How is life different when we follow Jesus into God’s kingdom? Kyle Henderson-Begg looks at how Jesus encouraged and congratulated people in difficult, undervalued and suffering circumstances. They would be the first to welcome the news that Jesus turned life upside down, compared with how most judged success. His way of life was, and still is, open to everyone. So what differences should it make for us?

Can we get to know God’s Holy Spirit and the role he wants to play in our lives? Claire Lynch shares experience of this, along with what the Bible and contemporary authors have written, including Carl McColman and Richard Rohr. The Holy Spirit brings nourishing fruit, remarkable gifts and the recognisable character of Jesus to life today, through people around us and, if we are open to this, through us too. How can we do this in practice? This talk contains lots of examples and ends with a contemplative exercise to help us focus on the Holy Spirit.

From the series ‘A community of hope’ on the book Acts of the Apostles.

How do we know from Acts that the revolution brought by the Holy Spirit is surprisingly inclusive? Owen Lynch concludes this series with reflection on views he grew up with on what it meant to be Christian, and what he thinks and feels about this now.

The story of Acts shows the spread of God’s kingdom beyond the boundaries set by religious and cultural expectations. Towards the end, Paul’s party encountered people who had no stake in Judaism or the dominant cultures of Greece and Rome. Was Paul bringing the Holy Spirit to them, or finding that the Spirit was already there? What does this mean for our part in this revolution of love, and what kind of inclusion we can expect?