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1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Sour Hour of Prayer
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Sour Hour of Prayer
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Sour Hour of Prayer 1 Samuel 1: 9-11 For Hannah, too, the hour of prayer was initially sour, though eventually sweet. Presumably she prayed when she was at home in the village, as other Israelites did, but the occasion when the family went to Shiloh would be a natural time for sp…
Isaiah for Everyone - Stand Firm, Or You Won't Stand At All
Isaiah for Everyone - Stand Firm, Or You Won't Stand At All
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Stand Firm, Or You Won’t Stand At All I mentioned in an early volume of The Old Testament for Everyone receiving a call from a Jewish lawyer in Los Angeles who had self-published a book titled Twenty-six Reasons Why Jews Don’t Believe in Jesus and wanted me to make sure that his …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Subtle Link between God’s Grace and People’s Response Psalm 78: 1-37 Yesterday in church the Old Testament reading was the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20, and we followed that reading with some congregational discussion of which of these commands seem most import…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Three Strong Women and Three Feeble Men (I)
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Three Strong Women and Three Feeble Men (I)
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Three Strong Woman and Three Feeble Men(I) JUDGES 4:1- 24 Men can have mixed feelings about strong women, though for me strong women are not as worrying as strong men. Before my wife became disabled, she was quite capable of standing up to me; in my head I can still hear her sayi…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - God's Rescue Plan
Acts for Everyone part 1 - God's Rescue Plan
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Rescue Plan Acts 2.37-41 It’s one thing to discover you are driving along the wrong road. It may be frustrating, and even embarrassing if you have people in the car who thought you knew where you were going. But you can at least admit the mistake, turn round and set off aga…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Lord's Coming
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - The Lord's Coming
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Lord’s Coming Thessalonians 4.13-18 How do you describe the colour blue to a blind person? If someone has never been able to see, how can you even convey the idea of colour, let alone the difference between colours? That difficulty faces Christians whenever we talk about the …
Luke for Everyone - The Twelve Sent Out and Feeding the Five Thousand
Luke for Everyone - The Twelve Sent Out and Feeding the Five Thousand
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Twelve Sent Out and Feeding the Five Thousand Luke 9.1-17 When a new business starts up, it’s often the dream of one person that makes it happen. But if the business succeeds, more people need to come on board. Not just to do the detailed work that the founder hasn’t got time…
Luke for Everyone - Watching for the Son of Man
Luke for Everyone - Watching for the Son of Man
by SPCK - N T Wright
Watching for the Son of Man Luke 21.34-38 Travel with me, back in time, to Jerusalem. The year is AD 58, nearly thirty years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Many people in the holy city came to believe in Jesus in the heady days nearly a generation ago, and many of the…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - People Who Are Standing Need to Watch Lest They Fall
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - People Who Are Standing Need to Watch Lest They Fall
by SPCK - John Goldingay
People Who Are Standing Need to Watch Lest They Fall Psalm 78: 38-72 A few months ago one of the members of our church, a lively lady in her nineties who always had something to contribute, suddenly became less consistent in coming to church, and then didn’t appear for two or thr…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Strength to bear the burdens
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Strength to bear the burdens
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Strength to bear the burdens Luke’s spirituality As well as a patient steady plodder, carrying heavy loads, the ox was a very religious symbol for Jews, being used for sacrifice, and its horns representing the power of God. If Luke is the evangelist who depicts Jesus as the beare…
The Living God - Mystery or muddle? The Trinity
The Living God - Mystery or muddle? The Trinity
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Mystery or muddle? The Trinity 5 When I was an atheist I regarded religious people as deluded and irrational souls who believed all sorts of ridiculous nonsense. If I had been asked to single out what I regarded as the most absurd aspect of Christian belief, I would have pointed …
The Living God - The Christian story of salvation: doing justice to God
The Living God - The Christian story of salvation: doing justice to God
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Mystery or muddle? The Trinity 5 The Christian story of salvation: doing justice to God The Christian Church has always realized that getting God right trumps everything. The doctrine of the Trinity aims to integrate all the elements of the rich and complex biblical witness to th…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The ox, the herd, and the drivers Luke’s characterization The gospels’ stories involve three main protagonists – Jesus himself, his disciples and the religious leaders of his day, with three storylines developing en route to their shared climax at the death and resurrection. So l…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The sacrificial, saving victim
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The sacrificial, saving victim The Passion, Luke 22—23 In Luke’s Passion narrative, Jesus becomes passive, like Mark’s lion being tied up and muzzled, or Matthew’s Teacher refusing to call up legions of angels. Here the reason is divine necessity: ‘it is necessary’ (dei) appears …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What about the authors?
Four Gospels, One Jesus - What about the authors?
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
What about the authors? Redaction and composition I cannot always read my favourite newspaper at coffee-time in our staff common room, because someone else has bagged it already! Never mind, there are others around, and reading various papers reveals their different styles and vi…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Celebrate in the Lord!
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Celebrate in the Lord!
by SPCK - N T Wright
Celebrate in the Lord! Philippians 4.2-9 You never know when it’s going to happen. Two people who one day are good friends, working alongside each other in the church or community, can suddenly get across each other. A sharp word from one, half-heard by the other; a bitter respon…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Parable of the Weeds Explained