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Not conscious of our end or our beginning
Not conscious of our end or our beginning
by Andrew Pratt
Not conscious of our end or our beginning, we cannot know the purpose of our lives, yet God preceded all our breathing, living, beyond our human span, our God survives. Confounded by a love we cannot fathom, enfolded in a love which from our birth: God held, will hold, through al…
Hymn: Heirs of Christ and God's own children
Hymn: Heirs of Christ and God's own children
by Andrew Pratt
Heirs of Christ and God's own children, God our parent, yet a friend, Abba, we still pray before you: source of freedom without end. Slaves no longer: liberation, free to serve and free to pray, free to live our lives for justice, Verse 3 follows © Andrew Pratt 14/5/2012 Tune: …
Mark The People's Commentary - Insider and outsiders
Mark The People's Commentary - Insider and outsiders
by BRF - Dick France
Insiders and outsiders Here is the other end of the ‘sandwich’ which began in verses 20–21; the family have arrived. At the same time, a further layer is added to the sandwich, in that the inner circle of the disciples, whose call was narrated just before the family were introduc…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 139:23
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 139:23
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 139:23 This psalm speaks of the intimate knowledge God has of each of us. Jesus said as much, in that even the hairs on our head are numbered. There are no other words that match the truth and beauty of this prayer so allow me to say only why it always leaves my soul in a c…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 12 Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 12 Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 12 Hosea 1.2–10 Colossians 2.6–19 Luke 11.1–13 Part of the prophetic vocation seems to have been to carry the pain of the message in one’s own soul. Thus it was, at least, with Hosea. Married to a prostitute, he felt not only the pain of Israel but also the pain of God, …
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - A Few Things You Could Pray For
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - A Few Things You Could Pray For
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Few Things You Can Pray For 1 Kings 8:31-40 I just had a phone call from the rector of the church where I am to preach on Sunday. It will be Pentecost, and I thought they were asking me just because they wanted a guest preacher for that festival, but she had apparently forgotte…
God is in the thick of living
God is in the thick of living
by Andrew Pratt
God is in the thick of living, in the midst of love and life; God is in our haste and hurry, in our peace and through our strife. At the crux of every crisis, with the wounded and bereft, Christ is crucified, derided, knows our punishment and stress. This is God, incarnate, wit…
Hymn: We trust in one we name as God
Hymn: We trust in one we name as God
by Andrew Pratt
We trust in one we name as God, above all else we see; the ground of being, God of love, will hold and set us free. And all our worship, praise and prayer, can't magnify the grace that God is pouring all the while on us, within this place. Verse 3 follows Tune: BELMONT Metre: CM …
Let earth and heaven combine - A Christmas/New Year Meditation
Let earth and heaven combine - A Christmas/New Year Meditation
by Andrew Pratt
Let earth and heaven combine - A Christmas/New Year Meditation - Use these words to introduce the hymn or as part of a time of contemplation as Christmas becomes 'Christmas past' and we try to make sense of it as the year turns. Extract: Let earth and heaven combine - A Christmas…
John for Everyone part 2 - No King but Caesar
John for Everyone part 2 - No King but Caesar
by SPCK - N T Wright
No King but Caesar John 19.8-16a From our seats, high in the stands, we watched as the football match swung this way and that. Our team was doing well and scored a couple of early goals. We were delighted; surely they could hang on to a lead like that? When the opposition scored …
Job for Everyone - The God of Wrath
Job for Everyone - The God of Wrath
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The God of Wrath Job 9: 1-35 We were preparing dinner for people in a homeless shelter on Friday when out of the blue my pastor asked me, “What do you say when people ask you why the God of the Old Testament is so different from the God of the New Testament?” Quick as a flash I r…
The Living God - Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation
The Living God - Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 Discerning wisdom: works of art and the creation One of my memories of my time as an undergraduate at Wadham College, Oxford, is admiring the portrait of Sir Christopher Wren (1632–1723) that adorned the panelled walls of the college’s dining hall. I…
The Living God - Creation as a process: God’s ongoing involvement with the world
The Living God - Creation as a process: God’s ongoing involvement with the world
by SPCK - Alister McGrath
Creator of heaven and earth 4 Creation as a process: God’s ongoing involvement with the world Like many, I enjoy the famous story that lies behind the creation of the great statue of David by the artist Michelangelo (1475 –1564). In the late fifteenth century, the Florentine scul…
My practical theology DJW - God and humankind - are they compatible?