Posts in Owen Lynch
‘What story am I living in?’ by Owen Lynch - 16 January 2022
‘What story am I living in?’ by Owen Lynch - 16 January 2022

What 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardWho Is Jesus?, Mark
‘Where does love come from?’ by Owen Lynch - 9 January 2022
‘Where does love come from?’ by Owen Lynch - 9 January 2022

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?

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Owen Lynch, first in seriesSevern VineyardWho Is Jesus?, Mark
‘New Year - a time for reflection’ by Owen Lynch - 2 January 2022
‘New Year - a time for reflection’ by Owen Lynch - 2 January 2022

The 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.

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardNew Year, Miscellaneous
‘Is God bothered about climate change?’ by Owen Lynch - 31 October 2021
‘Is God bothered about climate change?’ by Owen Lynch - 31 October 2021

Why 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardQuestioning Our Assumptions
'Questioning our assumptions - Sunday School 2.0' by Owen Lynch - 17 October 2021
'Questioning our assumptions - Sunday School 2.0' by Owen Lynch - 17 October 2021

How 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)

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardQuestioning Our Assumptions, Genesis
'Questioning our assumptions - Was Jesus biased?' by Owen Lynch - 3 October 2021
'Questioning our assumptions - Was Jesus biased?' by Owen Lynch - 3 October 2021

If 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.

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardQuestioning Our Assumptions
'Bouncing Hope' by Owen Lynch - 19 September 2021
'Bouncing Hope' by Owen Lynch - 19 September 2021

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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardBuilding Back Better, Questioning Our Assumptions
'A Crisis of Faith and Identity' by Owen Lynch - 12 September 2021
'A Crisis of Faith and Identity' by Owen Lynch - 12 September 2021

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?

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Owen Lynch, first in seriesSevern VineyardQuestioning Our Assumptions
'What was Jesus like? And would you have become his disciple?' by Owen Lynch - 29 August 2021
'What was Jesus like? And would you have become his disciple?' by Owen Lynch - 29 August 2021

How 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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Owen LynchSevern VineyardMy favourite Jesus stories
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 6: Which self are you today?’ by Owen Lynch - 27 June 2021
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 6: Which self are you today?’ by Owen Lynch - 27 June 2021

How 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardEmotionally Healthy Church, Building Back Better
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 5: Embracing vulnerability and weakness’ by Owen Lynch - 16 May 2021
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 5: Embracing vulnerability and weakness’ by Owen Lynch - 16 May 2021

How 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardEmotionally Healthy Church, Building Back Better
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 4: Embracing pain and loss’ by Owen Lynch - 18 April 2021
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 4: Embracing pain and loss’ by Owen Lynch - 18 April 2021

When 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardEmotionally Healthy Church
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 3: Limits and Responsibilities' by Owen Lynch - 14 March 2021
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 3: Limits and Responsibilities' by Owen Lynch - 14 March 2021

How 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardEmotionally Healthy Church
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 2: Family of Origin' by Owen Lynch - 7 March 2021
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 2: Family of Origin' by Owen Lynch - 7 March 2021

This 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardEmotionally Healthy Church
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 1: Stop before you hit the bottom' by Owen Lynch - 21 February 2021
'Emotionally Healthy Church part 1: Stop before you hit the bottom' by Owen Lynch - 21 February 2021

We 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.

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Owen Lynch, first in seriesSevern VineyardBuilding Back Better, Emotionally Healthy Church
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 14 - Hoi polloi (Romans)' by Owen Lynch
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 14 - Hoi polloi (Romans)' by Owen Lynch

Does 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardDid Paul really mean that?, Romans
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 13 - Peace on earth (Romans)' by Owen Lynch - 10 January 2021
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 13 - Peace on earth (Romans)' by Owen Lynch - 10 January 2021

Is 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardDid Paul really mean that?, Romans
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 12 - Homosexuality (Romans)’ by Owen Lynch - November 8 2020
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 12 - Homosexuality (Romans)’ by Owen Lynch - November 8 2020

Does 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.

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardDid Paul really mean that?, Romans
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 11 - Being at peace during the pandemic (Philippians)' by Owen Lynch - October 18 2020
'Did Paul really mean that? Ep 11 - Being at peace during the pandemic (Philippians)' by Owen Lynch - October 18 2020

Is 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?

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Owen LynchSevern VineyardDid Paul really mean that?, Philippians