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1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Absalom's Coup
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Absalom's Coup
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Absalom’s Coup 2 Samuel 14: 25- 16: 23 When I was an assistant pastor, a leading political figure in the Church of England came to speak at a conference at our church, and talked about policies for which he was working in the Church of England. It was clear that the man was a ski…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A Summons, not a Call
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A Summons, not a Call
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Summons, Not a Call 1 Samuel 3: 1- 4: 1a One of my friends is going through the “discernment process” whereby the Episcopal Church seeks to decide whether she is called to ordained ministry. It involves meetings with a group of people from your local church, with diocesan offic…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Temples and Churches
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Temples and Churches
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Temples and Churches 1 Kings 6: 1-38 The little church building where I worship each Sunday holds only fifty or sixty people, but it divides into three parts. The congregation sits in the main body of the church; there is a little step up to the choir stalls; and finally there is…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Two Unusual Covenants
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Two Unusual Covenants
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Two Unusual Covenants 2 Kings 11:1-21 The idea of covenant has been very important in the history of the United States and in the development of American democracy as a way of understanding relationships in the human community. Etymologically, the word covenant includes the idea …
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - You Can't Mess with the Covenant Chest
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - You Can't Mess with the Covenant Chest
by SPCK - John Goldingay
You Can’t Mess with the Covenant Chest 1 Samuel 5: 1- 7: 1 When I used to read Bible stories to my young sons, they would sometimes ask, “Did that really happen?” As far as I remember, they did not ask that question about big events like the Israelites’ crossing of the Reed Sea (…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - What do You Most Want?
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - What do You Most Want?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What do You Most Want? 1 Kings 3:1-15 I used to ask a friend of mine from time to time, “What would you like to do?” The question would usually relate to concerts; I would outline possibilities to her, but she would usually ask me to decide. Just last week she protested that this…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Come Blow Your Horn
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Come Blow Your Horn
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Come Blow Your Horn JOSHUA 6: 1-21 In New Orleans over the weekend for a meeting (I have such a hard job) I talked with Tom Wright, author of The New Testament for Everyone series, and with staff from the publishers. I remarked that the most demanding aspect of this project is ha…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - On Getting Your Feet Wet
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - On Getting Your Feet Wet
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Getting Your Feet Wet JOSHUA 3: 1-17 So the people crossed over near Jericho. 17The priests carrying the chest of Yahweh’s covenant stood steady on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan while all Israel was crossing on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing o…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Little Thing Can Have Terrible Consequences and Foreshadow Tragedy
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Little Thing Can Have Terrible Consequences and Foreshadow Tragedy
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Little Things Can Have Terrible Consequences and Foreshadow Tragedy 2 Samuel 6: 1- 23 I write this during Holy Week. In my Bible study group this week someone was expressing his unease with the way we speak of God’s sending his Son to be crucified. Is God some sort of masochist? …
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - As Far as this Yahweh Has Helped Us
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - As Far as this Yahweh Has Helped Us
by SPCK - John Goldingay
As Far as This Yahweh Has Helped Us 1 Samuel 7: 2- 14 “Helping” can have a variety of connotations. On one occasion a tire came off my wife’s wheelchair when we were on our way to church. As I was bending down trying to get the tire back on, with Ann still in the chair, a car dri…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Splendor is Gone
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Splendor is Gone
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Splendor is Gone 1 Samuel 4: 1b- 22 In his sermon yesterday, our rector (slightly apologetically) told us he had been watching a TV series about a psychopathic boy whom a police officer had adopted. The boy’s stepfather gave him a “code”: Don’t kill innocent people; make sure…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A House and a Household
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A House and a Household
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A House and a Household 2 Samuel 7: 1- 29 One of my colleagues likes to remind people that Jesus never talks about our establishing God’s kingdom or furthering it or building it or extending it. In the Gospels, the only things we do to God’s kingdom are wait for it, see it, enter…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - How Not to Display Accurate Empathy I
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - How Not to Display Accurate Empathy I
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How Not to Display Accurate Empathy I 1 Samuel 1:1-8 I don’t very often shout out loud when I read an e-mail, but I did so a few weeks ago when a message came from a friend of mine who had returned to a country in Asia two or three years ago. She and her husband had been longing …
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - It's Over Even When It's Not Over
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - It's Over Even When It's Not Over
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Importance of a Game Plan JOSHUA 8: 1-21 Three weeks ago I went to my first American football game. It was also my first experience of tailgating in the warm sunshine and of eating breakfast burritos, which (accompanied by mimosas) were perhaps the highlight of the day. I was…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Temples and Palaces
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Temples and Palaces
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Temples and Palaces 1 Kings 7:1-8:9 Intriguingly interwoven with the story of the temple building is the brief account of Solomon’s spending thirteen years building his house; he spent seven years building God’s house. Is that a sign that God’s house had priority, that he focused…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - How to Swallow Your Pride
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - How to Swallow Your Pride
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Swallow Your Pride JOSHUA 9: 22- 10: 11 In the church where I was a young assistant pastor, I shared a house with an older man called Charles who in U.S.-speak would be called the janitor but in Brit-speak was called the caretaker. I don’t remember how he had been appointe…
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