SPCK
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Two Olive Trees
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Two Olive Trees
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Two Olive Trees ROMANS 11.16-24 ‘This place isn’t big enough for both of us!’ We’ve all heard it, or perhaps even said it. Sometimes it’s in an office where two managers are both wanting their plans to go ahead. Sometimes it’s in a sports team where two players both want to b…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - A Stumble with a Purpose
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - A Stumble with a Purpose
by SPCK - N T Wright
A Stumble with a Purpose ROMANS 11.7-15 When Jesus told a story about an older and a younger brother, he was picking up echoes from several powerful stories in the book of Genesis. In Jesus’ own parable in Luke 15, the younger son takes his share of the inheritance, goes off and …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Remnant of Grace
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Remnant of Grace
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Remnant of Grace ROMANS 11.1-6 These days, we know quite a lot about depression. Many books are written about it, many different therapies are on offer for it, and it is no longer a taboo subject in the way it was not long ago. The story of Elijah in 1 Kings 18 and 19 offers …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Call to the World, and the Father of Israel
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Call to the World, and the Father of Israel
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Call to the World, and the Failure of Israel ROMANS 10.14-21 Not long ago, some friends of ours came into possession of a large old house, and decided to do a first-class job of restoring it. To make sure all the details were taken care of, they hired a consultant to oversee …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Fulfilment of the Covenant
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Fulfilment of the Covenant
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Fulfilment of the Covenant ROMANS 10.5-13 Edward Elgar was the greatest English composer of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Among his many works, perhaps the best known is the Enigma Variations. As the second word of its name implies, it is a set of variation…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Israel, the Nations and the Messiah
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Israel, the Nations and the Messiah
by SPCK - N T Wright
Israel, the Nations and the Messiah ROMANS 9.30-10.4 One of the things I have to do in my job is to encourage people who are building new churches or other premises for worship, outreach, child care and so on. Often this involves being there when the first bit of the building is …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - God Calls a Remnant
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - God Calls a Remnant
by SPCK - N T Wright
God Calls a Remnant ROMANS 9.25-29 The Beatles once recorded a song called ‘Nowhere Man’. It grew out of a casual, dismissive remark one of them had made about somebody they’d just met: ‘He’s a real “nowhere man”.’ It was meant as a scornful put-down, and if the person they were …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - God's Purpose and Justice
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - God's Purpose and Justice
by SPCK - N T Wright
God’s Purpose and Justice ROMANS 9.14-24 I was never much good at pottery at school. I enjoyed the feel of the clay, but it never quite did what I wanted it to. I did succeed in making one or two small dishes, including an ashtray (that dates it, because the only person I would h…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Abraham's Two Families
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Abraham's Two Families
by SPCK - N T Wright
Abraham’s Two Families ROMANS 9.6-13 When you walk or drive through unfamiliar territory, you have to rely on the map. It is the bottom line. If you find yourself somewhere you didn’t expect, you scratch your head, get out the map again, and figure out where you went wrong. You m…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Privileges and Tragedy of Israel ROMANS 9.1-5 This morning’s newspaper carries a whole page of correspondence about an ugly fact of modern life: anti-Semitism is on the rise again. Jews have been attacked and threatened, vilified and abused in many cities in our supposedly ci…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Introduction
Paul for Everyone Romans part 2 - Introduction
by SPCK - N T Wright
INTRODUCTION On the very first occasion when someone stood up in public to tell people about Jesus, he made it very clear: this message is for everyone. It was a great day – sometimes called the birthday of the church. The great wind of God’s spirit had swept through Jesus’ follo…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Glossary
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Glossary
by SPCK - N T Wright
GLOSSARY age to come, see present age apostle, disciple, the Twelve ‘Apostle’ means ‘one who is sent’. It could be used of an ambassador or official delegate. In the New Testament it is sometimes used specifically of Jesus’ inner circle of twelve; but Paul sees not only himself b…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Nothing Separate Us from God's Love
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Nothing Separate Us from God's Love
by SPCK - N T Wright
Nothing Shall Separate Us from God’s Love ROMANS 8.31-39 Terrible tales emerge from wars, terrorist action, and other violent scenes. Those held hostage in Lebanon in the 1980s tell of more than one occasion when they were taken off, blindfolded, and told they were going to die. …
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Prayer, Sonship and the Sovereignty of God
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Prayer, Sonship and the Sovereignty of God
by SPCK - N T Wright
Prayer, Sonship and the Sovereignty of God ROMANS 8.26-30 How many names can you think of for God? It may sound an odd question. God’s proper name in the Old Testament is of course YHWH; but he is referred to in a great many other ways as well, such as ‘the Almighty’, the Holy On…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Creation Renewed and Patient Hope
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Creation Renewed and Patient Hope
by SPCK - N T Wright
Creation Renewed and Patient Hope ROMANS 8.18-25 I walked through the wood several times before I realized what the signpost meant. The wood was thick, with paths leading this way and that. I knew some of them quite well, and had my favourites among them. There was the one that l…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Children of God, Led by the Spirit
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - Children of God, Led by the Spirit
by SPCK - N T Wright
Children of God, Led by the Spirit ROMANS 8.12-17 Debt is one of the great problems of today’s world. When I was younger, banks didn’t allow many people to run into debt. Credit cards hadn’t been invented. Student loans were not even thought of. Of course, people still got into d…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - The Work of the Spirit
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - The Work of the Spirit
by SPCK - N T Wright
The Work of the Spirit ROMANS 8.5-11 Imagine rummaging around in an old attic and coming upon what looks like a standard lamp. It has a very strange type of bulb, but an elegant stem; and the shade, though a bit dusty, is quite attractive. You bring it down into the house and con…
Paul for Everyone Romans part 1 - God's Action in Messiah and Spirit