Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
The lectionary reading for Epiphany 4 in Year C is Luke 2.22–40 as we celebrate the Presentation of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem; this is also celebrated as the feast of Candlemas(s) and in many churches it marks the formal end of the Christmas season. (In the Church of England lectionary, we have this …
The lectionary reading for Epiphany 4 in Year C is Luke 2.22–40 as we celebrate the Presentation of Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem; this is also celebrated as the feast of Candlemas(s) and in many churches it marks the formal end of the Christmas season. (In the Church of England lectionary, we have this …
The lectionary reading for Epiphany 3 in Year C is Luke 4.14–21. As is often the case with the lectionary, the reading is rather displaced and truncated; the previous episode is the temptation in the wilderness, which we will read at the beginning of Lent, and the following week we revert back to Luke 2 as …
The lectionary reading for Epiphany 3 in Year C is Luke 4.14–21. As is often the case with the lectionary, the reading is rather displaced and truncated; the previous episode is the temptation in the wilderness, which we will read at the beginning of Lent, and the following week we revert back to Luke 2 as …
Martyn Whittock is a historian and a Licensed Lay Minister in the Church of England. He has just published a fascinating history of the interpretation of ‘end times’ ideas, The End Times, Again? 2000 Years of the Use and Misuse of Biblical Prophecy, and I was able to ask him about his book. IP: You are …
The Sunday lectionary gospel in Year C for Epiphany 3 is John 2.1–11, the ‘sign’ of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. It offers us a good example of John’s remarkable ability in story-telling, where he combines an intense attention to realistic detail with powerful evocation of the scene. In 11 short …
The Sunday lectionary gospel in Year C for Epiphany 3 is John 2.1–11, the ‘sign’ of Jesus turning water into wine at the wedding in Cana. (In the Church of England version of the lectionary, it was also the reading on Epiphany 3 in Year B, though the ecumenical lectionary had a reading for Mark …
Questions of what the Bible teaches about the end of the world have been given a renewed focus during the Covid pandemic. But in fact understanding what the New Testament says about this subject (known as ‘eschatology’ from the Greek words for ‘last things’ and ‘study’) affects the way we think about a whole range …
Over the last two years, there seems to have been a heightened interest in certain circles in discussion of the ‘end times’—and there is no doubt that this will continue. Many Christians don’t know how to respond to or engage with this, and without a better understanding of what the New Testament says, unhelpful and …
One of the repeated themes of short Christmas expositions is that, in the nativity story, we see God coming to the ‘poor’, and as a result the main message of Christmas is that we should pay particular attention to the ‘poor’. I put the term in inverted commas, because in both these contexts the term …
I write a quarterly column for Preach magazine, in which I explore a significant word or phrase in the Bible and the ideas that it expresses. I have written for them on: the phrase ‘Word of God’ the theme of ‘Mission’ the meaning of ‘Apocalypse‘ the ministry of ‘Healing’, the question of ‘Welcome’, the biblical understanding …
