Static Home-Page > recent blog posts & space between slider and content

Hello everyone, I have two questions. I hope someone can help me. 1.) I tried to make a static page (Home) that shows the recent 5 blog posts. I tried a few solutions now but it didn't work. I don't want to use the implemented function "static homepage > show recent posts" because it will always have a sidebar. Can somebody please explain me how to do it? 2.) Is there a way to make the blank space between slider and content disappear? (image for better understanding: Imgur.com) Thanks in advance & Greetings