A tale of two dances … Scripture for this Sunday: 2 Samuel 6.1-5, 12b-19; Psalm 24; Ephesians 1.3-14; Mark 6.14-29 In Mark’s gospel, the story of the demise of John the Baptist is cleverly woven into the fabric of the increasing recognition of the power and reputation of Jesus. At one level, it reads like […]
Archive | Themes
Theme of each week.
Theme for the Week – 5 July 2015
Scripture for the week: 2 Samuel 5.1-5, 9-10; Psalm 48; 2 Corinthians 12.2-10; Mark 6.1-13 Does familiarity breed contempt? It certainly doesn’t necessarily breed respect. When we say of someone, “I knew them when …,” it is all too easy for that to become the definition of them now. It is all very well to say […]
Theme for the Week – 28 June 2015
Scripture for this Sunday: 2 Samuel 1:1,17-27; Psalm 130; 2 Corinthians 8:7-24; Mark 5:21-43 This week has seen a bombardment of news, much of it emphasising the pace of change in our world: reaction to Pope Francis’ encyclical on the environment; the burying of the dead in Charleston; violent killings in France, Kuwait and Tunisia; […]
Theme for the Week – 21 June 2015
Scripture for the week: 1 Samuel 17.57-18:5, 10-16; Psalm 133; 2 Corinthians 6:1-13; Mark 4:35-41 The troubles of rulers who have outstayed their welcome are the stuff of tabloids today; dig back a few thousand years and we find swirling clouds of suspicion and mistrust in the pages of the Bible. Saul, appointed king by […]
Theme for the Week – 14 June 2015
Scripture for this Sunday: 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; Psalm 20; 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, 14-17; Mark 4:26-34 There are times when the Bible seems to be a bit of a joke, although there are some who are bothered by such an idea. Should we see humour in the way God leads the prophet Samuel to have to […]
Theme for the Week – 7 June 2015
Scripture for the week: 1 Samuel 8:4-11, 16-20; Psalm 138; 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1; Mark 3:20-35 The people of Israel, in the time of the prophet Samuel, decided that they wanted a king, like other nations. God warned them, through Samuel, of the risks and probable consequences: subjugation of their sons and daughters, appropriation of people […]
Theme for the Week – 31 May 2015
Trinity Sunday Scripture: Isaiah 6:1-8; Psalm 29; Romans 8:12-17; John 3:1-17 One of the joys of reading is also one of its challenges: the use of imagination. A good story engages us, and we fill in details – images and sounds – in our own minds. The challenge comes when we want to read something […]
Theme for the Week – 24 May 2015
The Day of Pentecost Scripture for the day: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:26-36; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 “Pay it forward” is the notion of paying a favour forward – to someone as an unsolicited good deed – rather than paying back for something done. It was the title of a film in 2000. Arguably, the […]
Theme for the Week – 17 May 2015
Readings for the seventh Sunday of Easter: Acts 1:15-17, 21-26; Psalm 1; 1 John 5:9-13; John 17:6-19 Because I used to live in the USA and have used the services of AMTRAK, I received a copy of an e-mail from the President and CEO following the train crash last week. With truly heavy hearts, we mourn […]
Theme for the Week – 10 May 2015
Readings for the 6th Sunday of Easter: Acts 10.44-48; Psalm 98; 1 John 5.1-6; John 15.9-17 The Truman Story is a film from 1998 about a young man abiding in a reality TV show, and his encounter with the boundaries of his existence. To abide, using the Greek word in its basic sense, is to remain, to […]