Centre for Christian Living podcast

Over the past few years, the mistreatment of women has been brought to the forefront of media attention through things like the #MeToo movement. It is as if a spotlight has been shone upon the terrible ways women have been objectified by men. In recent weeks in Australia, there has been accusation of sexual misconduct against women in our highest government buildings. There have been a range of re...

In Christian circles, we often talk about the fact that we’re all on mission. In fact, the Great Commission has been the battle cry for many believers passionate about living their purpose in the world: we are called to make disciples of all nations. But not all of us really understand what it means to think and live missionally. It is one thing to say mission is important, but another to know our...

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—eve...

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 suc...

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 suc...

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 th...

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 Christ...

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 Revo...

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 i...

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 episo...

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 to...

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...

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 desir...

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...

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 Chris...

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 rit...

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...

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...

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? Fu...

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 beco...

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...

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 importa...

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,...

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 pa...

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 creati...