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1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - When the King Isn't Tough Enough
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - When the King Isn't Tough Enough
by SPCK - John Goldingay
When the King Isn’t Tough Enough 1 Samuel 15: 1- 33 According to news reports, at U.S. bases in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba in the first decade of the twenty-first century we were engaged in the torture of people suspected of terrorist acts. This involved keeping people in constrained…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - When You Need an Expert
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - When You Need an Expert
by SPCK - John Goldingay
When You Need an Expert Genesis 40:9-41:24 Three months ago, I had a routine medical procedure (I will spare you the clinical details). A few weeks before it was due, I happened to read a report of research on this particular procedure that suggested it might not be as useful as …
Exodus and Leviticus - Whose Service is Perfect Freedom
Exodus and Leviticus - Whose Service is Perfect Freedom
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Whose Service is Perfect Freedom EXODUS 5:1- 6:1 Tomorrow I shall preside at a “service” in church. In what sense do we “serve” God by singing hymns and so on? Indeed, is it God that we are serving? Yesterday, one of my colleagues on the seminary’s chapel committee asked me what …
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Who Will Entice Ahab?
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Who Will Entice Ahab?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Who Will Entice Ahab? 1 Kings 22:1-23 I’ve recently started rewatching the television drama series The West Wing from the beginning, and last night I saw a couple of episodes about the Democrat-run White House offering a job to a lawyer who is a totally convinced Republican who h…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Wives and Adversaries
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Wives and Adversaries
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Wives and Adversaries 1 Kings 11:1-43 When my sister was abandoned by her husband just after the birth of their son, she moved back to live with our parents for a while to find a way of getting her life back together, and eventually met a nice young man (also called John, as is h…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Why Were They So Stupid?
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Why Were They So Stupid?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Why Were They So Stupid? JOSHUA 11:16- 12:24 The night before last I ate dinner early, drank a glass or two of wine, didn’t eat dessert, and then had a cup of coffee later. This pattern works if I want to sleep well, so I try to stick to it. Last night I ate late, and the server …
Exodus and Leviticus - You Are What You Eat
Exodus and Leviticus - You Are What You Eat
by SPCK - John Goldingay
You Are What You Eat LEVITICUS : 11 1- 12: 8 We had squirrels in our garden in England and on our patio in California, and in both places I have threatened to make squirrel casserole. Ann protested because she likes the squirrels; other people protest because they are repelled by…
Psalms for Everyone - You Have a Choice
Psalms for Everyone - You Have a Choice
by SPCK - John Goldingay
You Have a Choice Psalm 1 It’s Independence Day today in the United States, and our visiting preacher on Sunday more than once referred to our freedom to make choices as a reason for rejoicing. I imagine that as well as the freedom not to have one’s destiny shaped by guys the oth…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - You Don't Deserve It
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - You Don't Deserve It
by SPCK - John Goldingay
You Don’t Deserve It Deuteronomy 9: 4- 10: 22 I spotted an advertisement for a “You Deserve It!” event, “a quality day for women to relax, have fun, learn some new things, and spend time with other wonderful women.” The last phrase is a giveaway. In inviting everyone to see thems…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Two Ways
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Two Ways
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Two Ways Matthew 7.13-23 Driving the car these days becomes more and more complicated. On any given stretch of road there are more and more warning signs. ‘Lane closed.’ ‘Mud on Road.’ ‘Slow Farm Vehicles.’ Not to mention signs telling you how fast you’re allowed to drive, wa…
Exodus and Leviticus - Anticipatory Celebration
Exodus and Leviticus - Anticipatory Celebration
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Anticipatory Celebration EXODUS 12: 1-27 I am sometimes asked, “What do you miss about England?” One of my joke replies is that I miss a magnificent chocolate-and- cream pastry called an “elephant’s foot” that they sell at a bakery where we often had Saturday lunch. Another reply…
Psalms for Everyone - Another Interim Closing Act of Praise
Psalms for Everyone - Another Interim Closing Act of Praise
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Another Interim Closing Act of Praise Psalm 72: 18-20 As the last verse of Psalm 41 is actually the close of Book One of the Psalter, the closing verses of Psalm 72 are not part of this psalm but are an act of worship at the end of Book Two of the Psalter, a little like the “Glor…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - But Samson's Hair Began to Grow Again
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - But Samson's Hair Began to Grow Again
by SPCK - John Goldingay
But Samson’s Hair Began to Grow Again JUDGES 16:22-31 The first time I went to Israel, I took part in an exciting archaeological dig. Just next to a tennis club in the big modern city of Tel Aviv on the Mediterranean, where people started playing at 6:00 a.m. because it would be …
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Call No One Happy until They Are Dead
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Call No One Happy until They Are Dead
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Call No One Happy Until They are Dead Genesis 46:1-34 Introducing Genesis 44 I referred to one incident in the life of a man and a woman; then, introducing Genesis 45, I referred to an aspect of my wife’s and my life. In different ways, both stories show how at the time something…
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Desires and Choices
1 and 2 Kings for Everyone - Desires and Choices
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Desires and Choices 1 Kings 9:1-28 In connection with 1 Kings 7 I mentioned the work Joe is doing on my bathroom. Yesterday he finished the work. The fixtures look as if they were designed in the twenty-first century rather than somewhat before; the rusty cupboards are gone; the …
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Entertaining Angels Unawares
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Entertaining Angels Unawares
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Entertaining Angels Unawares JUDGES 13:1- 25 Some friends of mine have just become pregnant. I am not accustomed to using that verb in the first-person plural; when I was young, it was only women who got pregnant, but now it is a joint operation. There is a certain appropriatenes…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - How to be a Dysfunctional Royal Family
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - How to be a Dysfunctional Royal Family
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Be a Dysfunctional Royal family 1 Samuel 17: 55- 18: 16 Queen Elizabeth II declared 1992 her annus horribilis, her “horrible year.” The phrase is a riff on the expression annus mirabilis, “miracle year,” the phrase devised by the poet John Dryden to describe 1666, the year…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - How Not to Leave the Initiative to the Man