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Hymn: It was a game of pass the blame
Hymn: It was a game of pass the blame
by Andrew Pratt
It was a game of pass the blame, denied responsibility; the buck was passed along the line, avoiding culpability. And now we play the self-same game, but guilt must still be faced and borne, we need to own our acts and ways, the things we've done, the words we've sworn. Verses 3-…
Hymn: We read our Bibles well
Hymn: We read our Bibles well
by Andrew Pratt
We read our Bibles well, discerning good and ill, we see the Pharisees at fault, we read Your words with skill. And yet we never know the wrong we class as right, the way we justify ourselves, make out that black is white. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: ICH HALTE TREULICH STILL; ISHMAEL…
Imagine now in your mind’s eye,
Imagine now in your mind’s eye,
by Andrew Pratt
Imagine now in your mind’s eye, a sky with clouds, light shining through, a river shimmers in the sun, a crowd is coming into view. A prophet stands within the surge, the waters rolling smoothly by, and one by one the people hear, and one by one they catch John’s eye. Verses 2-3 …
Hymn: Hard sayings of Jesus that challenge and test
Hymn: Hard sayings of Jesus that challenge and test
by Andrew Pratt
Hard sayings of Jesus that challenge and test, that bring us to crisis, will not let us rest. Confronted by holiness, righteousness, light, our lives are exposed whether wrongful or right. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: DATCHET Metre: 11.11.11.11 Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 23/8/…
We turn the tables on our friends
We turn the tables on our friends
by Andrew Pratt
We turn the tables on our friends, the ones we love the most, when others point or criticise, we press our case and boast. The garden story that we hear still lives in us today, the blame still passes down the line, there is no other way. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: BROTHER JAMES AIR…
Willows hung with harps are weeping
Willows hung with harps are weeping
by Andrew Pratt
Willows hung with harps are weeping like the sorrow of our song, deep reflection of the mourning for the hurt of human wrong. Hurt which seems to have no ending, still rings on from age to age, still our human hearts are bleeding, still our grief takes centre stage. Verses 3-4 fo…
Straining human understanding
Straining human understanding
by Andrew Pratt
Straining human understanding, grace is greater than our flaws, love will reach beyond our folly, breach our hatred, counter wars. Some ignore the call to caring, selfish impulse drives them on, yet our human love in action could avert a greater wrong. Verses 3 follow Tune: MERTO…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Dose of Cold Water
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - A Dose of Cold Water
by BRF - Dick France
A DOSE of COLD WATER The command to maintain silence must have been deflating enough, but what follows is far harder to take. The martyrdom of the Son of man The exciting title ‘Messiah’ is immediately dropped, and Jesus speaks of himself, as he usually does, as the ‘Son of man’.…
THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD - 25 On Christian Theology
THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE PEOPLE OF GOD - 25 On Christian Theology
by SPCK - N T Wright
On Christian Theology What then might a specifically Christian theology be? More, I take it, than simply an account of what Christians have believed in the past, or believe in the present, though those tasks will always be part of the whole…
Moulin Rouge Bible Study Part 4
Moulin Rouge Bible Study Part 4
by Tim Marshall
A Bible Study which relies heavily on discussion rather than leading. Using the film 'Moulin Rouge' as a starting point and then looking at a variety of passages (which can be obtained from the web in a variety of different translations) There are questions to help start discussi…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 14 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 14 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 14 1 Kings 19-4-8 Ephesians 4. 25-5.2 John 6: 35, 41-51 On the grounds that there is no point in telling someone to do something if they are already doing it, the Ephesian community must be quite like a church you know well. It is interesting how much of this section is co…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 7 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 7 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 7 Mark 4: 35-41 Gaze on the sea in stormy weather. Hear the roar of the gale crashing against the sails at full stretch and the creak of the feeble wooden hull. Watch the disciples, bailing out in vain. The rain is lashing their faces, soaking their clothes. Hear the fear …
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 18 Year A
Twelve Months of Sundays Year A - Proper 18 Year A
by SPCK - N T Wright
Twelve Months of Sundays – Year A Ordinary Time Proper 18 Exodus 12.1–14 Romans 13.8–14 Matthew 18.15–20 Jesus’ followers are to struggle to live by the law of reconciliation. It’s always a struggle, but it’s always a law. Some say, of course, that Jesus couldn’t have spoken, as …
One Day at a Time: Meditations for Carers - 30. That's not way to speak to yourself!
One Day at a Time: Meditations for Carers - 30. That's not way to speak to yourself!
by SPCK - Dorothy M Stewart
ONE DAY AT A TIME Meditations for Carers 30 That’s no way to speak to yourself! Romans 8.1 Guilt. It lurks, waiting for the inevitable: you get exhausted and say something less than kind, do something unfriendly. You find yourself blaming your loved one for your feeling of bein…
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 13 Year A
Lectionary Reflections Year A - Proper 13 Year A
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Lectionary reflections - Year A Ordinary Time Proper 13 Isaiah 55.1–5 Romans 9.1–5 Matthew 14.13–21 The pain in Paul’s words is tangible, and made even more poignant by the victorious assurance of the end of chapter 8. Paul has just been asserting that nothing can ‘separate us fr…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Day of Pentecost Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Day of Pentecost Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Day of Pentecost Acts 2.1-21 Romans 8.22-27 John 15.26-27; 16.4b-15 The Holy Spirit has been in danger in recent years of becoming the soppy one of the Trinity. Think about it for a bit – the Holy Spirit doesn’t go off and do uncomfortable and challenging things like getting cruc…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter Year B