Podcast appearances and mentions of steve burnhope

On Father's Day, Steve Burnhope preaches his final sermon as Interim Senior Pastor on the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Steve explains how — once we understand how Jesus' story would have been heard by its original audience, in that first century world — it's really the Parable of the Prodigal Father.

On the Sunday after the annual Vineyard national conference, Steve Burnhope talks about some of the things that he personally loves about being “Vineyard.” Not because we're better than anyone else (we're not) and certainly not because we get everything right (we don't), but just some of the features and characteristics of the Vineyard as “one vegetable in God's stew,” to add to its flavour (as John Wimber used to say).

Jesus' return to life on Easter Sunday after his death on the cross on Good Friday is the crucial event in the biblical story (the word ‘crucial' comes from the same root as ‘the cross'). If it really happened, it changed the shape of human history. But if it didn't, then no resurrection means no Christianity — no resurrection for Jesus means no resurrection for anyone. Jesus would be just another dead hero from history. He once asked his close friends, “Who do you say I am?” and it's the same question he's asking each of us, today. Steve Burnhope looks at how we might answer it this Easter.

In the final talk in our Big Questions mini-series, Steve Burnhope takes on a nice, easy one: How Do I Know God's Will for My Life? How does God ‘speak' to us and guide us in that? If even Jesus prayed, “I want your will to be done, not mine” (Matt 26:39), how are we supposed to get it right? Is it a detailed minute-by-minute plan, written for us before the foundation of the world ... or something else?

How are we supposed to understand Jesus being both God and man, all at the same time, in the same person? Was he like Superman and Clark Kent, maybe — and if not, why not? In this week's Big Question, Steve Burnhope explains how getting our heads around this mystery will revolutionise our understanding of who Jesus is and why that's so significant for our relationship with him.

Summary - What is Heaven like? What is Hell like? Who gets to go there and why? And what about people who've never heard about Jesus—what happens to them? So many questions! Steve Burnhope aims to simplify the whole thing and make sense of the ideas and the images that do the rounds in the Christian world—maybe with some surprising conclusions ...

This week's ‘Big Question' is what does it mean to have ‘faith'? Is it mental certainty? Is it the absence of any doubts? Is it claiming all the right Bible promises in the right way? How, as Christians, do we go about ‘living by faith'? Steve Burnhope suggests it all starts with reframing our perspective around faith as a ‘doing' word rather than a ‘thinking' word. When we ‘get' that, it liberates us from guilt and regret for not having had enough faith in the past and releases us to be a person of faith in the present.

The second talk in our Big Questions series is, “Why is there evil and suffering in the world? If there's a God, why does he allow it?” Steve Burnhope admits there's no easy answer, but just because we can't say everything doesn't mean we can't say anything. He offers ten thoughts that, though they may not be ‘the' answer, may offer us parts of an answer.

What is the ‘big story' of the Bible all about, cover-to-cover? And how can we explain it to people who don't speak our religious language or know the Bible stories and the Bible characters? Steve Burnhope suggest thinking of it like a Box Set — Seasons 1, 2 and 3 — with just 8 key words to remember.

Steve Burnhope takes a tongue-in-cheek look at how — if he was God, wanting to reveal himself to the world at Christmastime — there's a few things he might have done a bit differently. Things that, in his opinion, would have made the Christmas Story far more successful …

Looking to a variety of places in Scripture, Steve Burnhope shares the answer to "What does God want?" Hint: it has to do with love! About Steve Steve Burnhope received a Master of Arts degree in biblical interpretation (with Distinction) from The London School of Theology before completing a PhD in systematic theology at King's College London. He was formerly Senior Pastor of Aylesbury Vineyard Church in the UK and is now a writer, speaker and church consultant, especially within the Vineyard movement. He is currently serving as interim Senior Pastor of Sutton Vineyard, also in the UK. His most recent books are How To Read The Bible Well and Telling The Old, Old Story (In a Postmodern World). ++++++++++++++ If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment below

On episode 29, Luke Geraty and Wesley McLachlan are joined by Dr. Steve Burnhope to discuss Alan & Kathryn Sarah Scott's leadership, the disassociation of the Anaheim Vineyard, and the complexities of the recent lawsuit that has been filed against them. Plus we talk a bit more about the theological implications, honor culture, and more. If you missed episode 28 where Luke & Wes discussed this more, go here: https://youtu.be/fOYBWmVgfRc  ❇️ Recommended Relevant Reading ❇️ "Lawsuit: Vineyard Anaheim Exit Was About Money, Not Holy Spirit" https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/november/vineyard-anaheim-wimber-scott-lawsuit-dwelling-place.html The website from the plaintiffs https://friendsofvineyard.com/ The actual lawsuit document https://friendsofvineyard.com/files/002%202022.11.10%20Complaint.pdf Alan & Kathryn Scott "family update" https://dwellingplaceanaheim.com/familyupdate  "Carol Wimber's Letter to VA's Board"  https://vineyardanaheim.wordpress.com/home/carol-wimbers-letter-to-vas-board/ "Vineyard USA Statement on Anaheim Vineyard"  https://vineyardusa.org/update-from-vusa-regarding-vineyard-anaheim/ "Leading Church Exits Vineyard"  https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2022/march/vineyard-anaheim-disassociate-alan-scott-john-wimber-church.html "Why Anaheim's decision to leave the Vineyard is a betrayal of trust"  https://www.premierchristianity.com/opinion/why-anaheims-decision-to-leave-the-vineyard-is-a-betrayal-of-trust/12764.article "The Vineyard was built on friendship and shared values. Then a leading pastor split"  https://religionnews.com/2022/04/21/the-vineyard-was-built-on-friendship-and-shared-values-then-a-leading-pastor-in-anaheim-broke-faith/ "Vineyard Anaheim renamed the Dwelling Place after split: 'Not a departure from what has gone before'"  https://www.christianpost.com/news/vineyard-anaheim-renamed-the-dwelling-place-after-split.html "‘Extreme Betrayal': Flagship Vineyard Church Announces Split from Vineyard USA"  https://julieroys.com/extreme-betrayal-flagship-vineyard-church-announces-split-from-vineyard/ "VINEYARD ANAHEIM STATEMENT"  http://www.dirtyglory.org/blog/2022/4/1/vineyard-anaheim-statement "Bob Fulton's Letter to VA's Board"  https://vineyardanaheim.wordpress.com/home/bob-fultons-letter-to-vas-board/ "Penny Fulton's Letter to VA's Board"  https://vineyardanaheim.wordpress.com/home/penny-fultons-letter-to-vas-board/ "The Theological One About the Anaheim Vineyard"  https://www.thomascreedy.co.uk/the-theological-one-about-the-anaheim-vineyard/ "Be Like Lance"  https://lukegeraty.com/2022/03/21/be-like-lance/ "On Associations, Networks, & Denominations…"  https://lukegeraty.com/2022/03/23/on-associations-networks-denominations/ Steve Burnhope's books

Steve Burnhope, a Vineyard pastor-theologian, shares about what faith actually is -- trust!  About Steve Steve Burnhope received a Master of Arts degree in biblical interpretation (with Distinction) from The London School of Theology before completing a PhD in systematic theology at King's College London. He was formerly Senior Pastor of Aylesbury Vineyard Church in the UK and is now a writer, speaker and church consultant, especially within the Vineyard movement. He is currently serving as interim Senior Pastor of Sutton Vineyard, also in the UK. His most recent books are How To Read The Bible Well and Telling The Old, Old Story (In a Postmodern World). ++++++++++++++ If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment below

Steve Burnhope continues our series looking at what the Bible says about same-sex relationships and why it says it... This talk is in two parts and will continue next week. To watch the video go to our YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS_Jq9AGHq8s1XtXAGVskUQ

The truth is this: Christians need no permission in order to read God’s Word. God delights in speaking to his followers, as they read his Word. But there is another truth. We can also be very bad at reading the Bible. So how on earth are you and I ever going to be able to read the Bible well? A new book by Dr Stephen Burnhope speaks to and responds to this most enormous of challenges. How to let the Bible speak by itself and directly, but how we might also better navigate it with an understanding that we cannot obtain on our own. I this episode I interview Steve about this most amazing book How to Read the Bible Well: http://mybook.to/readbiblewell The Big Story of the Bible - talk by Steve Burnhope: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJzXSIECr-0 Steve Burnhope’s Blog: https://www.talkingofgod.com/conversation

In his final talk as Senior Pastor at Aylesbury Vineyard, Steve Burnhope explains what the word “Gospel” actually means and how Jesus, through the ways he lived, loved and challenged others, was the same good news to people 2000 years ago as he is to us today. Watch at https://vimeo.com/443859381

The Government and its advisors are telling us how to stay physically healthy, but how do we stay spiritually healthy? Steve Burnhope suggests five things — five questions we can ask ourselves every day — to “track and trace” how well we’re doing, both as individuals and as part of Christ’s Body, his Church. Watch at https://vimeo.com/440067489

Steve Burnhope looks at how God created us in his image — one of the ‘big themes’ that we see running through the Bible — and three major implications for what that means for us. Watch at https://vimeo.com/428881543

Steve Burnhope shares some thoughts from (Second) Isaiah’s prophetic words to Israel while they are in exile in Babylon, in Isaiah 40 through 55, to encourage us in our present situation. He then turns to the “invisible enemy” that the whole world is fighting, with some thoughts about how to handle another invisible enemy that many of us are facing at this time. NB The slightly cryptic title is explained at the start of the talk! Watch at https://vimeo.com/415861165

On episode 2, I sit down with Dr. Steve Burnhope to discuss a bunch of different theological topics, including how to address anti-intellectualism, hermeneutics, and issues connected to the Atonement & the New Perspective. Watch the episode on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/sb4ymCzAj50 With his wife Lyn, Steve is Senior Pastor at Aylesbury Vineyard, which is one of the larger Vineyard Churches in the UK. He has a Masters Degree in biblical interpretation from the London School of Theology and a PhD in systematic theology from King's College London. His PhD Thesis was published by Wipf and Stock in 2018 under the title "Atonement and the New Perspective: The God of Israel, Covenant, and the Cross" (https://amzn.to/2y4uWKA). For a summary of the Piper / Wright debate, influenced by Michael Bird, read what I wrote here: https://lukegeraty.com/2011/07/13/an-even-handed-third-way-between-piper-and-wright-michael-f-birds-jets-contribution/

In 1 Corinthians 13, the Apostle Paul says “these three remain: faith, hope and love,” but we don’t talk so much about the middle one. In the third and final talk in this mini-series, Steve Burnhope focuses on the meaning of “hope” in the Bible — that it’s not just “hoping for the best” — and how we want all three to be “remaining” in our lives during these challenging times. Watch at https://vimeo.com/408334637

Senior Pastor, Steve Burnhope, explains why he doesn’t think it’s his job to get people to believe in God … The talk was preceded by an edited version of this video: https://youtu.be/1Eh5BpSnBBw Watch the talk at https://vimeo.com/407949671

“If there’s a God, why do bad things happen? Why does God make them happen, or allow them to happen? Why doesn’t he stop them happening?” In the second talk of our current mini-series, Steve Burnhope offers some personal thoughts on these really difficult questions. Watch at https://vimeo.com/401960845

In the first of a three-part series, Steve Burnhope starts with a ‘one-point’ sermon instead of the traditional three: “Do not fear.” Why does God say that over and over again, throughout the Bible? 365 times, according to Rick Warren — one for every day of the year. Steve shares his thoughts on that big question, in these difficult times. Watch at https://vimeo.com/400026116

Did you know there are multiple ways to look at what actually happened on the cross? It turns out there are, and Lewis and Clark have got some help exploring them. The guys are joined by Dr. Steve Burnhope, Senior Pastor at Aylesbury Vineyard, and expert on the Atonement. For more check out: - Steve’s article: https://lewisandclark.world/s/Steve-Burnhope-Evangelical-Quarterly-Article.pdf - His talks at Aylesbury Vineyard: https://aylesburyvineyard.church/talks

In our most recent Baptism Services, Steve Burnhope explains six key features of baptism in the Bible — why we do it and what it’s all about. Watch at https://vimeo.com/396964970

Shortly before his death, resurrection and return to the Father, Jesus' prayer in John 17 is his ‘second most-famous’ prayer (after The Lord’s Prayer) and his longest. Two millennia on, Steve Burnhope invites us to think about why Jesus was so concerned for the future unity and oneness of his Body, and how — by being wise about the spiritual battle that unity involves — we can help that prayer to come about, if we’re willing to bear the cost. Watch at https://vimeo.com/392220183

Steve Burnhope takes inspiration from Philip Yancey’s best-selling book of the same title to look at God’s amazing grace which, when we really understand it, is ‘scandalous’, ‘outrageous’ and even, ‘dangerous’. He explains why it’s so important for us to ‘take the risk’ of ‘the scandal of grace’ being misunderstood — just as it was in New Testament times — and to avoid diluting it, rationing it, limiting it, or setting pre-conditions for it, however tempting that might be. Watch at https://vimeo.com/384569717

In our first Services of 2020, Steve Burnhope thinks about New Year resolutions and how throughout the Bible it seems that God is a God who delights in making things new — in his Church, in his world, and in our lives. He looks at the story of the Exodus, with the Israelites standing on the border of the Promised Land, and asks whether that’s a picture of where we ourselves may be at, as we stand on the brink of coming into all that God has for us in 2020. Watch at https://vimeo.com/383148958

Steve Burnhope’s 10-minute talk in this year’s Carol Services, where he talks about the central message of Christmas — that God himself became part of our story so that we could become part of his story. Watch at https://vimeo.com/379597185

At our once-a-year Thanksgiving Services, where we take up a special offering to invest in the work of the Kingdom, Steve Burnhope shares some thoughts as to how we should (and shouldn’t) think about financial giving, from Jesus’ famous ‘Sermon on the Mount’ (Matthew chapters 5 through 7).

Vision is being able to see in our imagination what the future can be like. Vision is being able to picture something in our hearts and minds that can happen and will happen if we play our part to make it happen. Vision is the bridge between the ‘now’ and the ‘not yet.’ God has a vision for us, vision for his Church and vision for his world — that he wants to share with us and invites us to join him in. Steve Burnhope offers a ‘checklist’ of six key features of what it means for each of us to be a person of vision.

In the lead-up to our annual Thanksgiving Services gift day on 17 November, Steve Burnhope shares some statistics of how the Church has grown over the past five years. He explains how, to accommodate our ‘growing family,’ we’ll be devoting this year’s offering to expanding the main Auditorium and creating three new rooms for Vineyard Kids, including a permanent Soft Play room. The talk includes a short video (starting at 17:05 minutes in) picturing what the main new areas will look like. Watch at https://vimeo.com/370931703

Continuing our Birthday Month, Steve Burnhope talks about some of the things he personally loves about the Vineyard. He starts with some ‘Vineyard theology’ and ‘Vineyard values’ that are shared throughout the movement — wherever one goes in the world — and finishes with some of the things he loves about Aylesbury Vineyard in particular. Watch at vimeo.com/367572533

Following on from his recent talk, ‘What Does It Mean to ‘Have Faith’?’ (Sunday 15 September 2019, https://soundcloud.com/aylesburyvineyard/what-does-it-mean-to-have-faith), Steve Burnhope goes on to ask, if ‘faith’ isn’t about having unshakeable mental certainty that something we want is going to happen, then ... what does it mean? How can we be people who pray confidently and expectantly? Watch at https://vimeo.com/363256767

Clearly, ‘faith’ is vital to being a Christian, but what is ‘faith,’ and how do we ‘live by’ faith? Does faith get prayers answered? Does too-little faith stop them being answered? Steve Burnhope runs through the problems with the standard way that many Christians think about faith — as striving for mental certainty, with no doubts allowed — before then explaining what biblical faith does in fact look like. Watch at https://vimeo.com/360135722

Wreaking havoc with the traditional church calendar, Steve Burnhope looks at Pentecost in September as we start this new term. Rather than Acts 2 inaugurating ‘speaking in tongues,’ as generally assumed, its significance is the inclusion of people of every nation, tribe, and language on equal terms ‘in Christ’ in the Kingdom of God, reversing what happened at Babel in Genesis 11, and foreshadowing heaven. He encourages us to be a church that commits to modelling Pentecost, not one that models Babel. Watch at https://vimeo.com/359365484

What does God want? What does he want from us, as people? Steve Burnhope runs through some of the options and then suggests three simple, easy-to-remember themes — repeated throughout the Bible — which sum up God’s perspective on that question. [Editor’s note: Steve was wrong about his new shirt; the style is Cuban, not Hawaiian, but try not to let that put you off …]

Fear comes in all shapes and sizes, including anxieties and phobias, with broad, deep and wide-ranging effects. As Christians, we should be both medically-informed and spiritually-aware. Steve Burnhope suggests how a biblical perspective can help us in handling fears in our own life, centred on five key biblical truths. Watch at https://vimeo.com/352108375

Steve Burnhope completes our short series of talks thinking about the Bible with a simple way of telling the story like a Box Set — Season One: the Old Testament, Season Two: the New Testament and Season Three: the on-going episodes in which we are invited to join the cast! Watch at https://vimeo.com/344079049

In this week’s episode, Steve Burnhope explains some of the “rules of the game” of biblical interpretation (how to make sense of what we’re reading, in the best possible way), which begins by respecting the original authors and audiences and understanding the way they thought and wrote. Starting with ‘how communication works’ (in every era, and culture) helps us see the difference between the ‘timeless truths’ God intended to give us and the ‘time-bound wrapper’ in which they are unavoidably packaged. Watch at https://vimeo.com/342850040

Steve Burnhope kicks off our latest three-week series of ‘Big Questions’ about Christianity and faith with another look at the Bible as the story of people and the story of God, intertwined. During these talks, he’ll be explaining how we can understand it the way that the original authors and audience would have understood it, and how it all hangs together as one big story from cover to cover. Sunday 9 June 2019

Steve Burnhope continues from last week’s talk (“What does it mean to ‘love Jesus’?”) and explores what it means to be ‘in a relationship’ with Jesus. He offers some practical suggestions for how we might go about that and the importance of creating space in the busy-ness of modern life. Watch at https://vimeo.com/339065668

The dictionary tells us that love is “An intense feeling of deep affection.” But as Christians, is that what God is wanting from us, or is it something more? Steve Burnhope suggests five key things to have on our personal checklist for what a biblical perspective on ‘loving Jesus’ looks like. Watch at https://vimeo.com/337261715

Steve Burnhope speaks from Ezekiel 47, where the prophet experiences a dramatic vision of a river of blessing flowing from the presence of God in the temple, a river that pictures an outpouring of the Holy Spirit, in which Ezekiel is invited to go deeper and deeper. Steve asks us the question that no doubt God was asking Ezekiel: “How far do you want to go? Just watching from the sidelines? Ankle-deep? Knee-deep? Waist-deep? Or plunging in, out of your depth?” Sunday 12 May 2019

Finishing our sermon series, The Story of Jesus, the Vineyard was pleased to have Steve Burnhope of the Aylesbury Vineyard all the way from England! Steve's message helped us have a better understanding of the practical present day significance of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection!  FOLLOW US: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/redbluffvineyardInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/redbluffvinyardTwitter: https://twitter.com/redbluffvineFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/VineyardRB/Podcast: https://redbluffvineyard.podbean.comWebsite: http://redbluffvineyard.church/

Steve Burnhope talks about the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, why we can trust the authenticity of the accounts of what happened on that first Easter Sunday, and the connection with being baptised. Watch at https://vimeo.com/332058278

Becoming a Christian is often thought of as a one-off ‘event’ — where everything is about crossing a boundary — moving from being ‘out’ to being ‘in.’ Steve Burnhope suggests that the reality is more complex and that for each of us, the ‘before’ and ‘after’ that pivotal moment is like a journey with waypoints — which in turn needs to impact how we think about the journey to faith of our friends. Watch at https://vimeo.com/326407314

The Bible never talks about Church as a building, or something we “go to.” But it has a lot to say about what it means for us to “be” Church, mostly through metaphors (or, ‘picture language’). Steve Burnhope looks at one of the New Testament’s favourite metaphors, ‘the body,’ and what it looks like for us to be putting that into practice in “being Church” together today. Watch at https://vimeo.com/321429324

In the third and final talk in our latest ‘Big Questions’ series, Steve Burnhope looks at how Jesus made us right with God. He starts with what the New Testament and Early Creeds tell us about that question and what the Bible means when it talks about Jesus ‘redeeming’ us, ‘ransoming’ us, ‘paying the price’ and becoming ‘a sacrifice’ for us. Finally, he addresses the widespread but mistaken assumption that the good news of the Gospel is — and ‘has to be’ — all about an angry God of wrath being placated and enabled to forgive only by punishing and killing his innocent Son instead. Watch at https://vimeo.com/319531070

In the second talk of our latest ‘Big Questions’ series, Steve Burnhope looks at the Old Testament passages that seem to command what we would now call the ‘genocide’ (or ‘ethnic cleansing’) of the Canaanites. Can these passages be reconciled with the Jesus of the New Testament who taught ‘love your enemies’ and if so, how? Watch at https://vimeo.com/317989717

Surveys showing declining church attendance have led to the media projecting the death of the Church in this country within the next 50 years, if not well before that. In the first talk of our latest ‘Big Questions’ series, Steve Burnhope explores whether the surveys are right. And if so, what the Church can do about it. Watch at https://vimeo.com/316434077

Many Christians assume that God does indeed have a detailed, individual plan for their lives — the only problem is, finding out what it is! Steve Burnhope looks at the famous verse of Jeremiah 29:11 together with some of the other things the Bible has to say about this important question! Watch at https://vimeo.com/312906729

Steve Burnhope talks about what it means to be the ekklesia (the New Testament Greek word for ‘the Church’) — a group of people who are both ‘called out’ and ‘gathered together.’ Watch at https://vimeo.com/309931643

At our Christmas Guest Services 2018, Steve Burnhope borrows from a Paris Hilton tweet earlier in this year and challenges our over-familiarity with the Christmas story. What we expect in the story, now, is very different to what the original first-century audience would have expected, then.

Steve Burnhope’s 10-minute talk from this year’s Christmas Carol Services: ‘Christmas Essentials’ … Sunday 16 December 2018

In the lead-up to our annual Thanksgiving Services, Steve Burnhope talks about money and giving. He starts with why it’s his ‘least-favourite talk of the year’ and then answers three questions: Why, as Christians, should we give at all? What does everyone’s giving go on, at Aylesbury Vineyard? And last but not least, what exciting things can we achieve in the coming months if everyone who is able to give does give? Watch at https://vimeo.com/299044054

Steve Burnhope talks about the Kingdom of God and explains the puzzle of how Jesus could say that the Kingdom had come already in his life and ministry, but, that it was still to come as well! Watch at https://vimeo.com/297697599

On the day we welcomed our friend Marc James as guest worship leader, Steve Burnhope spoke about … worship! Including, answering a question he’d been asked earlier that same week: “Does God have a bit of an ego problem? Why does he demand people worship him? Does he have some kind of deep-rooted insecurity, looking for praise and affirmation all the time?”

In the last of our current series on ‘Big Questions,’ Steve Burnhope looks at why — if God loves us and wants the best for us — we still face hardships in life. If ‘having faith’ is the key to health and prosperity (as some would say) then where are we going wrong? Steve looks at the life of the Apostle Paul for some clues ...

In the second of our latest Big Questions series, Steve Burnhope looks at the Bible. What’s it for? What’s the point of us having it? People sometimes say that it’s ‘God’s Instruction Manual’, but if so, which instructions? What makes a 2,000-plus year-old text relevant to today?

In the first of our latest series of ‘Big Questions’ about Christianity, faith and the Bible, Steve Burnhope looks at the Church. Jesus said, “I will build my Church” — but what sort of Church did he have in mind? How closely does that resemble what we see today? Is there a kind of Church that’s worth believing in…?

Steve Burnhope interviews Tanya Malpass about her experience of being diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour (with a prognosis of a twelve-month life-expectancy), how she found God in what happened, and how four years later she is alive and well and flourishing.

It’s interesting that neither Jesus nor the Apostle Paul used the term ‘Christian’ (or, ‘Christianity’) — and it only appears in three New Testament verses. By far the most common word is not ‘believer’ or ‘follower’ — rather, it’s ‘disciple’. But that’s an unfamiliar word today — so what does it mean? Steve Burnhope suggests five characteristics that are the difference between being a ‘disciple’ versus just a ‘believer’ or a ‘follower.’

Leading up to our summer Baptisms Service, Steve Burnhope explains the reasons why we do this strange and embarrassing thing called ‘baptism’, in front of all these people!

Both Paul and Peter talk about the church being ‘the Temple’ (1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Peter 2:4–5) — Steve Burnhope looks at how the Temple features and functions in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, and the exciting implications for what that means for us as the church today.

In the third and last of our most-recent series on some 'Big Questions' about the Bible and Christianity, Steve Burnhope looks at the options for how we think about the place of other religions in our multi-cultural postmodern society.

In the second of our latest ‘Big Questions’ series, Steve Burnhope talks about how we can understand the Bible as one overarching story from cover to cover — the story of God and us — and the big questions about life and God that that ‘big story’ is asking and answering.

Steve Burnhope looks at the biblical accounts of the Israelites about to enter the Promised Land, and of David’s encounter with Goliath, and asks whether we too have a ‘giant’ in our life that’s standing in the way of all that God has for us — the abundance, the fruitfulness and the joy and peace of our own ‘promised land’ in him. Just as David experienced, in Jesus we too are chosen, anointed and empowered to slay our giant and be free.

Was Jesus religious? Do you have to become religious to be a follower of Jesus? And if so, what does he want the religion that bears his name to look like? In a postmodern world where increasing numbers of people would call themselves ‘spiritual, but not religious’, Steve Burnhope looks to answer those questions from Jesus’ encounter with the woman accused of adultery in John 8.

The biggest question that Jesus asked his disciples was “Who do you say I am…?” He’s still asking each of us the same question today — so how will we go about answering it? Steve Burnhope shares some of his own journey of discovering Jesus and what it means to ‘become’ a Christian.

It’s relatively easy to picture in our minds God the Father, and Jesus the Son, but what does the Holy Spirit look like? He seems to be the mysterious one of the Trinity, especially since the Bible often speaks of him in impersonal terms like wind and breath. Steve Burnhope puts a biblical ‘face’ on the Holy Spirit and explains that actually, we do know quite a lot about him — and all the different aspects of who he is — in which he’d love us to get to know him!

Steve Burnhope continues our series on the ‘Big Questions’ by explaining more about the contemporary worldview and how we can be most effective in introducing postmodern people to Jesus.

Steve Burnhope explores some of the reasons why, in our postmodern world, increasing numbers of Christians are separating the idea of relationship with Jesus from relationship with his Church.

It’s easy to assume that living a ‘dedicated’ life is just for special people, like Mother Theresa, but Steve Burnhope argues that actually, we’re all dedicated — the only question is, to who or what. Everything in life is in competition for our devotion — not just the space we have left over, after the things we ‘have to’ do — and we may be surprised to see what’s winning!

In last week’s talk, Jesus is the Question, Steve Burnhope talked about the two questions Jesus asked his disciples: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Who am I to you?’ This week, he challenges us to switch them around and for us to ask Jesus those questions: ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Who am I to you?’

It’s remarkable how, in the Gospels, rather than just delivering answers Jesus spent so much time asking questions — up to 300 or more, by some counts. And apparently, he directly answered only three! Steve Burnhope suggests why this may have been, and invites us to think about the questions Jesus might be asking each of us, at the start of this New Year, 2018.

Steve Burnhope | 3rd December 2017