Gospel means “good news”, but what about the message or experience of following Jesus is good news to us? This series explores how the gospel has appeared to and affected each of us, and how it has given us new hopes that we want to share.
What is it like to approach Jesus and faith like a child? Bern Leckie shares his experiences of growing up in a religious community and how some things seemed to make more sense than others. When Jesus told people they had to receive God’s kingdom like little children, what did he mean? Was he telling people to be mild and obedient, or hoping that they’d receive the enormous superpower of God’s love and enjoy finding out what it could do in and through them? And is this love only for a special people, or for everyone?
What can we expect from life with God? David Jennings shares his experience of being in the middle of life-changing things like people being freed from addiction, and finding that this can still be messy and difficult. Jesus promised the reality of God’s kingdom would start to be visible in our lifetimes, so how do we deal with the tension of this being both “now” and “not yet”?
What difference does it make to believe that God is present, protects and provides today? Owen Lynch shares what the gospel means about God’s role in his life, in a context where fewer and fewer friends and colleagues might believe in God or go to church. Can we draw lessons from history about what religious institutions do under pressure, and can we follow Jesus into a different way of life?
What does it mean to rethink, and how can this change our view of faith and life? Liz Nixon looks at the difference it has made to change her mind and see God as primarily a father, and the influence this has had when relating to God in prayer, being a parent and learning to recognise God’s voice to share words from him.
Why do people call Jesus’ teaching about a new kingdom good news? Jack Saunders looks at the different kinds of kings, kingdoms and driving forces people have experienced and compares what it means to be led by them or led by Jesus.
What do we believe life with God should be like, and what do we need to do about it? Caleb Pedersen compares his experience of life growing up with limited power to the life we can expect in God's kingdom. Power from God, as displayed and shared through Jesus, can give us the hope of fulfilment. It's not limited to ourselves - sharing it with others can make us feel most fully alive. Can we earn this power? If not, how do we get it?
How are our lives shaped by what we love most? Joanna Moss looks at different sources of love, satisfaction and contentment in her life and how they compare with loving and being loved by God. Jesus offered good news about a way to live with freedom, joy and peace - but how do we live this in practice? Can we learn to trust that Jesus' good news is good even when our life circumstances aren't everything we want?
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?
