Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Introduction
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Introduction
by SPCK - John Goldingay
INTRODUCTION As far as Jesus and the New Testament writers were concerned, the Jewish Scriptures that Christians call the “Old Testament” were the Scriptures. In saying that, I cut corners a bit, as the New Testament never gives us a list of these Scriptures, but the body of writ…
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Acknowledgments
Joshua, Judges and Ruth for Everyone - Acknowledgments
by SPCK - John Goldingay
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The translation at the beginning of each chapter of this book (and in other biblical quotations) is my own. I have stuck closer to the Hebrew than modern translations often do when they are designed for reading in church so that you can see more precisely what the…
The Power of the Parable - The Visionary Dream of God
The Power of the Parable - The Visionary Dream of God
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
chapter 10 The Visionary Dream of God The Parable Gospel According To John The Power of the Parables HOW FICTION BY JESUS BECAME FICTION ABOUT JESUS When you think of World Heritage Sites, you usually imagine ancient places and ruined cities. But one site is emphatically neither.…
The Power of the Parable - Epilogue
The Power of the Parable - Epilogue
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
EPILOGUE History and Parable The Power of the Parables HOW FICTION BY JESUS BECAME FICTION ABOUT JESUS This epilogue has two sections. The first section is a summation of what I have proposed in this book about the parabling of Jesus. The second section raises two new and conclud…
The Power of the Parable - Rome as the New Jerusalem
The Power of the Parable - Rome as the New Jerusalem
by SPCK - John Dominic Crossan
chapter 9 Rome as the New Jerusalem The Parable Gospel According To Luke-Acts “Aphrodisias,” said Octavian, when not yet Caesar Augustus, “is the one city from all of Asia I have selected to be my own,” and its citizens carved that accolade on the archive wall of their theater. S…
Gathering Prayers and Blessing based on Psalm 121
Gathering Prayers and Blessing based on Psalm 121
by Christine Dutton
Gathering Prayers based on Psalm 121 I will lift my eyes up to the hills Creator God, who shaped and continues to shape the mountains, gather us together to worship you. Creator God, gather us together to look up and around us as we worship, noticing the world in which you have p…
Advent Liturgy
Advent Liturgy
by Jane Bingham
Liturgy to accompany the lighting of the advent ring based on Hope, Peace, Joy & Love Advent liturgy - Hope Peace Joy Love Sunday 1 – Hope Today we light a candle of Hope. Not just the kind of hope based in a dream-world but the real Christian hope based on the knowledge of God’s…
Reflection: Paul and Timothy
Reflection: Paul and Timothy
by Marjorie Dobson
Reflection: Paul and Timothy Did Paul envy Timothy for his upbringing because he knew that it had led to a real devotion to the Christian cause, whereas Paul’s own background had first led him to the persecution of the Christians? Not the kind of envy that brings dissent, of cour…
Prayer: God, who weeps as we do
Prayer: God, who weeps as we do
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: God, who weeps as we do God, who weeps as we do when we see another city destroyed, another home shelled, another victim gunned down in the street, another suicide bomber creating death and injury, another column of refugees fleeing to a hazardous safety, another child dy…
Poem: If you have faith
Poem: If you have faith
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: If you have faith If you have enough faith to trust the bus driver to get you safely to your destination: if you have enough faith to believe that your train will eventually arrive in the station: if you can trust the bakery to make your daily bread fresh and edible and can…
Poem: By the river
Poem: By the river
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: By the river There is something about rivers, something reflective, something that can bring tears and sorrow, something that tempts the suicidal and depressed, something immensely powerful, even in the smallest rushing stream, that provokes thoughtfulness and introspection…
Prayers for an Autumn Morning
Prayers for an Autumn Morning
by Christine Dutton
Opening prayers of thanksgiving for an autumn service, giving thanks for the ways in which the change from summer into autumn can encourage us to see God at work in creation. Prayers for an Autumn Morning (suitable for all age worship) Loving God, who accompanies us through the c…
Drama/dialogue: Poor beggar
Drama/dialogue: Poor beggar
by Marjorie Dobson
Drama/dialogue: Poor beggar (Could be performed by two, or more, voices, or told in story form) “One more beggar,” said the devout ones who passed on the way to synagogue and threw the obligatory coin. “Poor beggar,” said those who knew how hard it was to live with little, as the…
Prayer: Sheltering God
Prayer: Sheltering God
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Sheltering God Sheltering God, we need your help and your protection – when we are under attack because of our commitment to you: when we feel vulnerable in an uncaring world: when we are made to feel foolish by those who think our beliefs are out-dated: when there is rea…
Expect the Unexpected-Advent
Expect the Unexpected-Advent
by Clare Truman
A lighthearted sketch for two actors to introduce advent and the ideas in Luke 21 Expect the Unexpected Year C - First Sunday of Advent Luke 21: 25-36 A is doing the church flowers. You may want to wear gardening gloves and carry secateurs. If you don’t normally have flowers in y…
I Don't Believe It