Do we get that there’s a massive movement building? Owen Lynch looks at the growing expectation among Jesus’ followers early in the book of Acts that their world would change. Believers were living in revolutionary ways which changed how they saw and handled possessions, hoped and worked for equality, and fought and dealt with corruption.

There began to be deadly consequences, both for a couple whose corruption undermined the integrity of the movement, and for man inspired by God to share the movement’s story as part of the history of Israel.

These stories might be familiar to us, but we might have read wrongly or applied them unhelpfully if we haven’t understood their context. What can we do to understand and learn from them better today?

What does it mean to deny ourselves, and what difference can this make? Kyle Henderson-Begg looks at what Jesus showed and taught, and what his followers came to believe about this. What are the advantages of self-control, and where can we find more strength to benefit from this?

Continuing from part 1. Jesus died on the cross and rose again, but why? Can the way this makes a difference to people be summed up in one simple, shareable idea? Claire Lynch continues her talk about the different ways this is described in the Bible, and why focusing on only one of them can distort our views of God and each other. The ideas of sacrifice and covenant are rich in meaning and hard to grasp in full, but can growing our understanding of them help to grow our sense of God’s love for us and what God wants to do with us?

Good news - Jesus’ life, death and resurrection helps us to restore good relationships with God - but how does this work? Claire Lynch looks at different ways of explaining this which emphasise different parts of the Bible and might serve as helpful pictures or analogies. But it’s also possible that too much stress or reliance on one picture will distort our view of God and his character. Can we gain something from these pictures while also keeping our eyes on Jesus to understand what God is really like?

Do we get that there’s a massive movement building? Owen Lynch looks at the growing expectation among Jesus’ followers early in the book of Acts that their world would change. Believers were living in revolutionary ways which changed how they saw and handled possessions, hoped and worked for equality, and fought and dealt with corruption.

There began to be deadly consequences, both for a couple whose corruption undermined the integrity of the movement, and for man inspired by God to share the movement’s story as part of the history of Israel.

These stories might be familiar to us, but we might have read wrongly or applied them unhelpfully if we haven’t understood their context. What can we do to understand and learn from them better today?

What if you expected a power struggle in your life? Owen Lynch looks at Jesus’ followers soon after his resurrection and ascension to heaven, and the giving of his Holy Spirit, which came with power. Peter and the other disciples expected a new Kingdom to come which would challenge the ruling authorities, political and religious. These authorities would not react well. But what did each party want and believe, and how would they handle their conflicts?

How did Jesus give his followers power after he went up to heaven, and what was this for? Owen Lynch looks at what happened at Pentecost, a Jewish celebration of the founding of their nation, and how Jews who had grown up in many different cultures heard Jesus’ disciples in their own languages. A community of hope was gathering around one story which was including and uniting a diversity of people without destroying their origins, and it had the signatures of God at work among them. What would it do?

What do we need for healthy spiritual and emotional life? Owen Lynch looks at the links between spiritual and emotional health, what we see happening on our surfaces and what might be going on beneath. What can we do to get a better understanding of what’s formed us and how can we deal with stress, pain and - when needed - change?

Gospel means “good news”, but what about the message or experience of following Jesus is good news to us? Jess Pedersen begins a new series of talks about how we have personally received ideas from or about Jesus and found them to be positive and life-changing. Jess considers encouragement from the Bible about talking to God with the expectation that he hears, knows and loves us like a father. It’s good news that we can approach God as family, but what can we do when we believe that?

What is God like, and how can we know? Claire Lynch starts a series of talks looking at this through experiences and shared stories, including a story Jesus shared about people entrusted with resources and asked to make the most of them. What would happen if they responded in kind with trust and faith, and what would happen if they didn't? Can we see these different ways of life in us, and could choosing to live with more trust and faith bring us closer to knowing God?

Why 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?

What 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?

What can you do that you love to share? In this talk, Bern Leckie looks at Jesus’s story about people trusted with incredible resources that they managed to multiply. It’s described as money, but is it really something else? What if we can overcome the things holding us back from sharing our talents, like comparing ourselves with others, and what if we can’t? Can this warning and encouragement from Jesus help us to grow good things in our relationships and ourselves?

How does it feel to be searched and fully known? Bern Leckie reflects on the experience of being found out for things we'd rather hide, but also known intimately by someone with complete love. King David showed vulnerability in his relationship with God, and ultimately found this wonderful and liberating. Can we share in his experience?

How much racial injustice do we see, and how can we respond? In this talk, Dan Green looks at racism in our past and present, the events which may have made us more aware of it recently, and some practical steps we can take to change, listen and build better relationships for the future.

Could your life be changed by an encounter with Jesus? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what happened with Saul, a devout religious teacher whose view on life was changed by meeting the risen Jesus in the original “road to Damascus” moment. Saul became Paul, who is often misunderstood today, but can we understand more, and even live better, by encountering Jesus for ourselves?