Jeremiah for everyone - Clay in the Potter's Hand
Jeremiah for everyone - Clay in the Potter's Hand
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Clay in the Potter's Hand There’s a neat Christian song that expresses our commitment to being “clay in the potter’s hand.” It’s a suggestive image. It means that we are malleable, open to being formed into what God wants us to be…
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…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Drink Is a Brawler
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Drink Is a Brawler
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Drink Is a Brawler A friend who is a recovering alcoholic sometimes comments with dark humour on the process whereby drinking ruins people’s lives. It all but ruined his life, and it has ruined the lives of people he knows…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Enjoy Your Life Mindful of Your Creator
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Enjoy Your Life Mindful of Your Creator
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Enjoy Your Life Mindful of Your Creator I remember the first time I heard Ray Charles perform. Having been blind for many years, he had to be guided toward the piano, but he needed much more help than his blindness alone would have required…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend Austin Farrer, the warden (that is, president) of my undergraduate college, was one of the great preachers of the day, though more for the wisdom and insight of his content than for the singsong style of his delivery…
Jeremiah for everyone - How Do You Get People to Change?
Jeremiah for everyone - How Do You Get People to Change?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
How Do You Get People to Change? In the 1960s a man called Arthur Blessitt moved from Louisiana to Hollywood in order to preach to hippies, runaways, addicts, bikers, prostitutes, flower children, and would-be actors and rock stars; he became known as the minister of Sunset Strip…
Isaiah for everyone - I SEE HAWKS IN L.A.
Isaiah for everyone - I SEE HAWKS IN L.A.
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I SEE HAWKS IN L.A. One of my favorite bands is called I See Hawks in L.A., which is also the title of one of their early songs. In the song the hawks hover over the city as if they sense it’s about to be destroyed and there will be plenty of provender for them to enjoy. “What if…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - I'm Just a Weary Sojourner, but I Have Some Words from God
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - I'm Just a Weary Sojourner, but I Have Some Words from God
by SPCK - John Goldingay
I'm Just a Weary Sojourner, but I Have Some Words from God My wife sits at the desk next to mine working harder than me at a course that is part of her degree program. There’s some kind of incompatibility between the subject and/or the teacher’s method of teaching that is driving…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - It's Not Enough, but It's Not Nothing
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - It's Not Enough, but It's Not Nothing
by SPCK - John Goldingay
It's Not Enough, but It's Not Nothing One sunny January day some years ago I came home after a lecture and wheeled my disabled wife down to the row of shops where there was a magnificent ice cream parlor that alas subsequently closed down (evidently we didn’t go there enough)…
Jeremiah for everyone - On Facing Reality
Jeremiah for everyone - On Facing Reality
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Facing Reality We were doing our monthly stint serving dinner at a homeless shelter last night, and I got to talk to one of the residents. She’d had a successful and lucrative career in the movie business and lived in a house in Malibu…
Isaiah for everyone - On Following God’s Prompting
Isaiah for everyone - On Following God’s Prompting
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Following God’s Prompting We were at a singer-songwriter venue and the singer’s last song was about her mother’s death two or three years ago. The song title referred to the year of her mother’s birth, which was the same birth year of someone who was with us. She later told us…
Jeremiah for everyone - On Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
Jeremiah for everyone - On Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is When we came to California, we were buying a house for the first time—we had always lived in church or seminary housing. It felt as if we were growing up. Two or three years ago, a friend of mine was wondering about buying a house, but pr…
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - On Safeguarding Concord
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs for Everyone - On Safeguarding Concord
by SPCK - John Goldingay
On Safeguarding Concord The pest control man came the other day to check that we had no termites or other unwelcome guests. It reminded me of an experience a few weeks after we moved to California, when another Old Testament professor who was in town came for afternoon tea…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Baptism, Temptation, Commission
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Baptism, Temptation, Commission
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Baptism, Temptation, Commission To Pharisees (popular teachers who represent not only Jesus’ opponents but also Jewish leaders who retained their own teachings rather than joined the church) and Sadducees (an elite party with Jerusalem and temple connections) seeking his baptism …
The Women's Bible Commentary - Construction of a Shared Story
The Women's Bible Commentary - Construction of a Shared Story
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Construction of a Shared Story The first of the Moses speeches, Deuteronomy 1:1–4:43, consists of two sections: a “historical review” (Deut. 1–3) and a sermonic interpretation of the commandment against idolatry…
The Women's Bible Commentary - Canaanite Mother