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After 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 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?
Read MoreHow many selves do you have, and how are they different? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at how easy it can be for us to split ourselves into different parts, being one way with people in church and a different way at home or work, for example. Could this be creating emotional tension which undermines our relationships and even threatens our health? What can we do to bring our different selves together and live more emotionally healthy, integrated lives?
Read MoreHow can weakness be a strength? In this talk, Owen Lynch shares about vulnerability and looks at how God has used lots of people with different character flaws. When we are concerned about our areas of weakness, could we find that we are uniquely suited for roles and relationships we had never dreamed possible?
Read MoreWhen we need physical healing, we know how to get help, but what happens when we experience pain which leaves us emotionally hurting, mourning or broken? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at different sources of emotional pain and the typical choices we make when we experience them. Are we complicating our healing from pain by refusing to deal with it? Can we recognise how people look to God with pain in the writings of the Bible, and build a culture which helps us too?
Read MoreHow liberating can it be to live within limits? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what happens when we don't accept limits and become overburdened, disillusioned or tied into unhealthy relationships. For people who believe in Jesus, it can be hard to accept limits if faith says there should be none. But looking closer at Jesus, can the choices he made and the limits he accepted with his humanity help us make the most of our lives and limitations too?
Read MoreThis talk contains adult themes
How much of what we do is set by patterns inherited from our parents? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the influence of family on famous leaders in the Bible and people in our own time. We choose our own paths, but it can help us to grow awareness of how our choices are influenced by vows we made to ourselves when growing up. Can Jesus' offer of "born again" new life then break us free of inherited destructive patterns?
Read MoreWe can look nice and spiritually sorted on the surface, but what's going on underneath? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what affects our emotional health which is often hidden from view until it bubbles up into occasional outbursts of impatience, anger or pain. Growing our awareness of what causes that pain can help us, not just to manage it but to outgrow it with God's help.
Read MoreDoes God only accept people who play by the rules of Christianity? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at how Paul addressed a church arguing about what was acceptable to God, and how shocking it was that Jesus died for everyone, not just good people. "More than just getting us out of trouble, he got us into life!" wrote Paul about Jesus. For the life God wants us to have, and to accept everyone he wants to accept, do we need to rethink some of today’s religious laws?
Read MoreIs there any chance we can all get along? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the society Paul was writing into when he explained the gospel to Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Rome. It looked impossible to close massive divisions between people and many looked to secure their identity in nationalism. We can relate today. What Paul offered was not a new culture to defeat all others, but Jesus' way of reconciling people to God and each other through sacrifice and forgiveness. How can we join in with that now?
Read MoreDoes the Bible say it's wrong to be homosexual? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at what Paul wrote to the Roman church, the culture of the time, and why we might misunderstand his words today.
This talk is for a mature audience and contains discussion of sexual practices in Paul's time which were very different from life today.
Read MoreIs there a secret to being contented in any circumstances, even really stressful ones? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the writings of Paul who claimed that he had discovered this. Paul was probably writing from prison when he shared what he had found, that his strength could come from God and gratitude could take the place of anxiety. Can we live this way without grumbling and feeling entitled to better than we have?
Read MoreDid the Bible really say that slavery is OK? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at more of Paul’s letters which some interpreted to say that slavery was acceptable. But what did Paul really mean, and what was most important to him? His calls for everyone to work in partnership, and Paul’s own part in the freeing of one slave, reveal a bigger desire, powered by God, to change society and bring freedom to the world. What can we learn from Paul which can free us too, especially from racism and homophobia, and bring reconciliation to our relationships?
Read MoreNow that our world has changed, we can't go back, but what do you want to be better going forward? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at how 2020 has changed our situation, making us feel like exiles prevented from meeting together. Looking at the story of the temple built in Jerusalem after years of ruin and exclusion, it seems God had bigger priorities than meetings. What exactly can we do now to build our lives and communities back better?
Read MoreDoes anyone like being misunderstood? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at a misunderstood Christian leader who wrote letters which are easy for us to misunderstand if we take them out of context. By looking at first century Corinth and what was happening there, we can get a better idea of why there were arguments and difficulties then, and things which are hard to grasp now. Can God help us find the wisdom which lasts and can help us today?
Read MoreWhat do you think about the Bible's attitude to women? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the apostle Paul and how his views on women and their role in church and life may have been misunderstood. Looking carefully at his letters and the culture they were written in, as well as what we know about how Paul lived in practice, might challenge us to change some of our assumptions and inspire us to work towards restoring the balance of power.
*** This talk contains adult references, and parents may prefer to watch without children present. ***
Read MoreWhat does it mean to have faith in God? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the apostle Paul's letter to the Galatians and how he guided them to depend on faith instead of religious law. Christians enjoy the freedom this brings, but sometimes worry about losing their status with God if they doubt or don't know the right thing to believe. There is good news, though, if we discover what Paul really meant by "faith" and how we can depend on God's faithfulness.
Read MoreWhat encouragement do you need to follow Jesus? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the first letter we have from the apostle Saul (Paul) to a church which faced challenges as they worked out their faith in an often opposing culture. How could they say there is only one God when the government and society said there were lots? How should they live distinctively in a sex-driven culture? And how can we interpret and apply Saul’s teaching ourselves once we understand some differences between Thessalonica then and us now?
Read MoreWhat would be different about your life if you knew how long you had left? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the apostle Saul/Paul’s belief that the world would be changed massively by the emerging presence of God in his lifetime. This set his priorities and shaped his teaching. While we now have a view of God at work over a very long time, we still face choices about what to do with our limited time. So how can Paul’s urgency help us to see what could and should be different for us right now?
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