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Isaiah for everyone - God’s Strange Work
Isaiah for everyone - God’s Strange Work
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God’s Strange Work The other Sunday we were singing the hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” and I was reflecting wryly that it’s a shame nobody realizes where its basic ideas come from, as is the case with the related chorus “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” They come …
Jeremiah for everyone - Pharaoh the Windbag
Jeremiah for everyone - Pharaoh the Windbag
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Pharaoh the Windbag That passage from Ephesians 6 to which I referred in connection with Jeremiah 45 begins by talking about the fight that the church is engaged in and by reminding us of the enemy we are fighting and the armor (mostly if not entirely defensive) that we need to w…
Isaiah for everyone - The Unexpected Fall of the Superpower
Isaiah for everyone - The Unexpected Fall of the Superpower
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Unexpected Fall of the Superpower I was born when the British Empire was about to fold. The tide was turning in the Second World War as Britain and its allies were about to defeat Nazi Germany and its allies. Yet in another sense Nazi Germany won, because war left Britain and…
Isaiah for Everyone - What to do With a Whore's Fee?
Isaiah for Everyone - What to do With a Whore's Fee?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What to Do with a Whore’s Fee Education and health have been realms where Christians get involved both to benefit people in other cultures and to draw people to Christ. I recently heard about an Indian with the same vision for his soft ware company…
Isaiah for everyone - God Is Our Refuge and Strength, Really?
Isaiah for everyone - God Is Our Refuge and Strength, Really?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God Is Our Refuge and Strength, Really? I have just read a message from an Indian Christian couple who expect tomorrow to go to another village for a day of teaching for which they expect Christians to gather from many villages in the area. They’re thirsty to hear the Word of God…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - His Commitment Is Forever
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - His Commitment Is Forever
by SPCK - John Goldingay
His Commitment Is Forever Psalm 136 A former student of mine served as an armed forces chaplain in Iraq for two years after graduating from seminary. One week he called me from there. He had felt compelled to preach on the idea of God’s steadfast love. He remembered my explaining…
Psalms for Everyone - God's Commitment Fills the Earth
Psalms for Everyone - God's Commitment Fills the Earth
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God’s Commitment Fills the Earth Psalm 33 Yesterday we went to the beach. It was a foolish venture because it was an August Saturday; I forgot that everyone else would have the same idea and that the parking would be impossible, but in the late afternoon we finally sat on the san…
Isaiah for Everyone - Compassion and Openness to Learning
Isaiah for Everyone - Compassion and Openness to Learning
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Compassion and Openness to Learning I have mentioned that my wife’s daughter and son-in-law give their lives to seeking to make known the plight and needs of the hundreds of thousands of Darfuri refugees who fled from genocide in Sudan ten years ago and have been living since the…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - How to Gain and Lose God's Sympathy
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - How to Gain and Lose God's Sympathy
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Gain and Lose God’s Sympathy 2 Kings 20:1-21 My wife Ann had multiple sclerosis for forty-two years until she died a year ago. We and other people prayed for her healing on lots of occasions in many ways, supported by a number of high-profile figures in the world of prayin…
Exodus and Leviticus - On Rendering to Caesar
Exodus and Leviticus - On Rendering to Caesar
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Rendering to Caesar EXODUS 4: 18-23 I have just been talking to a student who is a missionary in Indonesia, and we were discussing the dilemma of the church there. He described the church as postcolonial, but I suggested it is still colonial. The gospel came to Indonesia throu…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - How to Be the Bad Guy
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - How to Be the Bad Guy
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Be the Bad Guy 2 Kings 21:1-26 I sometimes wish I knew what was going to happen in the future, though when I think about it, I am not so sure it’s a good idea. When my wife was diagnosed with her multiple sclerosis, if I had known how it would progress over four decades, I…
Isaiah for Everyone - Prophet as Crazy Man
Isaiah for Everyone - Prophet as Crazy Man
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Prophet as Crazy Man The installing of a professor in his or her “chair” is an occasion for making fun of the person as well as for making seriously congratulatory speeches. I was not surprised that when I was installed one of the people who had been asked to speak made fun of my…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Bird in a Cage
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Bird in a Cage
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Bird in a Cage 2 Kings 18:1-37 When my sons were babies, we would play trust exercises with them, though I’m not sure whether we or they realized this was what we were doing. They would leap from some height, such as a wall, knowing that father or mother would catch them. As …
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Fall of the Northern Kingdom
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Fall of the Northern Kingdom
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Fall of the Northern Kingdom 2 Kings 17:1-41 I suspect that people think I am an upright kind of guy, and they are not exactly wrong, but I have stories in my past of which I am ashamed and about which they don’t know, and I am not about to tell you these either. They still c…
Psalms for Everyone - God Laughs on His People's Behalf
Psalms for Everyone - God Laughs on His People's Behalf
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God Laughs on His People’s Behalf Psalm 2 We watched Independence Day fireworks last night, and I recalled how people sometimes ask me, “Do you celebrate Independence Day in Britain?” I say, “Yes, of course: parents are glad when their kids grow up and take control of their own l…
Exodus and Leviticus - Knowing and Acknowledging Again
Exodus and Leviticus - Knowing and Acknowledging Again
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Knowing and Acknowledging Again EXODUS 11: 1-10 EXODUS and Leviticus for Everyone 1Yahweh said to Moses, “There is yet one more blow I shall bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will send you off from here. When he sends you off, it will be complete. He will finally thro…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - Land, Promises and Politics