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In this common congregation
In this common congregation
by Andrew Pratt
In this common congregation where we've often been before, here among familiar people, meeting God and feeling awe; we are ranked where God has chosen, set with those we might not choose, given tasks that bring us credit, and those where we stand to lose. God has called us to thi…
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…
Oh where is there love in a world that is tired
Oh where is there love in a world that is tired
by Andrew Pratt
Oh where is there love in a world that is tired, across the year’s threshold, where hope has expired? We wait amid movement, to pause and to pray, to nurture our God at the dawn of each day. Our eyes have been opened, compassion unlocked, the road has been cleared, and the future…
Hymn: Each hour marks a mighty resurrection
Hymn: Each hour marks a mighty resurrection
by Andrew Pratt
Each hour marks a mighty resurrection, a time of overcoming fate and fear, the dawning of a common understanding in which the grace of God is drawing near. Each morning brings a sense of new creation. New life, new love, encompasses the earth. New time, new light illuminates the …
Hymn: The years have turned
Hymn: The years have turned
by Andrew Pratt
The years have turned, the ages passed, millennia run like a stream, and were those words of prophecy a concrete hope, or just a dream? And could a child embody peace, and justice have a human face, could holiness and righteousness inform our grasp of love and grace? Verses 3-4 f…
The Post Evangelical - 6 "Let me tell you a story"
The Post Evangelical - 6 "Let me tell you a story"
by SPCK - Dave Tomlinson
6 “Let me tell you a story” We have already touched on the subject of postmodernism and we now need to look at this a little more closely. I have referred several times to the fact that the Western world is in a state of flux and that the modern world, stretching back to the Enli…
At this time of New Year
At this time of New Year
by Marjorie Dobson
At this time of New Year, when we wish happiness to everyone we meet, the Psalmist helps us to focus our minds on those who are in real need. We think of those whose New Year is not a time for celebration. We think of those who have not been able to afford to buy lavish gifts for…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Easter Day Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Easter Day Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Easter Day- Year A Jeremiah 31.1–6 Colossians 3.1–4 John 20.1–18 Again you shall plant vineyards; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit. Jeremiah echoes Deuteronomy’s promise of covenant renewal, and points forward to John’s Easter garden. Mary was on the right trac…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Fulfilling the Law
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - Fulfilling the Law
by SPCK - N T Wright
Fulfilling the Law Matthew 5.13-20 We all know what happens when a revolutionary party suddenly finds itself in power. It’s one thing to shout angrily from the sidelines, but quite another to form a government and run a country. All sorts of things have to be organized and dealt …
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 16 Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - Proper 16 Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 16 Jeremiah 1.4–10 Hebrews 12.18–end Luke 13.10–17 Moses said he wasn’t a speaker. Isaiah said his lips were tainted. Ezekiel fell on his face. And Jeremiah says he’s too young. One might, perhaps, be a trifle suspicious if God’s call to prophecy met with too ready a respo…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Beatitudes
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Beatitudes
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Beatitudes Matthew 5.1-12 Many years ago there was a dramatic movie about the first test pilots to break the sound barrier. No plane had ever flown faster than the speed of sound. Many people didn’t believe it was possible. Some thought the plane would disintegrate under the …
Luke for Everyone - The Resurrection
Luke for Everyone - The Resurrection
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Resurrection Luke 24.1-12 Many years ago, a colleague of mine in Oxford wrote a series of articles in a university magazine, discussing various changes that were being proposed to the way the university and the colleges were run. He warned of what would happen if certain thin…
2 Corinthians - The Smell of Life, The Smell of Death
2 Corinthians - The Smell of Life, The Smell of Death
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Smell of Life, the Smell of Death 2 CORINTHIANS 2.12-17 ‘What does that remind you of?’ The smell came strongly to me, a dark, heavy but essentially friendly aroma. I thought for a while. Pictures flashed to and fro in my memory. I sniffed again. Then, as though from far away…
Hebrews for Everyone - Tho Old Tebernacle Points Forward to the New
Hebrews for Everyone - Tho Old Tebernacle Points Forward to the New
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Old Tabernacle Points Forward to the New Hebrews 9.1-10 The taxi driver was resigned to things being this way for a long time. ‘Yes,’ he said, ‘we’ve just got to put up with it. Boston will be a great city if they ever get it finished.’ We were stuck in what seemed like an im…
John for Everyone part 2 - Washing the Disciples' Feet
John for Everyone part 2 - Washing the Disciples' Feet
by SPCK - N T Wright
Washing the Disciples’ Feet John 13.1-11 I had never washed anyone else’s feet (bathing my own children doesn’t really count) until I went to work in a church where they acted out this scene every Holy Week. On the Thursday, the day before Good Friday, many churches arrange a ser…
Lectionary Reflection Year C - Proper 9 Year C