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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 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
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Another Deceiver Deceived
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Another Deceiver Deceived Genesis 38:1-30 It can seem as if every month some new sexual scandal is reported involving a prominent politician or pastor. It is common for the men (it’s nearly always men, but the more equal the playing field becomes, the more it may become women) in…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - And a Time for War
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - And a Time for War
by SPCK - John Goldingay
And a Time for War Genesis 14: 1-13 On the first Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration after I came to the United States, his daughter Bernice King preached in the seminary chapel. As I walked to chapel that morning, I remember wondering whether she would be the kind of person who…
Job for Everyone - Can a Mortal Be in the Right in God's Eyes?
Job for Everyone - Can a Mortal Be in the Right in God's Eyes?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Can a Mortal Be in the Right in God’s Eyes? Job 4: 1-21 In the heyday of the charismatic movement in Britain, like many people I used to receive short messages from God from time to time for passing on to other people, and sometimes I used to be given such messages by other peopl…
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, …
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - But God Remembered Noah
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - But God Remembered Noah
by SPCK - John Goldingay
But God Remembered Noah Genesis 8: 1-22a There are several restaurants and clubs where I take my wife in her wheelchair and where they invariably both remember us and are mindful of us. When I call to make a reservation, they remember us (it’s partly the odd accent), and when we …
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - But What about Ishmael
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - But What about Ishmael
by SPCK - John Goldingay
But What about Ishmael? Genesis 17: 20-27 When my sister and I were young children, our parents had a hard time making ends meet on my father’s wages as a factory worker. My father was not keen on my mother going out to work while we were small, and eventually they decided to sel…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Desperate Dan
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Desperate Dan
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Desperate Dan JUDGES 18:1-31 When we were in the midst of agreeing to come to California for me to teach here, one of our students at my seminary in England sensed God saying to her one day in chapel, “Tell John, ‘Judges 18:6.’” “I don’t know what it says,” she replied. “Never mi…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Excluded but Not Forgotten
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Excluded but Not Forgotten
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Excluded but Not Forgotten Genesis 36:1- 37:4 Some years ago I decided to try to discover what I could about the Goldingays of the past. It’s probably easier for most British people to investigate their ancestors than for most people in the United States, whose families came from…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - God Struggles
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - God Struggles
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God Struggles Genesis 32:24b-33:17 Every Sunday on the way to church we drive past a particular bus shelter with a huge advertising placard, and for some while this placard proclaimed, “You can never have enough money.” I can’t remember what it was advertising (which shows that a…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - God was with Joseph
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - God was with Joseph
by SPCK - John Goldingay
God Was with Jesus Genesis 39:1-40:8 I previously referred to a man who used to come to talk with me when he had an affair and was inclined to blame the women for throwing themselves at him. But I have known women who were tempted to do that. Sometimes their men were totally preo…
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…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - How Stupid Parents Can Be