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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, as well as Psalms 120 to 131.
The story of how Jerusalem and the temple began to rebuilt was a major cause for celebration for God’s exiled people. Much in this story - formerly a single book - points people to God and the benefits of gathering together, faithfully observing his law and making the best possible effort to avoid the mistakes of the past.
But is there more to this story? Had people really taken onboard the fresh perspectives given by God through the prophets about what he really wanted from them, and what he was promising to do next?
Looking at how people were proceeding by their own best efforts, doubling down on some traditional ideas but skewing the law in the process, could this really be more of a warning against certain kinds of leadership instead of an encouragement to emulate the leaders described here? And can we see parallels which should give us caution and encouragement today?
The “Psalms of ascent” also give encouragement and cause for reflection to people gathering for festivals and worship. When gathering people put their hope in God, was this only to expect good life in the gatherings, or was God going to do something to transform life afterwards too? What are our hopes about this?
In the next part of our boxset, we finish the Old Testament by listening to the minor prophets Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, as well the rest of the Psalms, 132 to 150. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the books of Lamentations and Daniel.
Both were written for and about God’s people around the time of their exile to Babylon and the loss of their temple and centre of social order.
Lamentations expresses huge depths of pain and suffering, though in the Hebrew it’s ordered around the alphabet in a similar way to Psalm 119. There is devastation throughout, but also a strong central column of hope which might still feel relevant and needed for us today. Could this book be a good way for us to engage with suffering and find God’s presence?
Daniel’s story is memorable to Bern and Owen from childhood, and it seems to have become even richer in meaning since then. Trusting God in the most difficult times is a central theme, and the way God works through people who trust him can be astonishing. Daniel looks a lot like Joseph and might even look a lot like Jesus. What can we learn about God and his kingdom by following Daniel as he seeks to gain understanding and humble himself before God at the same time?
In the next part of our boxset, we continue the story of God’s exiled people as they start to return in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, and look at Psalms 120 to 131. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapters 18 to 21 of John’s gospel and Paul’s letter to the Romans.
Was it too ambitious to try and take in these texts in a week? Any of these chapters could be studied for a lifetime, and scholars still debate the details, but Bern and Owen still found massive value in getting an overview from them and reflecting on God’s intentions for his kingdom.
Since the middle ages, the western church has often focused on a message of personal salvation which can be pieced together from these passages - a “ticket to heaven” necessary to avoid eternal suffering.
But an escape from earth to heaven does not seem as important for Jesus or Paul to teach as much as God’s plan to pour heavenly resources through believers to renew the earth, through relationships and societal change as well as personal development.
Jesus’ nature as a suffering servant, along with his willingness to accept a death caused by everyone else’s brokenness, show the power of heaven to overturn the worst of what can happen on earth. God’s kingdom is a social order which can look “upside down” to us and can turn injustice on its head.
Paul’s description to the Romans of how God moves to fix brokenness is a challenging one, perhaps requiring us to admit to being more broken than we would like to.
Bern and Owen discuss question of whether the fix is our faith in Christ, or the faithfulness of Christ - two alternative readings of the text. With the original culture in mind, some scholars are emerging with a view that this is a both/and rather than an either/or situation; what we call God’s “grace” would likely have been understood at the time as his offer of sponsorship or patronage, providing all the resources people needed to work and expecting a faithful response from people using them. This relationship seems irrelevant in terms of obtaining a “ticket to heaven”, but extremely relevant to a plan to renew the earth with heavenly resources.
Paul leads from this towards the idea that we can know how to deal with our inner and interpersonal conflicts, and know God’s mind in general. What Jesus has done has made a way for us to approach God directly, as priests offering ourselves as sacrifices. What does this mean? For one thing, it means God considers us good and acceptable. For another, it means that we can expect to have to lay down some of the things we think are essential to us - perhaps stuff, perhaps opinions - in exchange for a renewal of our minds. This is a lifelong process within faithful relationship with God.
In the next part of our boxset, we turn back to the Old Testament and listen through Lamentations and the book of Daniel. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapters 1 to 17 of John’s gospel.
Following the story of Israel from the time of exile and God’s promised of a renewed kingdom, it’s clear that people wanted their anointed leader, the Messiah or Christ. But their expectations of how to recognise God delivering this differed among various groups.
John told the story of how Jesus was this leader, and how people could know, but also of how many kinds of senior leaders rejected Jesus’ authority. There may have been lots of reasons for this, ranging from having firm ideas which were hard to displace, to perhaps not wanting to lose some of the status and stability they thought they had.
But John’s account also shows how many people, especially the marginalised and people hungry for change, accepted Jesus’ authority and started to follow him.
There are questions for us about what Jesus was really asking from people and promising in return. His call could be seen as “radical”, which is not always a welcome word in discussions of faith today. Jesus’ ability to connect with people and transform from the roots, changing the inside out with living water, might make us question whether we should be satisfied with anything less than radical change.
In the next part of our boxset, we finish John’s gospel and listen to Paul’s great summary of Jesus’ role in God’s plans through history in his letter to the Romans. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
We’ve produced a special audio version of John’s gospel with soundscapes, music and time for immersion and reflection built in. Search for “Time, Space, Jesus” on Spotify or find out more at severnvineyard.org/time-space-jesus
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapters 40 to 48 of the book of Ezekiel and Psalms 107 to 119.
After some harsh and harrowing images, Ezekiel’s visions turn to glorious pictures of God’s designs for Israel’s future, including restoration and fulfilment of purposes God always had in mind for his people.
An amazing temple is described, bigger and better than people have ever known, and this serves as an image of God living and working with people, redeeming and transforming where needed.
This temple is also remarkable for what it produces - life-bringing fresh water that starts to look like a river, getting wider and deeper the further it gets from the temple. It’s a picture of transformational holiness, bringing life to the Dead Sea and to incredibly fruitful trees along its banks.
Bern and Owen discuss what these images meant to Israel then and to us now. Can we learn more about holiness and what it’s for, and could that release us from “holy huddles” into places where God wants to work through us? How important is spiritual fruit in our lives, and what is it for?
Linking the river imagery with the Psalms, is our worship sometimes too shallow? What would happen if we became more immersed in the depths of emotions expressed in Psalms, and where can we find places and times to soak in a really comprehensive piece like Psalm 119?
In the next part of our boxset, we get back to the story of Jesus as told through John’s gospel. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
We’ve also produced a special audio version of John’s gospel with soundscapes, music and time for immersion and reflection built in. Search for “Time, Space, Jesus” on Spotify or find out more at severnvineyard.org/time-space-jesus
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapters 22 to 39 of the book of Ezekiel.
His visions and actions have been difficult listening, with harsh judgements and consequences for God’s people as well as loss which Ezekiel felt personally and was not allowed to grieve in the normal way. However, God was not remote from suffering, but walking through it with them.
God’s heart for people and their ultimate restoration was also revealed not to be restricted to Israel. Ezekiel was given words to share with all the surrounding nations, people with no access to Jewish worship rites but remarkably included in God’s promises for renewal.
The kind of leadership God promised for a restored situation was also remarkable - good shepherding, concerned for the whole flock, more humble and service-based than strident and dictatorial. How much did that fit anyone expectations then, or ours in similar political situations now?
Ezekiel’s vision of God’s ability to bring life from dead, dry bones might be the most remarkable so far. Did this meet people’s expectations of God’s power, or exceed them? How much difference would it make to us truly to believe in God’s ability to do this today, not just in terms of afterlife but in renewed relationships, trust, hopes and love where these seem to be lost to us?
In the next part of our boxset, we complete Ezekiel, looking at his visions for future hope, and also listen to Psalms 107 to 119. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the first 21 chapters of the book of Ezekiel.
The vivid visions in this book are other-worldly and dreamlike, and as Ezekiel had been in Babylon, in exile from his home country for a few years, it might not be surprising to see visions of heavenly power which looked similar to the way his captors saw this.
But God seems to have added surprising twists, including his authority and radiant presence over all of the dark powers feared by people. Israel’s God was not defeated in the way people may have expected from his people’s fate, but had a purpose and plan which was yet to be seen and understood.
It’s easy to read these passages in isolation and form a dim, dark view of God, especially as the suffering described through Ezekiel’s words, pictures and actions would be brutal and shocking.
As with other prophets, there is hope to come later, but in the early parts of Ezekiel, there are also signs of what God wants the most and looks to restore - relationships in which people can share God’s vision and values, put love into practice, and work for justice and against everything which devalues life.
There are also signs that life in relationship with God may involve ongoing movement and developing understanding. Ezekiel’s words include fresh insight into some scripture people may have regarded differently, including “the sin of Sodom”, and we can also spot pictures which get developed later by Jesus, like the usefulness of a vine. Jesus moved people’s understanding along - should we expect to experience this too?
God’s presence was also on the move, tragically out of the temple of Jerusalem, but thankfully close to people wherever they were in exile. In the next part of our boxset, we continue through Ezekiel and find God’s power doing some incredible things. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapter 44 to the end of Jeremiah and “Book 4” of the Psalms, 90 to 106.
It’s worth considering where the main point, or climax, is the book of Jeremiah. Hollywood stories have this near the end to keep our attention, but ancient stories often cover the main point nearer the middle. If the point of this book is at the end, it’s destruction and judgment. But there are reasons to think that God’s heart for restoration is the real heart of the story of Jeremiah.
One reason is that events towards the end are not told in chronological order - the order has been chosen for other reasons. Promoted and put closer to the centre than earlier events was God’s command to abandon slavery among Hebrews. Judah’s last king agreed but did not put this into practice. Could this have been featured as part of the book’s core message, that God was going to act to restore and empower people to live a new way of life, with his word and values on their hearts?
The central nature of this message, as well as the way it’s also followed up by Jesus, seems to elevate its importance, both to Jeremiah’s original listeners and to us.
Psalms 90 to 106 also give us insight into how people were inspired to connect with God and express pain and suffering, as well as praise and hope, during their exile from Jerusalem. At the heart of this collection, the encouragement to “sing a new song” and expect joy to be shouted from “all the earth” also suggests a hope for a future of restoration, not just of Israel but of everyone and everything.
In the next part of our boxset, we turn to the prophet Ezekiel whose prophecy was around the same time as Jeremiah, but whose style was very different. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapters 23 to 43 of the biggest book in the Bible, Jeremiah.
What started as relentless sounding doom and gloom turns a corner here as hope is revealed, albeit at a traumatic time for God’s people.
One of the most popular prophecies for sharing and encouraging today comes from this part of the book of Jeremiah - God does know the plans he has to bring people hope and a future. But we need to understand what these were for the original listeners before we can grasp the power of this encouragement.
The warned destruction and forced exile came true, and while one false prophet offered encouragement that it would be very short, Jeremiah delivered a different word - that it would last beyond the listeners’ lifetimes, but they could find new life and look forward to their descendants finding more.
God’s plans were not to deliver instant relief, but to love, strengthen, reconnect and restore people over time, sometimes in new and surprising ways.
God’s ultimate aim is revealed here, for people to have his ways in their own hearts and minds, not just laws to follow but shared desires to love, strengthen, reconnect and restore where we are. This is easy to like as an idea, but hard to live in practice. Can we do it in our own strength, or do we need to let God work this out through us?
In the next part of our boxset, we complete Jeremiah and also listen to Psalms 90 to 106. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about chapters 1 to 22 of the biggest book in the Bible, Jeremiah.
It starts at a time of change and uncertainty for God’s remaining people in the southern kingdom of Judah. The Assyrian empire to the north lost their last great leader, and with recent religious reforms under King Josiah, the Jews may have had good reasons to feel comfortable, justified and protected by God.
Jeremiah’s messages about how unhappy God was with their unfaithfulness to him and their covenant might then have come as a surprise, or just sounded wrong. But the words God gave to Jeremiah included lots of examples of how their worship, life and society had become corrupt and toxic.
Nobody wanted to hear, let alone agree with or follow, Jeremiah’s call to repentance. The ruin of Jerusalem had been warned about, but people were unwilling to believe it or reconnect with God to deal with it.
We can know and agree that God wants relationship more than religion for us, but repentance, ongoing learning and change are still hard. Bern and Owen reflect on examples from their lives, and discuss how we can know the directions God wants us to take.
In the next part of our boxset, we continue with Jeremiah and find, in the middle of tragedy for Judah, that God still has good plans and offers life-changing hope for the future. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about a selection of letters in the New Testament from early church leaders.
The first followers of Jesus were suffering as they spread the news of God’s coming kingdom. They were not being equipped for armed struggle but to develop and mature in Christ-like character while overflowing with his Spirit and love.
From a distance, this sounds like something which can be calmly analysed to figure out how it works. But from the first Christians’ perspective, they were constantly learning from experience and having to work out what was happening, what was effective and helpful in their lives, and what to expect from God next.
The way they were learning, as well as the change they wanted to see in the world, might explain why these writers emphasised putting faith into practice.
Trying to turn their encouragements into laws, doctrines and rules might be harder to achieve than we think, however - some of the most prominent reforming theologians like Martin Luther and John Calvin made strenuous efforts, but were all their conclusions faithful to these writers’ intentions? If not, how can we know any better? And when we disagree among ourselves about things like this, is there any chance we can do this helpfully and lovingly?
In the next part of our boxset, we begin hearing from Jeremiah, one of the major prophets who brought word of how unfaithful God’s people had been, but also hope for a better future. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the second book of Chronicles from chapter 17 to the end.
The big theme seems to be what makes a good leader for God’s people. The best ones seemed to make a point of seeking God and doing what he commanded, and they also tended to support or help restore the temple in Jerusalem so that all people could find it possible to find God when they sought him.
But what does it really mean to seek God? While a religious system is at the heart of the social order being described, the stories in Chronicles might also point to a difference between following religious people or rules and finding the God we are seeking.
There is the amazing story of one king who heard from 400 prophets, but still had a sense that he had to keep seeking the truth from God. There is also a story of how religious rules broke down when another king called people to celebrate together. This prompts the question: is it God’s purpose for people to seek him to obey religious rules, or is the more the purpose of the rules to encourage people to seek God? If there is ever a clash, which does God prefer?
Owen and Bern share their experiences of seeking God and sometimes needing to change direction, or learn a new way of doing things, as a result.
They also discuss what Chronicles shows about faith and faithfulness, topics which will come up again next week as we look at letters by James, Peter, John and Jude. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about Chronicles from book 1 chapter 22 to book 2 chapter 16.
It’s become very noticeable that this account of Israel’s history has a different perspective and purpose from other versions of the same stories in the Bible. Some people like David and Solomon look like better versions of themselves, but why?
Other books were probably written to warn Israel of the dangers of separating from God, but Chronicles seems written to encourage Israel about the benefits of getting back together. In particular, after the exile of God’s people, some felt the opportunity to regroup and rebuild in Jerusalem would bring about the restoration of the kingdom of God.
So this account remembers past glory. Who wouldn’t want to regain it? Hadn’t God promised that if his people turn and seek him, he will heal their land? (Bern has views on how we pray this prayer today, though…)
In the next part of our boxset, we finish Chronicles and look at what it says about some of the best and worst leaders. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the opening chapters 1 to 21 of the first book of Chronicles.
A bit like Deuteronomy, this book is a retelling of familiar stories from a different perspective, and this time the special purpose of the book might make it look like the Bible has contradictions within itself.
What if it does? Bern shares discomfort about this idea, coming from being told as a young adult about how to deal with people who said “the Bible is full of contradictions” and didn’t want to put faith in God.
Chronicles seems to show, however, that the people who agreed what should count as scripture were happy to bring together partisan and conflicting views which show how God moved different people at different times.
What does this mean for us? Do we need to rethink how we engage with the Bible and take lessons from it or quote fragments in our prayers and worship? Can we also grasp what it means for us to be part of God’s movement of people through history, and be ready to keep moving?
WARNING: inspired by ideas sparked in Chronicles, Owen and Bern’s discussion moves into other topics about how God engages with us, how we sometimes miss the point and try to adopt snapshots of someone else’s history as our own, and how we can experience God moving us into new life with a new perspective.
In the next part of our boxset, we continue Chronicles with a look at how Israel was inspired to remember the goodness of worshiping God together. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the final chapters of the books of Deuteronomy (20 to 34) and Proverbs (27 to 31).
In lots of ways, we might not appreciate the revision sections of old laws. There are lots of questions about how they were conceived, what they meant to people, and what - if anything - they might mean to us today. What can we gain from understanding them better?
Being outside the Jewish family and the covenant described in Deuteronomy, we don’t have a duty to follow its rules, but we can appreciate something about what God was doing. The social order created by this covenant helped to define people and create a sense that they could live and grow in relationships and trust.
We can still wonder how much of what this society practised would benefit us today, but it might be more helpful to see its formation as a signpost towards even better life in the future. Was “an eye for an eye” ever intended to encourage vengeance, or to limit it? And was it meant to be the final state of the life God wanted for people, or more of a step towards the ability to forgive and love enemies, as Jesus expected?
The ending of Proverbs might also create more questions than answers. The writer realises that they have not, in the end, learned wisdom. There is still much for them to learn. How important is it to recognise the depths of what we still don’t know, especially in relationships? Can seeing ourselves on a continuing journey help us gain from Proverbs’ final picture of ideal life as a source of hope and encouragement instead of an unrealistic burden?
In the next part of our boxset, we begin the book of Chronicles, another re-telling of familiar material from a different viewpoint which can help us understand God’s people and their history in more depth. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the first 19 chapters of the book of Deuteronomy.
This name means that it’s a repeat of the law described in the first few books of the Bible. Why is it there? The perspective isn’t quite the same as the first time this law was described, and seeing something from more than angle can make a huge difference to how we understand what it is, how it works and how it fits into people’s lives.
The Jewish law is part of a bigger social order which helps set people’s expectations of how to deal with each other and progress through life. Rules can be interpreted in different ways, so understanding how a society works turns out to be essential to know what a rule means to people - Bern has a good example from his recent holiday!
To understand Deuteronomy, it’s also useful to consider when, how and why it was written. Scholars’ views range from traditional - that it’s all from Moses exactly as presented - to more common current views that it was, at least partly, written or refined much later to help reform God’s people in a time of crisis. Can allowing for fresh interpretation like this strengthen our connection with God?
In next part of our boxset, we finish Deuteronomy and the final five chapters of Proverbs. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the New Testament letters to the Hebrews, the Thessalonians, Titus and Philemon.
What does faith look like for Jewish believers in Jesus as their promised anointed saviour? Hebrews is the name we give to a letter written to the first such believers, and it connects their inherited identity, stories and hopes with the new life they discovered in Christ.
It turned out that they now had the best possible prophet, priest and leader, who was not new but had been working since the creation of everything. Could it be true that their familiar religious structures were only shadows of what God was always wanting for them? If so, what would change for Jewish believers in Jesus? For example, what would it mean that Jesus replaced imperfect, temporary sacrifices with a perfect, eternal one? And what could everyone learn from the examples of faith that the writer drew from Jewish history to set high expectations for life following Christ?
Elsewhere, Paul’s instructions to churches and leaders reflected his understanding that Jesus was returning, perhaps very soon. But even if we knew this would happen tomorrow, how should we live today? Paul encouraged hope in Jesus’ return, but also investment in the life and communities people had. Could his understanding and application of this have changed over time, perhaps as his experience grew and his viewpoint changed? How can we best learn from his teaching, and what are the dangers of taking some of it out of context?
In next part of our boxset, we look back at some very familiar stories, re-told in a revised way and maybe showing some viewpoints we’ve not yet seen, through the book of Deuteronomy. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the final chapters of the book of Isaiah and Psalms 79 to 89, some of which reflect how people shared difficult experiences with God.
What does it mean to rely on God, and why is this important? Israel suffered through much of its history. While maintaining religious and legal systems which made it look and feel like they relied on God, the prophet Isaiah said they had really been relying on themselves, or on alliances with others, or on wealth or strength instead.
God would show them a different way of life through a suffering servant, someone totally reliant on God and, as we believe with hindsight, was also God in the flesh.
What sort of life would become possible because of this? Isaiah’s words held a mysterious hope for people who hadn’t yet encountered Jesus, and would also be a source of blessing and joy for people who believed God’s promise was fulfilled in him.
In next part of our boxset, we look at how some of the first Jewish believers in Jesus were encouraged to develop their faith in the letter to the Hebrews, as well as other letters written to the Thessalonians, Titus and Philemon. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the chapters 28 to 49 of the book of Isaiah.
When was the last time you thought about how amazing it is that people - including us - can hear from God? How can we know we hear from the real God, and don’t just replay our own ideas about life?
Isaiah gives lots of guidance on this to people who desperately needed to know the reality of God’s presence with them, love for them and hope for their future.
One way to measure this would be justice - life following things other than God ended up denying people’s access to this, but social justice would be achievable when people followed a way of life that God promised to reveal.
While people might have expected this way of life to be about recognisable strength, riches and powerful allies, Isaiah surprisingly prophesied that it would be more about service. Israel would learn how this works through a remarkable servant that God would raise up among them. In exile, Israel might have considered Daniel to be a leader like this, but did God have even greater plans, involving an even greater servant - God himself, revealed in Christ Jesus?
In next part of our boxset, we complete what Isaiah and his disciples shared with Israel about Israel’s future and God would change the world with them, and listen to Psalms 79 to 89. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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Bern Leckie and Owen Lynch share thoughts and feelings about the first 27 chapters of the book of Isaiah.
Can we imagine the horror and trauma of national exile? How would we feel and what would we do to try and feel better about ourselves and our future if it happened to us?
From a distance, we could look at Isaiah’s words of God’s judgement and correction to Israel as a history lesson we can easily grasp, but if that’s all we do, could we miss the point? And could we put ourselves in danger of repeating their mistakes?
According to Isaiah, God’s main desire was for social justice, and religious rules and practices were becoming part of the problem, not the solution. When we think and pray about how the world could or should be better, do we share God’s values as revealed here?
The vision God gave Isaiah for the better future he would bring about was promised to be surprising and new. Could listening and letting it reshape our vision also surprise us today, even if we’ve heard it before?
In next part of our boxset, we continue with Isaiah’s developing message as a new way of life is promised to emerge where life looked impossible chapters 28 to 49. Listen along at your own pace at severnvineyard.org/bible.
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