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SPCK - Paula Gooder

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20 pages

English

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Praise Him is part of the highly popular series of open-minded York Courses for discussion groups and individual reflection, crammed with questions to stimulate thought and lively debate.
We are used to singing hymns of praise when we go to church but often we miss the hymns and poems that are there in the New Testament. This course will explore five different Songs of Praise from the New Testament, looking at what they tell us about God and Jesus but also reflecting on what they tell us about us and our faith.

The five sessions focus on:

Session 1: Gratitude (Ephesians 1.3-14)
Session 2: Image of God (Colossians 1.15-20)
Session 3: Humility (Philippians 2.5-11)
Session 4: New birth (1 Peter 1.3-12)
Session 5: Word made flesh (John 1.1-14)

The course booklet is accompanied by a lively CD, featuring the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, ‘art nun’, the late Sister Wendy Beckett, the multi-award winning actor, David Suchet CBE, and Editor and Publisher of the Methodist Recorder, Moira Sleight.

This York Course is available in the following formats
Course Book (Paperback 9781909107069)
Course Book (eBook 9781909107854)
Audio Book of Interview to support Praise Him York Course (CD 9781909107847)
Audio Book of Interview (Digital Download 9781909107830)
Transcript of interview to support Praise Him York Course (Paperback 9781909107076)
Transcript of interview (eBook 9781909107861)
Book Pack (9781909107878 Featuring Paperback Course Book, Audio Book on CD and Paperback Transcript of Interview)
Large print (9781909107885)

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Christian Living

Philosophie et théologie

Devotional

Devotion

Christianity

Informations

Publié par	SPCK
Date de parution	01 septembre 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781909107861
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	4 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0300€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

York Courses presents
PRAISE HIM -
Songs of praise in the New Testament
CD Track [1]
Welcome to PRAISE HIM - songs of praise in the New Testament , a course in five parts from York Courses, written by Paula Gooder. Here is Paula to introduce the course.
PG: What comes to mind when you hear the phrase ‘songs of praise?’ Some people will think immediately of the Sunday evening television programme on BBC1; others will call to mind their own favourite hymn or song. But few people’s minds will turn to the New Testament. Yet in the New Testament are a number of passages that could be called ‘songs of praise’. It is hard to tell whether they were ever sung, or even whether they were intended to be used in worship. But they are passages positively packed with praise. Some of these, like Mary’s glorious song of praise - often called The Magnificat - are very well known because they are used regularly in worship today. But there are a number of other, less used passages that also try to put into words something about why their authors want to praise God. Some express their praise directly; others imply it in the descriptions they use. Some talk just about Christ; others about God and the Spirit too. Some use language which sounds like poetry; others contain tightly packed words which try and explain in a sentence what they’re trying to say (even if that sentence is 12 verses long!). Though in many ways they are different, one feature joins all these passages together: they all express their praise of God and all he has done for us.
This course could have been much longer than it is. There are many more Songs of Praise in the New Testament than we can squeeze into five sessions. The ones we’ve chosen have themes which fit together to make an interesting course. We begin with the theme of gratitude and what being thankful can do for our life of praise. From there we move on to looking at what we can learn from thinking about Jesus as the image of God, and from his profound self-giving humility. Session 4 reflects on our new birth into a living hope; and Session 5 rounds off our exploration by reflecting on possibly the greatest New Testament poem of all: the magisterial John 1.1-14, which talks about Jesus as ‘ the word made flesh ’.
The reason why it is worth studying these – and the many other passages like them in the New Testament – is that they remind us time and time again of who God was, and is and will be; what he has done and what he will continue to do for each one of us. When we encounter this God, the only reasonable response is to praise him.
Whether you’re using this course for personal devotion or, perhaps more likely, as a member of a discussion group, we hope it will encourage you, as you seek to follow Jesus in everything that you say and do.

Session 1: CD Track [2] GRATITUDE
Hello, I’m Simon Stanley and it’s my privilege to conduct you through these five sessions. Let me just say a brief word about our contributors - though really they need no introduction.
Justin Welby is Archbishop of Canterbury, whose interests and expertise cover a wide range of subjects, both inside and outside the Church. His considered comments are always challenging and relevant, and he is a highly respected voice in the public square, as well as the religious life, nationally and internationally.
Sister Wendy Beckett is a Roman Catholic nun, who emerged from her austere life of silence some years ago as a brilliant and fascinating commentator on art. Her programmes on television, and her books, have been widely admired by large audiences for their clarity and charm.
David Suchet has been one of the most distinguished actors of his generation. Although he trained - and still regards himself - as a classical actor, he’s best known throughout the world as the very incarnation of Agatha Christie’s detective, Hercule Poirot. From his Jewish background he shines a clear and fascinating light on Christianity, to which he was converted many years ago.
The first session is based on Ephesians Chapter 1 verses 3-14, which focuses on gratitude and you may find helpful to read, before we begin. So, by way of introducing our contributors, we asked them what brought them happiness. First, we asked Sister Wendy Beckett and David Suchet whether they were ‘glass half-full’ or ‘glass half-empty’ sort of people.
WB: If we have to talk about halves, I’d be half-full. But, given a free choice, I’d like a full glass!
DC: Predominately three quarters-full. I can be troubled - and I do worry, a lot. But I’ve always wanted to see the best of things and people, ever since I was a young one.
(3) Sister Wendy then made a connection between happiness and gratitude.
WB: Oh, I think there’s a close link. The happier we are, the more grateful we are. And the more grateful we are, the happier we are. I think gratitude is instinctive. Not just in a Christian - in human beings. A very prominent atheist said to me one day: ‘if only there were someone to say thank-you to.’ And I think that’s how we’re made. But with that gratitude must go happiness, because happiness is a consequence of gratitude - they’re part of each other.
(4) But Archbishop Justin Welby prefers the word ‘joy’ to ‘happiness’.
JW: I’m slightly cautious about the word ‘happiness’. I prefer ‘joy’. It’s very interesting that the Pope’s called his recent publication The Joy of the Gospel not ‘The Happiness of the Gospel’. So I go for joy, as being slightly more complex and deeper than happiness.
(5) I then asked what filled them with gratitude. The Archbishop, followed by Sister Wendy.
JW: I am daily amazed by the fact that God loves me. And that’s, that’s something that inspires gratitude and joy. I can’t - I can believe it. I mean, I do believe it. But in a sense it’s almost unbelievable - it’s overwhelming. I’m profoundly grateful for my family, which is just a huge gift for me, because they’re so indifferent to the fact that I’m Archbishop of Canterbury - and that they couldn’t care less, and that’s brilliant. I have a wonderful staff, and I’m very, very grateful for them, though they’re – they’re pretty challenging at times. There’s so much that I can give thanks for.
WB: Ah, well, I’ve been very, very grateful for being a Christian. And very, very grateful for being called to be a nun. I can’t imagine what it must be like not to believe in God. I feel such compassion for those who haven’t been given this privilege. And for me, personally, I couldn’t live without being a nun, whose energies are focussed wholly on God and whose desire is for him. I feel almost ashamed of being so privileged. And I pray with all my heart for those who haven’t had this good fortune.
(6) David chose a person as the source of his greatest gratitude.
DS: So the first person who was absolutely instrumental - and in my whole life - was actually St Paul. When you read a Shakespeare play that you’re going to be in - or whether you read it in your sitting room, library, bedroom, whatever. And you read it out loud, and that play has been sent to you personally, and it is a new play (forget that it’s Shakespeare – it’s new ) so I decided to read Paul’s letter to the Romans as Paul’s letter to David Suchet, and the letter had just come through my hotel room door.
(7) So, plenty of gratitude. But if we give credit to God for all the good things in life, shouldn’t we also blame him for the things that go wrong?
WB: Of course it’s instinctive for us to feel that what happens to us is ordained by God, and many religious writers say this. And I know that sometimes, when people’s hearts are broken with sorrow, the one thing they can cling to is: well, it’s God’s will. And yet, of course, this is not so, because God never wants bad things to happen to us. It’s the last thing he wants, for us to suffer.