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Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Baptism
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus' Baptism
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus’ Baptism Matthew 3.11-17 It’s safe to say that John was as surprised as we are. Or at least, as we should be if we read this passage without knowing what’s coming. To get the flavour, imagine that we are going to a huge concert hall, packed to the doors with eager and excit…
Luke for Everyone - Reading the Signs of the Times
Luke for Everyone - Reading the Signs of the Times
by SPCK - N T Wright
Reading the Signs of the Times Luke 12.49-59 The great composer Ludwig van Beethoven used sometimes to play a trick on polite salon audiences, especially when he guessed that they weren’t really interested in serious music. He would perform a piece on the piano, one of his own sl…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Temptation in the Wilderness
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Temptation in the Wilderness
by SPCK - N T Wright
Temptation in the Wilderness Matthew 4.1-11 Jennifer went for a long walk in the woods. It had been an exhausting six months, and she needed time to think. She had concentrated on the campaign. Ever since her local party had told her, to her surprise, that they wanted her to be t…
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The First and the Last
Matthew for Everyone Part 2 - The First and the Last
by SPCK - N T Wright
The First and the Last Matthew 19.23-30 ‘I’m telling you the truth,’ Jesus replied. ‘In God’s great new world, when the son of man sits on his glorious throne, all of you who have followed me will sit on twelve thrones – yes, you! – and rule over the twelve tribes of Israel. 29An…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Healing of the Leper and the Centurion's Servant
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Healing of the Leper and the Centurion's Servant
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Healing of the Leper and the Centurion’s Servant Matthew 8.1-13 ‘Who’s in charge here?’ The policeman suddenly appeared in the doorway. Everyone stood still. It had been a wonderful party up to that point; a bit riotous, perhaps, but great fun. Now, we guessed, one of the nei…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Preaching of John the Baptist
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Preaching of John the Baptist Matthew 3.1-10 The road, the water, the fire and the axe. Four powerful symbols set the scene for where the story of Jesus really starts. Think first of a police motorcade sweeping through a city street. First there appear motorcycles with flashi…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Second Sunday of Lent Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Second Sunday of Lent Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Second Sunday of Lent Genesis 15.1–12, 17–18 Philippians 3.17—4.1 Luke 13.31–end The question raised by Philippians 3.17 is: how on earth can the Philippian church, Gentile Christians mostly, ‘join in imitating’ Paul? The chapter so far describes how Paul came to regard his o…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Third Sunday of Advent Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Third Sunday of Advent Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Third Sunday of Advent Zephaniah 3.14–20 Philippians 4.4–7 Luke 3.7–18 The new lectionary has hardly begun, and I fear I am going to grumble about it as I did about its predecessor. How will people ever learn that the Bible and its message are politically relevant – that the …
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A Last Act of Loyalty to Saul
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A Last Act of Loyalty to Saul
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Last Act of Loyalty to Saul 1 Samuel 30: 1- 31: 13 When I first came to California, students would sometimes ask how long I would be here, thinking it might just be for sabbatical. At first I would reply, “I want to die here,” which was a way of saying, “I am here permanently,”…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Brothers United and Divided
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Brothers United and Divided
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Brothers United and Divided Genesis 25: 7- 22 Not so many years ago, my wife and I were part of a regulation three-generation family. My mother, our only surviving parent, was at the top. We were in the middle. Our sons and their wives were at the bottom. Then, within two years, …
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How Our Faithlessness Magnifies God’s Faithfulness
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How Our Faithlessness Magnifies God’s Faithfulness
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How Our Faithlessness Magnifies God’s Faithfulness Psalm 106: 1-47 From six thousand miles’ distance I have been astonished to follow the London equivalent to Occupy Wall Street, which has involved protesters camping out at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where I was ordained, near the Lon…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - How to Be a Mixed-up Person
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - How to Be a Mixed-up Person
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Be a Mixed-up Person JUDGES 6:25- 40 This week I asked a group of students what impressions their Christian background had given them about prayer. One of the recurrent themes was that we need to be a bit careful how we talk to God. You don’t complain to God, question God,…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - How to Recycle Your Killer Instinct
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - How to Recycle Your Killer Instinct
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Recycle Your Killer Instinct 1 Samuel 17: 1- 54 It was the Oscars last weekend (I went to a great jazz concert two blocks away, though I was nearly late because of the road closures in Hollywood), and against the odds, The Hurt Locker beat Avatar (which grossed fifty times…
Psalms for Everyone - Neither Militarist nor Pacifist
Psalms for Everyone - Neither Militarist nor Pacifist
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Neither Militarist nor Pacifist Psalm 68: 19-35 On the anniversary of the September 11 attacks, I read an article by a Pakistani titled “Why Do They Hate Us So Much?” It picked up a question people in the United States asked after those attacks but reversed it in light of convict…
Job for Everyone - On Learning From the Past
Job for Everyone - On Learning From the Past
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Learning from the Past Job 8: 1-22 The other Saturday we were sitting in a restaurant by the ocean, and a woman came to talk to us who is a student at the seminary. This particular beach is an hour away, so I asked her if she lived nearby. She explained that she came here on S…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - On Missing Garlic
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - On Missing Garlic
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Missing Garlic NUMBERS 11: 1-35 My mother didn’t know about garlic. This is not unreasonable; she had learned to cook in the days when British cooking was boring, before Elizabeth David introduced us to proper cooking (she was our Julia Child) and before immigration from the I…
Job for Everyone - Pastoral Care That Makes the Sufferer's Position Worse
Job for Everyone - Pastoral Care That Makes the Sufferer's Position Worse
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Pastoral Care That Makes the Sufferer’s Position Worse Job 33 1-33 A woman came to see me a little while ago to talk about an occasion when she had been given pastoral care by some people, and she said the occasion had left her disturbed for years. I knew her to be an intelligent…
Job for Everyone - Perish the Day I Was Born