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A pastor's voice, attuned to care
A pastor's voice, attuned to care
by Andrew Pratt
A pastor's voice, attuned to care, committed to protection, rang through the hills of Galilee, love forming each inflexion. He spoke of sheep, he knew his flock, they'd never find him sleeping, his very life would be laid down, and none would leave his keeping. Verses 3-4 follow …
Hymn: Christ has broken walls of heartache
Hymn: Christ has broken walls of heartache
by Andrew Pratt
Christ has broken walls of heartache, in one reconciling act. Could our living in this moment make this peace a present fact? Can the love of friend or stranger bridge the gulf of hate or fear? Is Christ seen in every neighbour? Is perception always clear? Verse 3 follows Tune: L…
Out of Egypt now in Canaan
Out of Egypt now in Canaan
by Andrew Pratt
Out of Egypt now in Canaan, finding freedom in this place celebrating liberation, Hebrews learning of God's grace. Now this story, part of hist'ry, told again from year to year: speaks of haste, release and rescue, time of tension, time of fear. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: ALL FOR JE…
Hymn: Love as we, ourselves, know loving
Hymn: Love as we, ourselves, know loving
by Andrew Pratt
Love as we, ourselves, know loving, in this way we will be blessed; get this right and all will follow: such a very simple test. And this test is in the action, not in claims of faith or creed, but in ways we serve each other, meeting one another's need. Verses 3-5 follow Tune: C…
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Look Upon Their Threats
New Testament Prayer for Everyone - Look Upon Their Threats
by SPCK - N T Wright
PART 2 PRAYERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT OTHER EARLY CHRISTIAN PRAYERS LOOK UPON THEIR THREATS Acts 4: 23-31 In the early summer of 1989, I went to Jerusalem to teach, and to work on a couple of books, one of which was about Jesus himself. One day, sitting in my borrowed room at St Ge…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 5 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 5 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 5 1 Samuel 8.4-11 [12-15] 16-20 [11.14-15] 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1 Mark 3.20-35 So: did God want Israel to have a king, or didn’t he? The question haunts not only this passage in 1 Samuel but much of the rest of the account of the monarchy, from the ill-fated Saul right dow…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Sixth Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 10.44-48 1 John 5.1-6 John 15.9-17 ‘His commandments are not burdensome.’ Hard to take, that, in a world where all commandments are burdensome, where anybody telling anyone else what to do – even God telling his creatures what to do – is felt as an…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 11 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 11 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 11 Mark 6.30–34, 53–56 Gaze at the crush as people lean forward and grab the cloak that wraps around the shoulders of one extraordinary man. They stretch out to touch it, they push and shove to get near the front, to stroke his tunic and finger the hem. It is almost as if …
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Proper 9 Year C
Gazing on the Gospels Year C - Proper 9 Year C
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 9 Luke 10: 1-11, 16-20 Gaze on yourself as you arrive in a town for the first time. Have you booked your hotel room ahead, or are you leaving it to chance? Recall the strange street signs, the one-way system that confuses and traps you, and the difficulty in finding a plac…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Walking on the Water
John for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Walking on the Water
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Walking on the Water John 6.16-25 Some animals are naturally afraid of water. Cats will not normally go for a swim in a river; nor will hedgehogs. Most monkeys and apes, despite sharing some other characteristics of humans, do not care for water. This fact is exploited at a…
Revelation bible study guide - The Lamb's Elite Warriors
Revelation bible study guide - The Lamb's Elite Warriors
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Lamb’s Elite Warriors Revelation 14: 1-13 On the hill in the distance I could see the little procession, tiny but silhouetted against the sky in the bright Middle-Eastern evening. In my country the sheep are brought from one field to another by people with sticks and dogs. In…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - The Seventh Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Seventh Sunday of Easter (Sunday after Ascension Day) Acts 1.15-17, 21-26 1 John 5.9-13 John 17.6-19 The interesting thing about the choice of Matthias has nothing to do with Matthias himself. Nor is it the striking method of his selection, which if applied today would simpli…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Third Sunday of Easter Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Third Sunday of Easter Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Third Sunday of Easter Acts 9.1–20 Revelation 5.11–14 John 21.1–19 John 21 contains in microcosmic form most of the elements of the previous narrative. We are back in Galilee, with Peter and his friends going fishing. Jesus reveals himself as he had done throughout. He feed…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 15 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 15 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 15 Proverbs 9-1-6 Ephesians 4. 25-5.2 John 6: 35, 41-51 ‘You are what you eat’, so the saying goes. Our modern western culture is wise to the fact that food is not all the same, and will not all be good for you. We are now very anxious about food additives, very aware of p…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 13 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 13 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 13 Exodus 16. 2-4, 9-15 Ephesians 4. 1-16 John 6: 24-35 This is a very revealing set of questions and answers between Jesus and the people following him. It tells us a lot about what the people thought they were looking for in Jesus, and gives us one of Jesus’s own central…
Journeying With Mark Year B - Easter
Journeying With Mark Year B - Easter
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
6 Easter Exploring the text Probably one of the best-known features of Mark’s Gospel is its ending – or, depending on your perspective, its lack of ending. Unlike the other Gospels, the accounts of resurrection in Mark are sparse in the extreme. In Matthew an angel appears to Mar…
See the husks fly through the air
See the husks fly through the air
by Andrew Pratt
See the husks fly through the air, feel the all consuming fire, see the day of God is near, see the flames are licking higher. That's the image John conveys, bringing people to their knees. Is it penitence or fear, stimulates their present pleas? And within this time and place, a…
The shepherd of sheep scorns the safety of shelter