lining up all night or will have got up at crazily early hours to get a plasma TV for a hu…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Who Are the Real Canaanites?

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Who Are the Real Canaanites JOSHUA 6: 22- 7: 15 I have tried being confrontational with God, but it doesn’t work very well because God is capable of being confrontational back (as Job found). Once when I was fretting over my wife’s illness, I said to God, “I don’t really trust yo…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Come Blow Your Horn

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Come Blow Your Horn JOSHUA 6: 1-21 In New Orleans over the weekend for a meeting (I have such a hard job) I talked with Tom Wright, author of The New Testament for Everyone series, and with staff from the publishers. I remarked that the most demanding aspect of this project is ha…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Which Side Are You On? Neither

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Which Side Are You On? Neither JOSHUA 5: 2-15 We were discussing the book of Job in a class this week. I have abandoned giving a set lecture on the book because when students have read it as part of their preparatory homework, they come to class with many questions and issues the…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Looking Forward and Backward

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Looking Forward and Backward JOSHUA 4: 1- 5: 1 Yesterday I was comparing notes with a woman who lost her father the same month I lost my wife. She mentioned that her mother wasn’t prepared to look forward, to imagine what the future would be like, and was only prepared to look ba…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - On Getting Your Feet Wet

by SPCK - John Goldingay

On Getting Your Feet Wet JOSHUA 3: 1-17 So the people crossed over near Jericho. 17The priests carrying the chest of Yahweh’s covenant stood steady on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan while all Israel was crossing on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing o…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Meanwhile, in the Whorehouse

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Meanwhile, in the Whorehouse JOSHUA 2: 1-24 In this commentary, Joshua 2 is the only chapter for which I will not attempt to provide an opening story in accordance with the usual format of The Old Testament for Everyone series. How could I compete with this actual story about the…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Just One River to Cross

by SPCK - John Goldingay

Just One River to Cross JOSHUA 1: 1-18 As I write, I listen to CDs, or rather I half-listen. I do not pay too much attention to the words, though sometimes they catch me out. One day the title phrase of Jimmy Cliff ’s “Many Rivers to Cross” caught my attention, and I listened mor…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Introduction

by SPCK - John Goldingay

INTRODUCTION As far as Jesus and the New Testament writers were concerned, the Jewish Scriptures that Christians call the “Old Testament” were the Scriptures. In saying that, I cut corners a bit, as the New Testament never gives us a list of these Scriptures, but the body of writ…

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Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Acknowledgments

by SPCK - John Goldingay

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The translation at the beginning of each chapter of this book (and in other biblical quotations) is my own. I have stuck closer to the Hebrew than modern translations often do when they are designed for reading in church so that you can see more precisely what the…

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There is a season - Harvest Festival

by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston

HARVEST FESTIVAL Unless a grain of wheat falls… INTRODUCTION The meaning of Harvest Festival has changed dramatically in recent years. The UK is no longer an agrarian society – many children are now unaware of the origins of their food, let alone actively involved in its producti…

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