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Job for Everyone - Where Could I Go But to the Lord?
Job for Everyone - Where Could I Go But to the Lord?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Where Could I Go But to the Lord? Job 5: 1-27 The story goes that sometime in the 1930s a Mississippi music teacher and Baptist deacon named James Coats was at the bedside of one of his neighbors, whose name was Joe Keyes. Joe was dying, and James asked him if he knew where he wo…
Isaiah for Everyone - Where to Look for Guidance
Isaiah for Everyone - Where to Look for Guidance
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Where to Look for Guidance? In Mexico, and in Mexican communities in places such as Los Angeles, there’s a lively movement of prayer to Santa Muerte, Saint Death. You pray to her for protection from the dangers of the night, in the conviction that she can protect you from attack,…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - When Your Spouse Dies
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - When Your Spouse Dies
by SPCK - John Goldingay
When Your Spouse Dies Genesis 22: 20- 23: 20 I know where I want to bury my wife and where I want to be buried. Actually, it’s rather that I know where I want our ashes to be scattered. We spent the first night of our honeymoon in a hotel in Dovedale in England (we could afford o…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Who Can Lay Hands On Yahweh's Anointed and Get Away With It?
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Who Can Lay Hands On Yahweh's Anointed and Get Away With It?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Who Can Lay Hands on Yahweh’s Anointed and Get Away with It? 1 Samuel 26: 1- 28: 2 This past weekend the U.S. Congress passed a bill designed to reform health care in the nation. By the time you read this we will know more about how it all works out. You may not approve of Congre…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Why Did It Happen to Me?
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Why Did It Happen to Me?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Why Did It Happen to Me? Genesis 4: 5b-9 I was talking to a woman who was angry with God. It was a strangely unfocused anger. She was a homemaker of the old-fashioned kind. She had been faithful to her husband, and as far as she knew he had been faithful to her. But he was only r…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Wise Advice Treated as Folly
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - Wise Advice Treated as Folly
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Wise Advice Treated as Folly 2 Samuel 17: 1- 19: 40 In the 1990s there was a political crisis in the state of Israel over King David’s good name. The Foreign Minister had been accused of slandering David in a parliamentary debate, and his words prompted three motions of no confid…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Words that Cannot Be Undone
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Words that Cannot Be Undone
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Words That Cannot Be Undone Genesis 27:34- 28:5 In lots of ways, words are powerful things. We can say things and wish we had not said them yet be unable to get out of their implications. A woman I know stood at the front of church and made her marriage vows, then subsequently di…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - You Are What You Eat
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - You Are What You Eat
by SPCK - John Goldingay
You Are What You Eat Deuteronomy 14: 1- 29 Three nights ago I got very sick just for a little while after eating out; what I ate was salad, halibut, rice, and vegetables. I should doubtless have complained to the restaurant or reported the matter to the city, but I was too busy b…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Work Becomes Toil
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - Work Becomes Toil
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Work Becomes Toil Genesis 3: 17-22 As I cycle to the seminary to give an evening lecture, I pass a particular bus stop where there are always a number of people waiting for the bus to take them home, and I am always struck by how weary they look. Whatever they have been doing all…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Your Name Will Be Abraham
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Your Name Will Be Abraham
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Your Name Will Be Abraham Genesis 17: 1-6 Names are important. My middle name is Edgar, which was my father’s first name. When I was being baptized, family legend says my grandmother leaned over to my mother and asked why it was not also to be my first name. My mother allegedly r…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A House and a Household
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A House and a Household
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A House and a Household 2 Samuel 7: 1- 29 One of my colleagues likes to remind people that Jesus never talks about our establishing God’s kingdom or furthering it or building it or extending it. In the Gospels, the only things we do to God’s kingdom are wait for it, see it, enter…
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 1 - A Life for a Life
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - A Life for a Life
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Life for a Life Genesis 9: 5- 13 I was once asked to visit a man in prison who had come to trust in Christ and was now taking online courses on Christian faith; he hoped to be ordained one day. He was a man about my age and build; indeed, his name was also John. As we sat on ei…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - A Journey and a Settlement
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - A Journey and a Settlement
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Journey and a Settlement Genesis 10: 21- 11: 2 A decade ago, we moved from Britain to the United States, and an Indonesian joined us to share in caring for my wife, Ann, with her disability. When she and her husband went home, a Kenyan took her place. When she and her husband w…
Isaiah for Everyone - A Sign of Hope
Isaiah for Everyone - A Sign of Hope
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Sign of Hope My wife’s son-in-law returned yesterday from one of his recurrent trips to meet with Darfuri refugees in Chad to encourage them, show some interest on the part of people from the United States, and look for ways of advocating for them. The focus of activity on this…
Isaiah for Everyone - A Singer-Songwriter's Strange Song
Isaiah for Everyone - A Singer-Songwriter's Strange Song
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Singer-Songwriter’s Strange Song When we are going out for the evening, and if the time of year requires it, I will put a sweater on top of whatever I have been wearing all day. It’s a delight to me when, in contrast, my wife disappears into the closet and reappears in her fine…
Job for Everyone - And They All Lived Happily Ever After
Job for Everyone - And They All Lived Happily Ever After
by SPCK - John Goldingay
And They All Lived Happily Ever After Job 42:1- 17 I have often asked people whether they like the ending of the book of Job. The majority do not because it seems unrealistic, in that they know many people who do not have a happy ending to their story in the way that Job does. My…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Another Deceiver Deceived