SUNDAY TALKS

When ideas and faith spread, how much of a culture clash do we expect, and how do we deal with it? Owen Lynch looks at how the early church came into conflict with cultures that required assimilation in a forceful way. Some Jews wanted to force Christians to obey all Jewish laws. At the same time, Judaism was under threat from the Roman Empire, who tolerated differences up to a point, but would cancel and destroy cultures which they thought to be a threat. How different was Jesus’ approach, and that of his Spirit-filled followers? Had Jesus given people another way to unite through self-sacrificial love?

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Why can disputes about things we believe in passionately turn so bitter and desperate? Owen Lynch looks at what happened when a leader of Jesus’ first followers shared his story with people, from his religion, who did not follow Jesus. Emotions ran high and discussion turned to violence and death plots. What happened to the hope they had shared? Can any similar fury and defensiveness rise up in us when we believe we have truth, so people who disagree with us must not? What might Jesus change about our approach to this?

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Are people ultimately divided into groups, say by nationality, family or faith? Owen Lynch looks at what happened in the early church when there were arguments about newcomers and what they might have to do to fit in. People were quick to see reasons to divide and either exclude people or force them to conform. Having some agreed, shared boundaries seemed to be helpful. But what if God’s Spirit kept being more inclusive than people expected?

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How much can God’s love change the world? Owen Lynch looks at Jesus’ first followers who were discovering that they were not just encouraged and empowered to have better loving relationships, but they were also equipped to challenge the systems of violence in human civilisation.

From the most ancient times to the Roman Empire of Jesus’ day, and still evident today, people have suffered through personal anger and cycles of vengeance which also feed into systems that brutally oppress enemies of the state. Many early church leaders were legally executed. But Christians recognised that Jesus’ self-sacrificial love was God’s answer to this. It came with power and hope that the worst oppression could be overcome. How can we experience this and share it today?

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What does God's coming kingdom look like in you? Owen Lynch looks at how Jesus compared this to a little bit of yeast that transforms a whole batch of dough - but what does that actually mean for us? Could the apparent weakness of self-sacrifice and small expressions of love, joy, peace, patience and kindness really be all that significant, especially when we love big, spectacular experiences? We might imagine the church's first leaders to have been amazing speakers, full of charisma, but this wasn't how Paul described himself. What else was God doing then that he might be doing with us now?

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What does it mean to follow Jesus and end up changing our minds about something important? Owen Lynch looks at Paul’s movements in Acts of the Apostles, which were not just physical across Europe, but changes in his long-held beliefs about what the long hoped-for Jewish messiah - their anointed leader - would look like. Many were quoting “clobber” passages from scripture to prove that Jesus could not take this role, but Paul’s experience forced him to rethink.

How much has Jesus changed our minds since we first encountered him? Do we expect Jesus to change our perspectives from time to time when we read the Bible? What deeply held views, beliefs or doctrines might Jesus be inviting us to reconsider?

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