Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
The gospel read for Trinity 4 in Year A of Matt 10.40–42 is perhaps the strangest choice in the whole lectionary—at only three verses! And yet this short passage has some really significant features that offer enormous potential for reflection: a. They are very clearly structured as a unit, with an opening and matching conclusion, …
The gospel reading for Trinity 4 in Year A of Matt 10.40–42 is perhaps the strangest choice in the whole lectionary—at only three verses! And yet this short passage has some really significant features that offer enormous potential for reflection: it is tightly structured and highly memorable; it is almost without parallel in the other …
Why is the debate on sexuality and marriage in the Church of England (and other churches) such a big deal? Why can’t we just agree to disagree—to get on together and learn to live with difference? Two groups regularly say that to me. The first is those who want change in the Church’s teaching. Why …
Why does our experience of Christian life often seem so contradictory, so paradoxical? Why do we so often seem to move from experiences of triumph and wonder to experiences of doubt and failure? (I have a sense that this is a universal question, and not just a function of my getting older and more grumpy…!) …
At last! After the detours in Luke-Acts and John for the series of feasts around Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity, the lectionary finally brings us back to the Gospel according to Matthew for the First Sunday after Trinity in Year A! Whew! The reading set, Matt 9.35–10.8, is slightly odd, in that it bridges from one …
After the detours in Luke-Acts and John for the series of feasts around Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity, the lectionary finally brings us back to the Gospel according to Matthew for the Second Sunday of Trinity in Year A! The reading set, Matt 9.35–10.8, is slightly odd, in that it bridges from one section of Matthew, …
Whenever I have visited the US, many of the churches I have been to have had a very different pattern of meeting on Sunday mornings. Instead of having two services of worship, they have often had a range of teaching classes first, with perhaps three or four options for people to choose from, followed by a …
I write Bible reading notes for several organisations, and at the moment am writing for BRF’s Guidelines series. I recently wrote these notes on the Letter of Jude, which is a much neglected short letter, and offer them here for wider use. I have added in some questions for group discussion. Introduction The letter of …
Dr David Ball leads the GOLD Project, which offers small-group-based learning about scripture, theology and discipleship. I met with David and was able to ask him about this fascinating project. IP: What is the GOLD Project? How did it get its name? DB: We are a small Christian Charity dedicated to providing courses and other …
The lectionary gospel readers for the Fourth Sunday of Easter take the three parts of John 10 in turn; being in Year A, we are reading the first ten verses. But this is a good example of where our modern chapter divisions (first created by Stephen Langton, the 13th-century Archbishop of Canterbury who helped to …
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Easter 4 is Jesus’ teaching about himself as the Good Shepherd in John 10.1–10. It is actually part of the continued debate with the Pharisees after the healing of the man born blind in John 9, and takes place in Jerusalem. Join James and Ian as they discuss the …
