When does the season feel like Christmas? Is when the decorations are hung, carols are playing, the shopping centres are full, the air turns crisp (or hot and humid, in the case of Australia), and when all the media is filled with festive ads? Or is it when we make a deliberate attempt to mark the season by turning our focus to the reason for all these celebrations?

Marking the Advent season is a great way for Christians to be intentional in their celebration of Christmas. Advent means “the arrival of someone important”, and for Christians, we celebrate the arrival of the King, Jesus the Christ, God’s Son incarnate. But this is not simply a look back in history to the first coming of Christ; for Christians today, we live expectant of Christ’s second coming.

If we want to be purposeful about valuing the gift of God’s Son at Christmas, we should mark the season. So for our last episode of 2022, CCL Director Chase Kuhn shares short devotion from an advent devotional he is currently writing. Our hope is that this short study on Luke 1 will help you better appreciate Christ this Christmas.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-088/

Today it’s very easy to be suspicious of people in places of authority. We’ve heard countless stories of how power has been abused. With our increased suspicion comes a level of distrust. This quickly leads us to criticise leaders, watching their every move and picking through their every word.

The trouble that we have as Christians is that this sort of behaviour is destructive to our church relationships. Rather than appreciating the leaders that God has given to us, we tear them down. Sadly, this does more than just compromise our relationship with our leaders; it actually demonstrates a pervasive thanklessness in our relationship with God.

In an effort to restore health to our churches and encourage those who God has placed over us, in this episode, we’re considering the need to fight for your pastor.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-087/

From the dawn of time, systems of justice have demanded recompense for wrongs. The most fundamental systems have been kind for kind—such as, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or a life for a life. In fact, this sort of rudimentary justice system is biblical and it lies at the heart of so much of the law in Scripture. But in God’s kingdom, Jesus tells us that there is no room for vengeance. Instead, life in the kingdom demands forbearance and forgiveness.

What does this mean for us practically? Can there be any justice? In this episode of the podcast, we bring you some of the audio from our most recent live event on vengeance, where we considered how Jesus transforms our expectations and pursuits of justice, and leads us away from vengeance.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-086/

Imagine being part of a church that wasn’t confused, reluctant or reticent about complementarianism, but rather embraced it. Imagine being so convinced of what God says that you’re able to express it confidently in what you say and do. Imagine being so compelled by the goodness of what God says that you express it positively in church life. This is the vision set forward in the new book, “Embracing Complementarianism” by Graham Beynon and Jane Tooher. In this episode of the CCL podcast, we consider the practicalities of complementarianism in our second episode with Priscilla & Aquila Centre Director and Moore College lecturer Jane Tooher on the matter.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-085/

To find out more about Jane and Graham's book, visit https://www.thegoodbook.com.au/embracing-complementarianism

Relationships can be difficult. One of the perennial issues for humans is how to relate as men and women. These conversations have changed over time, but they have not gotten any easier. For Christians, there is a deep conviction that God has made us male and female, equal but distinct. This is good. But what does it mean for this deep conviction to be realised in our practical life? In this episode of the CCL podcast, we explore how we might embrace complementarianism with Priscilla & Aquila Centre Director and Moore College lecturer Jane Tooher.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-084/

Integrity seems almost mythical in our current culture. Suspicion runs deep—largely because of a history of lying and deception. At some points, our culture celebrates this sort of slight in order to gain the upper hand. This problem isn’t novel; we may use a variety of “guarantees” to back up our words—for example, “I swear …”, “On my mother’s grave …”, and so on. But often we fail to be people of our word.

However, Jesus says that Kingdom living leaves no room for deception. As recipients of the truth, disciples must live a life of truth. In this episode of the podcast, we bring you the audio from our most recent live event, in which Dr Tony Payne leads us to discover discipleship without deception.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-083/

Life is filled with many things that we appreciate: health and children are among some of the most treasured things we enjoy. We all appreciate health, as sickness, disease and disorders can affect what we consider a "normal" life. There is also a desire in most of us to raise children.

But as good as health and children are, are they ends to be pursued at any means? Much in our modern health practice has evolved to accommodate these good ends. We have better care for pregnant women and unborn babies than ever before. But we also have many practices that remain unquestioned. In this episode of the CCL podcast, we consider ethical issues related to pre-pregnancy and pregnancy screening.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-082/

Have you ever wondered if you’re doing enough? It’s hard to escape this question. Do you ever feel like you haven’t exercised enough, read enough, given enough, spent enough time with people, or spent enough time alone? Thinking about these things is exhausting. It’s no wonder that many find life a worry. In the information age, there is always so much more than we can consume. And because we’re more connected than ever, we constantly compare ourselves to others.

But what if limits aren’t bad? What if we’ve been pushing ourselves towards unachievable goals? What if we’ve misunderstood God’s design for us as finite creatures? In this episode of the podcast, we consider the goodness of our limits as human beings.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-081/

Church discipline is a much-neglected topic in the modern church. However, the Scriptures suggest it is needed for the good of the church and because Christians are called to love people caught in sin. How do we apply the biblical principles of church discipline to the modern church? What can we do at earlier points to ensure that more drastic church discipline is not required? Furthermore, how does our understanding of the danger of abusing power imbalances change the process of discipline?

In this episode of the Centre for Christian Living podcast, we hear audio from a June event run by our partner centre, the Priscilla & Aquila Centre. Phil Colgan, rector of St George North Anglican Church, and Kara Hartley, Archdeacon for Women’s Ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Sydney, discuss the difference between Big “D” discipline and small “d” discipline, and the implications that has for church life.

For an edited transcript and show notes, visit https://ccl.moore.edu.au/resources/podcast-episode-080/