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the historical character of Jesus - 2 “The witnessed one”: Jesus in Acts
the historical character of Jesus - 2 “The witnessed one”: Jesus in Acts
by SPCK - David Allen
“The witnessed one”: Jesus in Acts Whatever one’s reason for so doing, the task of engaging with the book of Acts is fraught with interpretative questions. The discourse has two distinct textual traditions – the so-called Western and Alexandrian versions, with not insignificant v…
Jeremiah for everyone - Compassion Has the Last Word
Jeremiah for everyone - Compassion Has the Last Word
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Compassion Has the Last Word A variant on whether you see the glass as half full or half empty is whether you look to the future with hope or anxiety. I’m a mildly anxious person myself—I don’t worry much about particular threats or problems, but I’m susceptible to a vague unease…
The Act of Prayer Year B - Second Sunday of Advent Year B
The Act of Prayer Year B - Second Sunday of Advent Year B
by BRF - John Birch
Second Sunday of Advent Year B Opening prayer As people walk by to purchase for those they love gifts that, in days to come, will fade from memory, within this place we gather in celebration of your loving gift to all of humankind…
The Act of Prayer Year C - Baptism of Christ Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Baptism of Christ Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Baptism of Christ Year C Opening prayer We sometimes forget that the Jesus whose birth we celebrated at Christmas spent many years growing up in a small Jewish family. He would grow wiser and stronger, learning a trade, waiting for his moment, waiting for the pieces of the bigger…
Isaiah for everyone - What Will We Do When God’s Servant Is Deaf and Blind?
Isaiah for everyone - What Will We Do When God’s Servant Is Deaf and Blind?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What Will We Do When God’s Servant Is Deaf and Blind? One of our bishops came to visit our church last Sunday. She recently moved to California from Maryland, and I asked her whether she missed the East Coast. Basically, she said, she was too busy enjoying the new things here, bu…
Reflection/meditation: Agreement
Reflection/meditation: Agreement
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection/meditation: Agreement It’s all about personal responsibility, isn’t it? It’s all about not being able to pass the blame back to a past generation, or excuse personal behaviour by claiming that it’s all in the genetic structure. At one time everyone relied totally on Go…
Poem/Meditation- When despair wrenches the soul
Poem/Meditation- When despair wrenches the soul
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Meditation-When despair wrenches the soul When despair wrenches the soul and the heart is torn with grief; when the dark night is long and the hours are filled with fear; when anxieties prevent sleep and crying out to God seems to bring no answer, what is there to lift that…
Dialogue/drama: Trouble for the future
Dialogue/drama: Trouble for the future
by Marjorie Dobson
Dialogue/drama: Trouble for the future A I can’t see much future in that kind of life, can you? I mean, it was all about wars and disasters and earthquakes and things. I think that’s too scary to even think about it. B Well, he did say that all that kind of thing was just routine…
Eggs and Ashes Book - A Prayer on the Way to Jerusalem
Eggs and Ashes Book - A Prayer on the Way to Jerusalem
by R Burgess/C Polhill (Wild Goose Publ)
A prayer on the way to Jerusalem Who may ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and pure hearts. O Living God, age after age the children of dust make their way to holy places to seek you, yet you are closer than hands or feet. In…
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/Reflection: Strange choices Strange people God chooses sometimes. Not usually famous people; very rarely, rich people; not necessarily beautiful; not always religious; sometimes uneducated; often those that others disregard; usually very down-to earth characters. Was that wh…
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue/Reflection: A tribute to David (We are used to hearing funeral tributes. This is an imagined one from the past.) He was a good king! Not necessarily a perfect man, but he was a good king. He tried to be wise in his judgements and to be fair to everyone. He believed in w…
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Introduction
Acts for Everyone part 1 - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
Introduction On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spirit had swept through Jesus’ follo…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The First Sunday of Advent Year C
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The First Sunday of Advent Year C
by SPCK - N T Wright
The First Sunday of Advent Jeremiah 33.14–16 1 Thessalonians 3.9–13 Luke 21.25–36 It is January, ad 69. You are a Greek-speaking Christian in a Roman town in Turkey. You are deeply anxious about the fierce war in Judaea: the Romans have laid siege to Jerusalem; the city faces sta…
Twelve Months of Sunday year c - The Second Sunday before Lent Year C