CROWD Church Livestream

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats Explained Ever walked past someone in need and hoped someone else would help? This one is about the things we don't do. About this episode We are continuing the Jesus the Revolutionary series, and this week Ade Birkby looks at the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:31-46, the last thing Jesus taught His disciples before He was arrested. Ade makes the case that we are sorted not by what we believe or say, but by how we treat the people most of us overlook, and that the goats are condemned not for cruelty but for apathy, for the good they simply never did. Hosts Matt Edmundson and Anna Kettle pick it up afterwards in Conversation Street, asking what a successful Christian life actually looks like and who the "least of these" are in an ordinary week. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to Crowd Church 01:20 Live Lounge and reading the comments 03:30 Remembrance Sunday and a prayer of thanks 06:38 The talk begins, what the research says about how we treat the poor 09:10 Reading Matthew 25:31-46 12:00 The context, why sheep and goats were separated at night 13:30 Hospitality as life or death, and "the nations" meaning the Gentiles 15:10 The Son of Man and the true shepherd (Daniel 7, Ezekiel 34) 17:20 God's very different measure of success 18:40 Holiness that doesn't keep records 19:40 The sin of omission, accused of what they didn't do 21:10 Jesus becomes the least of these 22:16 Conversation Street begins, how do we measure success? 27:38 Deep roots and the parable of the sower 28:39 Leading and lagging measures of a Christian life 32:29 Three depths of belief 40:25 The starfish story 42:45 Why giving your time changes you 44:00 Help, thanksgiving, generosity, a chain reaction 46:59 Do not grow weary in doing good 49:20 Wrap and Live Lounge Key references Matthew 25:31-46 , the sheep and the goats, Jesus separating the nations by how they treated the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the imprisoned (the main passage) Daniel 7:13-14 , the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven, given authority over all nations Ezekiel 34:12 , God Himself promising to shepherd and rescue His scattered flock 1 John 3:18 , "let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth" Micah 6:8 , "to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" James 2 , what good is faith without deeds, can such faith save them Quotes from the talk "Theirs is a sin of omission. They're not being accused of murdering or stealing or breaking the Ten Commandments. They're being accused of what they didn't do." - Ade Birkby "The righteous aren't keeping records. They didn't help people because they wanted to get something back. They simply saw a need and they acted in love." - Ade Birkby "He didn't just sympathise with suffering, He lived it. He died for the least of us. He died for the most of us. Quite frankly, those two terms aren't in His vocabulary." - Ade Birkby Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. It opened with a question from Sharon in the comments, how do we measure success, and is success really about loving God and loving other people? Ade answered that you measure it by the fruit, by the output, and he borrowed a bit of business language to make the point. The fruit of the Spirit is a lagging measure, something you only see after the fact, so he flipped it to the leading measures we can actually check day to day, are you spending time in the Word, praying, plugged into a community, serving it with a servant's heart. Anna agreed, adding that a successful Christian life for her looks like growing more loving, more patient, more generous, and being quicker to forgive and slower to anger, the kind of thing that only shows up over time. Several people helped sharpen what "success" means. Ellis pointed out that loving God and loving others is the greatest command, that a bit of honest self-reflection is a good thing, and that "Jesus mentioned visiting, so this doesn't cost a penny". Warren offered a definition worth keeping, "a successful Christian life is faithful to God and obedient to His word, and little is much when God is in it". Will Sopwith told a story from a kids' club where children were desperate to catch the leader's eye and show off their good behaviour for a reward, and asked whether we do the same with God, because non-transactional giving does not come naturally. Matt drew out three depths of belief, believing something that changes nothing (even the demons manage that), living your life by a belief, and living by it even when it costs you, and the parable tests the third. When the room turned to who the "least of these" actually are, Anna made the point that it is often not the obvious person, it might be a teammate having a hard week, the homeless person on the walk from the station, or the struggling single mum whose child is in your kid's class. And she added that giving your time and getting your hands dirty is usually worth more than sending money from a distance, both for the person and for your own heart. Ade left a challenge about Christmas, that charities turn volunteers away in December while going short the rest of the year, so don't be the "Christmas Christian". Ryan brought up the people in nursing homes we never think about and the loneliness epidemic among the elderly. Matt told the starfish story, the girl throwing stranded starfish back one at a time who can't save them all but makes a difference to that one, as an answer to feeling paralysed by the scale of the need. He also shared that he has visited a non-churchgoing neighbour every week for five or six years, often wondering if it helps, and the answer he keeps landing on is that what matters is showing up. Anna closed with an encouragement for anyone leaving the talk feeling they ought to do more. For those already serving faithfully, the word is simply do not grow weary in doing good, keep going and keep being faithful. And for the rest of us, Ade's question is a good place to start this week, where are the least of these in my life, and what can I do to help? Links Explore more and join the conversation at crowd.church https://www.crowd.church/talks/parable-of-the-sheep-and-the-goats Crowd Church, a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Does saying Jesus is the only way to God sound arrogant? Here is why it might be the most welcoming thing ever said. About this episode Sharon Edmundson looks at one of the boldest things Jesus ever said, that He is the only way to God. It is a claim that can feel narrow and exclusive to modern ears, so we explore why it was first spoken as a comfort rather than a challenge, and what it actually means for anyone weighing up faith for themselves. This is part of our Jesus the Revolutionary series, the run where we sit with some of His tougher teachings and ask what they really mean. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and the Live Lounge 02:59 The gnocchi story, is one way arrogant 05:00 I am the way, a relationship not a rulebook 06:13 Liar, lunatic or Lord 08:08 Our deepest problem, separation from God 09:37 Why it has to be Jesus 11:57 Why pick and mix never satisfies 13:30 What about those who have never heard 15:31 Words of comfort, not a challenge 17:15 Conversation Street When One Way Sounds Arrogant Sharon opens with a holiday in France, where an Italian friend offered to teach a group of them to make gnocchi. Her job was cutting the tomatoes, and she was told firmly there was only one right way to do it, which made no sense to her because it all ended up blitzed in the same pan anyway. How do you feel when someone says their way is the only way? Arrogant? Narrow-minded? The verse at the heart of this talk can sound like exactly that. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) In a culture that values many paths and many points of view, that one little word "the" can feel like a closed door. A Relationship, Not a Rulebook Other religions and philosophies tend to say "this is the way" and hand you a set of rules or a way of life to follow. Jesus says something stranger. He says "I am the way", offering Himself rather than a to-do list. So faith here is less a system to work through and more a relationship to step into. "He offers Himself, not just a list of things to do. He offers a relationship rather than a system or a roadmap." (Sharon Edmundson) Liar, Lunatic or Lord Some people are happy to file Jesus away as a good moral teacher and leave it there. Sharon borrows the well-known line from the writer C.S. Lewis, who argued that the claims Jesus made do not leave that option open. Either He was lying, or He was deluded, or He was telling the truth about who He is. Lewis put it like this. Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important. The Problem Underneath Everything Why would Jesus claim to be the only way? Because He is answering our deepest problem, and it is not the one we usually name. It is not the economy, or politics, or artificial intelligence, or other people being difficult. The Bible's word for the real problem is that without Jesus we are all spiritually dead. Death in the Bible means separation. Just as physical death separates the body and the spirit, spiritual death is being cut off from a relationship with God. What causes that gap is what the Bible calls sin, a religious-sounding word that simply means missing the mark, going our own way, and shutting God out. Ephesians describes it, and Romans puts it plainly, that the result of sin is death. Why It Has to Be Jesus Could God not just overlook it and let us off? Sharon uses the picture of a courtroom. If someone had seriously harmed your family and then asked the judge to drop it because they had also done plenty of good things, we would not call that justice. Doing good does not cancel out doing wrong. So Jesus steps in as the one go-between, the bridge between us and God. He takes the penalty Himself by dying in our place, and because He is perfect, death could not hold Him. It is no more arrogant than a doctor saying type 1 diabetes needs insulin and not paracetamol. If it is actually true, it is not narrow to say so. Why Pick and Mix Never Satisfies Sharon names something many of us do. We like to build our own spirituality the way we fill a pick and mix at the cinema, keeping the bits we enjoy and leaving the bits we do not. A little mindfulness here, a few crystals there, a carol service at Christmas. The appeal is obvious. We get to design something that never asks anything hard of us. The trouble is that a faith we curate ourselves can only ever confirm what we already believe. It can never challenge us or take us anywhere new. What About Those Who Have Never Heard This is the honest question the talk does not dodge, and Sharon is clear she does not have a tidy answer. She lays out three views that Christians hold, all argued from the Bible, and invites people to weigh them for themselves. The Exclusive view says a person needs to consciously hear about Jesus and believe, drawing on passages like Romans 10:14. The Inclusive view says someone who never had the chance to hear, but sincerely sought God, may still be saved through Jesus even without knowing His name, drawing on Romans 2:12-15. The Judgment According to Knowledge view says God does not condemn people for information they never had, and judges them by the truth that was actually available to them. Sharon flagged this as one to carry into Conversation Street rather than wrap up neatly. Words of Comfort, Not a Challenge To us these words can feel like a challenge, but in their original setting they were a comfort. Jesus said them in an upper room in Jerusalem, the night before He was killed, to a group of frightened and confused friends. He had told them He was leaving and that they could not come with Him yet. They said, in effect, we do not even know where you are going, how can we know the way? And that is when He said, I am the way. The brutal death He was about to walk into was the very thing that would make a relationship with God possible for them. It spoke straight to their biggest fear, and ours, with hope for this life and beyond it. Conversation Street Highlights After the talk, Dan Orange and Dave Connolly carried the conversation on with Sharon and everyone in the Live Lounge. A few threads stood out. Rules versus relationship. This was the thread the whole conversation kept circling. Dave made the point that for Jesus' first followers the old pattern was about keeping the law and the temple rituals, and that Jesus moves them from a set of rules to a living relationship. As he put it, we must be crazy to settle for rules over relationship. How easily we slip back into earning it. Sharon was honest that there is something in us that wants to earn our way and feel we deserve it. She pointed to Galatians, where Paul asks whether we received God's Spirit by doing good works or by simply believing what we heard. We receive the gift of life by trust, not by performance, and we are meant to keep living that way rather than switching back into trying to earn favour. Ellis named this from the Live Lounge too, admitting that fear can pull us towards rules, something most of us recognise. Sonia added that walking this way is not easy with everything going on around us, and Will said it plainly, that it is not an easy message and it is far more comfortable not to have to make an exclusive decision. God knows our hearts. Dave told the story of a parent wrestling a protesting toddler into a car seat, where the child ends up strapped in but, as he put it, "I may be sitting down on the outside, but on the inside I am standing up and still yelling." We can go through all the right motions with our hearts somewhere else entirely, and God sees that, so the invitation is to be real with Him rather than just keep Him sweet. The discipline of prayer and the word. Asked how you find the balance between resting in grace and still walking the way, Dave said that for him it comes down to two habits he was helped to build, reading the Bible and praying. It is not about how much you do, he said, but about genuinely engaging in the process of being with God. Sharon framed it as starting from the heart, beginning the day by asking "God, what are You saying to me today?" rather than ticking off a list of spiritual tasks. The Chosen and where to start reading. Sharon recommended the TV series The Chosen as a way of picturing Jesus as a real person who laughed, got angry, and hugged people who needed it, while being clear it is a dramatisation and not the Bible itself. For anyone wanting to open the Bible for the first time, Dan suggested starting with John's Gospel, since it is a gentle way in and it was John who described himself as the friend leaning on Jesus. Dan also likened that first step of faith to the leap across the chasm in Indiana Jones, where the bridge only appears once you put your foot out. Those who have never heard. Alicia raised good questions about people who never get to hear about Jesus, picking up the thread from the talk. The group did not force an answer, landing instead where Dan did, that God is the judge, He is good and true, and there is no one better to leave that question with. Kath shared that the talk helped her understand for the first time how sin and separation and death fit together. Key references John 14:6, the central verse ("I am the way, the truth, and the life") John 3:16-17, the invitation open to...

There's probably one thing you couldn't imagine letting go of. This conversation is about what that grip does to us. About this episode Mike Harris looks at the rich young ruler, the man who had kept all the rules and still walked away from Jesus sad because he couldn't let go of his money. It's an honest conversation about the things that get the biggest claim on our time, our trust and our wallets, and why that's rarely the stuff we'd point to in someone else first. Mike, Matt and Ade dig into self-sufficiency, grace, and the freedom that comes from seeing everything you have as a gift rather than something you earned. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and a hello to everyone in Live Lounge 04:58 Elon Musk, the first trillionaire, and what that much money actually looks like 06:30 Mark 10 and the man who comes running to Jesus 09:00 Why Jesus starts with "no one is good" 11:30 The idol hiding behind a good, moral life 14:00 Paul's radical idea of generosity in 2 Corinthians 8 18:00 Loved before the world began, from Ephesians 1 22:34 Conversation Street begins 24:00 Ellis realises he's the rich one 27:00 Ade on self-sufficiency and treating salvation like a purchase 30:00 Job, and learning that everything you have is a gift 35:00 Matt on asking "what's my response?" rather than pointing at the wealthy 40:00 An honest word about the prosperity gospel 45:00 Psalm 118:8 and where we run when things get scary Key references Mark 10:17-22, the rich young ruler (also told in Matthew 19 and Luke 18) 2 Corinthians 8:12-14, giving until there's equality Ephesians 1:4-8, chosen before the world began Psalm 118:8, taking refuge in the Lord Philippians 4:19, God meeting our needs John 3:16, the God who gives The book of Job, via The Bible Project Timothy Keller on the first commandment Quotes from the talk "Jesus had everything, and rather than seek equality, Jesus gave up everything so that we who deserved nothing could have everything He deserved." - Mike Harris "God is not against us being rich, but when we are rich, He wants to know that this is a gift from Him." - Mike Harris "You can't give away your God. So if money is your god, you can't give it away." - Matt Edmundson What this isn't This isn't a message about money being wrong, and it isn't anyone at Crowd asking you to give your money away or to give it to the church. It's a much simpler question than that. Where might God be leading you to be generous this week, with your time, your things or your money? Links Find out more and join the conversation at crowd.church . What's the Story, the Crowd Church podcast where people share their story of faith, is at crowd.church and on all the usual podcast players. Crowd runs an Alpha Course exploring the big questions of faith. The current group is wrapping up, with a new course starting in the new year. Details are on the website. Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Ever felt like life doesn't really start until you've found the one, or that a wedding ring would finally fix the loneliness? This one is about that. About this episode We are continuing the Jesus the Revolutionary series, and this week Dave Connolly looks at what Jesus actually says about marriage and singleness in Matthew 19:1-12. Dave takes on the cultural lie that someone out there will complete us, and walks through why relationships are a gift rather than the source of our identity, security or salvation. The hard stuff is here too, marriage breakdown, divorce, the pressure single Christians often feel, with a clear caveat that faithfulness never means tolerating abuse. Hosts Matt Edmundson and Anna pick it up afterwards in Conversation Street, with three generations of marriage in the room. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome to Crowd Church 05:03 The talk begins, When Romance Isn't Enough 05:27 Matthew 19 and God's design for marriage 08:31 Marriage is covenant, not a consumer contract 10:30 The question isn't "am I happy" but "am I becoming like Jesus" 12:56 Christ loved the church, sacrificial love (Ephesians 5) 15:43 Singleness and undivided devotion (1 Corinthians 7) 16:32 Your value is found in Christ, not your relationship status 19:09 Church as family, making room at the table 22:30 Marriage points to Christ and the church 24:00 Don't ask a person for what only Jesus can give 26:23 Come to me, all who are weary (Matthew 11:28) 26:54 Christ is enough 28:25 Conversation Street begins 31:41 Is there really just one person for you? 36:15 Matt's word-of-knowledge story 37:30 Married "with the exit sign lit up", divorce and grace 44:00 Picking up singleness 45:14 The loneliness question 46:55 Anna on a fruitful season of singleness 54:22 What does the Bible say about dating? 59:37 Wrap and Live Lounge Key references Matthew 19:1-12 , Jesus questioned about marriage and divorce, pointing back to God's original design (the main passage) Matthew 19:6 , "what God has joined together, let no one separate" Ephesians 5:25-32 , Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, marriage as a picture of Christ and the church 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 , singleness and the opportunity it gives for undivided devotion to the Lord Romans 12:5 , we are one body in Christ and individually members one of another Matthew 22:30 , "in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage" Matthew 11:28 , "Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest" Quotes from the talk "Your value is not determined by whether somebody has chosen you romantically. Your value is found in Christ." — Dave Connolly "Nobody is better than anybody, because anybody can be the wrong body." — Dave Connolly "There's three people in a Christian marriage, Christ should be right at the centre of it." — Dave Connolly Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. There were three generations of marriage round the table, Dave at 47 years with Julie, Matt at 28 with Sharon, and Anna at 13 and a half with Andy. Matt and Sharon actually did their marriage prep with Dave and Julie, and Matt reckons marriage prep is the single best thing you can do before you marry. The first big question was whether there is just "the one". Anna does not buy it, she doesn't think God's plan for our lives is that narrow, and she pointed to how redeeming he is across the choices people make. She married at 33 and is pretty sure it would not have worked at 21, because both she and Andy were too immature then, so timing and maturity matter. Matt added a nuance, there may not be one single person you are destined to marry, but once you are married there is only one person to be married to. You choose one, and you act like it. He told the story of a men's meeting where he sensed God flag that someone was having an affair, and the man later told him "God told me the affair's okay because I married the wrong person." Matt's point was simple, God is not going to okay something he has clearly said is wrong. A lot of the conversation sat with divorce and grace. Dave remembered a divorced woman wondering whether she could ever marry again, and his answer was that God is gracious and kind and does not want us living under judgment. Matt put his own theology plainly, don't get divorced, but if you have, God's grace and redemption are still there and you are not shut out of church life. As he said, there is nothing so broken that God can't redeem. Both of them were careful to carry the caveat that if someone is being abused, the first thing is to get safe. They were honest that almost anything in a marriage is fixable, but it takes both people wanting to work at it. That lifts the shame off anyone who has been trying to carry it alone, one person working hard cannot fix it on their own. Anna shared how she and Andy saw a Christian therapist through a season of grief and baby loss, and how it helped not just that season but every season since. The encouragement that kept coming back was to get support early, be humble and ask for help at the first bump in the road rather than waiting for crisis point. Singleness got proper airtime too, not as a footnote to the marriage chat. Anna was single through most of her 20s and felt the pressure, from family wanting grandkids and the sense as a woman that time was ticking, and a good deal of it came from Christians who treated marriage as the ultimate goal. What changed things was getting her attitude right, trusting God with the timing and asking what she could do now rather than pining for what she did not yet have. It became a season of real fruitfulness. She lived in a shared house with seven or eight other single adults, several of whom became Christians and are still walking with God, and she named a depth of discipleship and proximity you cannot have once you are married. Intentionality was the word she kept coming back to. Dave and Julie modelled the other side of it, always having single people round after church, not to "represent the singles" but because of who they are, making room at the table. The last question was about dating "according to the Bible". Dave drew out the very different ancient culture, the move from a man making inroads to betrothal, then preparing a room at his father's house until the father said it was ready, which ties into the second coming and Jesus preparing a place for us. Anna was clear that dating is a modern construction but still valuable, as long as it is done with boundaries, purpose, intentionality, prayerfully, honouring the other person, and with accountability to people you trust. Dave added the Bible's steer about not being unequally yoked, a Christian and a non-Christian will hit real issues, and Anna rounded it off with the observation that you can be unequally yoked even as two Christians, through plain incompatibility. The takeaway they landed on, you are not defined by your relationship status, married or single. Links Explore more and join the conversation at crowd.church Curious about faith, or just have a lot of questions? The Alpha Course is running now on Wednesday evenings, and it is still fine to join partway through. Get in touch through the website. Crowd Church, a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Ever held onto a grudge that felt completely justified, yet somehow it was you who felt worse? This one is about that. About this episode We are continuing the Jesus the Revolutionary series, and this week Ade Birkby joins us from North Wales to look at one of the harder things Jesus said, love your enemies (Matthew 5:43-48). Ade starts with the real cost of holding onto resentment, the toll it takes mentally, physically and socially, then digs into what Jesus actually meant, and why forgiveness is something we choose rather than something we feel. Hosts Sharon Edmundson and Mike Harris pick it up afterwards in Conversation Street, where the stories and honest questions keep coming. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and introductions 02:36 The talk begins, the real cost of holding onto resentment 16:36 Conversation Street begins 18:52 Sharon on not realising she had been holding unforgiveness 21:54 Mike on resentment building toward people who had hurt his wife 24:03 Sharon's difficult neighbour, and choosing grace over defending herself 26:33 A book that helps you feel it before you forgive 27:23 Mike on naming the debt you feel you are owed 29:35 Corrie ten Boom and the concentration camp guard 34:34 The parable of the unforgiving servant 41:51 Loving your enemies does not mean being a doormat 43:11 Why forgiveness and reconciliation are not the same thing 51:09 Ade on the fruit of the Spirit as a simple self-check Key references Matthew 5:43-48 , love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you (the main passage) John 13:34 , "love one another as I have loved you", which Ade frames as God's definition of love Luke 6:27-28 , love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who mistreat you Matthew 6:14-15 , if you forgive others, your heavenly Father will forgive you Matthew 5:9 , blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God Galatians 5:22-23 , the fruit of the Spirit, which Ade used as a self-check in Conversation Street Matthew 5:23-24 , leaving your gift at the altar to go and reconcile first, a verse raised in the chat The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18), which Sharon tied the teaching back to Forgive, Release and Be Free by Joff Day, a book Sharon has recommended for years, on properly acknowledging how you feel before trying to forgive Quotes from the talk "Resentment can promise protection, but it ultimately imprisons us." — Ade Birkby "Forgiveness stops the cycle of harm for harm, restores relationships, and brings inner peace." — Ade Birkby "Forgiveness is not an emotion but an act of the will enabled by God." — Corrie ten Boom, as retold by Mike Harris Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. Sharon opened up about a time she had not even realised she was holding unforgiveness, until someone asked her if she was angry. She had been seeing the person through a lens where everything they did looked bad. When she finally forgave them, it was as though they became an amazing, fabulous person, and yet they had not actually changed at all. Only the way she saw them had. Mike shared how resentment had built up in him toward people who had been unkind to his wife Deb, people he had never even met. It was Deb who wanted to pray for them first, and he would reluctantly join in. Praying for someone, he found, slowly begins to change your own heart toward them. A lot of the conversation sat with the gap between stopping the resentment and actually praying for the person. Talita named it well, that it is hard to bridge. Sharon and Mike agreed there is a step we often skip, which is honestly acknowledging how we feel first, rather than squashing it down and trying to jump straight to love. Mike put it in terms of naming the debt, pausing to ask what you actually feel you are owed before bringing it to God. Ellis was honest about finding it hard to let things go, saying it can feel like you are letting the other person win. Mike's response was that someone has to pay the debt, and the only real answer is remembering how much we ourselves have been forgiven. The centrepiece was the story of Corrie ten Boom, the Ravensbrück survivor who came face to face, in a church after the war, with one of the cruellest guards from the camp where her sister had died. He asked for her forgiveness. She could not summon it in her own strength, so she prayed, "Jesus, help me," and made the willed choice to take his hand. As she did, she felt God's love flood through her. Mike drew out the point that our own ability to forgive something that deep can be zero, and it is only God enabling us that makes it possible. The conversation also cleared up two things people often get stuck on. Forgiving someone does not mean being a doormat, as Ade put it, you can step back from toxic or unsafe people, treat them with respect, and still not be obliged to please them no matter what. And forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. Forgiveness is something you can do in your own heart whatever the other person does, while reconciliation needs change from both sides and is not always safe or appropriate. Alicia added a gracious note here, that forgiveness does not mean you have failed if you cannot forget or reconcile. Ros summed up the heart of it simply, that forgiveness is life-changing, and releasing it is an incredible thing to be able to do. Ade closed with a tangent that turned into a helpful tool, Galatians 5:22-23. The fruit of the Spirit does not list frustration or grievances, so a simple check in any situation is to ask whether what you are feeling is on that list, and if it is not, there is probably something to deal with. Links Explore more and join the conversation at crowd.church Curious about faith, or just have a lot of questions? The Alpha Course is running now on Wednesday evenings, and it is still fine to join partway through. Get in touch through the website. Crowd Church, a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Dan Orange takes us to one of the most human moments in John's Gospel, the woman dragged in front of Jesus after being caught in adultery, with a crowd already holding their stones. It is a story about shame, about being exposed at your worst, and about what happens when the one person with every right to condemn you chooses not to. Dan pulls on a thread, the finger of God writing in the dust, and traces the only other places it shows up in the Bible. Along the way he asks a simple question, where does your hope actually sit. Matt Edmundson and Anna Kettle pick it up afterwards in Conversation Street, with the community joining in live. This one is not about forgiving yourself. It is about receiving the forgiveness God is already holding out to you. Timestamps 00:07 Welcome, and who's in Live Lounge 04:08 How Conversation Street works 05:58 Reading John 8, and why this passage is a bit controversial 07:04 It takes two, so where was the man 09:49 The finger of God, and the only other times it writes 12:05 What did Jesus write in the dust 12:54 Jesus came to fulfil the law, not scrap it 16:47 The shame you think is too far gone to forgive 18:31 Why the word saved still matters 19:51 Conversation Street begins, and taking the shame away 23:56 Four people in the story, and the roles we've all played 26:15 Why adultery was such a big deal, forgiveness and accountability 28:18 A graceless culture, and what "go and sin no more" really means 30:26 Does working out right and wrong stress you out 33:27 Conviction that frees you rather than catches you out 34:14 Failure as a teacher, and not getting trapped by shame 37:53 Bringing what's hidden into the light 39:08 The religious leaders, and catching other people out 45:26 Paul, the Holy Spirit, and why it's easier to turn a moving car 48:50 The journey matters more than the destination 52:34 King David, consequences, and rebuilding identity on grace 55:07 Why Jesus bent down instead of picking up a stone 56:59 Final thoughts, and what's coming up at Crowd Key references John 8:2-11 , the woman caught in adultery, dragged before Jesus (the main passage) Exodus 31:18 , the Ten Commandments written with the finger of God on tablets of stone, including "you shall not commit adultery" Daniel 5 , the writing on the wall at Belshazzar's feast, "you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting" Matthew 5:17 , "I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them" John 3:16-17 , God sent His Son not to condemn the world but so that it might be saved through Him Romans 10:11 , "everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame", the verse Dan closed on Genesis 3 , Adam hiding in the garden, "I hid because I was naked", which Matt tied to the woman's shame 2 Samuel 11-12 , King David's affair and its consequences, and how Jesus still came through that bloodline Acts 16:6-7 , the Holy Spirit constraining Paul mid-journey, Matt's picture of God redirecting us as we go Dan noted that Wes Huff has spoken about the manuscript history of this passage, and that the aside about being "weighed in the balances and found wanting" is older than the Mumford and Sons song that borrows it Quotes from the talk "If we're drowning, we need to be saved. We need to be given help. Anything less just isn't going to be enough." — Dan Orange "The men wanted to end this woman's life just to win an argument, but Jesus wanted to save it because He's the Lord of mercy." — Dan Orange "Sometimes we need to fail to see we can't make it on our own." — Dan Orange Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. Matt opened by counting the people in the scene, Jesus, the woman, the man who is nowhere to be found, the religious leaders, and the crowd standing by with stones. Anna made the point that most of us have played every one of those parts at some point. Jesus saves His sharpest challenge not for the woman caught in sin, but for the leaders pointing the finger. That led into something the modern world finds hard to hold together, forgiveness and accountability. Anna said forgiveness is not letting someone off the hook so they can carry on as before, it is being let off the hook so you can be changed by it. As she said, "you're forgiven, but also do better in future". Matt named the culture we actually live in, one that is quick to cancel and slow to show grace, and where "go and sin no more" sounds almost foreign. The conversation turned honestly to shame. Matt described two ways it traps us, the person who shrugs it off and thinks they have got away with it, and the person so buried in it that they cannot show their face. Dan's encouragement was to bring whatever it is into the light rather than hide it away, naming things like pornography that people carry in secret. "Don't let that shame keep you from Him, because He's seen it anyway. He knows". Katharine asked whether it gets stressful trying to work out what is right and wrong in God's eyes. The three of them agreed it does not have to be. On the big things, God tends to be clear, and inside those boundaries there is a surprising amount of freedom and choice. Ellis admitted the pressure of not wanting to misread what God is asking. Matt's reply was that it is harder to miss God's will than we fear when our heart is set on pleasing Him, and that God can handle our failure far better than our refusal to move at all. Alicia added in the comments that "failure can be an effective teacher as long as shame doesn't overtake the impact", and that we can even fail in things that were right to attempt. Matt picked it up, noting how much of his own business life has grown out of what looked like failure at the time. Dan and Matt both leaned on the idea that it is easier to turn a car when it is moving. Matt told the story of Paul setting out on a mission trip he had prayed over, only to feel the Holy Spirit redirect him along the way. Anna widened it out, saying the longer she lives the less it feels about rushing from A to B and the more it is about the journey itself, like the Israelites learning to trust God across years in the desert. They did not dodge the hard part. King David committed adultery and worse, and there were real consequences, yet grace and forgiveness were there too, and Jesus still came through that family line. In the same way, the woman would have walked back into a community that knew her story. What had changed was her foundation. Her sense of who she was could now rest on the fact that Christ did not condemn her, that she was no longer defined by her worst moment but called beloved. Dan closed on the detail that Jesus bent down twice rather than staring the woman down or picking out a ringleader. He let people face their own conscience. The one person in the crowd with the right to throw a stone was the one who sat down instead. Ade wondered aloud whether Dan was actually an AI, which became the running joke of the night after Dan confessed he barely blinked through his last talk. Alicia confirmed he blinked plenty this time. Where to go next Everything about Crowd Church is at crowd.church . We're running Alpha , a relaxed online course for anyone exploring the Christian faith, with room for honest questions. It's not too late to join, and you can register on the website. Join us live on a Sunday and stay for Live Lounge , a Zoom room where you can carry the conversation on with real people at go.crowd.church/livelounge . Midweek community groups, baptism classes and a new guide on how to read the Bible are all on the website too. Crowd Church, a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Ever scrolled your feed and felt like everyone else was handed more than you? This one is about that feeling. About this episode We are continuing the Jesus the Revolutionary series, and this week Ade Birkby joins us from North Wales to look at the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and how it speaks to comparison culture. It is a story about a master who hands out staggering amounts of money before going away, and what his servants do with what they were given. Ade opens with the very modern problem of comparing our lives to everyone else's online, then shows why the one servant who buried what he had got the wrong end of the stick. Hosts Will Sopwith and Dan Orange pick it up afterwards in Conversation Street. Timestamps 00:07 Welcome and sorting out the tech 03:10 Alpha Course and how to get involved at Crowd 05:49 Comparison culture and what the research shows 07:17 What the UK study reveals 08:48 Reading the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) 12:58 What a talent was actually worth, and why the generosity is the point 14:59 Why the buried talent was called wicked, and the revolution behind it 16:57 The third servant's real failure started with comparison 19:30 Messy, risk-taking faith, and the reward that follows 20:51 Bringing it back to our own lives 23:49 Ade's challenge, it's not what you got, it's how you use it 24:13 Conversation Street begins 24:25 Dan on doing the next thing God asks, rather than comparing 31:26 Ade's own story, saying yes to leadership at Crowd 35:16 What messy faith really looks like from the inside 42:18 Alicia on testimonies and 20/20 hindsight 42:39 Dan's answered prayer, a family holiday they never expected Key references Matthew 25:14-30 — the Parable of the Talents (the main passage) Matthew 24 — Jesus foretelling the destruction of the temple, the tense moment just before this parable Matthew 25 as a whole — the three parables together (the ten virgins, the talents, and the sheep and the goats), which Ade frames as heart, stewardship and action Ecclesiastes 5:19 — being content with your lot as a gift from God Psalm 143:10 — "Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God" Romans 12:2 — "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind" The 1980s film Cannonball Run II , source of Ade's line "it's not what you got, it's how you use it" Inspired , the podcast Dan mentioned about everyday Christians around the world Quotes from the talk "The size of our assignment is completely irrelevant. The integrity of the stewardship of that assignment is everything." — Ade Birkby "God prefers messy, risk-taking faith over this safe, sterile, passive faith." — Ade Birkby "It's not what you got, it's how you use it." — Ade Birkby Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. Dan Orange picked up the comparison thread straight away, sharing something he had heard that week on a podcast about everyday Christians. The advice that stuck with him was simple, just ask God what is next and do what is next, rather than looking around at everyone else and measuring yourself against them. Will Sopwith noticed how eager the servant with five bags of gold was, diving in even though the amount could have felt overwhelming, while the servant who buried his talent seemed to have the wrong picture of the master altogether. Both Will and Dan kept coming back to the same point, that the reward was the same for the two who had a go, because it was never really about the amount. Ade shared his own story of saying yes when he did not expect to. When he and his wife Sonia came to Crowd, they were worn out and disillusioned after years in various churches, and had decided they would simply attend and nothing more. Eighteen months to two years on, they are running a midweek group, starting a prayer meeting and speaking almost monthly. When the opportunity came and they prayed about it, they knew it was what God was asking, so they said yes. The idea of messy faith clearly resonated with people watching. Ade offered a helpful angle on it, that the testimonies we admire looked messy from the inside too. The people living them often felt like they were going by the seat of their pants, even when the story sounds clear and tidy afterwards. Alicia caught this well in the chat, commenting that "testimonies have the benefit of 20/20 hindsight", and that it is far easier to see how God was moving once we are out of the fire than while we are still in it. Dan closed with an answered-prayer story of his own. Last year the family had saved for a holiday in Spain, only for it to be cut short after three days when his wife's mum needed emergency open-heart surgery. Flying home, they prayed together as a family for the chance to go away again the following year. His mother-in-law recovered well, and months later a customer unexpectedly offered the family his villa, with someone else giving money for flights and spending two weeks before they left. Dan's takeaway was to write these things down, so you can look back and see God's answers to prayer. Links Explore more and join the conversation at crowd.church Curious about faith? The Alpha Course is running now, and it is still fine to join partway through. Get in touch through the website. Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church.

When You Feel Like You Don't Belong Ever walked into a room where everyone else seems to fit, and you're the one on the edge? What this talk is about Most of us have felt like an outsider at some point. The party where you got left standing on the edge, the new job, the group where everyone else seemed to know the rules. Mike Harris starts there, with two honest stories of his own, and then walks through the Bible to show something surprising. Nobody is excluded from God's love, and Jesus keeps moving toward the very people everyone else moves away from. What's covered Mike opens with two times he has felt like he didn't fit in. Turning up underdressed at a meeting where everyone else was in suits, and a school disco where a girl he asked for a slow dance pushed him away after about a minute ("I've never done a slow dance that fast before"). They are funny stories, but the feeling underneath them is not. Feeling left out, excluded, or like you don't have what it takes to belong is genuinely hard. From there, Mike walks through three stories of God pulling outsiders in. Mary Magdalene was a woman with a difficult past, healed by Jesus, and someone society counted as a lesser witness at the time. Yet she is the first person Jesus appears to after rising from the dead, and the first to announce He is alive. Mike points out this is also a good reason to trust the Gospels are honest accounts. Nobody inventing a story back then would have chosen women as their first witnesses, because their testimony was not even accepted in court. Ruth was a Moabite, an outsider, a poor widow's daughter-in-law who gave up her people and her future to look after Naomi. Her sacrifice ends with her marrying Boaz, and Ruth, Boaz and Rahab (a prostitute) all being written into the family line of Jesus. The leper in Matthew 8 was forced to live outside the town, ringing a bell to warn people away. Jesus's response is to reach out and touch him. The one thing nobody would do. God seems to have a beeline for outsiders. And the people He was angriest with were the religious leaders who built the whole insider and outsider system in the first place. Then comes the turn. Mike gets honest about sitting in a group of people whose lives looked nothing like his own, and catching himself thinking, you are so different to me. His conclusion is that the work of making people feel welcome does not start with the chairs, the food, or the banners. It starts in us, and in remembering that we were once the outsider Jesus loved. Bible passages we look at John 20:1-18 (Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb) The book of Ruth Matthew 8:1-4 (Jesus and the leper) Romans 8 (nothing can separate us from God's love) Romans 12:2 (be transformed by the renewing of your mind) 2 Samuel 9 (Mephibosheth given a seat at the king's table) 1 Corinthians 5 (church discipline, and why its heart is still to bring people back) Conversation Street highlights After the talk, Matt and Sharon Edmundson opened it up, and this is where it went deep. The topic itself came from Sonia , who suggested it. Sharon shared that as a child she felt like she never fit in and never quite understood how life worked, which raised the question the hosts kept circling. Is there anyone who has not felt like that? Matt owned his own version, bullied for a season growing up until his mum sent him off to learn judo. The comments carried real wisdom too. Ellis wrote, "Great topic. As someone who feels like an outsider in literally every aspect of my life, it's always interesting to me when the Bible speaks of putting the lonely in families." Ellis also prompted the question the hosts spent the most time on, how someone who feels like an outsider comes to see that they aren't. Alicia wrote, "Positioning our hearts to include others certainly involves a lot more than positioning chairs," which Matt called the line of the night. Talita wrote, "It sure feels welcoming here. Thank you, everyone." A few of the threads worth pressing into: Welcome versus endorsement. Matt named the elephant in the room. Church often reads as unwelcoming because people hear it as, you don't endorse my lifestyle, so you don't welcome me. What we see in Jesus is someone who welcomes people without endorsing everything, and who deals with knowing you first. You don't have to come whole. As Matt put it, "if you're waiting for that, you never make it." Come as you are. Loved as we are, loved too much to be left there. Mike quoted someone wiser than him, "God loves us just as we are, but He loves us so much He's not prepared to leave us that way." All of us are accepted, and all of us are being called to change. Where church has hurt people. Sharon raised the harder truth that the global church has not always been good at the outworking, and wondered aloud about the people who have slipped through the cracks. Mike added that when we only ever show our best face, like we do on social media, someone broken walks in, sees a room full of seemingly perfect people, and quietly leaves. The challenge is to wear our scars as openly as our wins. What repent actually means. Sharon asked for a plain definition, because not everyone knows the word. The Greek behind it is a change of mind. As Matt put it, "it's simply turning around, going the opposite way." Specifically, letting God change how you think about your life. A seat you didn't earn. Matt told the story of Mephibosheth, the disabled grandson of Saul, living in a place called Lo Debar and certain the king would have him killed, instead handed back his land and given a permanent seat at David's table. "That's you. That's me." The ticket that included the meal. Matt shared the parable of a man who spent everything he had on a ticket across the ocean, then ate scraps outside the dining room because he thought he couldn't afford the food, not knowing the meals were included all along. We often do the same with everything God has already given us. Why Jesus moved toward the leper. Mike put it beautifully. Normally the leprosy would spread to the healthy person. Instead, "Jesus's holiness infected the leper" and healed him. His holiness is what draws Him toward broken people, not away from them. Quotes from the talk "Nobody is excluded from God's love." — Mike Harris "The work is not about positioning chairs. The work actually has to start in me, and I have to remember that at one point I was an outsider, and it was when I was an outsider that Jesus looked down and loved me." — Mike Harris "Jesus moves toward people whom others move away from. He gives dignity before people have earned it, fellowship before people have fixed everything, and truth that invites a new life rather than shame that pushes people further away." — Matt Edmundson Where to go next Everything about Crowd Church is at crowd.church . We've just started Alpha , an online course that explores the Christian faith with plenty of room for questions. It's not too late to join, and you can register on the website. Join us live on a Sunday and stay for Live Lounge , where you can carry on the conversation with real people at go.crowd.church/livelounge . Midweek community groups are one of the best places to meet people and feel like you belong. Details are on the website. This Episode:. https://crowd.church/talks/when-you-feel-like-you-dont-belong Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church.

What Does John 16:33 Mean? Trouble, and Taking Heart Did everything right and life still fell apart? You are not alone, and it might not mean what you fear. About this episode Sharon Edmundson opens the tougher teachings of Jesus with one of His hardest promises — "in this world you will have trouble." It is not a verse anyone pins on their wall. But Sharon makes the case that it is actually good news, because the same sentence ends "take heart, I have overcome the world." This is honest talk about why following Jesus doesn't hand you a trouble-free life, why that isn't a sign you've failed, and how to hold on when the answers don't come. Anna Kettle and Dave Connolly carry the conversation on from there, with the community joining in live. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome, and the first-ever Live Lounge 02:14 The verse nobody pins on their wall — John 16:33 04:00 Following Jesus does make some of life fall into place 05:30 Three kinds of trouble, and what the word actually means 07:30 Why a promise of trouble is genuinely encouraging 09:00 Take heart — He has overcome the world 11:00 Two people, same God, different outcomes 13:30 The mystery we don't get to solve this side of eternity 15:42 Conversation Street begins 18:00 Tyler Staton at Wildfires — the temporary fix and the eternal one 20:28 Daniel 3 and the "even if not" faith 24:13 Falling away, shallow roots, and the parable of the sower 25:18 The cheap gospel warning 28:10 Taking responsibility for your own foundations, and the Alpha course 32:01 What keeps you with God when trouble hits 36:33 Ruth Richardson's story 38:54 Community questions from Alicia, Ellis and Talita 44:16 Can you lose your salvation 50:06 Trouble isn't always God's will — a word for anyone unsafe Key points Jesus promised trouble, and that changes how you carry it Sharon starts with John 16:33 — "in this world you will have trouble." Not might. Will. For anyone who assumed faith would smooth everything out, that lands hard. But Sharon reframes it as a kindness. If we believe being a Christian guarantees a trouble-free life, then when trouble hits we blame ourselves, or doubt whether God loves us, and we can throw our faith away for no reason. "It doesn't even say you might have trouble, it says you will." — Sharon Edmundson Trouble doesn't automatically mean you've done something wrong It doesn't mean you haven't prayed enough Sometimes it comes precisely because you are following Jesus There is more than one kind of trouble Sharon walks through the different sorts. There is the trouble we bring on ourselves through our own choices. There is broken-world trouble — illness, grief, miscarriage, the endless job search, abuse — the kind that hits everyone regardless of what they believe. And there is the trouble that comes as a cost of faith, from Paul's beatings and prison to the milder cultural pressure and workplace friction believers can face in the UK today. Ephesians 6 adds that some of it is a spiritual battle we can't see. Take heart, because He has overcome the world The verse doesn't stop at trouble. "Take heart, I have overcome the world." Sharon points out that Jesus said this like a commander steadying His soldiers right before battle — knowing He was about to be betrayed and that His closest friends would scatter. "The world" here means the human systems that ignore God, and the evil at work behind them. And God is greater than all of it. Same God, different outcomes Sharon holds two stories side by side. In Acts 5 an angel breaks Peter out of prison. Just two chapters later, Stephen is stoned to death — carried, even then, by a vision of heaven opened. She tells it from her own life too. Diagnosed with skin cancer last year, she experienced deep peace, a skilled surgical team and a Christian anaesthetist praying for her, and a good outcome. A colleague with the same diagnosis died a few months ago — yet she was carried by God's peace and the hope that death wasn't the end. Same God. Two very different roads. "Jesus dying on the cross looked like a big failure, but in fact it was part of God's rescue plan." — Sharon Edmundson There is real mystery here. We don't get the full "why" this side of eternity, and Sharon doesn't pretend otherwise. Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. "Even if not" — Dave on Daniel 3. Dave took the theme back to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, facing the furnace in Daniel 3. Their line — our God is able to rescue us, and He will, but even if He does not, we still won't bow — became the heart of the segment. God can, God will, but even if He chooses not to, He has a bigger plan. "God can, God will, but should He not, He has a greater plan." — Dave Connolly The cheap gospel. Dave was blunt about a version of faith that promises everyone a better life the moment they come to Jesus. He called it cheap, and said it sets people up to fall away when trouble comes. Following Jesus isn't an upgrade or a do-over — it's handing over your life. He and Anna agreed the church carries a responsibility not to undersell that. The temporary fix and the eternal one. Anna shared something from Tyler Staton, speaking at Wildfires over the summer, that stuck with her. Even when God steps in and heals now, it's a temporary fix — the person will still face the end of life one day. The permanent solution is the hope of eternity that believers already hold. Can you lose your salvation? Anna put the deep one to Dave directly. His honest answer, drawn from his own story of walking away for a couple of years and coming back, is that he doesn't believe you can lose something freely given — you can't stop being God's child any more than his own kids can stop being his. He held it gently, admitting he swings between the two views, and pointed to the thief on the cross as proof that God's heart is bigger than getting all the answers right. A closing caution from Sharon. Sharon ended with something important. Trouble coming against us doesn't mean it's God's will — He tells us to pray for His kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven precisely because His will is not always what happens. She was especially clear for anyone in an abusive or unsafe situation — do not read your circumstances as God's will, and know that God is not asking you to stay there. From the community. Alicia wrote in that being able to bring our frustrations to God is an underrated ability — even angry, she still senses Him with her. Ellis shared an honest struggle: God never promised a specific outcome, so how do you sit with the "what if" of things going wrong? And Talita offered the flip side — for her, hard seasons have grown her faith rather than shaken it, which the hosts tied back to how deep the roots go. "Once you've known God's presence, you can't unknow it again." — Anna Kettle Scripture referenced John 16:33 — "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world" Luke 4:18–19 — Jesus' mission statement, good news for the poor and freedom for the prisoner Ephesians 6 — the spiritual battle behind what we can see Acts 5 — Peter freed from prison by an angel Acts 7 — Stephen martyred, given a vision of heaven Daniel 3:17–18 — Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and "even if not" James 1:2 — "consider it pure joy" when you face trials Resources and next steps Alpha course — running now at Crowd, every Wednesday at 7:30pm. It started last week, but it's not too late to join. Whether you've followed Jesus for years or you're just having a look, it's a relaxed space to ask the honest questions over a number of weeks. Matt and Sharon are part of it, and you can join with your camera on or off. Live Lounge — the new Zoom room where you can meet others watching Crowd live and carry the conversation on. The link goes in the comments during the service. Find it at go.crowd.church/livelounge. Join the conversation any time at crowd.church . Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Everyone has a moment they're sure defines them. Here's why your worst night doesn't get the final word. About this episode Matt Edmundson walks through Peter's worst night, the charcoal fire in a courtyard where he denied ever knowing Jesus three times. Then to a beach, where the risen Jesus lights the same kind of fire, cooks breakfast and asks three times, once for each denial, do you love Me. It's a talk about shame, grace and finding a way back when you're sure you've disqualified yourself, part of the Jesus the Revolutionary series. Timestamps 00:07 Welcome back after the summer break 03:07 One story that runs through all four Gospels 05:17 The courtyard and the charcoal fire 09:52 How easy the denial was 11:40 Breakfast on the beach 13:54 The same word for both fires 15:15 A chip shop, a smell, and how shame grows 17:20 What shame does and what Jesus does 18:50 A job, not a probation 20:20 Name your fire 21:41 Conversation Street begins 31:16 Resentment and the prodigal's older brother 34:20 Shame and conviction, and the difference between them 48:31 Why the opposite of faith is certainty 51:10 When our worship songs run on bravado 62:55 What's on next week, plus Alpha and Live Lounge Key references Luke 22, Peter promises to go to prison and death, and Jesus tells him he will deny Him three times before the rooster crows John 18, the courtyard, the charcoal fire, and the three denials John 21, the risen Jesus cooks breakfast on the beach and asks Peter three times, do you love Me, then says, feed my sheep The Greek word for charcoal fire, anthrakia, which appears exactly twice in the New Testament, once in the courtyard and once on the beach Genesis 3, Adam hiding after it goes wrong Romans 2, on the goodness of God leading us to repentance Luke 15, the prodigal son and the older brother who resents the welcome John 6, where the disciples stay because there is nowhere else to go and Jesus holds the words of life Acts 4, Peter's prayer for boldness after Jesus returns to heaven Anne Lamott, the writer Anna mentions on faith, doubt and certainty Sand Between Your Toes by Anna Kettle, with a second book on the way CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, on men and shame Quotes from the talk Shame takes you back to the fire and rubs your face in it. Jesus takes you to the fire and feeds you breakfast. (Matt Edmundson) He is not standing at your fire to cancel you. He's standing at it to cook you breakfast. (Matt Edmundson) The man who robbed money became the man who accounted for it. It's like a reverse Judas. (Matt Edmundson) Grace doesn't just pardon Peter. Grace promotes him. (Matt Edmundson) From Conversation Street Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. Anna Kettle and Dan Orange picked up the comments coming in live. Dan said he had never put the two threes together before, the three denials and the three times Jesus asks do you love Me. Same wound, healed one layer at a time. Dan on the kind of freedom this is, God doesn't set us free by hiding the thing away, He frees us right where it happened. Anna added that this is the opposite of cancel culture, honest about what happened and still full of grace. Dan asked a fair question, is there a Peter in your life you quietly resent for being restored while your own road went the other way. Matt tied it to the prodigal's older brother, and Anna shared growing up in church wondering why other people seemed to get more than she did. On shame and conviction, Matt described conviction as an arrow you take on the chin that draws you towards God, while shame makes you hide, the way Adam did. Dan added that shame tends to attach to identity, you stole so you must be a thief, and God can change that. Anna brought in the writer Anne Lamott, that the opposite of faith isn't doubt, it's certainty, and doubt is a normal part of a real walk with God. Dan wondered whether some of our worship songs run on bravado, all the things we swear we'll always do, and whether a quieter prayer for strength might be more honest. Links Everything at crowd.church This page: https://www.crowd.church/talks/when-the-shame-wont-let-you-stop-hiding A brand new Alpha course starts Wednesday 9 September, 7:30pm UK time on Zoom. No camera needed, no pressure, just honest conversation about the big questions. Register at crowd.church/alpha This talk is part of the Jesus the Revolutionary series. Shaz Edmundson picks it up next Sunday Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Somewhere along the way most of us start to wonder if we're past our best, too far gone to be worth restoring. Psalm 126 sits with a very different idea. About this episode Will Sopwith closes out Crowd's summer "Restored" series with Psalm 126, the short psalm that draws all the others together. He starts with joy, which shows up in four of the six verses, and makes the case that joy isn't the same as happiness. Happiness is something you can reason your way into. Joy is more unfettered than that, more rooted, less at the mercy of how the day is going, and it tends to burst out in song. It's named in the New Testament as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, which means it grows out of following Jesus rather than something we manufacture on our own. From there Will turns to the other half of the psalm, restoration , using three everyday pictures - restoring an old piece of furniture, cleaning up a faded oil painting, and rebuilding a relationship. Each one is slow, careful, and forward-looking, and each points to Jesus, the One who lifts off the layers of dirt, mends what's broken, and brings us back to the beauty we were made with. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and what August looks like at Crowd 02:55 Psalm 126, the final psalm of the series 04:40 Joy, and why you can't talk yourself into it 09:10 Restoration, testimony and plea 11:30 Three pictures of restoration, furniture, painting, relationship 18:30 What restoration means for you, and Jesus the restorer 22:57 Changes coming to Crowd in September Key references Psalm 126, a Song of Ascents, read as a whole The Songs of Ascents, sung by the community as they travelled up to worship at the temple Joy described as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, from the New Testament (Galatians 5) The Bible's restoration thread, from the Garden of Eden through to God's fruitful city in Revelation People described as the pinnacle of God's creation, made in His image Quotes from the talk Joy isn't just happiness, but something more unfettered, something spontaneous. It's something that can't really be worked up or that you can reason your way into. (Will Sopwith) It's the original that is precious, not someone else's version of it. (Will Sopwith) Don't lose hope that the One who restored you before can restore you again. (Will Sopwith) Links Everything at crowd.church From September, Live Lounge runs from the start of the stream, so you can watch alongside actual people rather than on your own Wednesday community groups are changing too, gathering as one big community and then breaking into smaller groups where people know your name The next Alpha course starts on 9 September, Wednesdays at 7:30pm, a good place to start if you're new to faith or just exploring it, and you can register at crowd.church More in-person meetups are coming through the year, and CrowdFest 27 will be part of the Wildfires Festival at the end of July 2027, with tickets at wildfiresfestival.com This was the final week of a five week series through the Psalms, built to be taken as a whole, before Crowd returns to live Sunday-evening streams Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.

The Love You Don't Have to Earn Most of us assume there's some tidying up to be done before any of God's good stuff would actually apply to us. Psalm 103 was written by someone who had stopped believing that. About this episode Matt Edmundson takes us through Psalm 103, David's run-through of what God is like and what He has already done. Forgiveness that goes deeper than a rule broken, healing with the honest caveat left in, rescue from the pit, and a crown of steadfast love and mercy that nobody has to earn. Along the way, why sin might be better understood as a design distorted than a scorecard failed, what actually qualifies as steadfast once you ask it of your job and your relationships, and why not needing to be perfect is the point rather than a concession. Kate Sopwith recorded this talk earlier in the week and the recording came back with no sound on it at all, so this is Matt at short notice on a psalm Kate had already done properly. Kate will be back. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and what August looks like at Crowd 02:53 Why this talk is coming from Matt and not Kate 04:03 Psalm 103 and the king who danced in the street 08:39 What the word sin is actually covering 10:32 A love you cannot earn 14:00 Healed, and the honest bit 18:18 Redeemed from the pit 20:39 The crown, and the word steadfast 24:10 You don't need to be perfect to qualify 27:11 Why we forget all of it 29:09 Changes coming to Crowd in September Key references Psalm 103, verses 1 to 8 read as a block, then the closing verses on angels, hosts and dominions Psalm 139:14, on being fearfully and wonderfully made Ephesians 2:10, where the word translated workmanship can also be rendered poetry Ephesians 4:1, on walking worthy of our calling Hebrews 6:19, on hope as the anchor of the soul 1 Peter 2:9, on being a royal priesthood Genesis 3, Adam hiding after it goes wrong The Lord's Prayer, on forgiving us our sins The definition of sin as something distorted from its original design, which comes from Kate Sopwith Quotes from the talk I don't have to have everything sorted to come to Him. It's a love I cannot earn. (Matt Edmundson) God wrote a love poem and I'm it. (Matt Edmundson) You do not need to be perfect in order to qualify. In fact, no one has ever been perfect enough to qualify for this apart from Christ. That's why Christ came, because we could never earn this. (Matt Edmundson) There are people on earth that can't walk, but when they get to heaven, they'll be running down the streets of gold, sliding along in their socks. (Matt Edmundson) Links Everything at crowd.church On being wonderfully made, whatever your start looked like, at crowd.church/topics/identity-selfworth Other people's stories on the What's the Story podcast, at crowd.church/whats-the-story The next Alpha course starts on 9 September, Wednesdays at 7:30pm, and you can register at crowd.church/alpha This is week four of a five week series through the Psalms, built to be taken as a whole. Will Sopwith closes it out next Sunday Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.

When You're Not Sure If God Still Cares You have been praying about the same thing for months and nothing has shifted, and you have started to wonder. About this episode Sharon Edmundson takes us into Psalm 77, written by a man who cried out to God, ran out of words entirely, and was left with nothing but groaning. It is one of the most honest things in the Bible about what happens in your head when life stops going your way. Alongside it, what current mental health research says about the fight in our minds, why the stiff upper lip was never faith, and what Asaph does when no answer arrives. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and what August looks like at Crowd 02:53 The battle you might not know you're in 06:40 A psalm written from rock bottom 08:33 Why the stiff upper lip doesn't help 10:28 Remembering when God came through 15:52 What to do when you're in the middle of it 16:53 Changes coming to Crowd in September Key references Psalm 77, read across the talk Ephesians 6:12, on a struggle that is not against flesh and blood 2 Corinthians 10 verses 3 to 5, on demolishing strongholds and taking every thought captive Lamentations 2:19, on pouring out your heart like water Jeremiah 29:13, on seeking and finding John 10:11, Jesus claiming the shepherd image the psalm ends on Romans 8 verses 31 to 32, the passage Sharon closes with The 2025 Mental Health Report, produced by Mind and the Centre for Mental Health Jo Hargreaves, Christian psychotherapist, on the Bible as the most regulating book for our nervous system Quotes from the talk Faith doesn't mean pretending that everything is okay when it's not. Rather, faith is about a relationship with the living God. (Sharon Edmundson) He started with words, but after a while, words weren't enough to express the depth of his pain, and all he had left was groans. (Sharon Edmundson) When we remember the good things that God has done in our past, it gives us comfort in the present and hope for the future. (Sharon Edmundson) Links Everything at crowd.church Other people's stories on the What's the Story podcast, at crowd.church The next Alpha course starts on 9 September, Wednesdays at 7:30pm, and you can register at crowd.church This is week three of a five week series through the Psalms, built to be taken as a whole Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church.

When Mindfulness Isn't Enough You have tried the apps, the walks and the digital detox, and peace still feels like something other people have. About this episode Ade Birkby joins us to look at Psalm 16, a psalm David wrote while he was on the run for his life. Ade takes the everyday strategies seriously first, walking through what the research says mindfulness, green space, close friendships and switching off actually do for us, and then showing where they run out. What follows is not a technique for calming life down. It is a look at where David chose to stand while his circumstances stayed dangerous. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and what August looks like at Crowd 02:51 Why everyone feels so busy 04:40 What usually helps and how far it gets you 07:11 Psalm 16 and why this one is different 12:01 The three things David does 15:14 What this looks like on a Tuesday 18:55 Changes coming to Crowd in September Key references Psalm 16, read in full at 07:11 Psalm 16 verse 7, on taking counsel at night Psalm 16 verse 8, on keeping your eyes on the Lord James 1 verses 2 to 4, on trials producing perseverance Acts 2, Peter quoting Psalm 16 after Pentecost Acts 13, Paul making the same argument Hebrew terms drawn out in the talk, miktam (the psalm type), ketem (fine gold), chasah (to take refuge), manah (portion), chebel (measuring cord) Office for National Statistics, on 47% of adults feeling busier than ever DataReportal 2026 digital report, on 6 hours 51 minutes of daily phone use across around 96 pickups University of Bath 2024 global mindfulness study Ipsos and Gallup research on lifestyle boundaries Chinese multi-university study on gratitude disposition and orientation to experience Quotes from the talk "Happiness is dependent on good happenings, but joy in the biblical sense is an unshakable confidence from knowing a secure eternal future with God." - Ade Birkby "We're not talking about a little hiding spot, we're heading to Fort Knox, or if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, we're heading to Helm's Deep, the fortress built into the mountain." - Ade Birkby "Are we doing that to make God centre of our lives, or are we just saying we're making Him centre of our lives?" - Ade Birkby Links Everything at crowd.church The next Alpha course starts on 9 September, Wednesdays at 7:30pm, and you can register at crowd.church This is week two of a five week series through the Psalms, built to be taken as a whole Crowd Church - a community for those who might not see the point of church. https://www.crowd.church/talks/when-mindfulness-isnt-enough

You're Allowed to Be Angry With God Stopped talking to God about the thing because you're the one who broke it? Psalm 80 was written by someone in exactly that spot. About this episode Josh Edmundson takes us through Psalm 80 - a song written by people watching their nation collapse, knowing full well they'd caused it. It's furious, it's grief-stricken, and it's addressed straight to God. Josh walks back through the story that sits underneath the psalm's imagery, then asks the question the psalm forces on all of us. If someone who wrecked things himself could take his anger into the throne room, what does that mean for the rest of us? This is the first of five talks through the Psalms across August, following a thread about what restoration actually looks like when your life is all over the place. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and what August looks like at Crowd 02:52 A psalm of despair 04:15 Reading Psalm 80 06:33 Why the vine and the son matter 07:30 Three scenes that set up the psalm 10:26 The Golden Age and what came after 10:48 The psalmist retells the story back to God 13:36 When the covenant broke 15:40 The lament 16:27 When the future you planned falls apart 17:27 What the psalmist does instead of pretending 18:30 Why you are allowed in the throne room 19:59 We do not lament without a vine 22:35 A challenge for the week 23:38 What is changing at Crowd in September 24:30 Wednesday community groups 24:53 Alpha moves to Wednesday nights 25:25 More in-person meetups 25:51 CrowdFest 27 at Wildfires Key references Psalm 80 - the passage, read in full Psalm 22 - "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?" Exodus 4 - God calls Israel His firstborn son Exodus 19–24 - the covenant at Sinai Exodus 40 - the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle 2 Kings 17 - the fall of the northern kingdom Hebrews 4:16 - approaching the throne of grace with confidence John 15 - Jesus as the true vine Matthew 17 - the Transfiguration 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - Paul on grieving, which Josh adapts in his closing point Quotes from the talk "When I read this, I see promises strewn about like corpses, when the presence of God is seemingly nowhere to be found." - Josh Edmundson "He doesn't ignore his circumstances. He doesn't set a stiff upper lip and pretend that nothing is wrong. And he doesn't set about trying to instantly fix the problem." - Josh Edmundson "It is one of the biggest mysteries of grace, I think, that not only are we permitted to enter that throne room of heaven by prayer at all, but that we are told to." - Josh Edmundson What is changing at Crowd in September Matt runs through four things at the end of this one. Live Lounge from the start. Live Lounge has been the after-party, a call with the team once the livestream ends. From September you will be able to watch the livestream itself inside Live Lounge, with other people, rather than on your own. Wednesday community groups. Instead of scattered separate groups, everyone gathers as one community first and then breaks into smaller groups. The small group becomes your regular one, so people learn your name and notice when you are not there. Alpha moves to Wednesday nights , 7:30, running alongside Community. Good if you are new to the Christian faith or just poking at it from the outside. The next course starts on 9 September and you can register at crowd.church . More in-person meetups. Off the back of the baptisms in Dorset last month, there are gatherings being planned across the year, from regional meetups to bigger events. Including CrowdFest 27 , which will be at the Wildfires Festival at the end of July 2027. More detail on all of it in September. Links Watch or listen at crowd.church Midweek community groups and the online course for anyone exploring Christianity are all at crowd.church Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church.

Stop Waiting to Be Someone Important If only someone with real money and real power would sort this out. It is a fair thought, and it always lets us off. About this episode The night before the cross, Jesus takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel round His waist and starts washing twelve pairs of feet. In that culture it was the lowest job in the house, given to Gentile slaves because it was considered too degrading even for Jewish ones. This week Mike Harris takes us through John 13, and the question he keeps returning to is not whether we should serve, but where the ability to do it comes from. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and superhero chat 04:44 Notices, the new website and Alpha 07:47 John 13 read in full 09:31 Why washing feet was the lowest job in the house 11:53 The Joseph parallel in Genesis 14:04 Jesus knew, and He knelt anyway 15:01 Knowing who you are 16:15 Knowing where you have come from 17:42 Knowing where you are heading 18:27 If only Elon Musk would sort it out 19:17 Heaven is roaring you on 20:48 The priest and the running shoes 24:11 Conversation Street begins 28:30 What counts as washing feet today 30:38 Why serving can feel like a chore 34:37 Jesus explains how to be great 39:11 Blessing people others have written off 42:15 Forgiving when it costs you 46:31 The stranger who said have a good day 48:53 Remembering who is actually asking 54:12 Brownies and the little things 56:53 August, membership and September 60:30 Closing and Live Lounge Key points from Mike's talk The lowest job in the house Foot washing was not just very unpleasant, it was also demeaning. A Jewish master would not ask a Jewish slave to do it, because it was considered too degrading for them. The job went to Gentile slaves. Jesus deliberately put Himself in that role, and He did it on the evening before the crucifixion, knowing exactly where the next day was going. The Joseph parallel There is an interesting parallel to this in Genesis. Joseph's steward brings water so his eleven brothers can wash their feet, and only then does Joseph reveal who he is. Centuries later Jesus washes twelve pairs of feet before the cross reveals who He is. Same shape, one difference. Joseph sent his steward. Jesus picked up the basin Himself. Serving comes from security, not towards it John 13:3 sits immediately before Jesus gets up from the table. He knew the Father had put all things under His power, He knew where He had come from, and He knew where He was going. He knelt anyway. Jesus was not serving in order to become somebody. He served because He already knew who He was. Which gives three things to know. Who you are. Understanding "Who am I in Christ" is essential here. See crowd.church/topics/identity-selfworth or crowd.church/inchrist . Where you have come from. Picking up Ade Birkby's talk from the week before , we are the man left half dead by the side of the road in the Good Samaritan, not the hero of it. Someone stopped for us. Where you are heading. There is a place being prepared. The consequence is the freedom underneath the whole talk. Once you know who you are, you are not competing for attention or affirmation any more, because you already have both. Heaven is roaring you on Mike admitted joining the "if only Elon Musk used all that money and reach" conversation, and being persuaded by it. But then we see it from God's point of view. "Heaven looks down at you with all of the power and all of the authority and all of the possibilities that you have within you, and is roaring you on to serve and to influence those that are around you." God's world is an arena, and you have a huge role, an indispensable role to play in it. (Dallas Willard) You are not a supporting role. You are not a role that gets covered if you do not show up. You are indispensable. The running shoes A Catholic priest saved for months and finally bought one very good pair of running trainers. Days later a man knocked at his door with no shoes, no shared language and clear need. The priest brought out every pair he owned, and the only ones that fitted were the new trainers. He gave them away. That night he dreamt of Jesus wearing them, and retelling the story later he could barely speak for crying. The thought he woke with was that he could have fobbed the man off with any old pair and missed the chance to give his King the best he had. The Bible passage John 13:1-17 - The evening before the Passover festival. Knowing the Father had put all things under His power, Jesus gets up from the meal, takes off His outer clothing, wraps a towel round His waist and washes the disciples' feet. Afterwards He asks whether they understand what He has done, and tells them that since their Lord and Teacher has washed their feet, they should wash one another's. "I have set you an example, that you should do as I have done for you." Other verses referenced John 13:3 - Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under His power, and that He had come from God and was returning to God. Romans 8:38-39 - Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Ephesians 2:10 - We are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Brought in by Alicia in the comments. Romans 8:28 - God works all things for the good of those who love Him. Mike's caution here is that the good is good by His standard, not necessarily ours. Philippians 2 - Jesus did not consider equality with God something to cling to, but humbled Himself and became a servant, obedient even to death. 1 Corinthians 12:22-23 - The parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable, and the ones we think less honourable we treat with special honour. Also from Alicia. Luke 10:25-37 - The Good Samaritan, referenced back to Ade Birkby's talk the previous week . Quotes from the talk "When you recognise who you are, you don't now have to compete for attention. You don't have to compete for affirmation. You have that already." - Mike Harris "Heaven looks down at you with all of the power and all of the authority and all of the possibilities that you have within you, and is roaring you on." - Mike Harris "Maybe it is time to get up and kneel down." - Mike Harris Conversation Street highlights What in our society is the washing of people's feet that we could do for others? Ellis put this in the comments and it shaped the rest of the evening. Mike suggested that the first thing to do is to bless people who have been written off as toxic, being the person willing to risk their own reputation to show them something of Jesus' love. The second is to praise people out loud, which he thinks is a lost art, and which usually lifts someone else at your own expense. He also added a third thing. Forgiveness. He noticed that the only version of it social media talks about is the one where you personally benefit. Dan suggested being the first to make the tea, without the mental scoreboard of whose turn it is. He also talked about the cancel-culture reflex that stops us affirming anything good in someone whose record is not clean. Matt's angle was to stop hunting for a category. There is usually a group of people you already care about, whether that is people who are homeless (he mentioned Green Pastures, run by Andrew and his dad Pastor Pete), or people working in the NHS, or somewhere else. Talk to anyone in that world for five minutes and they will tell you the four biggest problems in it. Why serving can feel like a chore Nobody has ever asked for more chores. Take the bins out and it is a chore. Serve my wife and somehow it is not, and the difference is not the task. Mike's answer was about who is asking, though. A menial job stays menial if you think you are doing it for your boss. If these are good works prepared in advance, the person asking you to put the chair away or say hello to someone is the Creator of the universe. "We mess it up all the time, and we don't do it, and we create a thousand reasons why we shouldn't." - Mike Harris Serving someone you do not particularly like Mike was open that this comes up for him. His way through is not to manufacture the feeling. He knows he loves God, so he serves for God, and in his experience the emotions follow rather than lead. It does not have to be a big gesture Dan brought a podcast conversation between Simon Guillebaud, who has been on <a...

When Helping Someone Costs You Something Most of us would stop to help someone. The harder question is what we do when stopping costs us something. About this episode A man is robbed and left half dead on a notorious mountain road. Two respectable religious men walk past him. The person who stops is a member of the one ethnic group his community has hated for the better part of a thousand years. This week, Ade Birkby takes us on a journey through Luke 10, looking at why the priest and the Levite kept walking, what made the Samaritan's decision so scandalous, and what it actually cost him. Key points from Ade's talk Tribalism is normal, which is what makes it hard to spot Human beings are wired for belonging. We find our identity in a group, and once we are in it we naturally favour, trust and forgive the people inside it. The flip side is that we start viewing people outside it with suspicion. Ade pointed to political loyalty passed down through families, to football rivalries in a city like Liverpool, and to the Brexit years, when a University of Bath study found tribalism scaling on social media in a way it never had before. Remainers were painted as arrogant elitists. Leavers were painted as ignorant and uneducated. Very little of it was about policy. Tribalism is not all bad. It builds mutual support, teamwork and strong social networks. The trouble is that it usually stops at the edge of the tribe. The Path of Blood The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was a seventeen-mile mountain pass dropping around 3,000 feet, flanked on both sides by limestone caves. Perfect ambush country. In that culture it had a nickname, too. The Path of Blood , because of how often travellers were jumped on it. Everyone hearing the parable would have known exactly what kind of road Jesus was describing. Why the priest and the Levite kept walking Under Jewish law, touching a corpse made you unclean. For a priest or a Levite that wasn't just a technicality. It meant being barred from temple duty until they had been through a long and expensive purification ritual. From a distance, a man beaten and left half dead looks a lot like a dead man - which explains what was going through their minds (but it doesn't excuse them). Nine hundred years of hatred in one word Around 930 BC a dispute over heavy taxes split the kingdom of Israel, ten tribes to the north and two in the south. In 722 BC the Assyrians conquered the north, scattered most of the population, and those who remained intermarried with the Assyrians. Their descendants became the Samaritans. The Jews regarded them as half-breeds who had corrupted the bloodline. The Samaritans built a rival temple on Mount Gerizim, and in 128 BC a Jewish king destroyed it. A few years before Jesus was born, a group of Samaritans scattered human bones across the temple courtyard in Jerusalem during Passover. That is the backstory sitting behind the word Samaritan. Jesus was not choosing a neutral stranger for His hero. He was choosing the person His audience would least want to owe anything to. It started as a trap An expert in the law stands up to test Jesus, hoping to expose a flaw in His theology. Jesus answers the question with a question, which puts the man in the position of answering himself. By the time he asks "and who is my neighbour?", he is on the back foot and trying to save face. Jesus uses the parable to move the whole thing off legal ground and onto the question of mercy. The three things it cost the Samaritan He stopped, and stopping was dangerous. Samaritans also kept the first five books of the law, so touching a body carried the same risk of uncleanness for him. On top of that, lingering on the Path of Blood meant he could be attacked himself while kneeling over someone else. He met the need out of his own pocket. Bandages, oil, wine, time, his donkey, a journey interrupted. He was travelling a treacherous road, which suggests he had somewhere to be, and he gave all of it up. He covered a need that had not happened yet. He paid the innkeeper in advance and promised to come back and settle whatever else was owed. Ade lingered on Galatians 6:2, "carry each other's burdens". Carrying implies distance and sustained effort. It is not pick it up and put it down. Love is not the same as like Leviticus tells us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Ade's point is that we are told to love our neighbour, not to like them. Jesus then raises it further in John 13:34, love one another as I have loved you, because human self-love is flawed and God's love is not. Which one are we Ade turned the camera round at the end. Like the priest and the Levite, are we making ourselves too busy to help? Are we using other responsibilities to let ourselves off the hook? He was honest that he can look back at his own life and see both. His challenge for the week ahead was simple. Is there something you could do for someone outside your tribe that would be of genuine benefit to them? The Bible passage Luke 10:25-37 — An expert in the law asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life, and then, wanting to justify himself, asks who counts as his neighbour. Jesus tells him about a man attacked by robbers on the Jericho road. A priest and a Levite both pass by on the other side. A Samaritan stops, treats his wounds, puts him on his own donkey, takes him to an inn and pays for his care. Jesus asks which of the three was a neighbour, and then tells him to go and do the same. Other verses referenced Galatians 6:2 — Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:9 — Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 3:28 — There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. 1 Corinthians 9:22-23 — I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 12 — One body, many parts. Every part has a different function and the body needs all of them. Leviticus 19:18 — Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge, but love your neighbour as yourself. John 13:34 — A new command I give you. Love one another as I have loved you. Romans 8 — God is at work changing us into the likeness of Jesus. Quotes from the talk "We're not taught to like our neighbour, we're taught to love them." — Ade Birkby "This is milk. This is simple. This is something we can read once and do minutes after." — Ade Birkby "It's the original pay it forward story." — Ade Birkby Conversation Street highlights Carrying a burden is not the same as an act of kindness Mike Harris picked up the Galatians line about carrying each other's burdens and put a number on it. Imagine saying to someone, you have got £100,000 left on your mortgage, I am taking £50,000 of it onto mine and I will carry it for the next thirty years. That is bearing a burden. Most of what we call kindness is given out of surplus, on a good day, when we have the energy. Paul is describing something else entirely. Dan Orange said the detail that surprised him was that the Samaritan put his body on the line, not just his time and money. He was on the same dangerous road, and he stayed there. What if you are already busy doing what God asked you to do Sharon asked how you balance being busy with the things you have genuinely been called to do. Ade took it on. Whatever the task is, the law we are working to is still love God and love your neighbour. There is a balance to find, because you cannot stop for every single person, but you also cannot shut yourself off until only the tasks in front of you exist. He added an uncomfortable observation from decades in churches. If you are lucky, around ten per cent of people do ninety-nine per cent of the jobs. If more people shared the load, the busy ones would have room to stop. Receiving help is harder than giving it This was the thread the community drove the conversation towards, and it went somewhere honest. Alicia said she sometimes finds it easier to do things for people outside her tribe, and that when help comes her way she gets hung up on whether she deserves it. Ellis noticed that the injured man had to let a rival help him, and made the point that giving is easier because you stay in control, whereas receiving means depending on someone who has good intentions but might not know what they are doing. Ellie raised the worry underneath all of it, that accepting help leaves you dependent on the person who gave it, and that sometimes you end up feeling like a duty. Ade recognised it from the other side. As an English kid growing up in Ireland in the eighties, he was the black sheep, and he still finds it easier to help people he does not know, because they do not judge him and they do not nitpick. Mike's take was that receiving well means accepting that you do not deserve it and that it is a gift. The moment you think you have earned it, it comes down to whether you are having a good day or a bad one. He was open about his own pride getting in the way, that he does not like being in anyone's debt, which is...

Fully Known and Still Loved Ever worried that if someone really knew you, they'd walk away? This one is for you. About this episode A woman with a reputation walks uninvited into a dinner full of religious leaders, kneels at Jesus' feet and weeps. Everyone in the room knows exactly who she is, and they are appalled. Guest speaker Pete Farrington walks through Luke 7 and asks a question most of us carry quietly. What happens when the person who knows the very worst about you turns out to be the one who defends you? It is a talk about grace, honesty, and why being fully known does not have to mean being pushed away. Key points from Pete's talk The one thing Simon got wrong Simon, the host, assumes that if Jesus really knew this woman's past, he would reject her. That is how it works for us, after all. We all have a line past which we think acceptance runs out. Pete's point is that Jesus knows her past completely and receives her completely anyway, and that is the whole scandal of the story. We ask God to accept our excuses Pete leans on something C.S. Lewis wrote about forgiveness. When we ask God to forgive us, what we often really want is for God to accept our excuses. There is usually some truth in the excuses, some genuine reason things went the way they did. But real forgiveness means looking honestly at the bit that is left over, the part no excuse covers, and being fully accepted anyway. As Lewis put it, that bit is inexcusable, but not, thank God, unforgivable. The woman who made no excuses She never argues. The storyteller calls her a sinner, Simon calls her a sinner, and even Jesus agrees her wrongs are many. She does not disagree, does not blame her upbringing or the unfair world she lived in, does not say "I am enough." She simply sees herself clearly and comes anyway. That honesty is exactly why she experiences such deep grace. As Pete put it, the one who is forgiven little loves little. The one who knows everything becomes your defender This is the turn in the talk. When your past follows you everywhere, when the accusations are actually true, and when even your own heart condemns you, the most surprising thing about the whole message of Jesus is this. The one who knows you most intimately is the one who stands up for you. Jesus speaks to the woman directly, publicly and with real dignity, and sends her out in peace. A note on the hair Easy to miss today, but a respectable woman in that culture kept her hair bound up in public. Letting it down to wipe Jesus' feet was intimate and genuinely shocking to everyone watching. She was taking a real social risk, and Jesus honours it rather than being embarrassed by it. The Bible passage Luke 7:36–50 — A Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to dinner. A woman known in the town as a sinner comes in, weeps at Jesus' feet, wipes them with her hair and pours perfume on them. Simon is quietly horrified. Jesus tells him a short story about two people who owed money, one a large debt and one a small one, both cancelled. The one forgiven more loves more. Then Jesus turns to the woman, tells her that her many sins are forgiven, and says, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace." Other verses Pete referenced Luke 18:9–14 — The Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple. The one who admits he needs mercy goes home right with God. 1 John 3:19–20 — Even when our own heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Isaiah 42:3 — A bruised reed he will not break, a faintly burning wick he will not put out. Mark 2:17 — Jesus came not for those who think they are well, but for those who know they are unwell. Romans 5:6–8 — While we were still weak, still far off, Christ died for us. God shows his love for us in that. Psalm 103:12 — As far as the east is from the west, so far he removes our wrongs from us. Romans 8:1 — There is now no condemnation for those who belong to Jesus. Quotes from the talk "Jesus knows her past completely and yet receives her completely." — Pete Farrington "The one who knows you most intimately is the very one who will be your defence and your advocate if you humble yourself before him." — Pete Farrington "Jesus saves us at our worst." — Pete Farrington Conversation Street highlights Matt Edmundson, Sharon Edmundson and Anna Kettle stayed on afterwards to talk it through, and the questions coming in from the live chat took it somewhere honest. What does the word sin even mean? Sharon shared a memory of doing school assemblies years ago. One school was happy for them to say almost anything except the line "I have sinned." Anna picked it up. Outside of church, "sin" sounds like a word for cartoon villains, but that is not really it. It is not about being evil, it is about all of us falling short of God's very best, living a bit selfishly, which quietly describes everyone. As Anna put it, you can fix someone's circumstances and take away a lot of their brokenness, and it still would not touch that. When guilt is real and when it is false Sharon named something important. Some people feel guilty over things that genuinely are not theirs to carry. If you have been trained to believe everything is your fault, you can end up soaked in a false guilt that does not belong to you. That is different from honestly recognising something that is actually yours. Later, Matt drew the same line between conviction, which is God gently pointing at something real so you can put it down, and condemnation, that heavy self-loathing that never comes from God at all. The self-hatred cycle, and how to break it Someone in the chat asked about repeatedly confessing the same sins, especially during a low patch when self-hatred gets loud. Sharon offered something she actually does. The Bible often talks about wrong as a debt, so she writes the things down almost like an account sheet, prays through each one, chooses to receive forgiveness, and then crosses it off. Debt paid. When the same thing comes back around later, she can point to the list and say, that one is already cancelled. Anna added the key bit. Once it is dealt with, it is done. You are not meant to keep circling the same ground, and if you find yourself stuck in that loop, it is worth talking to someone. Cheap grace versus the real thing Anna suggested Simon is so scornful of the woman because he has never really faced his own need for forgiveness. If you never let yourself see your own shortcomings, you end up with a thin, cheap version of grace, and you cannot hand out to others what you have never truly received. The woman had received much, so she loved much. Sharon rounded it off near the end. When the crowd tried to pin shame on this woman, Jesus quietly took it off her and onto himself, which is exactly what he came to do. Links Come and explore more at crowd.church Every week finishes with Live Lounge, an open Google Meet where you are welcome to say hello Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church.

What If Christianity Was Never About the Rules Ever felt like you had to sort your life out before God would want anything to do with you? This week Will Sopwith looks at a story where Jesus does the exact opposite. Speaking on Mark 2:13–17 in the Jesus the Revolutionary series, with Anna Kettle and Matt Edmundson hosting, it is an honest conversation about grace, belonging, and being welcomed as you are. Key points Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector nobody respected, straight from his booth, then sits down to eat at his house with the very people polite society had written off. Sharing a meal meant friendship and acceptance, and that is what made it so shocking. Right across these early chapters, Jesus refuses to stay in his lane, a run of moments that upend what everyone expected of a religious teacher. Will draws two pictures of who we sit with and why. The tyranny of the school cafeteria, where your standing hung on the table you chose. And Pandita Ramabai, born in India in 1858, who met Jesus, crossed every social line of her day, and founded a home for widows and orphans of every caste. The religious leaders were not bad people, Will suggests. They just had bad assumptions. They had no story for people changing. Everyone was stuck in their lane. Jesus meets Levi exactly where he is. No bar to clear first. No demand to drop his friends. As Jesus puts it, it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. A closing challenge. Are you a shocked righteous one, an awkward companion, or a grateful sinner? And do not let your expectations of Jesus get in the way of really seeing him. Conversation Street highlights Where the talk ends and the real conversation begins. Here is some of where it went once the community joined in. Nobody actually has it together. Jesus came for the sick, not the healthy, and as Matt put it, everyone is sick. So which camp do you put yourself in, fine or honest? You do not have to fix yourself first. The idea that you must tidy up your life before coming to Jesus gets turned on its head. Levi is invited mid-mess, and Jesus never asks him to drop his old friends. Faith is more like a marriage than a rulebook. Vows take thirty seconds, Matt noted, but you spend a lifetime working them out. A free man gets to choose what binds him. Everyone is tied to something: approval, salary, work. Following Jesus is choosing your yoke, and his is the one that is meant to be easy and light. Get to the story. Behind every hot-potato belief there is a story. Loving people well means getting past the surface to what Matt called level three, and the reminder that we are asked to love everyone, not to like everyone. The community brought some of the most honest moments: Ellis shared, "In regard to rules, I've often been caught out thinking if I do or don't do X, Y and Z then I'm in the wrong — but even though something feels that way, it doesn't mean it's true," and later pointed the room to Jesus' words on the yoke. Alicia opened up about a hard season: "Because my father was so ill during my teens, I remember craving some influence over the situation, and falling into the trap of trying to follow divine law to the letter in the hopes God would show mercy. All that ended up doing was making me feel afraid of and distant from God — and then I had to work my way back to the innocent closeness I'd felt to him in my childhood." She also reflected on loving your neighbour as yourself: "one of the simplest to understand, but one of the most difficult to put into practice." Jenny , back on the livestream after a while away, said, "I definitely thought that Christianity meant rules — you had to follow the rules and be a certain way before you could be a Christian." Anna was honest too, about the pattern of over-performing for God, trying to prove herself faithful through hard seasons in the hope he would act. Marco summed up the night simply: "Excellent topics discussed tonight." About Crowd Church Crowd Church is an online community for people who are not sure about church. Whether you have been part of one for years or have never stepped foot inside, you are welcome here. We are figuring this out together, asking honest questions, wrestling with real life, and making room for everyone at the table. Come and join the conversation at crowd.church . Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church. https://crowd.church/talks/what-if-christianity-was-never-about-the-rules

Stop Shrinking to Fit In Ever quietly edited yourself down so you'd fit in with the room? This one is about what that costs you. About this talk Matt Edmundson opens with a confession. On a packed London Underground escalator he walked straight past an elderly man who looked like he was having a heart attack, because everyone else was walking past too. From there he digs into why we take our cues from the crowd even when the crowd is wrong, and what Jesus had to say about it. Part of the Jesus the Revolutionary series, this is a look at Matthew 5 and the idea that following Jesus was never about blending in. You are here to change the flavour of the room. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome 05:44 Why we walk past 08:47 The bystander effect 11:44 The hidden cost of fitting in 12:59 Salt was never meant to blend in 16:52 Who gets to decide who you are 20:02 The car crash and the Hulk 22:29 You are the light, don't hide it 26:17 Conversation Street — being salt in real life What the talk gets into Why we walk past. The bystander effect isn't cruelty, it's conformity. We model our behaviour on the people around us, so if nobody else steps in, we usually don't either, even when it cuts against everything we believe. The quiet cost of fitting in. Most of the time it's not life and death. It's the laughing emoji on a group chat dig at your faith, or mentioning everything about your weekend except the thing that actually shaped your life. The research on masking is sobering. The more you hide how you think and feel to fit in, the more anxious, disconnected and lost from yourself you become. Salt has one job, and it isn't to blend in. Jesus called his followers "the salt of the earth". Salt changes the food it touches. The moment it tastes like everything around it, it's just powder. The word for salt losing its taste is mōranthē , the root of our word "moron". Dial yourself down far enough and there's nothing left to taste. This isn't a sentence, it's a direction. Peter denied even knowing Jesus three times and was still restored. The whole story of the gospel is people getting their saltiness back. It's not "just be yourself" either. The real question is who decides who you are. Your taste, your gut, your sense of what matters were all shaped by your family, friends and what you watched at fourteen. Jesus doesn't tell you to go find some unfiltered version of you. He says you already are salt, like it's a fact, not a target. An identity you were given. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:5). There's a version of you that culture didn't create and culture can't destroy, because it was given to you by God. You don't have to rescue the room single-handed. In the car-crash story, Matt points at the biggest bystander and says "you, I need you", and the man springs to life and rips a car door off to help. He had it in him the whole time. He just needed one person to call him into it. That's what salt does. It amplifies the flavour that's already there. The point isn't you. Let your light shine "so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven". The flavour you bring makes people curious, and the curiosity points straight past you to God. The challenge this week Pick one conversation where you don't make yourself smaller to fit in. Let one true thing about you stay in the room, whether that's your faith, your conviction or just your kindness. Don't file it off. Then watch what happens, because when people taste something genuinely different, they don't end up staring at you. They start asking about the One you point to. Scripture referenced Matthew 5:13–16 (ESV) — salt of the earth, light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden Jeremiah 1:5 — "before I formed you in the womb I knew you", identity given rather than achieved Hebrews 11:6 — without faith it is impossible to please God (Conversation Street) 1 Corinthians 13:9–12 — "I know in part", we get to know God as we walk with him (Conversation Street) Quotes from the talk "You're not here to blend in. You're here to change the flavour of the room." — Matt Edmundson "If I get to be me, I belong. If I have to be like you, I fit in." — Brené Brown, quoted by Matt Edmundson "He was always able to do that. He had it in him the whole time. He was just waiting for one person to break the spell and call him into it." — Matt Edmundson Conversation Street highlights Will Sopwith and Sharon Edmundson picked the talk apart with the community in the chat. A stranger who changed the room. Sharon shared how, before an operation last year, she sensed her anaesthetist was a woman of faith the moment she walked in. It turned out to be true, and the anaesthetist sang worship songs over her and changed the whole atmosphere before surgery. Will added a quieter one, about a humble older colleague on a teenage building project who stayed silent while everyone else fought to be heard, but had the answer when asked, and made everyone around him slower to speak. Who is Jesus actually talking to? Sharon asked whether "you are the light of the world" is for everyone or a specific group. Matt's answer leaned on a car-keys analogy. Sharon could hold the keys out, but he still had to reach and take them. There's a flavour on offer for every person, but it has to be received. Sharon's neat summary: his followers are the light of the world, but he wants everyone to be his follower, and not everyone currently is. Isn't this just striving? The group agreed the command is "do not hide", not "become". Matt brought in Caesar Kalinowski's "do-to-be lie", the idea that you have to do something to be someone. Will pointed out Jesus said this to ordinary, overlooked, low-status people. It was never about positional power. Is faith just an illusion? A viewer watching from India suggested God is to be known, not believed, and offered Buddhism as a peaceful example. Matt reframed faith as trust, the way his marriage to Sharon works because he trusts her rather than checking up on her every twenty seconds. What's our job when the room is wrong? Will told the deck-chair story John shared this weekend, where a film crew drew a square on a packed beach and nobody dared step inside it all day. Being salt and light isn't only being nice, it's sometimes calling out the wrong flavour rather than getting swept along. Simple, non-preachy ways to be salt. Matt's ideas included paying for the meal of the person behind you at the drive-through, or buying a homeless person a sausage roll from Greggs instead of walking past. No "God told me to" card needed. Underneath it all, the old "What would Jesus do?" question, and his answer is almost always to love the person in front of him rather than win the argument. Masking in church. Catherine asked how you tell who's being authentic when church culture can pressure people to look like "the good Christian", always having the testimony, never admitting worry or sickness. Will offered "judge the tree by its fruit", without getting hung up on grading people. Matt added that people often mask because they don't know any other way, and when you're real and vulnerable yourself, you give them permission to drop the mask too. And the question everyone wanted answered. Was the man on the escalator okay in the end? After a bit of teasing, yes. By the time Matt left, they were okay. Want to go further There are hundreds of conversations like this one over at crowd.church , and if you'd like to explore the basics of the Christian faith, you can join an Alpha course through the site. Come and say hello. Crowd Church — a community for those who might not see the point of church. https://crowd.church/talks/stop-shrinking-to-fit-in