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When we or people around us are suffering, how dare we believe in Jesus? Bern Leckie looks at two people in chapter 5 of Mark’s gospel who dared to approach Jesus in different ways, both looking for specific help, and both receiving more than they expected. Can their stories help us to get close to Jesus and share our situations, even though we don’t know how to fix things? And can they even help...

Was Jesus just a really good person? What would make us think he is any more than that? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at some of the ways Jesus grabbed the attention of his first followers, raising their expectations but also terrifying them with displays of power. Jesus also talked about the different ways people respond to him and his message about new kingdom authority coming into the world. C...

Is “religion” the best way to describe our journey with Jesus? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at the baggage and burdens of expectation which come with the idea of religion, and how religious teachers of Jesus’ time failed to understand how Jesus could be living in accordance with God’s will. While the church may have taken on and spread many religious traditions and practices since then, how many...

What does it take to replace the fear of missing out with the feeling of satisfaction and fulfilment in life? In this talk, Claire Lynch looks at how Jesus dealt with a man who wanted healing but found that much greater needs could also be dealt with through forgiveness.  But how does this work, and how can it mean anything for God to forgive us when we've wronged other people? Is God simply...

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....

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 G...

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...

Do we feel like the same people in every situation, at work, home, church, with colleagues, friends and family? What makes us act differently in different situations, and how many versions of us are there? In this episode, our panel discusses the different versions of themselves, when they show up and hide away, and how this connects with ethics at work and careful consideration of others, but als...

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 toge...

This is the first episode of a new podcast featuring a series of talks given at Severn Vineyard from 2014 to 2017. This episode is the only one which will appear in this podcast feed - for the rest, see https://lifegivinghabits.captivate.fm/listen and follow us in whatever app you prefer. In this series, we look at things that Jesus did and encouraged people to do and we ask: can these things help...

What does it mean to hope in Jesus for peace? In this talk, Owen Lynch looks at different ways countries have tried to bring peace through threats of violence and how different this is from God’s promise to absorb violence and give us healing. For more of the Christmas story and how we are celebrating this year, see severnvineyard.org/christmas

How do we deal with our imperfections? Are they only sources of shame we feel we need to hide, or things to put on a "to do" list to improve, or can they also be things that define us and help shape our contributions to life, relationships and the world? In this episode, our panel discusses times we have felt weak and out of control, and how we have grown our abilities to be more aware of our vuln...

How does the promise of Jesus point us to an everlasting Father, and why is this good for us? In this talk, Joanna Moss looks at how Jesus' character revealed the Father heart of God, including self-giving love which can save and transform us. For more of the Christmas story and how we are celebrating this year, see severnvineyard.org/christmas

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? We'll discuss this with a panel of people next week. If there's anything you would like...

What have people always wanted and needed from God? In this talk, Rebecca Kishtainy looks at how people have looked to God for hope throughout history and seen his intervention helping them through major challenges. Before Jesus, people might not have seen much past massive upheavals in their world but, looking back, we can see God working in a bigger timeframe and in bigger ways than anyone could...

This week, our podcast about spiritual and emotional health is a chat about how we deal with pain and loss, from the little things we haven't been able to do because of lockdowns to the bigger losses which have shaped us or revealed who we are. We look at a Psalm where David asks "Why?" a lot, and realise what an awkward, painful, incisive and revealing question this can be. We also talk about the...

Why does it matter that God entered our world in the person of Jesus? In our first Advent 2021 talk, Claire Lynch looks at how people were hoping for a wise king, full of wonder beyond understanding. We believe Jesus is that mind-blowing ruler, made even more remarkable to us by his approach to us through the vulnerability of childbirth and his sharing of our difficulties. Can we imagine God pursu...

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 pai...

What could be good about facing up to our limitations in life? We've found that we love to say "yes" more than we like saying "no" much of the time, but there have been some unhealthy reasons for this, and unhealthy consequences as a result. In this episode, our panel shares experiences with this and how we have found good reasons and ways to accept our limits, say "no" to some things and say "yes...

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 h...

How is your connection with God right now? In this talk, Claire Lynch looks at reasons why we feel our connection gets lost and God seems distant. Do we think that God might let us go? Did Father God leave Jesus when when he was dying on the cross? What difference would it make to us if God always maintained his connection and never became distant? Find followup questions with a discussion and pra...

How much is who we are and what we do influenced by inheritance from our families? Today, our panel discusses our family backgrounds, how we've recognised (sometimes after a long time) that we have become more like our parents than we expected, and how we've been able to move on from feeling locked into inherited patterns of behaviour. There is a very big realisation lurking in here about the way...

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 gre...

How much are we shaped by family and 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 inh...

What happens when we doubt - is it the end of our faith? In this talk, Dan Green looks at one of Jesus’ followers who doubted and how they reconnected with the source of their faith and life. What can this mean for us when we struggle to reconcile simplistic ideas with the complexity of lives and relationships? This talk is part of our series on "Questioning Our Assumptions".