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Making much of clever counsel
Making much of clever counsel
by Andrew Pratt
Making much of clever counsel lawyers sought to trip and flaw. Jesus answered with God’s wisdom, offered grace to cut through law. God of Jesus, God of Moses, God of Hannah and of Ruth; God of Dorcas, God of Peter, help us understand your truth. Verse 3-4 follow Tune: ALL FOR JES…
Monologue/Meditation : ‘I’m good’
Monologue/Meditation : ‘I’m good’
by Andrew Pratt
Monologue/Meditation : ‘I’m good’ 'How are you?' 'I'm good'. It's a common greeting these days, but call me old-fashioned, every time I hear that, I'm brought up short. We used to say, 'I'm fine' or I'm well'. But 'I'm good'? No, that doesn't work for me. Let me run that by you a…
Now take away the stone, he is not dead
Now take away the stone, he is not dead
by Andrew Pratt
Hymn: 'Now take away the stone, he is not dead', Fifth Sunday in Lent John 11: 1 - 45 'Now take away the stone, he is not dead', the people looked amazed, yet some with dread. For Lazarus was buried four long days, the stench said this was more than just a phase. Yes dead is dead…
Job for Everyone - Insight Lies in Submission to the Lord
Job for Everyone - Insight Lies in Submission to the Lord
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Insight Lies in Submission to the Lord Job 28: 1-28 In two weeks I have to preach at the seminary’s baccalaureate service (a kind of commissioning service, I could call it for U.K. readers). Each year as I have listened appreciatively to the baccalaureate sermon, I have wondered …
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Now I Know
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Now I Know
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Now I Know Genesis 22: 11- 19 In 1969, as the Vietnam war reached its peak, the Canadian Jewish poet and songwriter Leonard Cohen recorded a song about “The Story of Isaac.” The first two verses imaginatively retell the story from Isaac’s angle, but then the song ricochets into a…
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The Third Sunday of Epiphany Year C
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The Third Sunday of Epiphany Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Third Sunday of Epiphany Luke 4.14-21 Gaze on the scene in the synagogue. The men crowd in, some who normally wouldn’t bother to attend, but today have rediscovered their piety in the urge to see what the fuss is about. They arrive early so they’ll get a seat with a view. The…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - When the Apostate King's Son Gets Sick
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - When the Apostate King's Son Gets Sick
by SPCK - John Goldingay
When the Apostate King’s Son Gets Sick 1 Kings 13:33-14:20 Last night a friend of mine was blowing a fuse concerning the sermon at her church a couple of Sundays ago. The preacher was talking about Jesus’ healing of the man who had been lying sick by the Pool of Siloam for thirty…
friends, FOES and families - Ash Wednesday: in order to know what is in your heart
friends, FOES and families - Ash Wednesday: in order to know what is in your heart
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
ASH WEDNESDAY: in order to know what is in your heart Mark 1.12, 13 Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart. (Deuteronomy 8.2)...
Gazing on the Gospels year c - Easter Day Year C
Gazing on the Gospels year c - Easter Day Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Easter Day Luke 24.1-12 Gaze on the early dawn. Each time we see it, it is as if we live through all the stages of creation again. First all is chaos and confusion, the stars are obscured by cloud and so is the moon. One moment nothing is visible, all is dark and we stumble about…
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The Second Sunday of Lent Year C
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The Second Sunday of Lent Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Second Sunday of Lent Luke 13.31-35 Gaze on Jerusalem today, in greater need than ever of her children being gathered together in harmony. It is a city divided between Jew and Muslim, Jew and Christian, with no-go areas armed by guns. Churches are locked. Doubt and suspicion …
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Second Sunday Before Advent Year C
Lectionary Reflection Year C - The Second Sunday Before Advent Year C
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Second Sunday Before Advent Malachi 4.1–2a 2 Thessalonians 3.6–13 Luke 21.5–19 The material in today’s reading from Luke can be found in a very similar form in Mark 13 and Matthew 24, and all are agreed that the temple is the trigger for these terrible sayings. Jesus seems to…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Children of the Light
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Children of the Light
by SPCK - N T Wright
Children of the Light Thessalonians 5.1-11 The story is told of a minister who dreamed that he was preaching a sermon, and woke up to find it was true. One can hardly imagine that happening to St Paul – although there is the famous story of the lad who nodded off during one of Pa…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Children of Abraham - Or of the Devil
John for Everyone Part 1 - Children of Abraham - Or of the Devil
by SPCK - N T Wright
Children of Abraham – Or of the Devil John 8.37-47 The famous psychologist Carl Jung published, among his many works, a picture-book illustrating the main points of his thought about the strange ways in which the human mind works. One of the most striking pages is a picture of Ad…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Hidden Treasure - King James
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Hidden Treasure - King James
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Hidden Treasure – King Jesus! Colossians 2.1-7 In many adventure stories such as Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous Treasure Island, the plot hinges on the discovery of an ancient chart or map. The people who have found it realize that, if only they could understand and follow…
2 Corinthians - The God of All Comfort
2 Corinthians - The God of All Comfort
by SPCK - N T Wright
The God of All Comfort 2 CORINTHIANS 4.13-18 ‘To Carthage then I came,’ wrote T. S. Eliot in one of his famous poems. One can imagine someone picking up the poem in a bookshop and wondering what on earth he was talking about. Had he gone to the real Carthage, in North Africa? If …
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Priests and the Guards
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Priests and the Guards
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Priests and the Guards Matthew 28.11-15 In the world of science, there is a particular form of behaviour that occurs when a long-held belief is under attack. The most famous instance of it was when Copernicus (1473–1543) argued that Earth and the other planets go round the su…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - To God Be the Glory
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - To God Be the Glory
by SPCK - N T Wright
To God Be the Glory ROMANS 11.33-36 I was taken yesterday to see the site of a new bridge across a river. We parked the car in a grassy wood and set off to walk. The trees were quite thick to begin with, and I couldn’t see the river, though I could hear it. I assumed the bridge w…
Gazing on the Gospels year c - The First Sunday of Lent Year C