Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
In the epistle for Trinity 21 in Year A, 1 Thess 2.1–8, Paul and his co-authors explain their approach to ministry, but do so by appeal to what the Thessalonians knew of them. They distance themselves from itinerant philosophers, who speak out of personal gain, and instead talk of being entrusted with the gospel of …
For the Mothering Sunday gospel of Jesus’ presentation in Luke 2, the written commentary is here and the video discussion is here. The epistle is 2 Cor 1.3–7, and the video discussion of this passage is here (and included below). The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Lent 4 in this Year A continues with the …
For the Second Sunday of Epiphany in Year A, the readings are 1 Corinthians 1.1–9 and John 1.29–42. You can find the video discussion of the epistle here and posted at the end of the article, and the video discussion of the gospel reading here and also posted below. Here is my written commentary on …
When I first learnt New Testament Greek, the set text for our class was (slightly oddly!) 1 Peter. This has left me with an affection for the letter—so I was very interested to see the new commentary on the letter by Sean du Toit in the New Covenant Commentary Series. I had the chance to …
The gospel lectionary reading for the Third Sunday of Easter in Year B is Luke 24.36b–48, the episode where Jesus meets the disciples after the encounter on the Emmaus Road and before the Ascension. (The lectionary readings for the Third Sunday in Easter ignore the particular gospel for the year, and instead cycle round Luke …
The reading for Easter 3 in Year B is Luke 24.36b-48 and it looks like the poor relation of last year’s reading, the story of the encounter of the two disciples with Jesus on the road to Emmaus. But it is in fact a fascinating gathering of Jesus’ teaching and action, packed into a short …
The lectionary gospel reading for Advent 3 is John 1.6–8 and 19–28, which picks out parts of John the Baptist’s testimony from the first chapter of the Fourth Gospel. Despite being highly selective from this remarkable opening chapter, it nevertheless contains key words and ideas that are carried through the whole gospel. Perhaps the most …
The lectionary gospel reading for Advent 3 is John 1.6–8 and 19–28, which picks out parts of John the Baptist’s testimony from the first chapter of the Fourth Gospel. Despite being highly selective from this remarkable opening chapter, it nevertheless contains key words and ideas that are carried through the whole gospel. Come and join …
At the end of July, Kaya Burgess, the Religious Affairs correspondent of The Times, sent out an email to 5,000 Church of England clergy, inviting them to complete a questionnaire giving their views on a whole range of issues, including whether Britain is a ‘Christian’ country any more, the Church’s teaching on sexuality, their own …
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Lent 4 in this Year A continues with the third of our four encounters between Jesus and individuals in the Fourth Gospel: Lent 2: Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3.1–17) Lent 3: The woman of Samaria (John 4.5–42) Lent 4: The man born blind (John 9.1-41) Lent 5: The raising …
The Sunday gospel lectionary reading for Lent 4 in Year A is John 9.1–41. It is the third of four stories of Jesus’ encounters with individuals in the Fourth Gospel, as a series exploring discipleship and taking a break from Matthew, to which we return on Palm Sunday. James and Ian explores the issues in …
