Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the end of the story in the books of Kings, along with Psalms 73 to 78.

The big, tragic message of this part of the story is that God’s people ended up exiled from their promised land, and the main reason given for this was their turning away from God.

Looking at how this happened, there are some intriguing details which might give us insight into how these people reflected on their circumstances, their identity and what they thought they would need to do differently to regain healthy and sustainable life in God’s kingdom.

In a couple of instances, leaders who seemed like they were seeking God to a great extent made mistakes which led to downfall, either for them or their descendants. Is it easy to draw messages from this, like not to be as proud as Hezekiah or as half-hearted as Joash? Or is it reasonable to think that the original audience for these stories might have wondered how these leaders could have known what to do to be fully correct?

Bern and Owen consider the possibility that not knowing, and having to seek God and listen better as a result, might have been an important part of the message, and one that applies to us too.

In next part of our boxset, we’ll return to Paul’s letters in the New Testament to see how he guided the church in 2 Corinthians, Philippians and Colossians. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the middle of the story in the books of Kings.

History is often told in terms of leaders, what they did and how their power influenced the world, but in this part of a story of corrupt leadership, the focus moves to prophets Elijah and Elisha. They were given power from God to help ordinary, suffering people, and to demonstrate the importance of God’s power over all others powers.

A dramatic showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal, a foreign god, is commemorated in opera but would also be an incredible way to settle political differences if we could watch it today.

Elisha asked for double Elijah’s blessing, and the stories of his work among people sound practically Christlike to us. In fact, the people who saw Jesus would probably have reflected that he was a continuation, even a fulfilment, of what God was doing through Elisha.

The Holy Spirit flowed through him to heal and bless people outside of the Jewish family and faith community. What could that same Spirit, if we believe it flows through us, do to heal and bless our neighbours too?

In next part of our boxset, we’ll finish the story of Kings and look at the fall of God’s people into exile, as well as listening to how they shared their experiences with God in Psalms 73 to 78. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the first part of the book of Kings.

It can be hard to know what to make of these stories of life after King David. Characters like Solomon are awesome and sometimes live in ways we would love to have part of, but they are also complex and flawed. Drawing moral conclusions from what they say and do, and what happens to them, is usually tempting but often baffling and always needing to be done in the context of the larger stories being told.

One story with a recognisable pattern is Solomon’s fall, linked with the fall of Israel as a united kingdom, and eventually the fall of divided kingdoms into exile. Can we identify what caused the falls, and so grasp the message intended by the author?

Turning away from God is labelled as the main mistake, and while that might not sound surprising, the ways in which this was shown to happen, and the consequences for people who did this in different ways, might be shocking. This makes the book of Kings a dizzying listen, often hard to process, but also highly engaging and revealing of a need to seek God and not just people or things that look blessed.

In next part of our boxset, we’ll continue the story of Kings and see what prophets have to say and do as part of God’s intervention, not just with corrupt leadership, but with suffering people directly. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and both of his letters to a young leader, Timothy.

After stressing to believers in Christ the importance of freedom from the law, why does Paul seem to be setting a lot of rules for the church in Corinth? Positioned at the intersection of lands and cultures, there were competing voices of authority in this early church, along with practices which failed to show the love Paul expected to see from growth and maturity they should have been developing in Christ.

We can learn a lot from what Paul writes, but it can be difficult for us to decide which of Paul’s teachings to adopt and which to leave as a result of the early church and their society being different from ours.

Could we have adopted our own unhealthy ways of looking at this, and is the “conservative vs liberal” paradigm an example of something we need to change? If so, what can we swap it for? What, if anything, could be a way of seeing the world and making judgements like this which brings us closer to Christ?

As many instructions as it contains, could the main focus of 1 Corinthians really be the expression of Christ’s work in and love for us? Paul’s famous passage about love, often quoted at weddings, is found here in the middle of his teaching about spiritual gifts and the power God provides to build people up. As our understanding grows, about God, his power and his world, should fixing rules be as important to us as learning how to adapt to others’ needs, change our plans and increase in love?

In next part of our boxset, we’ll return to the Old Testament story of Israel and see what happened after David in the first part of the book of Kings. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about several “minor” prophets with major messages in the Old Testament, as well as Psalms 66 to 72.

We often think of the word “righteous” as quite religious or worthy in a traditional way, but when God’s prophets called people to righteousness, it looks like the major concern was how people were suffering because of a lack of social justice and people’s concern for each other. It turns out that God values people more than we do, and that without closeness to God, we find it hard to share God’s values and live with them as our own.

The prophet Jonah especially struggled with being asked to take a message from God to his enemies, not because he was afraid for his life, but because he didn’t want them to respond in a way that would bring them forgiveness. We might see this as a picture of how we or anyone might hear Jesus’ challenge, “Love your enemies.” This is hard, maybe impossible for us without God’s help.

So can we ever know what to do without constant direction from God? The prophet Micah brought assurance that we should already know the basic idea - “act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God”. This is harder to live in practice than to remember as a Bible verse, but can it give us a framework for a full, balanced life where we want to keep learning and growing in practical love?

In next part of our boxset, we’ll return to the New Testament and look at Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians and both of his letters to a young leader, Timothy. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the Old Testament prophets Hosea and Joel, and Psalms 52 to 65.

What does God want most from people? Some parts of the Bible make it look like religious practice is the most important thing, while others make following rules in the rest of life seem vital over everything else.

But when God spoke through prophets about how life had been going with this, a couple of things emerged. For one, there were repeating patterns of failure, resulting in people suffering and injustice thriving. The other was maybe more surprising - that God’s promise of hope to remedy this was a revelation of what he really wanted most - relationships in which he would be properly known, and his heart shared, making justice, transformation and healing possible.

Working out how to make sense of the Bible, especially prophecy, can be tricky. Can we do it on our own, or can we only do it within relationships? We’d love to encourage you to make time to listen to God and pray through whatever you find grabs your attention here, and chat about it with people. We’re very open to this at church, so get in touch if you would like to!

In next part of our boxset, we’ll look at more of the prophets, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, as well as Psalms 66 to 72. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about wisdom in the Old Testament including Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Proverbs chapters 19 to 26.

Is the Bible an instruction book? It seems vital to review this before considering the wisdom literature, because that will shape our view on the role of what is written there. If the Bible is more of a conversation than a code to decipher, we can look at the role of these books in that conversation instead of trying to work out simplistic solutions to apparent conflicts between instructions.

Ecclesiastes has a lot to say about how we find meaning and value in life, and how we might limit our expectations for finding fulfilment in some things we chase a lot. If that sounds discouraging, can the encouragement that’s offered in this book help to reset our compasses for navigating life?

Song of Songs also offers encouragement, affirmation of value and purpose, and a passionate celebration of love. Is there a more powerful force in creation? And in the conversations we have about love and law in the Bible, and in life, can we possibly understand love through the lens of law, or can we only understand law through the lens of love?

In next part of our boxset, we’ll look at what the prophets Hosea and Joel had to say, along with Psalms 52 to 65. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.

Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the end of Matthew’s gospel, chapters 21 to 28, as well as Paul’s letters to the Galatians and Ephesians.

The gospel story of Jesus reveals a lot about what God really wants for people and the misunderstandings which arise when people think this is all about religion, ceremonies, sacrifices or following a set of rules. People who sincerely believed they were following God in Jesus’ time ended up opposing him with murderous force.

Is this a lesson we’ve taken to heart today, or can we end up making the same mistakes?

Is it too simplistic to say that love needs to be, and can become, the defining principle that God installs in our hearts to change everything? Or is that the central message in the gospel and Paul’s letters about putting faith in Jesus into practice?

In next part of our boxset, we’ll look at wisdom in the Old Testament including Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs and Proverbs chapters 19 to 26. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.