Centre for Christian Living podcast

Community is challenging because, quite frankly, it involves people. I want something different from you; you want something different from me; and we probably all need something different than what we want. How do we meet the needs and expectations of individuals while maintaining the interests of the whole group? As Christians, we look to Jesus as our example. He laid aside his own interests—even his own life—for the sake of others. But in practice, this can be very difficult. How are we to get on in our churches when our churches are filled with so many different people? In this special episode of our podcast, we share with you the audio from our recent live event, “Can community be good for you, me and everybody else?” CCL Director Chase Kuhn was joined by Moore College Dean of Students, Paul Grimmond, as well as Moore College chaplain and chair of EQUIP Women, Isobel Lin, on Wednesday 3 March 2021, and together they discuss biblical and theological principles for community, practicalities of this for community, and audience questions and answers. For a full transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-056/

Most of us want to live the good life, but we’re not always sure what this means. In particular, we hear words like “wisdom”, but don’t understand how what we read in the Bible leads us to wise living. The Book of Proverbs has long been considered one of the greatest collections of wisdom literature. But how are Christians supposed to read it? Does applying it to our lives lead to moralism? Is such an old book irrelevant in our modern day and age? In this episode of the podcast, Chase Kuhn speaks with Old Testament lecturer and colleague Dan Wu about how the Book of Proverbs helps us grow in wisdom as Christians. This is Part 2—the final part—of their conversation. For a full transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-055/

Most of us want to live the good life, but we’re not always sure what this means. In particular, we hear words like “wisdom”, but don’t understand how what we read in the Bible leads us to wise living. The Book of Proverbs has long been considered one of the greatest collections of wisdom literature. But how are Christians supposed to read it? Does applying it to our lives lead to moralism? Is such an old book irrelevant in our modern day and age? In this episode of the podcast, Chase Kuhn speaks with Old Testament lecturer and colleague Dan Wu about how the Book of Proverbs helps us grow in wisdom as Christians. This is Part 1 of their conversation. For show notes and a full transcript, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-054/

There is nothing more grand than Jesus bringing peace between us and God. A close second, perhaps, is that Jesus also brings peace between _us_, his people, who come from all sorts of backgrounds, social statuses and ethnicities. In many wonderful ways, this peace signifies how Jesus grants us the grace to obey the greatest commandment—to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength—and the follow-up command to love our neighbour as ourselves. But is peace just something we know on paper? What about the real experience of life together? Unity is good when it’s good, but we all know that churches are not immune to divisions. In fact, often churches are the places where fracturing is felt most acutely. So how should we think about unity _within_ our churches? On today’s episode, Chase follows up with Dr Peter Jensen, building on their last conversation on the unity of the church and moving from the universal to the local. They discuss how each local church relates to denominations, why relationships in church can be so tough, and how we are meant to get on together in gospel faith. For a transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-053/

For centuries now, people have questioned whether or not the presence of denominations actually hurts the unity of the church. In the 20th century, there were many attempts to try to bring all Christians together. In some ways, this “worked”, either reconciling parties or smoothing over differences. But in many other ways, it only clarified the divide. As we think about what we should do as Christians, is it bad that we can’t agree on everything? Is unifying denominations a must? _Should_ we? Today on the podcast, our guest Dr Peter Jensen speaks with Chase about unity, considering much of his own journey in helping to set up the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) as well as current events closer to home in the Anglican Church of Australia. Many have seen GAFCON as a threat to unity, but Peter and many others claim that this is actually a way for contending for the gospel. For a full transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-052/

The sexual revolution has spun many of us out. What once was taboo is now not only acceptable, but saying otherwise attracts accusations of bigotry and hatred. What has led us to this point in our society? In this episode, Chase talks with Professor Carl Trueman about his new book, “The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to the Sexual Revolution”. They discuss some of the movements that have brought us to where we are and how understanding these roots help us as Christians to better engage the world around us. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-051/

Infertility is one of the most difficult challenges Christians can face. In any given church, there will be people—family members, friends, fellow Bible study members—who long to conceive, but seem unable. In a time of incredible medical advances and seemingly on-demand treatments, how should Christians think about wise and godly options? More particularly, what do Christians need to be aware of in the midst of the marketplace of assisted reproductive technologies (e.g. IVF)? At our October 2020 event, we heard from two leading Christian doctors—Professor Jonathan Morris and Dr Megan Best—on what needs to be considered as Christians seek to face infertility faithfully—whether personally, or in support of others in our communities. For episode transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-050/

As the world watches the US election in the coming weeks, it will raise afresh questions that have been considered by many Christians throughout the years. What should we hope for in elections? How should Christians participate in politics? Can we support a politician with whom we don’t agree entirely? Furthermore, how does what happens in the society relate to God’s gospel purposes? In this episode of the podcast, Chase Kuhn speaks with Professor David VanDrunen, author of "Politics After Christendom: Political theology in a fractured world", about God’s plans for politics in his world. After discussing how to think about these things theologically, they discuss an array of practical questions related to Christian participation in the world. This episode is a must-listen for all Christians thinking about responsible citizenship in society. For transcript, links and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-049/

Christmas gets forced upon us by shopping malls and TV ads. But in the hustle and bustle of all the demands of the holiday, it is easy not to approach it thoughtfully. Furthermore, there are many challenges that come at holiday celebrations—reminders of what we’ve lost, what we don’t have, how distant we are from loved ones, and so on. At Christmas, we celebrate an incredible miracle: God’s Son took on flesh for us. In this episode, Chase Kuhn speaks with his wife Amy about how they’ve sought to cultivate good traditions together to remind them of this deep truth in order to help them celebrate, even in the face of distance, grief and longing. For a full transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-048/

Race continues to be a hot-button issue at the moment. In the face of this ongoing concern, a “woke” attitude is widely encouraged—that is, a life that takes notice of and participates in seeking to squash racial injustice. Many Christians feel compelled to join this cultural agenda often in the interest of political correctness and public righteousness. But is this the best way for Christians to tackle the issue of race? Today, Chase Kuhn is joined by Professor Carl Trueman to discuss whether or not, under God, we should pursue woke Christian living. For a transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-047/

Following our recent livestreamed event on the topic of “Can we live without sex?”, many questions around the subject were raised. In this special episode, we welcome back our guest speakers, Dani Treweek and Chris Thomson, to answer some practical questions related to living without sex—including, “Is it wrong to desire sex and marriage if you’re single?”, “Why would God give us such strong desires for sex without also giving us a spouse?” and “If sex isn’t ultimate, is it okay to have a sexless marriage?” For transcript and show notes, visithttps://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-046/

On Wednesday 19 August 2020, we held a special event on the topic of “Can we live without sex?” with Dani Treweek and Chris Thomson. During the evening, Dani spoke on whether life without sex is actually good. Chris spoke about whether life without sex is actually realistic for Christians. In the final part of the evening, Dani and Chris, along with Chase Kuhn, answered some questions posed by the audience. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-045/

Statistics show that one in three people in our churches are single. And yet many of our church communities tend to make singles feel “singled out”—that is, we’ve so normalised marriage and children that we’ve made many single men and women feel out of place. In this episode, Dani Treweek helps us see a richer theological vision for singleness—one that shows us what life will be like for all Christians in the future. She argues that by thinking theologically, we will better appreciate the single men and women in our communities, and better appreciate our place and God’s vision for us if we are single. For shownotes and a full episode transcript, visithttps://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-044/ Find out more about our August event with Dani and Chris Thomson: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/events/2020-08-19/

One of the key parts of our life together as Christians in the church is taking the Lord’s Supper. But it is also a practice that is often misunderstood, controversial and irregular, with many men and women struggling to understand its value. Why should we take it? Must we take it? What, if any, benefit do we receive from it? Is it something that is private and personal? Isn’t it just some old ritual? In addition to these questions, people often feel a sense of guilt: they wonder if they’ve thought about it enough. Or they worry that the practice has become too routine—so routine, they haven’t appreciated it fully. Of course, at the other end of the specturm, there are others who wonder why we make so much of it. Why do we make bread and wine special? Why should we be so ceremonial? Can’t we take the supper any time and with anything? Why can’t we just eat Oreos and drink milk? These are some of the questions we consider in our interview with Mark Earngey as we seek clarity about the importance of the Lord’s Supper for the Christian life. For an episode transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-043/

On Wednesday 27 May 2020, we held a special event on the topic of religious freedom with Michael Kellahan, Executive Director of Freedom for Faith, and CCL Director Chase Kuhn. During the evening, Michael presented us with a picture of why religious freedom is important in politics and society today, and Chase laid out some basic theological principles for why religious freedom should be upheld by Christians. Then Michael and Chase had a discussion about some of the practicalities of religious freedom for society and for Christians. In the final part, they answered questions posed by the audience. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-042/

When someone becomes a Christian, a transformation takes place: they move from death to life—from darkness to light. This entails a shift in how they live their life, no longer walking as they previously did before knowing Jesus. But what does this transformation entail? How does it happen? When should it happen? Is it instantaneous or is it a process? Is it something one does themselves, or is it done for them? In this episode, Chase Kuhn interviews Caroline Clark about the transformation that came to her life as a result of following Jesus and the place of transformation in all of our lives as Christians. For a transcript and show notes, visithttps://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-041/

Freedom is something easily taken for granted—until it is taken away. COVID-19 has forced government-mandated restrictions on societies all over the globe, and these restrictions lead many of us to question what responsibility government has over us. Is it to protect people or their freedoms? As Christians, religious freedom is paramount. But does government have any right to regulate religion? Furthermore, is government the enemy of religion, or is it its enabler? In this episode, Chase Kuhn speaks with Akos Balogh, CEO of The Gospel Coalition Australia, about what Bible teaches us about the role of government in relation to religious freedom. For show notes and transcript, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-040/ Links referred to: Our May event with Michael Kellahan and Chase Kuhn: “Is freedom of religion a human right?”: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/events/2020-05-27/ The 2019 CCL annual: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/2019-annual/ The Preliminary Theological Certificate (PTC): https://moore.edu.au/courses/preliminary-theological-certificate/ The Gospel Coalition Australia: https://au.thegospelcoalition.org/

For most churches, the sermon has a prominent place in the service. This is met with mixed reception from church goers—reception that is typically based on how engaging the preacher is and how long he preaches! But why do we keep the sermon? In different progressive church models, there have been experiments to do away with preaching in the “stand and deliver” model. As this sort of monologue becomes increasingly foreign in our contemporary culture, should we still keep the sermon in our churches? Putting it into our current climate, should we listen to sermons online? If so, can I listen to the best preachers around the world? Do I need to keep listening to my pastor? Furthermore, is church more than a sermon? We discuss these questions in this episode of our podcast. Our guest is Nigel Styles, the director of the Cornhill Training Course in London. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-039/

Do all Christians have a responsibility for mission? If so, what does mission involve? Must we all tell the gospel, or are acts of mercy appropriately missional? Furthermore, how should we think about mission in a time of global pandemic? Is the mission of Jesus on hiatus? In this episode, Chase Kuhn talks with Simon Gillham, head of the Department of Mission at Moore College and former missionary in Namibia, about how we should think about mission in the Christian life in times such as these. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-038/

The onslaught of progressive ideology in Western culture has left many of us Christians cowering in the corner. Despite holding to God’s views on morality, we feel increasingly timid about speaking about biblical morality in the public sphere. We often find ourselves in the minority in political debates and academic dialogue. We may even question whether speaking about morality is actually important. Surely each person is entitled to their own view of morality; who are we to tell someone who doesn’t believe in God that they are wrong because he says so? Can we as Christians be certain about what is right and wrong? And is what we believe anyone else’s business? In this episode, our new Director and host, Chase Kuhn, sits down with our former Director and host, Tony Payne, to chat about the difference between moral realism and moral relativism, the problem with moral relativism, and the issues moral relativism raises for Christians in our day and age. For a full transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-037/

An important piece of Christian jargon to master (if you want to appear like you know something) is the word “eschatology”. It simply “the last things”, and usually refers to discussions about the final resurrection and judgement, the return of Christ, the nature of the new creation, and so on. But “the last things” are not only about the future; they have a massive bearing on our everyday lives, because the Christian gospel is all about how the “last things” have invaded the present—how Christ has died and risen to make us members of his kingdom, which is to come. On this episode, we talk with David Höhne about his new book The Last Things and how understanding God’s plans for the future means everything for our lives now. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-036/

Over the past two years, Dominic Steele has interviewed around 100 pastors for his regular weekly podcast, The Pastor’s Heart (http://thepastorsheart.net). In this episode, we talk to Dominic not only about what he has learned and been challenged by in these conversations, but what we all can learn about the Christian life—whether we’re pastors or not—from the joys, challenges and heartaches of pastoral ministry. Transcript and show notes available at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-035/

In this episode, Moore College lecturer David Höhne joins Tony to answer your questions, including such easy-peasy ones as: * How can we hold the creation account of Genesis together with modern science? * Is constantly advancing technology part of God’s plan for humanity, or more of a curse? * What’s the best way to prepare a small group Bible study? and * If we’re looking forward to a new creation, is there a really much point preserving the environment? Enjoy! Find out more about CCL at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/

It’s debatable whether May 2014 was in fact “The transgender tipping point”, as the Time magazine cover story in that month suggested. But there’s no doubt that activism over transgender rights has exploded into the mainstream discussion of our culture over the past five years in ways that would have been unimaginable even a decade ago. What are we to make of this as Christians? If we are to do better than a knee-jerk response, we need to understand both the facts on the ground—what transgenderism is, and what the implications are of its recent prominence—and how the teaching of Scripture should direct our thinking. Based on a long-running research project, Moore College alumni Rob Smith is in an excellent position to help us with both of these vital tasks. He is our guest on this episode of the CCL podcast. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-033/

In this encore episode from our CCL event on July 29 2019, Tony Payne and Lionel Windsor address environmentalism. It’s a longer than usual episode (around 80 minutes) in three parts: 1. Setting the scene: Tony looks at what environmentalism is, and the assumptions we bring to it; 2. A biblical theology of the environment: Lionel looks at what the Bible as a whole teaches about the world as God’s creation; at humanity’s place within it; and at how all this fits with God’s purposes in Christ; 3. The practical implications: An extended question time looking at how the Bible’s theology shapes our response to environmental challenges. For show notes, visit our website: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/08/15/podcast-episode-032/

Idolatry can be confusing—not because there’s any doubt as to whether it’s a good thing or not (it’s definitely not), but because the concept is often applied these days to all kinds of actions that don’t obviously have anything to do with making statues and bowing down to them. My family can be an idol. So apparently can my work, my ministry and my devotion to the mighty Sydney Swans. But when everything can be a potential idol, does the “idolatry” as a concept lose some of its power? In this episode, we go back to the Bible with Phillip Jensen to discover what idolatry really is, and why it is still a danger to the Christian life today. For show notes and episode transcript, go to https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/07/31/podcast-episode-031/

The Israel Folau affair, which has clogged facebook feeds around the nation for what seems like months, is not the subject of this episode. But the question of religious freedom and religious discrimination is. Anglican bishop Michael Stead joins us to discuss why the cause of religious freedom is worth fighting for in our democracy, what the Australian government’s proposed “religious discrimination” legislation is likely to deliver (and not deliver), and what the implications of all this are for Christian individuals and organisations. One of Michael’s points is that Christians need to inform themselves about these issues—a service that he very clearly and helpfully provides in this episode. For show notes and episode transcript, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/07/15/podcast-episode-030/

In one sense, serious anxiety—the kind that could be called “clinical anxiety” or an “anxiety disorder”—is like other common medical problems: it afflicts quite a lot of us, it has various identifiable forms and physical symptoms, and it can be treated. But of course, suffering from an anxiety disorder is also different from having diabetes or heart disease, because it is a dysfunction not just of a bodily process, but of how we think and feel. This makes the experience of clinical anxiety doubly hard to cope with. Its physical symptoms and everyday consequences are hard enough, but there is also the confusing and disorienting experience of “me” being anxious or terrified, when another part of “me” is trying to explain to myself that there’s really no reason to be so anxious. Moore College lecturer Paul Grimmond knows about this firsthand, and in this episode, he not only explains what “clinical anxiety” is and what it feels like, but shares his insights into how we should think about and respond to anxiety as Christians. For show notes and episode transcript, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/06/05/podcast-episode-029/

This is the first of our Q&A episodes, in which Tony answers a bunch of the questions that you’ve sent in by email or asked at one of our recent events. Questions include: * Does the fact that Christ alone is the basis of our fellowship mean that gender-based ministries or affinity-based congregations are problematic? * What’s the relationship between joy and thanksgiving? * Is personal Bible reading insufficient to resist temptation as Christian? * What’s the relationship between the mutual free word of encouragement Christians speak to each other, and prophecy? * If we’re supposed to admonish one another as Christians, how practically speaking do we do that? (If you have any questions from our podcast, or about the Christian life in general, send them to [email protected]. We’ll be running another Q&A episode soon.) Find an episode transcript and show notes at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/05/21/podcast-episode-028/

Richard Borgonon is as natural a salesman as you’re ever likely to meet. But despite his engaging manner and flair for persuasion, he spent most of his life suffering the same frustration that we all experience most of the time: a sense of making no headway at all in sharing Christ with work colleagues and friends. But one day that all changed for Richard—thanks to an unlikely dinner with John Lennox and a non-Christian friend. In this episode we’ll find out what Richard discovered, and how the deceptively simple approach that he and others have developed has transformed the lives of Christians and non-Christians all around the world. For show notes and episode transcript, go to https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/05/02/podcast-episode-027/

Quite a few of our listeners have been asking us to roll out the audio from our regular CCL public events as part of our podcast feed. That’s what you’ll be listening to in this bonus episode: an encore presentation of “The elusive joy of Christian community” event held on 26 February, 2019. The material falls into two parts of around 25 mins each: * Tony Payne on what Christian community really is (and what it isn’t). * Chase Kuhn on how we can miss the joy of Christianity in three crucial ways. Find show notes, links and transcript at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/04/23/podcast-episode-026/

Is “happiness” a subjective emotional state? Or is it something that is more objectively measurable in terms of the standard of wellbeing someone enjoys? Given that the Bible doesn’t seem to have a particular word for “happiness”, does that mean that happiness is unimportant as far as God is concerned? Is there a Christian pursuit of happiness? And if so, how would it proceed? In this episode, Kirsty Birkett lets us in on the research she is currently doing into all these questions, drawing both on the massive amount of secular research into happiness that has flourished over the past few decades, and on what the Bible says about positive emotions like happiness. Find episode show notes and a transcript on our website: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/04/01/podcast-episode-025/

What is a man? What is a woman? Are we essentially the same? If there are more than biological differences between men and women, how should we think about those differences? And how should we live in light of them? That’s the can of worms we’re opening in this episode of the CCL podcast with English pastor, church planter and author, Graham Beynon. (Graham was in Sydney recently for the annual Priscilla & Aquila Centre Conference, where he spoke on these issues.) In our discussion, we touch on the socio-psychological findings that chart the observable differences between male and female character traits, and ask what the Bible has to say about this. How does the Bible direct us to act as men and women, and relate to one another in Christian community as men and women? For a transcript and show notes, head to https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/03/03/podcast-episode-024

We all want our churches to be more than clubs, more than institutions and more than events that we turn up to each week. We want to experience the joy of genuine community with other Christians. But let’s face it: that sort of community is hard to come by. Our churches often feel more like clubs or institutions or concerts than genuine communities. What does it mean for churches to be “communities”? And how can we be a part of such a community and experience its joys? In advance of our 27 February CCL event that will address this topic, Tony talks with Chase Kuhn about Christian community. Find transcript and show notes on our website at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2019/02/07/podcast-episode-023/

Do you feel as if your Christian life is dry? Do you feel as though you believe the truth and (mostly) do the right thing, but that the experiential joy of loving God somehow passes you by? Do you think you feel some of the joy of Christ on a Sunday at church, but that carrying that forward into the mundane world of Monday morning seems impossible? Christians have been asking these sorts of questions forever, and there have been many proposed answers over the years. But most of them are dissatisfying or hard to put into practice. In this episode, we talk to Tim Chester, who has written a book on this subject that (for once) is both biblically deeply insightful and warmly practical for Monday mornings. Tim’s book is "Enjoying God: Experience the power and love of God in everyday life", and in this episode he speaks with Tony Payne about its main themes and ideas. For transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/12/06/podcast-episode-022/

When Peter Sholl headed off to Mexico more than a decade ago as a missionary, he learnt his first word of Spanish on the plane. Now Mexico is home, not only to Peter and his wife Sarah and their family, but to the extensive teaching ministry Peter conducts throughout Latin America using the Moore College “MOCLAM” course. Peter recently dropped in to our studio to talk about the profound lessons he has learned in Mexico as a Christian and as a trainer of pastors. He also has some wise observations about Australian Christianity (as most returning missionaries do). For the episode transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/11/05/podcast-episode-021/

When Sam Allberry wrote his best-selling little book “Is God Anti-Gay?” back in 2013, it was one of the few good books available on the subject. Five years down the track, it remains an excellent short primer to the main questions that both Christians and non-Christians have about God and homosexuality. In this episode, we talk with Sam about the main message of his book, about the way that the landscape has continued to evolve over the past five years, and about the challenge of presenting the message of the Bible about homosexuality not only as true, but as good. The strength of Sam’s book (and this conversation) is that he approaches the whole subject from the starting point of the gospel: “The message of Jesus on sex has been countercultural and challenging to every single culture. And is challenging to every single person. So it is not the case that Jesus comes up and says, ‘To all heterosexual people, you know, well done, good job, keep it up! As you were.’ You know. ‘Bless you.’ And then he says to everybody else, ‘Oh dearie me, we’ve got a problem.’ Jesus says to all of us, we have a huge problem.” For show notes and transcript, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/10/04/podcast-episode-020/

If your church is like most churches, around a third of the people sitting in the congregation on any given Sunday are single. Some have never married; others are widows, widowers or divorcees. What’s it like being single and Christian? How can we think biblically about the subject? And how can churches minister more effectively to the many single people in their midst? Dani Treweek is currently doing some postgraduate research into these questions, and she joins us in this episode not only to share some of her personal experience of being single (and ministering to other singles), but to give us a sneak peak at the results of her research. Transcript and show notes available from https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/09/03/podcast-episode-019/

Most of us can cope with pain and suffering for a short while. But what happens when you wake up each morning not wondering whether it might be better today, but knowing in your heart that it won’t be? How can we deal with that kind of chronic pain and suffering without becoming bitter with God and with those around us? And how can we minister to those who endure this kind of long-term pain? That’s the subject of this episode of the CCL podcast, with American theologian and author Kelly Kapic. Kelly knows about this kind of suffering firsthand, and has written an award-winning book on the subject called "Embodied Hope: Theological meditations on pain and suffering". Kelly brings biblically rich reflections and honest practical wisdom to the conversation. You won’t want to miss this one. Find show notes and transcript at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/08/01/podcast-episode-018/

We are accustomed in modern Western societies to various freedoms: the freedom to associate, to have opinions and express them openly, to own and dispose of our own property, to act politically and to vote for those who would govern us, to pursue our own interests and intentions—and to do all these things without unjust restraint or coercion or oppression from the state. We take much of this for granted. But according to Os Guinness, as a matter of history and political philosophy, the foundations of this sort of free society are profoundly Christian, and as our society progressively abandons or repudiates these foundations, so also it undermines our freedom. In this special edition of the CCL podcast, we bring you an edited version of the challenging talk Dr Guinness gave at our May 30 event on the nature of true freedom—both Christian and political. Find transcript and show notes at https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/07/10/podcast-episode-017/

“It takes a village to raise a child”, so the saying goes—which may mean that the rich web of relational networks that a close-knit community provides is essential for giving children the social world their upbringing requires. Or it may mean that unless you have someone close by you can offload the kids onto occasionally, you’ll go crazy. Either way, as Christians, we’re aware that raising and training children in the ways of the Lord is not just a parental responsibility, but a communal one. It’s something we do together as a church. At most baptisms or dedications, we promise as the congregation to be part of this. But do we take that responsibility seriously? And what does it mean in practice—for both parents and churches—to “train up a child in the way he should go” (as Proverbs 22:6 puts it)? Peter Tong joins us on this episode of the CCL podcast to answer these questions. Visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/06/18/podcast-episode-016/ for show notes, links and transcript.

Like most cultural sensations who seem to have come out of nowhere, Canadian psychology professor Jordan Peterson has, in fact, been building a large and passionate following in various corners of the internet over the past several years. But it was his recent interview with the BBC’s Cathy Newman that went viral and introduced him to a new level of fame—not only as an opponent of political correctness and the progressive Left, but as the teacher of a bracingly down-to-earth vision of practical wisdom for living. Many Christians aren’t sure what to make of Jordan Peterson and his "12 Rules for Life". In this episode, we talk to David Höhne about the foundations and main elements of Peterson’s program, and how Christians should understand and respond to his ideas. Show notes and transcript: https://ccl.moore.edu.au/2018/05/15/podcast-episode-015/

Tim Challies is known throughout the Christian world as a prolific and insightful blogger and author. More recently, he has turned his hand to documentary film-making, with a new project in the works looking at the history of Christianity through significant objects. While in Sydney to look at some of our Christian treasures (like the Fleet Bible), Tim dropped into the CCL studio for a wide-ranging and fascinating chat about history, technology, evangelism, Billy Graham, Western culture and more. Visit http://ccl.moore.edu.au/listen/podcast/ for shownotes and a full transcript of this episode.

Everybody travels these days. The question is, most often, not whether we will travel overseas, but where we are thinking of travelling to next. It’s hard for us to recognise just how historically novel this experience is. And it can be hard for Christians to realise that, like every other aspect of our lives, our travel plans need to come under the lordship of Jesus Christ. In this episode of the podcast, we hear the very useful insights of Stephen Liggins, author of a new book on Christians and travel—in fact, the only book on Christians and travel that, to the best of our knowledge, exists! Find shownotes on our website at http://ccl.moore.edu.au.

There was a time not so long ago when the question of how the Holy Spirit worked in the life of the Christian was a source of high controversy. Arguments over the “baptism in the Spirit” and the “gifts of the Spirit” dominated Christian conversation. These days, those arguments seem to have died down, and that may be a good thing—or then again, not. If we’ve stopped thinking and talking so much about the Spirit because we’ve sorted out the controversies and have a very clear idea of what the Bible says about the Holy Spirit, that would be a good thing. But if we’ve just swept the subject under the carpet, or moved on to something else more interesting, that's not so good. We do need a clear, biblical understanding of the person and work of the Holy Spirit—especially in relation to our daily Christian lives. That’s what we tackle in this episode of the Centre for Christian Living podcast, with Tony Payne talking to Phillip Jensen.

It’s been a year of “Reformation”—of remembering, celebrating and learning afresh from Reformers like Luther, Calvin, Cranmer and Tyndale. But among the lesser known Reformers was Matthew Zell, an admirable, courageous and extraordinary man who was one of the leading Reformation pastors in Strasbourg. However, this episode of the CCL podcast is not about Matthew Zell and what we might learn from him about the Christian life; it’s about the equally admirable, courageous and extraordinary woman who was married to him. In episode 11 of the CCL podcast, Jane Tooher introduces us to the extraordinary Katherine Zell.

Of the many insults and accusations that were flung at Martin Luther and the other Reformers, one of the most common (and stinging) was that their “gospel of grace” de-motivated people from actually living a godly life. If heaven came free without works, what was the point of trying to be good? And it wasn’t just in the Reformation: Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously wrote in the early 20th century about the deadly effect of “cheap grace”—the idea that someone could accept the grace and forgiveness of Christ as a cheap gift requiring no response from us. Does the Reformation gospel—the one that evangelicals still believe—cut off repentance and living a new life from the good news of Christ? Just what is the relationship between the gospel and the good life? That’s the subject we’ll be discussing in Episode 10 with our guest, theologian and church historian Marty Foord.

Dan Wu grew up with one foot in an Asian “honour/shame culture” and the other foot in a Western “guilt culture”. So he was more than a little interested when he read that the Bible was supposedly a “shame culture” book and that we Westerners misread it from our “guilt culture” perspective. The result was a fascinating journey of scholarship into the meaning of honour, shame and guilt in the Bible. In this episode of the CCL podcast, we talk to Dan about “honour”, “shame” and “guilt”, and how a fresh understanding of these three closely related ideas helps us understand not only the whole story of the Bible, but whole story of our Christian lives—whichever culture we happen to be from.

What do you feel when you hear the claim that one in four Australian women have experienced domestic violence? Are you shocked (or even sceptical) that it could that many? Do you feel anger, abhorrence, or a sickening lurch of recognition? Whatever we feel, it cannot be indifference. As painful and as difficult as the subject is, domestic violence (DV) is a reality that we must understand and respond to. That’s what we’re aiming to at least begin to do within the brief confines of this episode of the CCL podcast. Our guest is Kara Hartley, a member of the Sydney Anglican Domestic Violence Taskforce, and our conversation ranges over the nature of domestic violence, how widespread it is, how we can understand its causes, and how we can respond as Christians.

The Reformation was a revolution in the lives of ordinary everyday people. It changed family life and work life. It radically altered daily spiritual devotion and the weekly experience of going to church. Tony Payne speaks to Carl Trueman about this "everyday Reformation".