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Mark The People's Bible Commentary - PBC Mark: Introduction
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - PBC Mark: Introduction
by BRF - Dick France
PBC MARK: INTRODUCTION Many members of the first-century churches could not read, and many more could not afford to possess a scroll of their own. So we should think of our New Testament books as intended to be read aloud, when the members of the church were gathered together. Ma…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Veil Is Drawn Aside
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - The Veil Is Drawn Aside
by BRF - Dick France
The VEIL is DRAWN ASIDE There is a further possible meaning of Jesus’ puzzling saying in verse 1 about seeing that the kingdom of God has come with power. For ‘some’ (only three) of those who heard it would indeed have a more immediate vision of power and glory, a foretaste of wh…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Ultimate Realities
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Ultimate Realities
by BRF - Dick France
ULTIMATE REALITIES Gaining and losing Verses 35–37 are hard to translate, since the same Greek word, here translated by ‘life’ (but sometimes also by ‘soul’), means both the fact of being physically alive and not dead and also the real self which is far more than physical life an…
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Water into Wine
John THE PEOPLE’S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Water into Wine
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
WATER into WINE John describes the events at Cana as the first of Jesus’ ‘signs’ and thus it stands at the start of his ministry as a foretaste of what is to come and an introduction to the rest. So what is the meaning of this miracle, apart from merely saving the blushes of the …
52 Reflections on Faith - All Saints Day: Humility and service
52 Reflections on Faith - All Saints Day: Humility and service
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
All Saints Day: Humility and service Residents of Southampton know all too well that their local football team is known as ‘the Saints’. The well-known song ‘O when the saints go marching in’ is often sung for the team, both at home and away. The mere sound of the song can bring …
52 Reflections on Faith - Harvest: Saying “thank you”
52 Reflections on Faith - Harvest: Saying “thank you”
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Harvest: Saying “thank you” It’s always a good idea for parents to teach their children to say ‘thank you’. There are particular times when it’s appropriate, such as when receiving birthday or Christmas presents or when someone has gone out of their way to be helpful. It’s also i…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: Door of the sheep
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: Door of the sheep
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the good shepherd: Door of the sheep When I worked in the Holy Land with St George’s College, Jerusalem, we often took groups to the Sinai desert to camp overnight under the stars on the way down to St Catherine’s monastery…
52 Reflections on Faith - Icons: Looking through a window
52 Reflections on Faith - Icons: Looking through a window
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Icons: Looking through a window Icons can be a very powerful aid to prayer. They’re mostly found in Greek, Russian and other Orthodox churches but in the last few decades they’ve started to appear in the UK in Anglican churches and cathedrals…
52 Reflections on Faith - Humility: The compassionate life
52 Reflections on Faith - Humility: The compassionate life
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Humility: The compassionate life ‘Can’t you have a bit of humility?’ ‘Can’t you back off sometimes?’ ‘Do you always have to have the last word?’ ‘Who do you think you are?’ How often have we said these words to someone, in a moment of anger, in an argument with a spouse, perhaps,…
52 Reflections on Faith - Wisdom: Christ himself
52 Reflections on Faith - Wisdom: Christ himself
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Wisdom: Christ himself Late one evening, as I stood outside one of my churches in Essex talking to a churchwarden, he suddenly said, ‘Listen, I think that’s an owl.’ We craned our necks and pricked our ears into the night for a moment, hoping for another ‘hoot’, but alas it didn’…
52 Reflections on Faith - Transfiguration: shining with God’s love
52 Reflections on Faith - Transfiguration: shining with God’s love
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Transfiguration: shining with God’s love Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the whole world were to shine with the love of God? That sounds idealistic, doesn’t it? If anyone actually said that, you might wonder whether they had read the newspapers lately or were at all aware of what was…
52 Reflections on Faith - Epiphany: The fourth wise man
52 Reflections on Faith - Epiphany: The fourth wise man
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Epiphany: The fourth wise man The feast of the Epiphany on 6 January is a celebration of the ‘manifestation’ or ‘shining’ of Christ to the Gentiles. In the Eastern churches it’s also Christmas Day. The baptism of Christ is another closely associated feast. In the Western imaginat…
52 Reflections on Faith - Love your enemies: Israelis and Palestinians