Lectionary 21/07/2024
- Proper 11 (16) - Year B
Lectionary Readings
Related Products
Blind Guides
Blind Guides
by Dave Hopwood
Feet of Clay and the Breath of God Bible Ref: Isaiah 42; Matthew 5-8 & 10; Mark 3; Luke 6 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to …
Hidden Treasure and Precious Pearls
Hidden Treasure and Precious Pearls
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
The Death of John the Baptist
The Death of John the Baptist
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand People
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand People
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
Jesus Walks on Water
Jesus Walks on Water
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
The Bread of Life
The Bread of Life
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
What Makes a Person Unclean
What Makes a Person Unclean
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
A Persistent Canaanite Woman
A Persistent Canaanite Woman
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute
Jesus Heals a Deaf Mute
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand People
Jesus Feeds Four Thousand People
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the linkin…
The Pharisees Ask for a Sign
The Pharisees Ask for a Sign
by Dave Hopwood
Food and Water Bible Ref: Matthew 9-11 & 13-16; Mark 6-8; Luke 9; John 6-7 Each of the following sketches (scenes) can be used to form the basis for a complete act of worship or used as individual scenes on separate occasions. Each scene will require a narrator to read the link…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Thursday: Second Week in Lent Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Thursday: Second Week in Lent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B WEEK 2: THURSDAY... ...The true test of a pastor comes not in the set-piece events (big services, regular fellowship groups, the weekly Bible study) but in the unforeseen, unprepared moments. Especially the ones which, frankly, you not only hadn’t pl…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Friday: Week 2 in Lent Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Friday: Week 2 in Lent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B WEEK 2: FRIDAY... ...So there we were on the boat, we didn’t know why he was in such a hurry that we should get away, and we didn’t know where he’d gone now or what he was expecting would happen next. It just seemed that there was quite a sense of ex…
Mark for Everyone - The Feeding of the Five Thousand
Mark for Everyone - The Feeding of the Five Thousand
by SPCK - Tom Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 6.30–44 The Feeding of the Five Thousand... ...Some break. Just when we think Jesus is anticipating modern therapeutic ideals – taking a good rest after a combination of an exhausting piece of work and sudden bad news – it all goes horribly wrong. The short…
Mark for Everyone - Jesus Walks on Water
Mark for Everyone - Jesus Walks on Water
by SPCK - N T Wright
Mark For Everyone MARK 6.45–56 Jesus Walks on Water... ...I listened last night to an organ recital, given by one of the world’s leading organists on a truly great instrument. Bach, Reger, Bruckner – wonderful composers, wonderful music, a magical evening. But there was one piece…
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 11 Year B
Twelve Months of Sundays Year B - Proper 11 Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Proper 11 2 Samuel 7.1-14a Ephesians 2.11-22 Mark 6.30-34, 53-56 Read 2 Samuel 7 through the eyes of a second-Temple Jew, and watch New Testament theology come into focus. This passage, read messianically at Qumran and elsewhere, fuses together four things. God promises David a p…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 11 Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Proper 11 Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Proper 11 Mark 6.30–34, 53–56 Gaze at the crush as people lean forward and grab the cloak that wraps around the shoulders of one extraordinary man. They stretch out to touch it, they push and shove to get near the front, to stroke his tunic and finger the hem. It is almost as if …
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 11 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 11 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 11 Jeremiah 23: 1-6 Ephesians-2: 11-22 Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56 In today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel, we get a strong sense of the enormous pressure Jesus and the disciples were under at this point in his ministry. Jesus is at the height of his popularity and although his con…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Two into One Will Go
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Two into One Will Go
by SPCK - N T Wright
Two into One Will Go Ephesians 2.11-16 We lived for four years by the banks of the Ottawa river, north-west of Montreal. It is a great river, already over 400 miles long by the time it passed our village. By the time it reached us it was over a mile wide. Not far downstream, howe…
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Unveiling the New Temple
Paul for Everyone The Prison Letters - Unveiling the New Temple
by SPCK - N T Wright
Unveiling the New Temple Ephesians 2.17-22 One of the greatest worldwide problems of our time is the plight of refugees and asylum-seekers. People in the West sometimes try to pretend that the world is now a civilized place where most people can go about their business in peace, …
Monologue: Not your job, mate!
Monologue: Not your job, mate!
by Marjorie Dobson
Monologue: Not your job, mate! It hurts to feel rejected, especially when you’re only trying to do your best. You have a good idea. It seems to be the right thing to do. It’s certainly possible to do it and you feel you’re the right one for the job. And then – crash! You’re told,…
Hymn: Our God needs neither shrine nor temple
Hymn: Our God needs neither shrine nor temple
by Andrew Pratt
Our God needs neither shrine nor temple, no static place of rest or praise, but as we travel God goes with us in this and all our future days. Our God of cloud and fiery pillar, a God of mystery and might, could never be constrained, restricted, but runs as free as fire and light…
Poem: David’s line
Poem: David’s line
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: David’s line When David tried to make a house for God – a permanent fixture – a settled resting place – God turned the tables on him, promised him a home and land, safe from his enemies for future generations. For God had always wandered with the people; followed and led th…
Poem/reflection: Still learning?
Poem/reflection: Still learning?
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem/reflection: Still learning? During his lifetime and throughout his ministry, Jesus met and spoke to and helped and healed people of different nationalities, beliefs and practices. He greeted Samaritans, Greeks, Romans, rebels, Jews and all Gentiles and dealt with them withou…
Hymn: Christ has broken walls of heartache
Hymn: Christ has broken walls of heartache
by Andrew Pratt
Christ has broken walls of heartache, in one reconciling act. Could our living in this moment make this peace a present fact? Can the love of friend or stranger bridge the gulf of hate or fear? Is Christ seen in every neighbour? Is perception always clear? Verse 3 follows Tune: L…
Hymn: He felt exhausted, worn and drained
Hymn: He felt exhausted, worn and drained
by Andrew Pratt
He felt exhausted, worn and drained, his muscles and his mind were taut. He needed solitude and rest from pressures that his care had brought. He needed time to set aside the burdens that he chose to hold. To find again God's peace and grace, to warm a heart that might grow cold.…
Hymn: There was no respite from the crowds
Hymn: There was no respite from the crowds
by Andrew Pratt
There was no respite from the crowds, no place of calm retreat, no place of rest or solitude where he and friends could meet. They sought the healing of his hands, the calm within his voice, his challenge or his empathy gave reason to rejoice. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: ABRIDGE; BEL…
Prayer: Respite
Prayer: Respite
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Respite Wherever Jesus went the crowds followed him. Even when he tried to escape for peace and rest, they were there waiting for him, needing him, looking for comfort and healing. So we pray today for all those who are caught in that same trap. We pray for those who are …
Luke for Everyone - Martha and Mary
Luke for Everyone - Martha and Mary
by SPCK - N T Wright
Martha and Mary Luke 10.38-42 If you thought ‘the good Samaritan’ was radical, this powerful little story suggests that Luke has plenty more where that came from. In describing Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, he has chosen this incident as part of his introduction. It took place at …
Hebrews for Everyone - Jesus as the Truly Human Being
Hebrews for Everyone - Jesus as the Truly Human Being
by SPCK - N T Wright
Jesus as the Truly Human Being HEBREWS 2.5-9 One of the most dramatic stories in the Old Testament concerns the royal succession. King David was very old, and everybody knew he couldn’t last much longer. He had a great many sons and daughters. One of his sons, Adonijah, got toget…
Hebrews for Everyone - The Messiah and His Brothers and Sisters
Hebrews for Everyone - The Messiah and His Brothers and Sisters
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Messiah and His Brothers and Sisters HEBREWS 2.10-18 Some while ago there was a movie by the name of A River Runs through It. It told the story of two brothers growing up in the beautiful Montana countryside. The older one was quiet, studious, hard-working; he got a good job …
LWPT Meditations - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
LWPT Meditations - Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
by Susan Thorne
Meditation - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B 2nd Samuel 7: 1-14a Psalm 89: 20-37 Ephesians 2: 11-22 Mark 6: 30-34, 53-56 God’s purpose is, and always has been, for human beings to be united in his worship, brought into common fellowship with him. In establishing David as Kin…
Meditation - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
Meditation - 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B
by David Middleton
Meditation – 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Yr B I love it when a plan comes together! Mark 6: 30-34 It must have been so exciting Father, going from town to town, Telling people about Jesus, calling them to turn from their sins, Casting out demons, and healing the sick. But I gues…
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A House and a Household
1 and 2 Samuel for Everyone - A House and a Household
by SPCK - John Goldingay
A House and a Household 2 Samuel 7: 1- 29 One of my colleagues likes to remind people that Jesus never talks about our establishing God’s kingdom or furthering it or building it or extending it. In the Gospels, the only things we do to God’s kingdom are wait for it, see it, enter…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 77:3, 6
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 77:3, 6
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 77:3, 6 The walk with God is seldom straight or level. There are dales and vales. The route through them is not always according to God’s mapping. We travel badly sometimes because of our poor sense of moral direction. These journeyings, occasionally with tears, are neverth…
Psalms for Everyone - In the Dark of the Canyon
Psalms for Everyone - In the Dark of the Canyon
by SPCK - John Goldingay
In the Dark of the Canyon Psalm 23 In the foothills of the mountains near where we live is a retreat center where we have a faculty gathering each fall. Two years ago a new director at the center gave us some advice we had not been given before. If we met a bear on the grounds, w…
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold: Bible
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold: Bible
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL (ii) The Continuous Story (b) The Story Retold: Bible The long tradition of retelling the story of Israel, not only on the large scale (as in the Pentateuch itself, the books from Joshua through to 2 …
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold :Conclusions
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Story Retold :Conclusions
by SPCK - N T Wright
Part 1: PAUL AND HIS WORLD PAUL AND THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL (ii) The Continuous Story (e) The Story Retold: Conclusions This brief summary of multiple retellings of Israel’s story as a whole or in par…
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Theology of a Pharisee
Paul and the Faithfulness of God - The Theology of a Pharisee
by SPCK - N T Wright
Chapter TWO LIKE BIRDS HOVERING OVERHEAD: THE FAITHFULNESS OF THE GOD OF ISRAEL The Theology of a Pharisee It is not difficult to draw out from what has already been said the main lines of Pharisaic theology, bringing into brief and I hope sharp focus the larger and longer treatm…
Job for Everyone - Will You Just Listen?
Job for Everyone - Will You Just Listen?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Will You Just Listen? Job 13: 1-28 This afternoon I was on the phone with a friend who had moved to another city because he believed he had a call to go and work in a tough area there. He had joined a tiny church and had started a coffee bar that might be a meeting place for peop…
Job for Everyone - In the Midst of Life We Are in Death
Job for Everyone - In the Midst of Life We Are in Death
by SPCK - John Goldingay
In the Midst of Life We Are in Death Job 14: 1-22 As a pastor, I have been used to reading words from the beginning of Job 14 at funerals, and specifically as the burial party arrives at the grave with the coffin. The traditional prayer-book version reads,..
Rhythms of remembering - Ordinary Time - Thursday Morning Prayer
Rhythms of remembering - Ordinary Time - Thursday Morning Prayer
by SPCK - Hannah Ward & Jennifer Wild
ORDINARY TIME - Thursday Morning Prayer Blessed are you, O God: you give in abundance. You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over...
Beside quiet waters
Beside quiet waters
by Twelvebaskets and Doug Burke
Original image 'Last of Winter' by Doug Burke Image modified and text added by Twelvebaskets Ltd TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionall…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Is Anything Stable?
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Is Anything Stable?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Is Anything Stable? Psalm 89: 1-37 My wife once lived in a house on the side of a canyon in California that seemed capable of tumbling into the ocean if there was an earthquake, and after one worrying quake not far away she took to checking the weekly earthquake reports. Apparent…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Facing the Other Set of Facts
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Facing the Other Set of Facts
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Is Anything Stable? Psalm 89: 1-37 My wife once lived in a house on the side of a canyon in California that seemed capable of tumbling into the ocean if there was an earthquake, and after one worrying quake not far away she took to checking the weekly earthquake reports. Apparent…
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Amen Anyway
Psalms for Everyone Part 2 - Amen Anyway
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Amen Anyway Psalm 89:52 There is a play by Elie Wiesel called The Trial of God, set in a concentration camp and based on something the author witnessed at the end of the trial, God is found guilty of crimes against creation and humankind. After a period of silence, a Talmudic sch…
journeying with mark yr B - Introduction: Getting to know the Gospel of Mark
journeying with mark yr B - Introduction: Getting to know the Gospel of Mark
by SPCK - Woodward, Gooder and Pryce
Introduction: Getting to know the Gospel of Mark Exploring the text Mark’s Gospel is probably the best known of all the Gospels. There is something about its lively, punchy style that draws us right into the story it is telling. Mark’s Gospel, more than any other, encourages us t…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The bounding lion
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The bounding lion
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The bounding lion Mark’s style, structure and narrative technique Whenever Aslan does appear in the Narnia stories, he dashes from place to place as he is needed in great leaps and bounds: ‘he rushes on and on, never missing his footing, never hesitating’ (The Lion, the Witch and…
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The beast of conflict
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The beast of conflict
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The beast of conflict Opposition and ministry, Mark 1—8 One thing is clear about lions in every age and culture: they are powerful fighters with a keen sense of territory. After the opening flurry of chapter 1, Jesus starts to roam far and wide around the northern territories by …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The lion and his pride
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The lion and his pride
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The lion and his pride The role of the disciples A lion must have his pride – and a rabbi, his disciples. However, are Jesus’ disciples his ‘pride and joy’? On the one hand, they are the people Jesus calls to share his roamings and his battles; on the other hand, their attention …
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers
Four Gospels, One Jesus - The ox, the herd, and the drivers
by SPCK - Richard A Burridge
The ox, the herd, and the drivers Luke’s characterization The gospels’ stories involve three main protagonists – Jesus himself, his disciples and the religious leaders of his day, with three storylines developing en route to their shared climax at the death and resurrection. So l…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book I (Pss. 1-41)
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book I (Pss. 1-41)
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book I (Pss. 1-41) Book I opens, in Psalm 1, with words encouraging faithful meditation upon the Torah. The book continues in Psalm 2 with words of warning to the nations and their rulers to recognize the God of Israel as king over all. The psalms are framed (1:1 and 2:11) with t…
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book III
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Book III
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Book III (Pss. 73-89) Book III opens with “A Psalm of Asaph” (Ps. 73). Like the sons of Korah, Asaph was, according to the book of Chronicles, a temple singer during the reigns of David and Solomon. Fifteen of the seventeen psalms in Book III are attributed to Asaph and the sons …
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah
THE WOMEN'S BIBLE COMMENTARY - Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Status, Power, and Children: The Story of Hannah (1 Samuel 1-2) The books of Samuel begin with the story of the birth of a son to a woman previously childless. According to the narrative, Hannah, the favored wife of Elkanah, has no children, because YHWH has “closed her womb.” Ha…
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
Mark The People's Bible Commentary - Mark's gospel A Drama in Three Acts
by BRF - Dick France
MARK’S GOSPEL- A DRAMA in THREE ACTS After a prologue which sets the scene, Mark’s story unfolds in three main sections, each of which has a distinct geographical setting: 1:1–13 Prologue (set in ‘the wilderness’) 1:14—8:21 Act 1: Galilee 8:22—10:52 …
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Water - from sea to sip
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Water - from sea to sip
by BRF - Rona Orme
Amazingly, 70 per cent of the earth's surface is covered by water and around 60 per cent of the human body consists of water. God has provided plenty of water but many of us use far more than our share. Washing machines use much water in action, but also require a lot of water fo…
Traces of Glory Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - The Fourth Sunday of Easter - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
The Fourth Sunday of Easter O God of peace, whose Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, was brought back from the dead to be the great Shepherd, grant that we may be led by him out of darkness and death into the fullness of life eternal; through the same Christ our Lord, who lives and reig…
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: the door of the sheep
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: the door of the sheep
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the Good Shepherd: door of the sheep When I worked in the Holy Land with St George’s College, Jerusalem, we often took groups to the Sinai desert to camp overnight under the stars on the way down to St Catherine’s monastery. It was an amazing experience. Quite often I would…
Mark The People's Commentary - An Abortive "Retreat"
Mark The People's Commentary - An Abortive "Retreat"
by BRF - Dick France
An Abortive “Retreat” This is the only time in Mark’s Gospel that the Twelve are called ‘apostles’. The word means ‘those sent out’, and it describes well the experience they have just shared as Jesus’ emissaries. But having been ‘sent out’, they now return and report back to the…
Mark The People's Commentary - Food in the wilderness
Mark The People's Commentary - Food in the wilderness
by BRF - Dick France
An Abortive “Retreat” This is the only time in Mark’s Gospel that the Twelve are called ‘apostles’. The word means ‘those sent out’, and it describes well the experience they have just shared as Jesus’ emissaries. But having been ‘sent out’, they now return and report back to the…
Mark The People's Commentary - Panic on the Lake
Mark The People's Commentary - Panic on the Lake
by BRF - Dick France
Panic on the Lake What Jesus did next If our speculations about the insurrectionary atmosphere in the wilderness were right, the disciples, fresh from the amazing experience of the loaves and fish, may well have shared the crowd’s hopes and enthusiasm, and wanted Jesus to declare…
Mark The People's Commentary - More Healings
Mark The People's Commentary - More Healings
by BRF - Dick France
More Healings Once again Mark allows us a brief respite from the breathless series of amazing events. This more general summary of what Jesus was doing in Galilee at this period, like that in 3:7–12, shows us that the relatively few specific miracles which he has included in his …
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 11 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 11 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 11 God of peace, whose Son Jesus Christ returned from the dead to become the great Shepherd of your sheep, guide us into the way of peace and mercy, equip us to do everything that is good and build us up to be a holy dwelling-place for you our God; Through the same Christ,…
Fresh Thoughts for Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 73 19/07/15
Fresh Thoughts for Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 73 19/07/15
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
A selection of commentary, reflection and prayer ideas from various Christian authors and the full bible texts from the NRSV for this week's lectionary. NOW INCLUDING SERIALISED BOOKS FROM SPCK AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRF. Check below for details. Subscribe to Fresh Thoughts For S…
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Proper 11 (16) - Year B
Times and Seasons - Full Service - Proper 11 (16) - Year B
by Andrew Pratt and Marjorie Dobson
Seventh after Trinity Proper 11 (16) - Year B Service contents: Hymn: Tell out, my soul, the greatness of the Lord or At times when your energy meets with the moment Prayer: God of mercy and grace Psalm 89:20-37 Poem: David’s line Hymn: One more step along the world I go or Our G…
Living Liturgies | Transition time resources for services, prayer and conversation with older people - A service of healing - 'Fragile Bones' | Living Liturgies
Living Liturgies | Transition time resources for services, prayer and conversation with older people - A service of healing - 'Fragile Bones' | Living Liturgies
by BRF - Caroline George
As in the service of anger and tears, a good relationship between the worship leader and group is essential here. The conversation starters fall into two parts, with the second part needing careful consideration before use. A creative and original book of liturgies and reflection…
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 23 - Year B
Traces of Glory Year B - Proper 23 - Year B
by SPCK - David Adam
Proper 23 Holy and Strong One, we praise you for Jesus Christ our great High Priest, who has entered into the fullness of the kingdom in heaven and opened for us a gate of glory. May we approach the throne of grace and boldness, and in time of need know your mercy and grace; thro…
Isaiah for everyone - High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit
Isaiah for everyone - High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit
by SPCK - John Goldingay
High and Holy, but Present with the Crushed and Low in Spirit In a recent sermon in our seminary I told students that Jesus isn’t their buddy. I’m told the air went out of the room when I said it. A friend subsequently gave me a “Buddy Christ” statuette, which I could put on my d…
The Womens' Bible Commentary - Third Isaiah
The Womens' Bible Commentary - Third Isaiah
by SPCK - Newsom, Ringe and Lapsley
Third Isaiah The last eleven chapters, set in Jerusalem after the return from exile, further Zion’s story while developing a variety of themes from previous chapters. Not only does personified Zion continue, but other themes of interest, such as inclusion and justice, both human …
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: Door of the sheep
52 Reflections on Faith - Jesus the good shepherd: Door of the sheep
by BRF - Stephen W. Need
Jesus the good shepherd: Door of the sheep When I worked in the Holy Land with St George’s College, Jerusalem, we often took groups to the Sinai desert to camp overnight under the stars on the way down to St Catherine’s monastery…
The Act of Prayer Year C - Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C
The Act of Prayer Year C - Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C
by BRF - John Birch
Fourth Sunday of Easter Year C Opening prayer The Bible gives us a wonderful image of God as shepherd, and in some parts of the world the enduring bond between the shepherd and his sheep has changed little since biblical times. It’s the dependence of the sheep on their shepherd f…
Jeremiah for everyone - The Wicked Play on Words in a King's Name
Jeremiah for everyone - The Wicked Play on Words in a King's Name
by SPCK - John Goldingay
The Wicked Play on Words in a King's Name Names often matter. When we married eighteen months ago, I encouraged my wife to keep her name as it was so that in seminary and church circles it signalled that she continued to be a person in her own right and not simply my wife…
Jeremiah for everyone - Another Wicked Play on Words
Jeremiah for everyone - Another Wicked Play on Words
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Another Wicked Play on Words For a while I was the faculty representative on the president’s cabinet in our seminary, which means I had to get up early once a month for a meeting of people in the administration to discuss big policy questions (but not so much their ongoing implem…
embodying mark - 4 Following the Shepherd
embodying mark - 4 Following the Shepherd
by SPCK - meda a a stamper
4 Following the Shepherd As in the last chapter, so also here Mark begins a story, interrupts it with another, and then comes round to the first story again. The passage we are exploring now follows on from Jesus’ sending of the disciples two by two in 6.7–13 to participate in hi…
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 229
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 229
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
A selection of commentary, reflection and prayer ideas from various Christian authors and the full bible texts from the NRSV for this week's lectionary. NOW INCLUDING SERIALISED BOOKS FROM SPCK AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRF. Check below for details. Subscribe to Fresh Thoughts For S…
The Bread of life (Feeding of the 5000)(sketch)
The Bread of life (Feeding of the 5000)(sketch)
by Colin Smith
This short sketch relates, in dramatic form, the events occurring when Jesus fed the 5000. Using 5 characters, a narrator and the “crowd” it is an imaginative dialogue which closely follows the Biblical account. It is a useful addition to, or replacement of the reading to the pas…
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O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand
by Andrew Pratt
O shepherd of Israel, you hold in your hand, the nations, the people, from each far flung land. Your grace is sufficient, to meet every need, you reach beyond nationhood, language and creed. You brought restoration when all once seemed lost, you poured out your life love, not cou…
Hymn - Frantic, terrified, the women
Hymn - Frantic, terrified, the women
by Andrew Pratt
Frantic, terrified, the womenrunning from the empty tomb. Not a sense of resurrection, more a sign of fear and gloom. Who had run off with the body? Were they watching somewhere near? Were these mourners now suspected? Should they hide? Their fate seemed clear. Verses 3-5 follow …
Lamb of God
Lamb of God
by Olivia Rose Bell
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Advent
Advent
by Digistry
Four short movies for Advent Clip 1 - God is coming A call to Worship Based on Mark 13:24-37 Lectionary: Advent 1 B Clip 2 - Prepare the way A call to Worship Based on Isaiah 40:1-11 And Mark 1:1-8 Lectionary: Advent 2 B Clip 3 - Testify to the Light A call to Worship Based on Jo…
The Things He Carried - 5. The Hopes of God
The Things He Carried - 5. The Hopes of God
by SPCK - Stephen Cottrell
HE THINGS HE CARRIED 5. The Hopes of God He carried the hopes of God. This is how he had come to see it – searching the scriptures, sucking the marrow of wisdom from the very bones of his faith. That God had spent everything to try and create community with his beloved; that is, …
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/…
Times and Seasons - Prayer: Human instincts
Times and Seasons - Prayer: Human instincts
by Marjorie Dobson
Romans 12: 9-21 Prayer: Human instincts Vengeance is a natural reaction and most children have the instinct from an early age. We have to be taught to share, to forgive, to live in peace with one another and to resist our automatic reaction to get our own back. So we pray: When o…
Why now?
Why now?
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Why now? Proper 17 Year A Romans 12: 9-21 Vengeance is a natural reaction and most children have the instinct from an early age. We have to be taught to share, to forgive, to live in peace with one another and to resist our automatic reaction to get our own back. So we pray…
Human instincts
Human instincts
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer: Human instincts Proper 17 Year A Romans 12: 9-21 Vengeance is a natural reaction and most children have the instinct from an early age. We have to be taught to share, to forgive, to live in peace with one another and to resist our automatic reaction to get our own back. S…
They met within an upper room
They met within an upper room
by Andrew Pratt
They met within an upper room, they wondered at their friend, disciples who had followed, now anticipate the end. The tension here was palpable for he would be betrayed. and yet he spoke of peace to them, they need not be afraid. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: CLAUDIUS (Fink) AKA: BETHE…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Second Sunday of Advent Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - The Second Sunday of Advent Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
The Second Sunday of Advent Isaiah 40.1–11 2 Peter 3.8–15a Mark 1.1–8 The trouble is that we think we know the end of the story. We think that this time of waiting that we call Advent is all building up to the joyful time of Christmas. In fact, it can hardly be called a ‘time of …
Until the Tide Turns - A poem by David Adam
Until the Tide Turns - A poem by David Adam
by SPCK - David Adam/Andy Lindley
A celtic inspired poem by David Adam - using the metaphor of the tide turning to pray into God's presence, and seeming absence of God in life. Rather than challenging the metaphor with the images, they instead amplify it. Designed for use in worship on an overhead projector.
Until The Tide Turns White Text
Until The Tide Turns White Text
by SPCK - David Adam/Andy Lindley
A celtic inspired poem by David Adam - using the metaphor of the tide turning to pray into God's presence, and seeming absence of God in life. Rather than challenging the metaphor with the images, they instead amplify it. Designed for use in worship on an overhead projector.
Hymn: In the days of righteous justice
Hymn: In the days of righteous justice
by Andrew Pratt
In the days of righteous justice peace will reign and love will dwell, God will cover all with comfort, heal our hurt and banish hell. Promise of the prophet's vision: God's shalom will cover earth, every continent and nation blessed as if with second birth. Verse 3 follows Tun…
The shepherd of sheep scorns the safety of shelter
The shepherd of sheep scorns the safety of shelter
by Andrew Pratt
The shepherd of sheep scorns the safety of shelter, the wilderness beckons, the flock has run wild; but here in lush pasture, beside the still waters, the shepherd calls people, both parent and child. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: FRIARMERE VICARAGE (Hymns for Today’s Church 26; Jubila…
Formed In God's Image
Formed In God's Image
by Norman J Goreham (1931-2021)
This hymn reflects part of the wording in the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving in the eucharistic liturgy, used in varying forms throughout the ages and across the world. In modern liturgies Thomas Cranmer's "our bounden duty" becomes "our joy and our salvation".
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…
Meditation: God, we're stunned!
Meditation: God, we're stunned!
by Andrew Pratt
Meditation: God, we're stunned! God, we're stunned! Your nature is beyond our imagination, let alone our understanding. You feed and protect us, sustain and provide for us in every situation. Continues... Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 11/1/2012 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, E…
Hymn: Look: fantastic celebration
Hymn: Look: fantastic celebration
by Andrew Pratt
Look: fantastic celebration, thirty thousand gathered round, in the midst the ark is lifted, this would now be hallowed ground. Listen: tambourines are ringing, this would be the day of days. Songs and lyres and harps resounding form a framework for their praise. Verses 2-3 follo…
Psalm 106
Psalm 106
by Andy Mackay
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) Insert as Picture in the normal way. If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in the t…
John the Baptist Laying Down His Burden
John the Baptist Laying Down His Burden
by Roger Price
This is one of a number of monologues that I have written for use in worship or some other reflective purpose. This one deals with the events of the end of John the Baptist's ministry as he directs his disciples to follow Jesus instead of him from the point of view of John. Shoul…
Hymn: Father of Jesse and father of David
Hymn: Father of Jesse and father of David
by Andrew Pratt
Father of Jesse and father of David, born of a foreigner here in their midst: Ruth would nurse Obed, then comfort and nurture. Boaz brought safety it seemed she had missed. Now as we listen we re-tell this story, try to untangle the mystery and worth, one thing is certain: a love…
Poem: Father of Jesse and father of David
Poem: Father of Jesse and father of David
by Andrew Pratt
Father of Jesse and father of David, born of a foreigner here in their midst: Ruth would nurse Obed, then comfort and nurture. Boaz brought safety it seemed she had missed. Now as we listen we re-tell this story, try to untangle the mystery and worth, one thing is certain: a love…
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 216
Fresh Thoughts For Sunday - Fresh Thoughts For Sunday Issue 216
by Twelvebaskets Ltd
A selection of commentary, reflection and prayer ideas from various Christian authors and the full bible texts from the NRSV for this week's lectionary. NOW INCLUDING SERIALISED BOOKS FROM SPCK AND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM BRF. Check below for details. Subscribe to Fresh Thoughts For S…
A pastor's voice, attuned to care
A pastor's voice, attuned to care
by Andrew Pratt
A pastor's voice, attuned to care, committed to protection, rang through the hills of Galilee, love forming each inflexion. He spoke of sheep, he knew his flock, they'd never find him sleeping, his very life would be laid down, and none would leave his keeping. Verses 3-4 follow …
Poppies and Snowdrops - Prayer/blessing: When weariness cries out
Poppies and Snowdrops - Prayer/blessing: When weariness cries out
by Marjorie Dobson
Prayer/blessing: When weariness cries out When weariness cries out for an end to suffering, God is listening to you. When fear is like a smothering blanket, God will wrap his care around you. When life is slipping away, God is walking each step of the journey with you. When the d…
Hymn: Fierce waves have shaken fractured stone
Hymn: Fierce waves have shaken fractured stone
by Andrew Pratt
Fierce waves have shaken fractured stone, while cliffs have crumbled into sand, but faith is founded on a rock, eternal love will always stand. Our God, though humble, born of flesh, will hold, renew, restore, refresh. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: ABINGDON Andrew Pratt (born 1948) W…
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Easter Day Year B
Gazing on the Gospels Year B - Easter Day Year B
by SPCK - Judith Dimond
Easter Day Mark 16.1-8 or John 20.1-18 Gaze at the women, determined to do women’s work, and to honour the body of their friend. They come to anoint him with spices, not thinking ‘This is useless, why bother?’ They do not look for miracles, only the performance of a tradition. Bu…
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 12 Year B
Lectionary Reflections - Year B - Proper 12 Year B
by SPCK - Jane Williams
Proper 12 2 Kings 4. 42-44 Ephesians 3: 14-21 John 6: 1-21 The story of the feeding of the five thousand is found in all four Gospels, making it one of the best attested of Jesus’s miracles. John’s Gospel sometimes uses memories and stories that clearly come from different source…
Hymn: When storms and thunder rage around
Hymn: When storms and thunder rage around
by Andrew Pratt
When storms and thunder rage around, disturbing superficial calm, we share unique companionship as love inspires a silent psalm. In table fellowship with God, while foes conspire to break our peace, in breaking bread and drinking wine, our fears diminish, fade, then cease. Verses…
Poem: Sheep?
Poem: Sheep?
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Sheep? We’re not too happy about being called sheep. Sheep have the image of being woolly and warm, but not too bright. Sheep blindly follow each other and their minder, wherever they are led. Sheep don’t seem to have very much going for them – not in a world where individu…
Imagining the Lectionary: Sheepish (Christ the King/Reign of Christ A)
Imagining the Lectionary: Sheepish (Christ the King/Reign of Christ A)
by David Perry
Imagining the Lectionary: Sheepish (Christ the King/Reign of Christ A) Reflection accompanying images “I will find my sheep and rescue them” and “I will surely judge between the fat sheep and the scrawny sheep” When it comes to getting the point across in a way that anyone can un…
Who is like a king of glory
Who is like a king of glory
by Andrew Pratt
Who is like a king of glory, wielding justice for each nation, bringing equity and freedom way beyond imagination? Representing God to people, shepherd king, as Israel saw him, ruling them with grace and kindness holding whether losing, winning. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: BABYLON’S …
Numbers in the Bible Assembly Collection - The Fiery Furnace Assembly
Numbers in the Bible Assembly Collection - The Fiery Furnace Assembly
by Christian Assembly Team
The Fiery Furnace - 3 plus 1 Bible ref: Daniel Chapters 1 to 3 If the assembly is for an infant school and you don’t feel that they could cope with the miming, alternatively you could dress up the characters keeping them at the front or just tell the story... Drama and Story (Mim…
Some king, who hangs as others taunt
Some king, who hangs as others taunt
by Andrew Pratt
Some king, who hangs as others taunt, and sling their insults fuelled with hate. Here love was nailed as blood was drained, this was no sordid trick of fate. Verses 2-3 follow Tune: ABENDS; WINCHESTER NEW Metre: LM Andrew Pratt (born 1948) Words © 11/11/2013 Stainer & Bell Ltd,…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Friday: Week 2 in Lent Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Friday: Week 2 in Lent Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B WEEK 2: FRIDAY... ...So there we were on the boat, we didn’t know why he was in such a hurry that we should get away, and we didn’t know where he’d gone now or what he was expecting would happen next. It just seemed that there was quite a sense of ex…
Jeremiah for everyone - Does God Really Punish?
Jeremiah for everyone - Does God Really Punish?
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Does God Really Punish? At dinner last night, one of our friends was troubled by the way the Old Testament speaks of God’s exercising violent judgment by means of Israel. I tried my usual ploy of asking whether she was as troubled by Jesus’ speaking of millions of people being th…
Not in some future span of time
Not in some future span of time
by Andrew Pratt
Not in some future span of time, but every moment that we live, is when to trust the grace of God, to offer love and to forgive. Now is the hour to realise the height and depth, the breadth and length of love in which our lives are held, God's everlasting grace and strength. Vers…
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Easter Day Year B
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B - Easter Day Year B
by SPCK - N T Wright
Lent for Everyone Mark Year B EASTER DAY... ...‘They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid.’ Well, wouldn’t you be? Terrified, more likely. Graveyards are a bad enough place at the best of times, especially in a culture where grave-robbery was common, and stories of gh…
What waste of Godly grace and love
What waste of Godly grace and love
by Andrew Pratt
'What waste of Godly grace and love, this perfume cast away, what waste of money, see the poor before us everyday'. But Judas, driven by his greed, was filling up his purse; and through inherent selfishness perhaps our ways are worse. Verses 3-4 follow TUNE: ST BERNARD Andrew P…
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Ascension
50 Praise, Pray and Play Sessions - Ascension
by BRF - Rona Orme
The account of the ascension, when Jesus was taken into heaven, completes the reports of his life on earth. Jesus talked about going away so that God would send another helper, the Holy Spirit. It may be helpful to show the diagram of the church year to show the sweep of the year…
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 112:7-8
With My WholeHeart - Psalm 112:7-8
by SPCK - James Jones
Psalm 112:7-8 A sign of the heart established in God is that it does not shrink. Nor is it ‘afraid of any evil tidings’. The reason for this is that ‘unto the godly there ariseth up light in the darkness’ (v. 4). That light is none other than the mercy of God which rescues us fro…
Poem: Armour
Poem: Armour
by Marjorie Dobson
Poem: Armour Flak jackets and body armour, protective helmets and rocket launchers may be essentials in personal protection in war zones today, but most of us – thankfully – will never need to use them. Not in the business of coping with living and dealing with people we meet eve…
In our end is our beginning
In our end is our beginning
by Andrew Pratt
In our end is our beginning, cosmic riddle of our birth, why the Alpha and Omega came in flesh and came to birth. Death will no more signal ending, love survives beyond this life, not diminished or extinguished by our common human strife. Verses 3-4 follow Tune: DIJON Metre: 8.7.…
Righteous Will Shine
Righteous Will Shine
by Andy Lindley
The bright light is not in fact the sun, but a sun dog, a mirror of the sun in the sky, caused by atmospheric conditions. It reminded me, of our call as Christians, to be like Christ, to reflect his glory...we can be like the sun Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like t…
Feed My Sheep
Feed My Sheep
by Rose humphrey
TIP- PowerPoint Slide Size- The ideal way to insert into PowerPoint is:- • Reduce the image size to 1024x768 pixels using your image editing software. (Will reduce image proportionally) • Insert as Picture in the normal way. • If needed fill the slide area by placing the image in…
Jeremiah for everyone - Pottery Smashed
Jeremiah for everyone - Pottery Smashed
by SPCK - John Goldingay
Pottery Smashed In Hanoi there’s an embassy that gives visas to people who want to find the bodies of relatives who died in Vietnam’s wars. The family wants to be able to give them a proper burial to avoid their becoming angry ghosts rather than guardian spirits…
The Joy Of God's Word