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JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ABIDE IN LOVE
JOHN: The people's bible commentary - ABIDE IN LOVE
by BRF - Richard A. Burridge
ABIDE IN LOVE Jesus uses the image of the vine to describe his relationship with his disciples, even when he is physically absent. He is the ‘true’ or ‘real vine’, and we are branches which must remain in the vine to bear fruit, the fruit of love, one of John’s key themes. Jesus …
The Living God - The Trinity and the enrichment of the Christian life
The Living God - The Trinity and the enrichment of the Christian life
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Mystery or muddle? The Trinity 5 The Trinity and the enrichment of the Christian life I was invited to give a lecture at Aberystwyth University in north Wales a few years back. How best to get there from Oxford, I wondered? Travelling by train turned out to be a bad idea as I wou…
At midnight in a garden
At midnight in a garden
by Avis Palmer
At midnight in a garden A man knelt down to pray; The darkness gathered round him The silence on him lay And joy had turned to sorrow And doubt must have its way, When in a midnight garden The Lord knelt down to pray. At midnight in a garden, Some friends were waiting near To kee…
There is a season - Pentecost Introduction
There is a season - Pentecost Introduction
by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston
PENTECOST Come down, O love divine! INTRODUCTION Pentecost is an under-appreciated holiday. It is crucial in the story of the People of God – we’ve had the joy of Easter, the promise of new life, and Pentecost tells us, ‘Now go out into the world and do something about it.’ Pent…
John for Everyone part 2 - Obeying and Loving
John for Everyone part 2 - Obeying and Loving
by SPCK - N T Wright
Obeying and Loving John 15.9-17 John for Everyone Part 2 Like an innocent child wandering by itself into a kitchen and pressing the switches that will set the house on fire, some biblical texts have been taken out of their original setting and used in ways that would have horrifi…
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices Strange people God chooses sometimes. Not usually famous people; very rarely, rich people; not necessarily beautiful; not always religious; sometimes uneducated; often those that others disregard; usually very down-to earth characters. Was that wh…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Limited Divine Hospitality
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Limited Divine Hospitality
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Limited Divine Hospitality Not all discussions of foreign nations in Isaiah are so dispiriting. Isaiah 25 offers one of the best loved of all portraits, one which Christians often associate with eucharistic liturgies…
Hymn: Forgiveness is ridiculous
Hymn: Forgiveness is ridiculous
by Andrew Pratt
Forgiveness is ridiculous, unsettles justice, riddles faith, when love has a monopoly as evidence of given grace; It sets the cosmos spinning round, it turns our values upside down it makes our temples tumble down and every beggar wears a crown. Verse 3 follow Tune: ALFRETON; CAM…
Not pushing for favours, nor craving acceptance
Not pushing for favours, nor craving acceptance
by Andrew Pratt
Not pushing for favours, nor craving acceptance, but waiting in line for our moment to come, and then love exalts us, affirms and promotes us, yes this is gospel the, the source and the sum. God raises the humble, the poor and afflicted, the ones that society longs to despise. Go…
Psalms for Everyone - How to Pray for the Government
Psalms for Everyone - How to Pray for the Government
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Pray for the Government Psalm 72: 1-17 The phrase “It’s the economy, stupid,” played a key role in Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign. Most people are not really interested in foreign policy or other such important issues but in whether they are feeling financially …
When all is lost, there seems no turning back
When all is lost, there seems no turning back
by Andrew Pratt
When all is lost, there seems no turning back; when friends are gone, while gain has turned to lack; when life has left us in a crumpled heap, we slip and slide, we agonise and weep. Sometimes our lives are spun, flipped upside down, the royal are poor, the beggar wears a crown. …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Talons bared for conflict
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Talons bared for conflict
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Talons bared for conflict The Book of Signs and “the Jews”, John 2—12 In Tolkien’s stories, Numenor is an Atlantis-like land blessed by Iluvatar (God) which overreaches itself and turns to evil. Its doom is presaged first by eagle-shaped clouds and then by eagles themselves; few …
Still Caring - Down with guilt!
Still Caring - Down with guilt!
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
16 Down with guilt Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8.1) When the person you’ve been caring for goes into a residential facility, people often say things like, ‘You can get on with your life now.’ They think that you’ve acquired a…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem
The Women's Bible Commentary - Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Hezekiah and the Siege of Jerusalem This final section of the book of Kings begins with praises for Hezekiah, king of Judah, who has instituted religious reforms crucial in the Deuteronomists’ eyes, including finally removing the “high places” from the land…
Meeting God in Paul - 2d The healing sacrifice
Meeting God in Paul - 2d The healing sacrifice
by SPCK - Rowan Williams
The healing sacrifice I spoke in the previous chapter of how in his letter to the Romans Paul is, as it were, turning his head from side to side, saying, ‘You think you’ve got the point? Think again. And [turning rapidly] don’t you imagine that because they haven’t got it, you’re…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Trickery as Vengeance in Men’s Literature