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Hebrews for Everyone - Warning of Judgement
Hebrews for Everyone - Warning of Judgement
by SPCK - N T Wright
Warning of Judgment Hebrews 10.26-31 It was said of the Roman emperor Gaius Caligula, who went mad and did all sorts of bizarre things, that he took to inventing new laws, and having them carved in small letters on tablets and then placed high up on walls, too high for people to …
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Magi visit Jesus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Magi Visit Jesus Matthew 2.1-12 I was convinced it was a helicopter. It was a dark night, and a bright light was shining just above the nearby town. Surely, I thought, the police must be out looking for a criminal; or perhaps there had been an accident. We had just come from …
Luke for Everyone - John the Baptist Confronts the Crowds
Luke for Everyone - John the Baptist Confronts the Crowds
by SPCK - N T Wright
John the Baptist Confronts the Crowds Luke 3.10-20 A cartoon shows a sceptic shouting up to the heavens, ‘God! If you’re up there, tell us what we should do!’ Back comes a voice: ‘Feed the hungry, house the homeless, establish justice.’ The sceptic looks alarmed. ‘Just testing,’ …
Luke for Everyone - Opposition to Jesus in Nazareth
Luke for Everyone - Opposition to Jesus in Nazareth
by SPCK - N T Wright
Opposition to Jesus in Nazareth Luke 4.14-30 The commentators were ecstatic after the game. ‘He played like a man inspired,’ they said. What images does that conjure up for you? A sports star, perhaps, running rings round the opposition and scoring a brilliant goal. Or, from a di…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Murder and Reconciliation
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - On Murder and Reconciliation
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Murder and Reconciliation Matthew 5.21-26 It happened again the other day. It is sadly common. A leading politician makes a gesture of contempt towards the opposition. Someone on the other side reacts angrily. Soon dozens of people are on their feet, shouting. Insults fly to a…
Revelation for Everyone - Look! He is Coming
Revelation for Everyone - Look! He is Coming
by SPCK - N T Wright
Look! He Is Coming Revelation 1.1-8 The house lights went down, and the excited buzz of audience chatter quickly subsided as well. Soon it was quite dark in the theatre. Then music began, softly and mysteriously at first, but soon building up, swelling and rising. Just as it reac…
Luke for Everyone - The Distress of Jerusalem Predicted
Luke for Everyone - The Distress of Jerusalem Predicted
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Distress of Jerusalem Predicted Luke 21.20-33 At school we were sometimes made to write stories which included several very different characters and objects. ‘Write a story,’ the teacher might say, ‘including a rabbit, a telescope, a cathedral and a man with a wooden leg.’ Of…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Celebrate in the Lord!
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Celebrate in the Lord!
by SPCK - N T Wright
Celebrate in the Lord! Philippians 4.2-9 You never know when it’s going to happen. Two people who one day are good friends, working alongside each other in the church or community, can suddenly get across each other. A sharp word from one, half-heard by the other; a bitter respon…
John for Everyone part 2 - Mary and her Ointment
John for Everyone part 2 - Mary and her Ointment
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mary and her Ointment John 12.1-8 I always hate it when, in a movie or a novel, a social event suddenly becomes tense and fraught. People who write novels and screenplays seem to like them: anger and bitterness bubbling to the surface, family members losing their tempers with eac…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Low Murmuring Sound
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - The Low Murmuring Sound
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Low Murmuring Sound 1 Kings 19:1-21 I am inclined to think that nothing I do in seeking to fulfill my vocation achieves anything. My vocation is to help people understand the Old Testament and let their thinking and their lives be shaped by it. I am passionately committed to …
Hebrews for Everyone - Outside the Old City, Seeking the New
Hebrews for Everyone - Outside the Old City, Seeking the New
by SPCK - N T Wright
Outside the Old City, Seeking the New Hebrews 13.9-16 I mentioned earlier that I had been reading the diary of a clergyman who had been a prisoner of war from 1940 to 1945. It was both fascinating and frustrating. Fascinating as a firsthand, day-by-day account of the life such pe…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Practical Life of God's People
Hebrews for Everyone - The Practical Life of God's People
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Practical Life of God’s People Hebrews 13.1-8 ‘Sex, power, money, suffering. Tomorrow morning’s newspaper will be full of it; it’s what sells, it’s what some people think makes the world go round. Meanwhile, you can look through the newspaper from end to end for a mention of …
Luke for Everyone - Jesus and the Pharisee
Luke for Everyone - Jesus and the Pharisee
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus and the Pharisee Luke 14.1-11 Luke’s gospel has more meal-time scenes than all the others. If his vision of the Christian life, from one point of view, is a journey, from another point of view it’s a party. Several stories end with a festive meal – like, for instance, the p…
Luke for Everyone - The Calling of Zacchaeus
Luke for Everyone - The Calling of Zacchaeus
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Calling of Zacchaeus Luke 19.1-10 Sunday schools love Zacchaeus. At least, they love to act out his story and sing about him. The little man who climbs up a tree to see Jesus provides one of the most vivid short stories in the whole Bible. Children can identify with Zacchaeus…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Challenging the Gods and God
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Challenging the Gods and God
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Challenging the Gods and God Psalm 82 Two friends who live in the Philippines had lunch with us a week or so ago while on a visit home in the United States. One of them, a Chinese American, told us that in the Philippines he had a sense of the presence of evil spirits that he …
Exodus and Leviticus - A Rule of Life
Exodus and Leviticus - A Rule of Life
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Rule of Life EXODUS 20: 1- 21 As a seminary professor in England, it was my task to ask the students who were my particular pastoral responsibility about their rule of life. The idea of a rule of life had become popular, though maybe the idea was more popular than actually keep…
Isaiah for everyone - The Man Who Kept His Mouth Shut