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1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - What Do You Do When You're Desperate
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - What Do You Do When You're Desperate
by SPCK - John Goldingay
What Do You Do When You’re Desperate? 1 Samuel 28: 3- 29: 11 This coming Sunday is the nine-month anniversary since my wife died. I think about her a lot and dream about her, sometimes in her wheelchair as she was for years but sometimes fit and able to live a normal life, as she…
Job for Everyone - When Life Falls Apart
Job for Everyone - When Life Falls Apart
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Covenant or Contract Job 1: 6-12 Yesterday the air-conditioning/heating maintenance office called. After we had a big problem with the air conditioning last year, I took out a maintenance contract to try to avoid a recurrence of problems of that magnitude, so I now pay a certain …
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - When God Finds It Hard to Be Tough
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - When God Finds It Hard to Be Tough
by SPCK - John Goldingay
When God Finds It Hard to Be Tough JUDGES 10:1- 11:29 In my prayers each day (well, most days, to be honest), I pray either for the nation or for the church in our nation. I do so against the background of the fact that nations grow and triumph and then decline and fall, and that…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - You Are What You Eat
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - You Are What You Eat
by SPCK - John Goldingay
You Are What You Eat Deuteronomy 14: 1- 29 Three nights ago I got very sick just for a little while after eating out; what I ate was salad, halibut, rice, and vegetables. I should doubtless have complained to the restaurant or reported the matter to the city, but I was too busy b…
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Freedom in Christ
Paul for Everyone: Galatians and Thessalonians - Freedom in Christ
by SPCK - N T Wright
Freedom in Christ Galatians 5.1-6 The lake freezes over for four months in the winter, to a depth of at least ten feet. People drive not only snowmobiles across it, but even cars and vans. It’s exciting – and also quite convenient – to be able to drive across the water to the vil…
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Obedience
Matthew for Everyone Part 1 - The Obedience
by SPCK - N T Wright
True Obedience Matthew 7.24-29 There is a long-standing tradition among those who climb mountains in my part of the world. Often the hills, even the low ones, are covered in mist or cloud, and on many tracks and trails there is a good chance of getting lost and missing the way. S…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A Last Act of Loyalty to Saul
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A Last Act of Loyalty to Saul
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Last Act of Loyalty to Saul 1 Samuel 30: 1- 31: 13 When I first came to California, students would sometimes ask how long I would be here, thinking it might just be for sabbatical. At first I would reply, “I want to die here,” which was a way of saying, “I am here permanently,”…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - A Life for a Life
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - A Life for a Life
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Life for a Life Genesis 9: 5- 13 I was once asked to visit a man in prison who had come to trust in Christ and was now taking online courses on Christian faith; he hoped to be ordained one day. He was a man about my age and build; indeed, his name was also John. As we sat on ei…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Another Deceiver Deceived
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - Another Deceiver Deceived
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Another Deceiver Deceived Genesis 38:1-30 It can seem as if every month some new sexual scandal is reported involving a prominent politician or pastor. It is common for the men (it’s nearly always men, but the more equal the playing field becomes, the more it may become women) in…
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - But God Remembered Noah
Genesis for Everyone Part 1 - But God Remembered Noah
by SPCK - John Goldingay
But God Remembered Noah Genesis 8: 1-22a There are several restaurants and clubs where I take my wife in her wheelchair and where they invariably both remember us and are mindful of us. When I call to make a reservation, they remember us (it’s partly the odd accent), and when we …
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - But What about Ishmael
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - But What about Ishmael
by SPCK - John Goldingay
But What about Ishmael? Genesis 17: 20-27 When my sister and I were young children, our parents had a hard time making ends meet on my father’s wages as a factory worker. My father was not keen on my mother going out to work while we were small, and eventually they decided to sel…
Exodus and Leviticus - How to Start and End the Day
Exodus and Leviticus - How to Start and End the Day
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How to Start and End the Day EXODUS 29: 38- 30: 37 When my wife died, we “celebrated” her life and marked her death at a memorial service where we burnt lots of incense, not something we regularly do in our church. One striking aspect of the burning of incense is the smell, which…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - Miriam the Prophet, Aaron the Priest, Moses the Teacher
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - Miriam the Prophet, Aaron the Priest, Moses the Teacher
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Miriam the Prophet, Aaron the Priest, Moses the Teacher NUMBERS 12: 1-15 The movie Live and Become is the story of a boy among the Ethiopian Falasha Jews airlifted to Israel at the time of the Marxist revolution in the 1980s. Except that Schlomo (Solomon) is not a Jew but a Chris…
Job for Everyone - On Learning From the Past
Job for Everyone - On Learning From the Past
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Learning from the Past Job 8: 1-22 The other Saturday we were sitting in a restaurant by the ocean, and a woman came to talk to us who is a student at the seminary. This particular beach is an hour away, so I asked her if she lived nearby. She explained that she came here on S…
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - On Missing Garlic
Numbers and Deuteronomy for Everyone - On Missing Garlic
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Missing Garlic NUMBERS 11: 1-35 My mother didn’t know about garlic. This is not unreasonable; she had learned to cook in the days when British cooking was boring, before Elizabeth David introduced us to proper cooking (she was our Julia Child) and before immigration from the I…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Man Who Has Learned How To Be A Prophet
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - The Man Who Has Learned How To Be A Prophet
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Man Who Has Learned How to Be a Prophet 2 Samuel 12: 1- 15a A pastor once came to talk to me because he had had an affair. He had actually “got away with it.” He thinks his wife never realized, but he knew he had behaved in a way that was both wrong and stupid, and he knew he…
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - A Sign of Grace, Commitment and Discipline
Genesis for Everyone Part 2 - A Sign of Grace, Commitment and Discipline
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A Sign of Grace, Commitment, and Discipline Genesis 17: 9-14 As was once the custom in Britain, my parents had me baptized when I was a baby, even though this was the only involvement they had with the church apart from weddings and funerals. I don’t know exactly what they though…
The Womens' Bible Commentary - God’s People Celebrate and Dedicate the House of God