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Journeying with Matthew Lectionary Year A - Christmas
Journeying with Matthew Lectionary Year A - Christmas
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
2 Christmas Exploring the text Matthew’s birth narrative begins in the same way that the genealogy began. Unfortunately this is masked in the English translation. Matthew 1.1 begins ‘a book [or record] of the genesis of Jesus the Messiah’ and Matthew 1.18 ‘the genesis of Jesus th…
The Power of the Parable - The Visionary Dream of God
The Power of the Parable - The Visionary Dream of God
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
chapter 10 The Visionary Dream of God The Parable Gospel According To John The Power of the Parables HOW FICTION BY JESUS BECAME FICTION ABOUT JESUS When you think of World Heritage Sites, you usually imagine ancient places and ruined cities. But one site is emphatically neither.…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 53:1, 3
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 53:1, 3
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 53:1, 3 The Bible offers no arguments for the existence of God. It doesn’t engage with the intellectual case for or against. It simply assumes God. It makes me think that the person this psalm has in mind is not the atheist or agnostic who wrestles with questions of faith b…
Occasions for Alleluia - Introduction
Occasions for Alleluia - Introduction
by SPCK - David Adam
Introduction One Easter on Holy Island, a few things suddenly came together. During Lent I had been reading A. N. Wilson’s novel, A Bottle in the Smoke, and I came across this passage describing the main character, Julian Ramsey, falling in love for the first time:..
Scripture and the Authority of God - Scripture within Contemporary Culture
Scripture and the Authority of God - Scripture within Contemporary Culture
by SPCK - N T Wright
Scripture within Contemporary Culture Scripture in Today’s World: Five Areas The Bible doesn’t just live within the church, because the church (if it is true to its own nature and vocation) is always open to God’s world. Our contemporary culture impinges on the questions that are…
The Power of the Parable - Challenge Parables: Part 2
The Power of the Parable - Challenge Parables: Part 2
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
chapter 4 Challenge Parables: Part 2 The Word Against The Word When I was in high school, from 1945 to 1950, the standard English curriculum established by Ireland’s Board of Education involved a different Shakespearean play for each year. My memory recalls The Merchant of Venice…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 37: 4, 7, 32
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 37: 4, 7, 32
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 37. 4, 7, 32 The promise of God to give us our heart’s desires is conditional. When our heart is in tune with God’s heart and hence our will with his will then, as Jesus said, ‘Ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you’ (John 15.7 nrsv). The secret is to stay c…
There is a season - Harvest Festival
There is a season - Harvest Festival
by SPCK - Margaret Pritchard Houston
HARVEST FESTIVAL Unless a grain of wheat falls… INTRODUCTION The meaning of Harvest Festival has changed dramatically in recent years. The UK is no longer an agrarian society – many children are now unaware of the origins of their food, let alone actively involved in its producti…
Numbers in the Bible Assembly Collection - Forgiveness 70 times 7 Assembly
Numbers in the Bible Assembly Collection - Forgiveness 70 times 7 Assembly
by Christian Assembly Team
Forgiveness – Seventy times Seven Bible ref: Matthew 18:21-35 There’s quite a lot in this assembly so you will have to keep it moving or edit as you feel necessary... Today we are going to be thinking about forgiveness. What does the word “forgive” mean? (Establish a child-friend…
Journeying with Luke - Lent
Journeying with Luke - Lent
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
4 Lent Exploring the text One of the major themes of Lent is, of course, temptation – or, more accurately, resistance to temptation. This theme arises from Jesus’ temptations but also challenges us to reflect upon our need to resist temptation in all its forms. One of the intrigu…
Prayer: Waiting in the dark
Prayer: Waiting in the dark
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Waiting in the dark Waiting in the dark for a dreaded dawn, when news may be of death and destruction; how we long to defer the light. Waiting in the dark for an anxious day when difficult decisions must be made that may change life forever; how we long to discern the lig…
Hymn: The spirit of the Son of Man
Hymn: The spirit of the Son of Man
by Michael Docker
The spirit of the Son of Man Is caught where we're found praying As Jesus prayed; that what we are Be one with what we're saying. The spirit of the Galilean Is caught when we're found singing As Jesus sang; a suffering song Shall frame the lives we're bringing. The spirit of the …
Prayer/Reflection: Of whom shall I be afraid?
Prayer/Reflection: Of whom shall I be afraid?
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer/Reflection: Of whom shall I be afraid? ‘The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? Tell that to the sufferers of domestic violence; to the children neglected or abused; to the women raped by men with guns; to the families left homeless by floods; to…
The Lord and His Prayer - Give Us This Day
The Lord and His Prayer - Give Us This Day
by SPCK - N T Wright
Give Us This Day CHAPTER THREE The danger with the prayer for bread is that we get there too soon. We come to prayer, aware of urgent needs, or at least wants. It’s tempting to race through the Lord’s Prayer, as far as ‘on earth as it is in heaven’, so that we can then take a dee…
Hymn: We will give thanks for the light we've received
Hymn: We will give thanks for the light we've received
by Michael Docker
We will give thanks for the light we've received; For we have found Christ who said if we believed Then we would see greater than yet we have seen - The things of God's Kingdom and all that they mean. We are beginning to turn from the past; For we have seen Christ's life show dea…
Reflection/Meditation: My Father’s Way
Reflection/Meditation: My Father’s Way
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection/Meditation: My Father’s Way Many years ago a story was told by the Hebrew people – indeed it is still being told today. It sounds something like this: ‘My father was a wandering Aramean; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien and there became a great natio…
Imagining the Lectionary: Stay Alert (Proper 27A; Ordinary 32A)