scholarship. serving. ministry.
The first Sunday after Trinity (or Pentecost 2) is also the feast of St Barnabas, who was responsible for receiving, encouraging, and working with the apostle Saul/Paul. In Acts 11 he performs a vital role in encouraging the believers in Antioch and advocating for them to the leadership of the church in Jerusalem. Join James … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Trinity Sunday in this Year A is Matt 28.16–20. As with the readings in Years B and C, it is short and compact. But many will not preach on this passage! For some reason, this is the one Sunday of the year when those preaching feel they should depart … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Trinity Sunday in Year A is Matthew 28.16–20, the so-called Great Commission which concludes the gospel. It has been picked for this week because it contains the triadic/Trinitarian formula ‘baptising them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.’ Apart from the fascinating details of … Continue Reading
The Church Commissioners have published their investment result from 2022 along with their annual report for the year, and both can be found online here. The investment results are quite remarkable. Although the headline return last year was only 5.0% last year (compared with 13.3% in 2021), which means a real-terms reduction in the value … Continue Reading
The discovery by two disciples of the empty tomb, and Mary Magdelene’s encounter with Jesus, in John 20.1–18, is one of the main options for the gospel reading for Easter Sunday in Year C (the alternative is Luke 24.1–12). And it is, in many ways, the most appealing choice, because of its polished literary form, … Continue Reading
One of the fringe meetings at a previous session of the General Synod a couple of years ago focussed on the needs of ‘mid-sized churches’, in this case defined as worshipping communities of 20 to 60. The reason for this was a question that William Nye, Secretary General of Synod and the Archbishops’ Council, had … Continue Reading
I first wrote this three years ago—but it seems as important as ever in the light of current debates. A while ago, someone posted this graphic on my timeline, and my impression is that, far from being something merely humorous, this list is taken by many as a serious description of Jesus’ ministry and a … Continue Reading
Podcasting has grown into a Big Thing over the last few years, particularly though not exclusively amongst younger people. My children are constantly recommending podcasts to me—though to little avail, since I have enough to listen to on the radio! Daniel French is the vicar of Salcombe, Malborough and South Huish, Devon, and is a regular … Continue Reading
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for the Third Sunday before Lent in Year A is Matt 5.13–20, a short section of the so-called Sermon on the Mount following on from the Beatitudes. In some ways, this collection of sayings is well known, with some of it passing into common parlance (‘salt of the earth’)—and yet … Continue Reading
This Sunday’s lectionary reading for Year A, Epiphany 3, is Matt 4.12–23. It begins the account of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, which continues until Matt 16.20 (compare ‘from that time on’ in Matt 4.17 with Matt 16.21), and now Jesus takes centre stage as the main actor in the drama. But from the beginning, he … Continue Reading
This Sunday’s lectionary reading for Year A, Epiphany 3, is Matt 4.12–23. It begins the account of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, which continues until Matt 16.20 (compare ‘from that time on’ in Matt 4.17 with Matt 16.21), and now Jesus takes centre stage as the main actor in the drama. But from the beginning, he … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
This blog is reader supported, not funded in any other way. Why not make a one-off or regular donation. You do that directly through PayPal
or through Ko-fi.
Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics power preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
