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Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 6 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 6 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 6 Ezekiel 17: 22-24 2 Corinthians 5: 6-17 Mark 4: 26-34 Paul’s argument in this section of 2 Corinthians is complex and far- reaching. He is putting forward a whole new theory of reality and knowledge. Christians, he argues, carry their own reality system around with them,…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Fourth Sunday before Advent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Fourth Sunday Before Advent Deuteronomy 6.1-9 Hebrews 9.11-14 Mark 12.28-34 For once the lectionary hits the jackpot. These readings dovetail perfectly, revealing powerfully the continuity and discontinuity between Christianity and the Old Testament. The key is the bit we mig…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Day of Pentecost Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Day of Pentecost Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Day of Pentecost Acts 2.1-21 Romans 8.22-27 John 15.26-27; 16.4b-15 It is one of the striking features of the New Testament that Luke, Paul and John, so very different as writers and theologians, sing in rich harmony when it comes to the Spirit. At the heart of the music is the…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Trinity Sunday Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Trinity Sunday Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Trinity Sunday Isaiah 6:1-8 Romans 8.12-17 John 3:1-17 John Donne, the great seventeenth-century Anglican poet, said in his Litanie that the doctrine of the Trinity is ‘Bones to Philosophy, but milk to faith’.1 Bones and milk are both provided by today’s readings. The belief that…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - The Fourth Before Advent Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - The Fourth Before Advent Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Fourth Sunday Before Advent Micah 3.5–12 1 Thessalonians 2.9–13 Matthew 24.1–14 Those of us who earn our living by speaking and writing about the Bible sometimes feel nervous in the presence of Micah and Paul. There is the apostle, doing his day job making tents, debating wit…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Grace to You and Peace in God and Christ
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Grace to You and Peace in God and Christ
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Grace to You and Peace in God and Christ (1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10) Paul’s usual claim of apostolic authority (1 Cor. 1:1; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:1) and his less acclaimed self-designation “slave of Christ” (Phil. 1:1; Rom. 1:1) are absent from his introduction. Instead, Paul simply n…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 9 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 9 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 9 2 Samuel 5.1-5, 9-10 2 Corinthians 12.2-10 Mark 6.1-13 The paradoxes of power. David bided his time, refused to lift up his hand against God’s anointed (though he knew himself to be anointed also), and then at last became king in a further anointing. The move to Jerusale…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 13 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 13 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 13 2 Samuel 11.26-12.13a Ephesians 4.1-16 John 6.24-35 Hands up those who took one look at this week’s Old Testament lesson and gave it a wide berth. All right; now hands up those who seized upon it as a chance to preach on How Not To Commit Immorality. Full marks to the l…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 14 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 14 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 14 2 Samuel 18.5-9, 31-33 Ephesians 4.25-5.2 John 6.35, 41-51 Come, believe, and eat. Simple yet profound, carrying us with characteristic Johannine effortlessness from bread by the lake to the bread of life. The bridge between them is Jesus himself, who will give his fles…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 15 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 15 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 15 1 Kings 2.10-12; 3.3-14 Ephesians 5.15-20 John 6.51-58 A glance at the bits of 1 Kings 1—3 which are not read in this sequence will explain why Solomon so desperately needed wisdom. His father’s victories, though remarkable, could not be relied on for long-term security…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Third Sunday of Easter Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Third Sunday of Easter Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Third Sunday of Easter Acts 9.1–20 Revelation 5.11–14 John 21.1–19 John 21 contains in microcosmic form most of the elements of the previous narrative. We are back in Galilee, with Peter and his friends going fishing. Jesus reveals himself as he had done throughout. He feed…
Sometimes convictions deep within
Sometimes convictions deep within
by Andrew Pratt
Sometimes convictions deep within can energise our action, to move us in another way, to find a new direction. God's spirit speaks within each mind, but like the sense of conscience is easy for us to avoid, a trick of our sub-conscious. Verses 3-5 follow Tune: BARBARA ALLEN; DOMI…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Introduction
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL 1. Introduction A complex person in a complex time. Paul stands where three great roads converge; and he has made of them another, travelled less, and making all the difference. We ‘explain’ his life …
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 18 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 18 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 18 Proverbs 22.1-2, 8-9, 22-23 James 2.1-10[11-13], 14-17 Mark 7.24-37 James’ comments about faith and works, part of his wide- ranging application of ‘the law of liberty’ (1.25, 2.12), have become famous because of their apparent contradiction of Paul’s insistence on just…
the historical character of Jesus - 2c The life of Jesus in Acts
the historical character of Jesus - 2c The life of Jesus in Acts
by SPCK - David Allen
The life of Jesus in Acts Acts also knows of a number of details from Jesus’ life. While these are obviously far less than the Gospels include, they are not insignificant, and can (occasionally) enhance the portrait given by the evangelists, and particularly by Luke’s own Gospel …
the historical character of Jesus - 3f Conclusion: Jesus according to Paul
the historical character of Jesus - 3f Conclusion: Jesus according to Paul
by SPCK - David Allen
Conclusion: Jesus according to Paul What sort of figure is the Pauline Jesus? Paul’s portrait or remembrance of Jesus is complex and multi-faceted, and manifests itself in a variety of ways. It may not be the type of picture we expect, nor exhibit the depth of Jesus tradition we …
The Women's Bible Commentary - A Pure Bride or Deceived Eve?
The Women's Bible Commentary - A Pure Bride or Deceived Eve?
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
A Pure Bride or Deceived Eve? Paul’s obvious concern throughout this letter is that false apostles have undermined the Corinthians’ loyalty to him and have drawn them away from the gospel that he preached and thus (in Paul’s view) from Christ…
CHRISTIANITY AND THE RENEWAL OF NATURE - 2c God’s redemptive will in the midst of calamities