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Imagining the Lectionary: fit for purpose? (Epiphany 8A)
Imagining the Lectionary: fit for purpose? (Epiphany 8A)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Fit for purpose? (Epiphany 8A) Reflection accompanying image “flamingo” "Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out." Matthew 6:33 (The Message) "But strive first for the kingdom of God and his …
Scripture and the Authority of God - Authority of Scripture as Part of a Larger Whole
Scripture and the Authority of God - Authority of Scripture as Part of a Larger Whole
by SPCK - N T Wright
“Authority of Scripture” as Part of a Larger Whole ‘Authority of Scripture’ is a Shorthand for God’s Authority Exercised through Scripture We now arrive at the central claim of this book: that the phrase ‘authority of scripture’ can only make Christian sense if it is a shorthand …
Luke for Everyone - Jesus Sends Out the Seventy
Luke for Everyone - Jesus Sends Out the Seventy
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Sends Out the Seventy Luke 10.1-16 I had lunch with a friend who told me how, earlier in the year, his teenage son had been taken seriously ill. For weeks he had been going to doctors and specialists, all of whom had been puzzled by his symptoms. Finally he went to a senior…
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Fig Tree
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Fig Tree
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Fig Tree Luke 13.1-9 If the New Testament had never been written, we would still know that Pontius Pilate was an unpleasant and unpopular Governor of Judaea. The Jewish historian Josephus lists several things he did which upset and irritated the local Jewish po…
Imagining the Lectionary: Going Underground (Easter 2B)
Imagining the Lectionary: Going Underground (Easter 2B)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Going Underground (Easter 2B) Reflection accompanying images “Going underground” and “Peace be with you atomic bomb” The Jam's great 1980 hit "Going Underground" is an edgy, powerful and raw indictment both of a society which fails to challenge and stan…
Holy Week 2: Good Friday judges the Church
Holy Week 2: Good Friday judges the Church
by David Perry
Holy Week 2: Good Friday judges the Church Reflection accompanying image “The curtain of the temple was torn in two” and "You can't evict an idea". On Good Friday in Jerusalem, as Jesus died, we are told that the sky went dark, an earthquake struck, and the curtain in the Temple …
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Wise and Wicked Slaves
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Wise and Wicked Slaves
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Wise and Wicked Slaves Matthew 24.45-51 The managing director was returning from a meeting out of town, when he saw a familiar but unexpected sight. There, turning out of a street ahead of him, was one of his own company’s vans. What was it doing here? The company didn’t do b…
Luke for Everyone - Signs of the End
Luke for Everyone - Signs of the End
by SPCK - N T Wright
Signs of the End Luke 21.5-19 A news reader announces that an asteroid passed close to the earth. When they say ‘close’, they mean about half a million miles; but in terms of the solar system, that’s quite near at hand. It shows, as one commentator said, that the planet Earth is …
Poem: The time has come
Poem: The time has come
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: The time has come As John had said, ‘the time has come.’ So Jesus, bowing to the Jordan’s waves and rising to the words ‘beloved Son’ and ‘well pleased,’ was willing to be made ready, by desert trial, to take his place in the unfolding story of God’s love. Continues... ©Mar…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Love, God's Power - In Us
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - God's Love, God's Power - In Us
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Love, God’s Power – In Us Ephesians 3.14-21 Love and power, power and love: these are the themes of perhaps two-thirds of the novels, plays and poems ever written. The love of power has laid waste continents and empires. The power of love has driven weak people to do powerf…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Greetings and Thanksgiving
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Greetings and Thanksgiving
by SPCK - N T Wright
Greetings and Thanksgiving 2 Thessalonians 1.1-7a When our four children were younger, we had to spend Christmas Day taking notes. Once the four of them began to open presents from friends and relatives, there was so much paper and string around, and so many toys, books and games…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Calls the Disciples
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Calls the Disciples
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Calls the Disciples Matthew 4.18-25 If you go to Galilee today they will show you a boat that might have belonged to Andrew and Peter, or perhaps the Zebedee family. In one of the most remarkable archaeological finds anywhere in the Holy Land (which is full of them), a boat…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Jesus Mocked and Crucified
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - Jesus Mocked and Crucified
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Mocked and Crucified Matthew 27.27-38 Almost the whole world is now a tourist trap. Countries compete with each other to attract visitors, particularly from the richer parts of the world, and to give them a memorable vacation while drawing money into the local economy. The …
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Words of Blessing
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Paul's Words of Blessing
by SPCK - N T Wright
Paul’s Words of Blessing Thessalonians 3.11-13 Prayer and music have always gone together in the Christian church, and another musical illustration may help us find ways of making Paul’s prayers our own. When children begin to learn a musical instrument, or to sing, the teacher o…
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Puffed Up or Powerful
Paul for Everyone 1 Corinthians - Puffed Up or Powerful
by SPCK - N T Wright
Puffed Up or Powerful 1 Corinthians 4.14-21 We all know the difference between talk and power. Imagine you are driving along a road, without worrying too much about how fast you’re going. All of a sudden a large car with flashing lights overtakes you and motions you to pull over.…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The Leaven of the Pharisees