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When we or people around us are suffering, how dare we believe in Jesus? Bern Leckie looks at two people in chapter 5 of Mark’s gospel who dared to approach Jesus in different ways, both looking for specific help, and both receiving more than they expected. Can their stories help us to get close to Jesus and share our situations, even though we don’t know how to fix things? And can they even help us to deal with the times when God is not answering our prayers in the way we hoped?
Read MoreWas Jesus just a really good person? What would make us think he is any more than that? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at some of the ways Jesus grabbed the attention of his first followers, raising their expectations but also terrifying them with displays of power. Jesus also talked about the different ways people respond to him and his message about new kingdom authority coming into the world. Can we expect to get our heads around this, or do we need to let faith grow in us, from tiny to surprisingly big?
Read MoreIs “religion” the best way to describe our journey with Jesus? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the baggage and burdens of expectation which come with the idea of religion, and how religious teachers of Jesus’ time failed to understand how Jesus could be living in accordance with God’s will. While the church may have taken on and spread many religious traditions and practices since then, how many of these are healthy and helpful? Could a fresh look at Jesus help us to unload some unhelpful religious baggage and find a more restful and wholesome way of life instead?
Read MoreWhat does it take to replace the fear of missing out with the feeling of satisfaction and fulfilment in life? In this talk, Claire Lynch looks at how Jesus dealt with a man who wanted healing but found that much greater needs could also be dealt with through forgiveness.
But how does this work, and how can it mean anything for God to forgive us when we've wronged other people? Is God simply judging everything we do, or is he much more involved with the flow of goodness and love in our lives than we realised?
Read MoreWhat is the story of your world, and how does Jesus enter it? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the story of Israel, where politics and religion were closely related and people longed for a saviour to free them from foreign oppression. In our time, our world is shaped by other stories such as the promise and power of money, or our quests to find significance in a noisy and highly connected world.
As Jesus announces that it’s time for a significant turning point in our stories, what do we think he means? Could his story even shape our stories and expectations for the better?
Read MoreWhy do we value love so highly, and does it have a source we can identify? This talk by Owen Lynch begins a series looking at Jesus through Mark's gospel, which is thought to be based on Peter's eyewitness accounts. At the start of this gospel, Jesus' arrival seems to remind people of the beginning of the world and life itself. The relationship between Jesus, Father and Spirit could suggest that God isn't just loving, but is love itself. Could getting to know Jesus and seeing love in action connect us with the source of love?
Read MoreThe New Year can be a brilliant time to reflect on where we have come from, where we are and where we want to be, practically, emotionally and spiritually. But how can we do this well?
In this talk, Owen Lynch suggests five questions to help process some important aspects of our spiritual and emotional health: are we growing weary of any spiritual habits or rhythms, are we becoming judgmental, are we becoming more or less approachable, are we measuring spiritual life in superficial ways, and are we authentic with other people?
Reflecting on these questions can help us find where we might want to do things differently in 2022, and there are some practical suggestions to help build healthy habits.
Read MoreWhat does it mean to hope in Jesus for peace? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at different ways countries have tried to bring peace through threats of violence and how different this is from God’s promise to absorb violence and give us healing. For more of the Christmas story and how we are celebrating this year, see severnvineyard.org/christmas
Read MoreHow does the promise of Jesus point us to an everlasting Father, and why is this good for us? In this talk, Joanna Moss looks at how Jesus' character revealed the Father heart of God, including self-giving love which can save and transform us. For more of the Christmas story and how we are celebrating this year, see severnvineyard.org/christmas
Read MoreWhat have people always wanted and needed from God? In this talk, Rebecca Kishtainy looks at how people have looked to God for hope throughout history and seen his intervention helping them through major challenges. Before Jesus, people might not have seen much past massive upheavals in their world but, looking back, we can see God working in a bigger timeframe and in bigger ways than anyone could imagine. Could that same God also provide the hope and help we need to see past the biggest challenges we face today?
Read MoreWhy does it matter that God entered our world in the person of Jesus? In our first Advent 2021 talk, Claire Lynch looks at how people were hoping for a wise king, full of wonder beyond understanding. We believe Jesus is that mind-blowing ruler, made even more remarkable to us by his approach to us through the vulnerability of childbirth and his sharing of our difficulties. Can we imagine God pursuing us, becoming us and modelling life to us? What difference would it make if we chose to follow this Jesus, a real, physical human in union with God, instead of just our idea of a perfect leader?
Read MoreHow is your connection with God right now? In this talk, Claire Lynch looks at reasons why we feel our connection gets lost and God seems distant. Do we think that God might let us go? Did Father God leave Jesus when when he was dying on the cross? What difference would it make to us if God always maintained his connection and never became distant?
Read MoreWhy would God be bothered about climate change and its consequences for life and the planet? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what the Bible says about God’s relationship with our planet and the role given to humanity in creation. The Bible mentions “dominion” over the earth, but what does this mean? Does God encourage us to act like we own the planet and consume what we like, or are we given greater responsibility? And is taking this seriously part of what it means to worship God?
Read MoreWhat happens when we doubt - is it the end of our faith? In this talk, Dan Green looks at one of Jesus’ followers who doubted and how they reconnected with the source of their faith and life. What can this mean for us when we struggle to reconcile simplistic ideas with the complexity of lives and relationships?
Read MoreHow much do we struggle to square simplistic Sunday school beliefs with our complex world? In this talk, Owen Lynch revisits some of the dramatic stories we tell our kids and puts them into context. What does God want us to know from the stories of creation, Adam and Eve and Noah’s Ark? And how can questioning our assumptions about these, while unsettling, lead to a deeper, healthier spirituality? (For more info, see “Genesis for Normal People” by Peter Enns and Jared Byas)
Read MoreIf we all see the world in our own unique, biased way, what about Jesus? Can we tell how he saw the world differently from us? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the ways Jesus looked at life, faith and religion differently from anyone else, in ways which shocked the establishment in his time - and might shock us now.
This is part of a series in which we are questioning our assumptions about God and faith and wondering how God might want to change our viewpoints.
Read MoreAfter bad times, how can we bounce back with hope? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what the Bible says about God’s love being poured out into our hearts. Did we earn or deserve this? Is there anything we have to do to receive it? If not, and if we can count on God’s unconditional love, can that hope give us a basis for whatever comes next in life?
Read MoreWhat happens when life makes it hard to believe in God? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at crises of faith and identity which can arise in difficult times, perhaps because our faith expectations don’t match the reality of the world around us, or when the church seems to be offering easy answers which seem wrong, insensitive or even offensive to us. Have we undervalued questions, debates and doubts? What can we learn from Paul, whose personal crisis of faith and identity made him change when he met Jesus?
Read MoreHow many times does it take for us to learn? In this talk, Sarah Blackburn looks at two of Jesus' most famous miracles which look remarkably similar. After seeing what Jesus could do, why would his disciples need to learn the same lessons over again? Why do we? If we keep finding ourselves struggling or stuck in patterns of behaviour we would like to change, what can we learn from Jesus' perseverance and grace?
Read MoreHow do you picture Jesus and what he was like? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what we know about Jesus through the stories people told about him, from expectations of a Messiah before his birth to his life and encounters with people, his death and what happened next. Many were drawn into the crowd around him. If you had been alive at the time, would you have been one of them? How would this have changed your view of the world? And what would you make of Jesus' call to lose the life you have had and follow him?
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