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Jeremiah for everyone - How Do You Get People to Change?
Jeremiah for everyone - How Do You Get People to Change?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How Do You Get People to Change? In the 1960s a man called Arthur Blessitt moved from Louisiana to Hollywood in order to preach to hippies, runaways, addicts, bikers, prostitutes, flower children, and would-be actors and rock stars; he became known as the minister of Sunset Strip…
Isaiah for everyone - A Time to Cry and a time to Whoop
Isaiah for everyone - A Time to Cry and a time to Whoop
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Time to Cry and a Time to Whoop We had dinner with a young couple a few months ago and were delighted to discover that they were expecting their first baby. It was not their first pregnancy; the wife had had a miscarriage last year. I remember how distressing it was when my fir…
Isaiah for everyone - High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit
Isaiah for everyone - High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit
by SPCK - John Goldingay
High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit In a recent sermon in our seminary I told students that Jesus isn’t their buddy. I’m told the air went out of the room when I said it. A friend subsequently gave me a “Buddy Christ” statuette, which I could put on my d…
Isaiah for Everyone - Grief Brought To An End
Isaiah for Everyone - Grief Brought To An End
by SPCK - John Goldingay
GRIEF BROUGHT TO AN END In a movie called Grace Is Gone, Grace is a sergeant in the army on active service. Her husband, Stan, looks after a supply store back home. One morning the feared and terrifying visit comes from army representatives with the task of telling Stan that Grac…
Jeremiah for everyone - Settle Down
Jeremiah for everyone - Settle Down
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Settle Down When I first moved to California, people would ask how long I’d be here, thinking it might be just for an academic quarter or year. They’d be a bit taken aback when I said, “I want to die here,” so I would add, “but not too soon,” yet they’d still be taken aback, so I…
Isaiah for everyone - The Ambiguous Hezekiah
Isaiah for everyone - The Ambiguous Hezekiah
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Ambiguous Hezekiah The other week we heard a Los Angeles priest who works with ex-gang members tell of going to a university to talk about his work. He took with him an ex-gang member called Juan. During the day they went to classes and spoke to students and in the evening ad…
Isaiah for everyone - Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying, Planning, and Dreaming
Isaiah for everyone - Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying, Planning, and Dreaming
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying, Planning, and Dreaming On Thursday I took part in interviewing a prospective new faculty member and on Friday my wife and I took part in a student retreat, and I now see a feature these events had in common. The interviewee referred to…
Jeremiah for everyone - Lucky Figs and Unlucky Figs
Jeremiah for everyone - Lucky Figs and Unlucky Figs
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Lucky Figs and Unlucky Figs We walked past a supermarket last night and marveled at the size of the truck delivering produce, and we wondered how quickly the supermarket would empty if there were a big earthquake (answer: about two hours)…
Jeremiah for everyone - Who Am I?
Jeremiah for everyone - Who Am I?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Who Am I? In a poem he wrote in prison, on his way to being executed by the Nazis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer asked the question, “Who am I?” Am I one person today, and tomorrow, another? Do I look brave to other people, though before myself I’m “a contemptibly woebegone weakling”?…
Revelation for Everyone - Final Judgement
Revelation for Everyone - Final Judgement
by SPCK - N T Wright
Final Judgement Revelation 20.7-15 John was not the first to suppose that after God’s great act of rescue and restoration there might be a further challenge, a final fling of the powers of evil against the already-redeemed people of God. In one of his favourite books of scripture…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Restore Us Again
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Restore Us Again
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Restore Us Again Psalm 85 It is easy for me as a Brit to be resentful of the U.S. media’s critiques of Britain and Europe. “Why do they think it’s their business to criticize when the United States can’t solve its own problems?” I wonder. “Are the British media so critical of the…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Yes, Yahweh Has Begun to Reign
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Yes, Yahweh Has Begun to Reign
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Yes, Yahweh Has Begun to Reign Psalm 96 Today’s news includes a report about forces in Yemen firing on people protesting the government and killing some of them. In Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan soldiers have faced sharply increased attacks by insurgents from their base in Pakista…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Sacred Space, Sacred Acts, and Sacred Sound Psalm 99-100 Yesterday I received what initially seemed a puzzling invitation to a weekly, early-morning prayer meeting, described as “sacred space for a variety of prayer traditions.” It seemed puzzling because I always thought of s…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Persuade Your Heart
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - How to Persuade Your Heart
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Persuade Your Heart Psalm 103 Some years ago I went through one of those periods when God didn’t seem to be real. I don’t mean I was going through some intellectual questioning, though I have done that at other times, but rather that I didn’t feel that God was there. I wou…
Imagining the Lectionary- Pentecost Mashup
Imagining the Lectionary- Pentecost Mashup
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Pentecost Mashup Reflection accompanying images: “Can these dry bones live”, “Creator spirit”, “Spirit 1” and “Spirit 2” Can these dry bones live This ancient question, arising out of the harrowing history of God's people in Exile and voiced by God thr…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Rivers of Living Water
John for Everyone Part 1 - Rivers of Living Water
by SPCK - N T Wright
Rivers of Living Water John 7.31-39 ‘A pint of water every hour, and don’t forget!’ I was setting off into the desert, and my host was understandably anxious. Coming as I did from a cool and damp climate, I might easily forget how important it was to keep drinking plenty of water…
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Prodigal (part 2)
Luke for Everyone - The Parable of the Prodigal (part 2)
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Parable of the Prodigal: The Father and the Older Son Luke 15.25-32 A vivid phrase from a schoolboy poem, written by a classmate of mine over thirty years ago, remains with me to this day. He described a park-keeper whose job was to pick up litter on a spiked pole. Surrounded…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Travels to Egypt