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Isaiah for everyone - Blown Over and Anointed
Isaiah for everyone - Blown Over and Anointed
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Blown Over and Anointed This week I’m meeting with a young man considering ordination in the Episcopal Church who wants to “seek my advice regarding my vocation.” There are aspects of the Episcopal Church about which he is uneasy—how will he cope with those? Should he ask his rec…
Isaiah for everyone - A Time to Cry and a time to Whoop
Isaiah for everyone - A Time to Cry and a time to Whoop
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Time to Cry and a Time to Whoop We had dinner with a young couple a few months ago and were delighted to discover that they were expecting their first baby. It was not their first pregnancy; the wife had had a miscarriage last year. I remember how distressing it was when my fir…
Isaiah for everyone - High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit
Isaiah for everyone - High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit
by SPCK - John Goldingay
High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit In a recent sermon in our seminary I told students that Jesus isn’t their buddy. I’m told the air went out of the room when I said it. A friend subsequently gave me a “Buddy Christ” statuette, which I could put on my d…
Isaiah for Everyone - Grief Brought To An End
Isaiah for Everyone - Grief Brought To An End
by SPCK - John Goldingay
GRIEF BROUGHT TO AN END In a movie called Grace Is Gone, Grace is a sergeant in the army on active service. Her husband, Stan, looks after a supply store back home. One morning the feared and terrifying visit comes from army representatives with the task of telling Stan that Grac…
Isaiah for Everyone - Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem
Isaiah for Everyone - Meanwhile, back in Jerusalem
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Meanwhile, Back in Jerusalem I have just come off the phone from a conversation with a former student in England who was in tears about failing a degree program. She doesn’t claim that her exam performance was brilliant; she sees herself as a poor examinee. But she doesn’t think …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound Psalm 99-100 Yesterday I received what initially seemed a puzzling invitation to a weekly, early-morning prayer meeting, described as “sacred space for a variety of prayer traditions.” It seemed puzzling because I always thought of s…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - I Have Hope for Zion, but Is There Hope for Me?
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - I Have Hope for Zion, but Is There Hope for Me?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I Have Hope for Zion, but Is There Hope for Me? Psalm 102 Every morning when we wake up, my wife prays our morning prayers, and almost invariably she thanks God for another wonderful day. An hour later, I sit at my desk thinking about that day’s passage for The Old Testament for …
Psalms for Everyone - Is This the City?
Psalms for Everyone - Is This the City?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Is This the City? Psalm 48 When my first wife and I moved to the United States, people would ask what I would miss about England, to which I would answer not fish and chips or even Indian food but proximity to France and to Israel. Since the move I haven’t been to Israel, partly …
Psalms for Everyone - Will God Let You In? Will God Let You In?
Psalms for Everyone - Will God Let You In? Will God Let You In?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Will God Let You In? Will God Let You In? Psalm 24 Five days before the Egyptian army crossed the Suez Canal in September 1973, aiming to recapture Sinai from Israel, I was in Sinai climbing what in Arabic is called “Mount Moses,” the mountain traditionally regarded as Mount Sina…
Psalms for Everyone - How to Be Codependent
Psalms for Everyone - How to Be Codependent
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Be Codependent Psalm 20 In our church we are in the midst of accepting that we can no longer afford a full-time rector. As a result I am becoming the only priest involved with the church on a regular basis, presiding at services and preaching except on occasions when I ask…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Mountains around Jerusalem, Yahweh around His People
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Mountains around Jerusalem, Yahweh around His People
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Mountains around Jerusalem, Yahweh around His People Psalm 124-125 Last weekend we overheard a conversation on the San Francisco subway in which the father of two small children who was on his way to the airport with some people from different parts of the country was recounting …
Psalms for Everyone - How to Dwell with God
Psalms for Everyone - How to Dwell with God
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Dwell with God Psalms for Everyone Part 1 Psalms 1-72 Psalm 15 A composition. David’s. 1 Yahweh, who may stay in your tent, who may dwell on your holy mountain? 2 The person who walks with integrity, and acts with faithfulness, and speaks the truth in his heart. 3 He has n…
Isaiah for everyone - Comfort My People
Isaiah for everyone - Comfort My People
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Comfort My People A week ago we had dinner with two clergy friends from England, one of whom commented in passing that on present trends the Church of England would be functionally non-existent in twenty years. I discovered that the comment was echoing speeches at the Church of E…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - If You Build It, He Will Come
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - If You Build It, He Will Come
by SPCK - John Goldingay
If You Build It, He Will Come Psalm 132 In an hour’s time, I am off to our diocesan convention, where clergy and laypeople will make decisions about policies and initiatives for the coming year. We will begin by asking for God’s guidance and wisdom in connection with our discussi…
The Lord and His Prayer - Thy Kingdom Come
The Lord and His Prayer - Thy Kingdom Come
by SPCK - N T Wright
Thy Kingdom Come CHAPTER TWO What are we praying for when we pray for God’s kingdom to come? The second main petition in the Lord’s Prayer – ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ – rules out any idea that the kingdom of God is a purely heavenly (that is, ‘otherworldly’) reality. Thy kingdom come, w…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Out of his Own Mouth