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Simply Good News - The Back Story
Simply Good News - The Back Story
by SPCK - N T Wright
2 part c The Back Story In particular, Paul was saying that they didn’t need the old gods any more. At this point he was presenting to the world an essentially Jewish message. The Jewish people cherished their ancient scriptures, in which, across many centuries, prophets, scribes…
Simply Good News - Foolish, Scandalous or Good
Simply Good News - Foolish, Scandalous or Good
by SPCK - N T Wright
2 Foolish, Scandalous or Good? The man was a Jew, born and bred in what is now south-eastern Turkey. He was called Saul, a Hebrew name that, in his Jewish culture, had ancient royal associations. In Greek, however (Greek was the standard language around the Mediterranean world, l…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Philemon and the Study of Paul
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - Philemon and the Study of Paul
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD Chapter One RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY? 2 Philemon and the Study of Paul (i) Introduction This brief study of the small masterpiece we call the letter to Philemon has introduced us, in an actual example, to most of the topics we face as we move towards a ful…
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - A World of Difference
PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD - A World of Difference
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD Chapter One RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY? 1. A World of Difference Roughly seventy years after the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, a Roman senator, mindful of his own importance and seniority, wrote to a friend about a third man, a social inferior…
Reflection: Paul and Timothy
Reflection: Paul and Timothy
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: Paul and Timothy Did Paul envy Timothy for his upbringing because he knew that it had led to a real devotion to the Christian cause, whereas Paul’s own background had first led him to the persecution of the Christians? Not the kind of envy that brings dissent, of cour…
A Bit Like Jesus - Compassion and God
A Bit Like Jesus - Compassion and God
by SPCK - Robin Gill
WEEK 3 Compassion Compassion and God If God is seen as wholly compassionate, we in turn should have compassion for each other and for the world that God has entrusted to us. Compassion should be central for us as human beings because God is already compassionate towards us. This …
Monologue/Drama: Timothy speaks
Monologue/Drama: Timothy speaks
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/Drama: Timothy speaks He told me the same story many times with only slight variations in the details, depending on his mood. Sometimes he almost seemed to be boasting about it, at other times he was full of remorse and humility. But, whatever the method, the essence of…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 28:8
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 28:8
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 28:8 Through all his trials and tribulations St Paul urged others to discover with him that God’s strength is made perfect in human weakness, and that his grace is always sufficient. These are discoveries we do not always wish to make! They involve us in situations where we…
Journeying with Luke - The Easter Narratives
Journeying with Luke - The Easter Narratives
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
6 The Easter narratives Exploring the text Without a doubt the story of Jesus’ appearance to the disciples on the road to Emmaus must be one of the best-loved of the resurrection stories. Like so much else in Luke’s Gospel, its themes remind us of some of Luke’s major emphases th…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Defence of Hope
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Defence of Hope
by SPCK - N T Wright
A Defence of the Hope Acts 24.10-21 I am still fascinated by kaleidoscopes. I love watching the shapes as they move around and form themselves into different patterns. They were quite basic when I was a boy, and now that I’m grown up and not supposed to like toys any more I often…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Light to the Gentiles
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - A Light to the Gentiles
by SPCK - N T Wright
A Light to the Gentiles Acts 13.44-52 Everyone who works with words – the poet, the journalist, the philosopher, the translator, the theologian – knows it all too well. We use a word one day and it seems perfectly all right. It does the job. The next day we are told it now means …
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Agrippa and Bernice
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Agrippa and Bernice
by SPCK - N T Wright
Agrippa and Bernice Acts 25.13-27 ‘To see ourselves as others see us.’ That telling line from Burns (actually, he wrote ‘oursels’; but someone would think it was a misprint if I had put that) sums up a good deal of the task of human communication. I am in correspondence, as I spe…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - All at Sea
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - All at Sea
by SPCK - N T Wright
All at SeaActs 27.1-12 In John Fowles’ novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the reader getting near the end receives a shock. There are two endings. You can choose. Would you like the story to finish like this, or like that? What are you saying about yourself, or about the boo…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Apollos in Ephesus and Corinth Acts 18.18-28 These days people will do anything for sponsorship. Recently a Christian leader made well over a million pounds (roughly US$2 million) by running in the London Marathon. I once had a colleague who made a lot of money for his church by …
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - God's Patience
Early Christian Letters for Everyone - God's Patience
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Patience 2 Peter 3.11-18 Early Christian Letters for Everyone 11Since everything is going to dissolve in this way, what sort of people should you be? You should live lives that are holy and godly, 12as you look for God’s day to appear, and indeed hurry it on its way – the d…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Out of his Own Mouth
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Out of his Own Mouth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Out of His Own Mouth Acts 22.12-22 In British football, the ‘manager’, or head coach, is often the most important character in the whole unit. Players come and players go, but if the manager is good he can make things happen, win tournaments, put on excellent performances no matt…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Opening the door of Faith
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Opening the door of Faith
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opening the Door of Faith Acts 14.21-28 I stood at the back of the exhibition, and chatted with the artist. He was a local man, and we were glad to support him. We had even bought one of his paintings, a marvellous study of a bird in flight. ‘What does it feel like,’ I asked, ‘se…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - The Storm and the Angel