Confident Christianity Talks by Steve Osmond

Many of our friends aren’t hostile to faith, they’re just uninterested; starting spiritual conversations with them can feel like nailing fog to the wall! In this session we’ll learn some practical ways to start evangelistic conversations with those who might say “I don’t care about God”.

Sometimes we can do okay when it comes to starting spiritual conversations with friends, but we then struggle to bring Jesus naturally into the conversation. This session will explore some practical and easy to learn ways all of us can weave Jesus more naturally into our everyday conversations.

What do we do when we encounter a question or challenge about our faith we haven’t heard before? Do we need to master every apologetic topic before we can feel ready to stand up and share the gospel at work or university? This session will share a simple five-step framework that, with practice, you can apply to tough questions that come up in conversations when evangelising. It will also take some common questions and work through them to show how it works in practice.

True for you but not for me. All truth is relative. That's just your truth. We can’t know what is true. We live in a post truth culture where disagreeing with someone is seen as an all-out assault on their personhood. Bigotry! It is said that all truths are subjective, self-defined and relative. Really? Is that true? Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life. Nobody comes to the Father but through me”. This talk will unpack the self-defeating nature of relativism, equip you with tools of how to spot these inconsistencies, and show how belief in God actually makes far more sense of reality and especially our moral intuitions.

“Blind faith! That's all it is, blind faith.” Do we really have any good reasons to believe that God exists, or is it all just a matter of make believe – a story for those afraid of the dark? For those projecting their issues onto their sky-daddy? This talk will highlight several arguments and good reasons that point to the existence of God – and not any God, but the God of the Bible.

Now that we have science, with all its amazing advances, surely we don't need God! The idea of God is archaic - something people came up with as a way of explaining things they didn't understand – well, science has filled the gap. This talk will help clear up this common misconception, show that the modern scientific method is a product of belief in God, that science can't answer life's biggest questions, and that many scientific discoveries actually point to a grand designer behind the natural world.[/expand

Have you ever wondered if the Bible is accurate and reliable? Isn't it just the shoddy product of the world’s longest running game of broken telephone - a book of made-up stories that we can't really be expected to take seriously? This talk presents some of the early manuscript evidence that we have, as well as highlights some reasons why we can be confident that the records are true - especially the bodily resurrection of Jesus.

Renewed spiritual interest abounds in our culture, but how does one choose from all the different spiritual options on the religious menu? And why consider Jesus? Surely all religions and spiritual paths are essentially the same. This talk will compare some of the major spiritual movements and contrast them to Christianity, showing why following Jesus is the only option to truly satisfy the longings of the soul, and provide a coherent and consistent view of the world.

The Christian faith hinges on the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. So, did Jesus really rise from the dead, or is this just a story that was made up later by the church as some say? Are there good reasons to believe the resurrection accounts of the New Testament, or is there a better explanation?

The Bible teaches us that God is all-powerful, all-knowing. and all-good. If Christianity is true, then why is there so much evil and suffering in the world. This is both a common objection from sceptics as well as a question that just about every Christian will wrestle with at some point. This talk is an introduction to the problem of evil and suffering that will focus on helping people think through God being both loving and powerful, but also allowing evil and suffering. Christianity not only stands up to the questions posed by sceptics but has something unique to offer the world when faced with pain, grief, evil, and suffering.

The Bible teaches us that God is all-powerful, all-knowing. and all-good. But why would God allow suffering, and where is He when we are in the midst of it? This is both a common objection from sceptics as well as a question that just about every Christian will wrestle with at some point. This talk is an introduction to the problem of evil and suffering that will touch on some of the issues raised by sceptics but focus on a pastoral response rooted in God’s love.

It's often said that Christianity doesn't make sense and that the Bible is inconsistent because the Old Testament is all about a wrathful God who is all about judgement, but suddenly when wecome to the New Testament God is all about love. Which one is it? Did God hire a PR consultant for a divine make-over for the New Testament? This talk will explore this claim, showing the consistency of God's love and judgement in both the Old and New Testament, and explain how they are compatible and necessary.

Is God guilty of ethnic cleansing & genocide, infanticide, endorsing slavery, and punishing people too harshly? These are some of the objections and questions that arise for both Christians and non-Christians as they read the Old Testament. This talk is an introduction to looking at violence in the Old Testament and how to read both the Old and New Testaments faithfully, seeing an unchanging, righteous, and loving God in both.

No matter what we fill our lives with it just seems that there is an insatiable void. Work, relationships, money, stuff, prestige, fame, sex, power...the list goes on and on. Where is lasting happiness, where is true joy? Where is real value, meaning, purpose and identity to be found? This talk will explore these issues and show how only a life lived for and with God is where true and lasting joy can ultimately be found.

As human beings we crave relationships – we are communal creatures by nature. When we are in loving, healthy community we flourish. But relationships are a double edged sword. Little compares to the hurt caused when they go wrong, or when they break, or when we are rejected. The search for belonging can be a lonely and painful road. This talk explores this idea and proposes that only in Christ is there hope for true belonging and restoration from the broken relationship we experience in life.

Given all the chaos in the world – poverty, climate crisis, cost of living increases, disease – it seems like hope is in short supply. Can we really rely on our human ingenuity to solve the issues of the world? Is hope just wishful thinking? This talk will explore what Christianity has to offer in comparison to some of the other major worldviews.

No matter what belief system someone holds to, they are inevitably outraged when they see unjust acts perpetrated against others. Be it theft, poverty, murder, racism, gender based violence – we acknowledge that these things infringe on human rights. But, where do these rights come from? If there is no God, nothing behind or beyond the physical stuff we are made of, then how do we make sense of human rights? And, why do we feel so deeply that they are real?

Does faith in God make any difference when considering the question of justice? As we strive for a better humanity of freedom and fairness, equality and inclusion, does faith make any difference? This talk considers the origins of the foundations of Western morality, and how a world without God leaves us with no solid foundation and basis for justice in this life, and ultimately.

War. Genocide. Abuse of power. Racism. Corrupt leadership. Hypocrisy. Sexual abuse. These are some of the charges that are brought against the church. How do we as Christians respond to these realities personally as well as when faced with questions about these issues from others? This talk will help people think through some of these issues as well as use these questions to direct others to the saving grace of God in Christ Jesus.

• What’s so happy about Christmas?
• Is Christianity more than just another religious tradition?
• More than Politics: Why Christianity Trumps Political Division
• Where can I be fully known and fully loved
• Searching for freedom – are we defined by our pasts?
• Searching for Spirituality: What Does Jesus Have to Offer?
• Is there any Justice in the world?