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Rushes quivered in the breeze
Rushes quivered in the breeze
by Norman J Goreham (1931-2021)
John the Baptist, with his perceptive preaching on social issues of his time, is a model for all who would stand up for justice in our day. BE LIKE JOHN: NO SHAKING REED! Rushes quivered in the breeze, as the prophet, fearlessly, censured all who lived at ease in uncaring luxury.…
Journeying with Matthew Lectionary Year A - Advent
Journeying with Matthew Lectionary Year A - Advent
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
1 Advent Exploring the text Matthew is a good Gospel for Advent. It contrasts strongly with Mark, which is profoundly unhelpful in Advent. Barely has Mark’s Gospel begun before John the Baptist and Jesus burst onto the scene and begin the story in earnest. Matthew’s Gospel is ver…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Question about John
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Question about John
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Question about John Matthew 21.23-32 When the police finally caught up with the man, they took him off to a police station and sat him down. They let him get his breath back, and then the questions began. ‘What were you doing in that street at that time of night? What right d…
Monologue/reflection – Who is he?
Monologue/reflection – Who is he?
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/reflection – Who is he? He didn’t give us a straight answer, did he? Not even when we challenged him as priests and Levites and told him we’d been sent by the Pharisees. You’d have thought he would have had more respect for authority than that. But what could you expect…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The First Sunday of Epiphany Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The First Sunday of Epiphany Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The First Sunday of Epiphany Isaiah 43.1–7 Acts 8.14–17 Luke 3.15–17, 21–22 We now have the middle of Luke 3 for the second time in four weeks, and verses 19–20 are still missing. This mightn’t matter so much if they didn’t relate as closely as they do to the underlying themes of…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus and Nicodemus
John for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus and Nicodemus
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus and Nicodemus John 3.1-13 I have lost my birth certificate. It’s the sort of thing that happens when you move house, which we did not long ago. I know where it was in the old house. It may have been accidentally thrown away; but I suspect it was put into a very, very safe p…
Mark for Everyone - Jesus and Beelzebul
Mark for Everyone - Jesus and Beelzebul
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 3.20–30 Jesus and Beelzebul... ...From the safety of my armchair, I watched the mass demonstration on the TV news. It started peacefully, at least on the surface. Banners and placards gave out a strong message, but the crowd seemed relaxed enough. The polic…
Mark for Everyone - Jesus Predicts His Death
Mark for Everyone - Jesus Predicts His Death
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 8.31—9.1 Jesus Predicts His Death... ...I watched from a window as the riot police got ready. They looked like sportsmen preparing for a match, putting on pads and helmets, gloves and special outer clothes. Only this wasn’t a game. It was real. They didn’t …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Call of Matthew
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Call of Matthew
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Call of Matthew Matthew 9.9-17 I was a teenager in the famous 1960s. Revolution was in the air. Protests, especially among young people, were the order of the day. Young Americans protested against the Vietnam war. Students in Paris told factory workers they had nothing to lo…
Baptised into being, the Lord of creation
Baptised into being, the Lord of creation
by Andrew Pratt
Baptised into being, the Lord of creation: the dove is descending the Spirit has come, it soars and it swoops on the face of the waters, Christ blessed in that moment, his mission begun. Here John the Baptiser will pass on the baton, though harsh and prophetic, his message, refin…
LWPT Meditations - Sixth Sunday of Easter - Year B
LWPT Meditations - Sixth Sunday of Easter - Year B
by Susan Thorne
Meditation - 6th Sunday of Easter Year B Acts 10: 44-48 Psalm 98 1 John 5: 1-6 John 15: 9-17 “They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” (Acts 10 v 47). The first gentile believers were not like the Jewish Christians who had a life-long knowledge of the scriptures. Nor …
Hymn: Evil intention, skilful deception
Hymn: Evil intention, skilful deception
by Andrew Pratt
Evil intention, skilful deception, devious plotting, bent on revenge; heart fired by hatred, nothing now sacred, John's words of judgment she would avenge. Then came the moment, see her opponent, vulnerable prisoner, she'd seal his fate. Dancing for Herod opened the scabbard, off…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Felix Calms (and Slows) Things Down
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Felix Calms (and Slows) Things Down
by SPCK - N T Wright
Felix Calms (and Slows) Things DownActs 24.22-27 A friend of mine preached a sermon, as my guest, on radiators and drains. Some people, he said, are radiators, and other people are drains. Some people, that is, naturally give energy and warmth to others. People like having them…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Human Inventions and Divine Instructions
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Human Inventions and Divine Instructions
by SPCK - N T Wright
Human Interventions and Divine Instructions Acts 5.27-42 We stared at the parcel as it lay on the floor inside the front door. Nobody had heard the delivery man. Nobody knew why it had arrived at this time of the day. The parcel was bulky, somewhat misshapen, with various semi-le…
Mark for Everyone - Peter’s Declaration of Jesus’ Messiahship
Mark for Everyone - Peter’s Declaration of Jesus’ Messiahship
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 8.22–30 Peter’s Declaration of Jesus’ Messiahship... ...It’s quite a walk from Bethsaida to Caesarea Philippi. Even in a car, on modern roads, the trip takes an hour or two. Bethsaida is near the north shore of the Sea of Galilee; Caesarea Philippi is away …
Mark for Everyone - Teachings on Divorce
Mark for Everyone - Teachings on Divorce
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 10.1–16 Teachings on Divorce... ...In Britain during the early 1990s, from time to time a journalist would telephone a bishop or theologian to ask about divorce. It happened to me once. It’s a question every church, every member of the clergy, has to think …
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Death of God's Son
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Death of God's Son
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Death of God’s Son Matthew 27.45-56 In many Christian bookshops around the world today you can buy posters to hang on the wall which remind you of some aspect of the Christian faith and life. Often they have biblical texts, set against a background of glorious scenery. Someti…
Mark for Everyone - The Death of Jesus