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The Power of the Parable - The Lure of Parabolic History
The Power of the Parable - The Lure of Parabolic History
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
The Lure of Parabolic History Caesar At The Rubicon We no longer know the exact course of the ancient Rubicon, let alone the exact spot where Julius Caesar crossed it. Yet, from then to now, “crossing the Rubicon” has been a cliché for passing the point of no return in an endeavo…
GOD's rich Pattern - A devastating moment
GOD's rich Pattern - A devastating moment
by SPCK - Dr Lin Berwick
A devastating moment One morning I awoke to hear Ralph making some very strange noises, squealing and screeching sounds, and a noise from his mouth as though he were blowing bubbles. He couldn’t speak to me and he couldn’t move. My first thought was that he may have had a stroke.…
Responsive prayer based on Psalm 23
Responsive prayer based on Psalm 23
by Marjorie Dobson
Responsive prayer based on Psalm 23 Psalm 23 The Lord is our shepherd: we shall not be in want. When life is rushed and hectic and there’s never enough time for all we have to do: Lord speak to us of green fields and still waters and calm our souls. When we are tempted into the e…
God's full and perfect justice
God's full and perfect justice
by Andrew T Murphy
This is a big hymn which asks for a big theory of atonement. 'How does God deal with sin?' This is a question that demands a fuller answer than simply "And on the cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied". Jesus simply 'taking my punishment' does little to make sense…
Journeying with Luke - Passion - Holy Week
Journeying with Luke - Passion - Holy Week
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
5 Passion – Holy Week Exploring the text In the previous chapter we noted the way in which the theme of temptation weaves its way through the whole of the Gospel of Luke, reaching its climax at Jesus’ crucifixion where he is tempted three times – first by the leaders, then by the…
Poem: Why pray?
Poem: Why pray?
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Why pray? When life lets you down and people prove unreliable and everyday anxieties dominate and tensions are high – don’t worry yourself into depression. Pray. When money becomes a problem, the lack of it or the love of it, and work is arduous or unavailable, and the bill…
Fortynine days to celebrate Easter - Pente - What?
Fortynine days to celebrate Easter - Pente - What?
by Margaret Mason
"Forty-nine days to celebrate Easter? That's seven weeks. We'll never make the Easter eggs last that long! And then Pente - what? " Pilate stamps the file, "Case Closed". He thinks that that is it. A distasteful business, but Jesus the Galilean isn't the first troublemaker he's b…
Monologue/drama: Elisha – the day after
Monologue/drama: Elisha – the day after
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/drama: Elisha – the day after … Did I really see that chariot of fire, or have I been dreaming? Was it a whirlwind, or just an ordinary desert storm? Was it all just a mirage and the sand blowing in my eyes made me think there were horses? And maybe the chariot just w…
Imagining the Lectionary: it is through our brokenness that we glimpse another world (Epiphany 5B)
Imagining the Lectionary: it is through our brokenness that we glimpse another world (Epiphany 5B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: it is through our brokenness that we glimpse another world (Epiphany 5B) Reflection accompanying image “looking through the knot hole in the fence with face and text” That evening, at sundown, they brought to him all who were sick or possessed with dem…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Sunday Next Before Lent Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Sunday Next Before Lent Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Sunday Next Before Lent 2 Kings 2.1–12 2 Corinthians 4.3–6 Mark 9.2–9 Elijah is taking part in his own funeral procession. Everywhere he goes, people come out to watch him, the coffin, go past. The people do not speak to him. It’s almost as though they think that he has alrea…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Palm Sunday Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Palm Sunday Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Palm Sunday (Liturgy of the Passion) Isaiah 50.4–9a Philippians 2.5–11 Mark 14.1—15.47 ‘In spite of that, we call this Friday good.’ They didn’t at the time, but Jesus’ surprised friends, and some very surprised enemies, quickly found themselves telling the horrid and brutal tale…
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - All at Sea
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - All at Sea
by SPCK - N T Wright
All at SeaActs 27.1-12 In John Fowles’ novel, The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the reader getting near the end receives a shock. There are two endings. You can choose. Would you like the story to finish like this, or like that? What are you saying about yourself, or about the boo…
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 …
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul. You're Mad
Acts for Everyone Part 2 - Paul. You're Mad
by SPCK - N T Wright
“Paul, You’re Mad”Acts 26.24-32 I was once lecturing to a group of students in Oxford. We were just getting to the point at the centre of the lecture – I think it was dealing with Romans 8.3 – where I wanted to explain as clearly as I could the full Pauline meaning of the death…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 1 Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 1 Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 1 Isaiah 6.1–13 1 Corinthians 15.1–11 Luke 5.1–11 ‘The holy seed is its stump.’ Isaiah’s vision in the Temple leaves him with a dreadful commission, to inform God’s people of inevitable exile. The nation will be like a tree felled and burnt. But when the worst has occurred…
Mark for Everyone - Signs of the End