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Mark for Everyone - Jesus' Baptism
Mark for Everyone - Jesus' Baptism
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 1.9–13 Jesus’ Baptism... ...A famous movie-maker had a huge legal wrangle with his long- time mentor and guide. The younger man simply couldn’t handle criticism, and ended up rejecting the person who had helped him so much. When it was all over, a close fri…
John for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Walking on the Water
John for Everyone Part 1 - Jesus Walking on the Water
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus Walking on the Water John 6.16-25 Some animals are naturally afraid of water. Cats will not normally go for a swim in a river; nor will hedgehogs. Most monkeys and apes, despite sharing some other characteristics of humans, do not care for water. This fact is exploited at a…
Mark for Everyone - The Last Supper
Mark for Everyone - The Last Supper
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 14.12–25 The Last Supper... ...On my fortieth birthday, my students gave me a surprise party. While I was taking a service in the college chapel, they carefully cleared the papers in my room, decorated it from floor to ceiling, and laid out a magnificent sp…
Revelation bible study guide - The Lamb's Elite Warriors
Revelation bible study guide - The Lamb's Elite Warriors
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Lamb’s Elite Warriors Revelation 14: 1-13 On the hill in the distance I could see the little procession, tiny but silhouetted against the sky in the bright Middle-Eastern evening. In my country the sheep are brought from one field to another by people with sticks and dogs. In…
What news is good? That Christ will live forever?
What news is good? That Christ will live forever?
by Andrew Pratt
What news is good? That Christ will live forever? Beyond a cruel death an empty grave? And whether this is fact or faith means nothing unless Christ's Spirit gives the means to save. If we endure derision, in this moment, or share communion bread within this place, unless our liv…
When nations are healed and all warfare is banished
When nations are healed and all warfare is banished
by Andrew Pratt
When nations are healed and all warfare is banished, the hungry are fed and the poor lifted high, the vision of glory, God's presence among us, will signify love and all hatred will die. The river of life will flow on unpolluted, the language we share will express common wealth, …
52 Reflections on Faith - Passion Sunday: responding to God
52 Reflections on Faith - Passion Sunday: responding to God
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
5 Passion Sunday: Responding to God In the summer of 2010, the famous Passion Play at Oberammergau in Bavaria, Germany, was performed for yet another very successful season. The residents of the village have presented their play of Christ’s suffering, death and resurrection every…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Creativity and inspiration
Four Gospels, One Jesus - Creativity and inspiration
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
Creativity and inspiration Criticism of scripture Some of our actual readers may be feeling by now that this is all very exciting, but perhaps a bit much! It is usually a good idea in a picture gallery to sit down and take stock occasionally. So far, we have seen that the four go…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 5 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 5 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 5 Genesis 3: 8-15 2 Corinthians 4: 13-5: 1 Mark 3: 20-35 Things are moving at a relentless pace for Jesus in these early chapters of Mark’s Gospel. Already he is being followed everywhere he goes by large crowds of people. Already he has made bitter enemies out of the loca…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 1 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 1 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 1 Isaiah 40.21–31 1 Corinthians 9.16–23 Mark 1.29–39 Nobody in Corinth had seen it before. Nobody had thought of it. It wasn’t on their mental map, anymore than it is in our world. So when Paul wanted to tell them that as Christians, working out how to live in a pagan en…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Easter Day Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Easter Day Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Easter Day Isaiah 25.6-9 1 Corinthians 15.1-11 John 20.1-18 This Gospel reading is not, as one writer has suggested, ‘a sanitized story about a trip to a garden and a lovely surprise’. If Easter is in any sense the happy ending after a sad story, that is the least important thing…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 16 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 16 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 16 John 6: 56-69 Gaze on Simon Peter. He is standing near to Jesus, and is spokesman yet again for the disciples. He is the first to speak, yet again perhaps too readily. Hear his exclamation: ‘To whom shall we go?’ Listen to his tone of voice. Is he dogmatic or pleading, …
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 14 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 14 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 14 John 6: 35, 41-51 Gaze on Jesus trying to reason with the crowd. See how very human this story is, how the crowd’s mood swings from worship and surprise to doubt and grumbling so quickly. Listen to the ripples of argument and the shocked whispers, for this man’s claims …
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Second Sunday of Easter Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - The Second Sunday of Easter Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
The Second Sunday of Easter John 20.19-31 Gaze on Jesus. He looks exhausted and worn out, as if he’s been on a long journey. But there is no mistake, it is certainly him. He’s appeared when he was least expected. Gaze on the disciples, nervous and jittery. What a state the discip…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - An Explanation is called for
Acts for Everyone part 1 - An Explanation is called for
by SPCK - N T Wright
An Explanation is Called for Acts 3.11-16 ‘How did you do that?’ I stood beside the car as it spluttered into life. I had fiddled and jiggled with everything I could, and hadn’t been able to make it start. (This, I should say, was a long time ago, in the days when you could poke …
Acts for Everyone part 1 - The New Family
Acts for Everyone part 1 - The New Family
by SPCK - N T Wright
A couple of years ago I took part in a charity walk. It was a sunny day, there were thousands of people taking part, and we went through some breathtaking scenery. We were put in several groups, with a few hundred setting off every few minutes. I was in the first group, and it wa…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - The Last Sunday after Trinity Year A