Search Results
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The True God
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The True God
by SPCK - N T Wright
The True God 1 John 5.13-21 Sometimes a short story will play a trick on its readers. Sometimes the author has told the story cleverly so as to lead us in one direction throughout the narrative, and then, with the last sentence, will reveal something which changes everything. Thi…
John for Everyone Part 1 - The Woman of Samaria
John for Everyone Part 1 - The Woman of Samaria
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Woman of Samaria John 4.1-15 ‘Have you heard about Simon?’ a friend asked me. ‘He’s become a Samaritan!’ I knew what he meant. I did not think for a minute that our mutual friend had gone off to the Middle East to join the tiny sect who still live in the middle of ancient Sam…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Word of Life
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - The Word of Life
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Word of Life 1 John 1. 1-4 ‘I have seen the future; and it works.’ That notorious statement was made by an American journalist, Lincoln Steffens, in 1919. He had just returned from a visit to the recently established ‘Soviet Union’, formed on Marxist principles after the Russ…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - Transformed Living
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - Transformed Living
by SPCK - N T Wright
Transformed Living 1 Peter 4.1-11 My dental hygienist was enthusing the other day about a new kind of electric toothbrush. Only two minutes, she said, morning and night; that’s all it will take. Just what you need. I lay there in the chair, my mouth full of dentistry, and did the…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Where the Two Roads Lead
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Where the Two Roads Lead
by SPCK - N T Wright
Where the Two Roads Lead ROMANS 6.20-23 One of the things you have to learn when you move house is which roads lead where. I was Christmas shopping the other day in the new town where we have just settled, and as I drove out of a car park I saw a long queue of cars backed up down…
A day of anointing, miraculous passage
A day of anointing, miraculous passage
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: A day of anointing, miraculous passage Proper 26 Year A Joshua 3:7-17 A day of anointing, miraculous passage, the Jordan held back as they passed on dry land. The Ark at the centre, the focus of Godhead, the people marched forward to conquer and stand. That's how they recor…
Faith is the tight-rope of travelling people
Faith is the tight-rope of travelling people
by Andrew Pratt
Faith is the tight-rope of travelling people, taut between mountains of mercy and grace. Pilgrims remember the fears of their parents, trials and deliverance they had to face. Hope kept the balance when human experience met with the fire and the dangers of life, torture and stoni…
God is in the thick of living
God is in the thick of living
by Andrew Pratt
God is in the thick of living, in the midst of love and life; God is in our haste and hurry, in our peace and through our strife. At the crux of every crisis, with the wounded and bereft, Christ is crucified, derided, knows our punishment and stress. This is God, incarnate, wit…
Hymn: Fierce waves have shaken fractured stone
Hymn: Fierce waves have shaken fractured stone
by Andrew Pratt
Fierce waves have shaken fractured stone, while cliffs have crumbled into sand, but faith is founded on a rock, eternal love will always stand. Our God, though humble, born of flesh, will hold, renew, restore, refresh. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: ABINGDON Andrew Pratt (born 1948) W…
Hymn: Held in the arms of God's love and compassion
Hymn: Held in the arms of God's love and compassion
by Andrew Pratt
Held in the arms of God's love and compassion, Jesus had kept them right up to the end, these his disciples, now named as Apostles, each of these strangers now counted as friend. Jesus had taught them by word and example, shared times of suffering, illness and grief. Spell-bound …
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand
by Andrew Pratt
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand, the nations, the people, from each far flung land. Your grace is sufficient, to meet every need, you reach beyond nationhood, language and creed. You brought restoration when all once seemed lost, you poured out your life love, not cou…
Cedars of Lebanon, oaks of old England
Cedars of Lebanon, oaks of old England
by Andrew Pratt
Cedars of Lebanon, oaks of old England, elegant poplars along country roads, trees mark a heritage, hope for the future, holding our history and bearing our loads. Hurricanes harass these trees by uprooting years of their growing, investment and toil, earthquakes unsettle the thi…
Creation groans, yes grace has come
Creation groans, yes grace has come
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: Creation groans, yes grace has come Proper 11 year A Romans 8:12-25 Creation groans, yes grace has come, the Spirit brings new life to bear, no longer futile, reconciled, the very love of God is there. And we are caught within this grace, our lives transformed beyond our pa…
Hymn: Sinews of hope hold creation together
Hymn: Sinews of hope hold creation together
by Andrew Pratt
Sinews of hope hold creation together, we are created for life, not for death; love is our source and the end of our living, God’s consummation beyond final breath. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: BEDE Metre: 11.10.11.10 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 14/6/2012 Stainer & Bell Ltd, Lo…
Hymn: Who rules the world just like a king
Hymn: Who rules the world just like a king
by Andrew Pratt
Who rules the world just like a king within our present time and space? Who has the power of life and death, of healing or withholding grace. As politicians seek our votes, exposing or obscuring truth, sometimes their language loses rhyme, while arguments become obtuse. Just what…
In our end is our beginning
In our end is our beginning
by Andrew Pratt
In our end is our beginning, cosmic riddle of our birth, why the Alpha and Omega came in flesh and came to birth. Death will no more signal ending, love survives beyond this life, not diminished or extinguished by our common human strife. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: DIJON Metre: 8.7.…
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - Don't Be Deceived