Connected Kingdom
By Tim Challies & David Murray
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Podcast Description
The Connected Kingdom Podcast with Tim Challies and David Murray.
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An Ordinary Podcast | This week’s episode of the Connected Kingdom Podcast (another of our new, shorter episodes) has David Murray answering a question I asked him last week: What’s it like to be ordinary? You can listen in or read along…What would you say if one of your friends asked you, “David tell us what it’s like to be ordinary?”Well I had the privilege of “enjoying” that experience last week. When offered the opportunity to challenge me to speak on a subject of his own choice, my friend Tim Challies said, “David, why don’t you tell us what it’s like to be ordinary.”So that’s what springs into Tim’s mind when he thinks of me: “Ordinary.”I mean it’s not a huge insult I suppose. He didn’t ask me to speak on being “Ugly” or being “Offensive” or being a “Fool.” But it’s not exactly the greatest compliment either is it?! “Ordinary”OK, I didn’t expect him to ask me about being “Extraordinary” or “Super-intelligent” or “Tall, dark and handsome,” but I expected maybe something a bit more than “Ordinary.”Maybe something like being “Loyal” or “Consistent” or “Reliable” or something like that. But “Ordinary!?”I looked up ordinary.com and found that it’s owned by Tanglewood Ordinary Restaurant - serving grandmother’s Sunday dinner since 1986. Not exactly the most inviting name for a restaurant - Tanglewood Ordinary Restaurant. Ordinary.net hasn’t even been purchased yet. Shows you how popular a concept “ordinary” is!When I looked up a dictionary, I found this definition: “Ordinary: a clergyman appointed formerly in England to attend condemned criminals.” It’s also used to describe “some of the fundamental elements of the Catholic Mass.” In Britain it can even be used of “a Tavern or eating house serving regular meals.”But I don’t think Tim was meaning any of these possibilities; rather he was thinking along the lines of this definition: “ordinary - the regular or customary condition or course of things.” Some synonyms are “everyday” “normal” “run of the mill” “humdrum.”Not much encouragement there, though, is there. Who wants to be ordinary, run of the mill, humdrum?Well, the good news for me and for you is that God wants the vast majority of His people to be “ordinary.”I know I’ve been expressing outrage over Tim’s choice of subject for me, but it’s all been somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I know the sense in which Tim is using the word and that’s why when he gave me the assignment, I didn’t give him a punch over the Internet. Rather I said, “Thank you, Tim. I take that as the highest compliment.” Because I believe that God’s will for me, and indeed for most of us, is to be extraordinarily ordinary!Let me explain what I mean!When you read through Ephesians 1-3, you scale the immeasurable heights and depths and breadths of Christian doctrine: predestination, election, redemption, justification, sanctification, union with Christ, and so on. It leaves you utterly breathless with wonder and awe.And you think, “Right what’s coming. If God has done all that for me, what’s he going to ask me to do to show my gratitude?” You come to the end of the doctrinal depths of chapter 3 with the climactic doxology: “To him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end. Amen.”And you hardly dare turn the page.Because you know that God’s about to demand that you go on mission to Africa or Antarctica for the rest of your life. Or He’s going to tell you to giv | 2/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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Crushed | At long last, David Murray and I are back with season 3 of The Connected Kingdom podcast. There’s a few changes this year, the most notable of which is that we are now including a [partial] transcript of the podcast. So you’ve now got the option to listen to it or read it. More information at the end…Horatio Spafford was a man who knew pain and a man whose pain has left a powerful and lasting legacy to the church. A wealthy Chicago businessman, Spafford invested heavily in real estate and saw almost his entire fortune consumed in the Great Chicago Fire that swept the city in 1871. Far greater pain awaited him. In 1873 he decided that he and his family should enjoy a vacation. They decided to go to England since their dear friend D.L. Moody would be preaching there in the fall. Though business delayed his own departure, he sent his family on ahead. His wife Anna and their four daughters boarded the steamship Ville du Havre and set out for England. On November 22 another ship collided with that one and two hundred and twenty six people lost their lives, including all four of the Spafford girls. Upon arriving in England, Anna sent her husband a tragic telegram: “Saved alone.”Spafford set out to England to be with his wife and during that crossing penned the hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” a powerful declaration of trust in the midst of tragedy.When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll;Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,It is well, it is well with my soul.“When sorrows like sea billows roll.” It is a poignant metaphor, a simile really, that speaks of sorrow coming upon us like waves on a storm-tossed sea. The same sea billows that poured over the heads of his daughters, the waves that stole their lives, are now pressing hard against him, threatening to drown him in despair, to steal his soul. They are rising up above him, they are cresting and crashing down upon him, they are pulling him under and tossing him in the undertow. Yet he has more hope for his soul than his girls did for their lives. The Lord has taught him that all will be well. Whatever his lot, whatever the Lord decrees for him, he is able to say, “It is well with my soul.” What was the source of such comfort in trial? It was this: “Christ hath regarded my helpless estate / And hath shed His own blood for my soul.”I am a stranger to this kind of sorrow. Though my life has not been completely free from pain and disappointment and sad farewells, I have never known sorrow to come against me like the waves of the ocean; I have never known it to threaten to drown me in despair. But discouragement, now there is something that too often crashes upon me like waves crash against the hull of a ship. There is something that often threatens to crush me.Discouragement comes in different forms. There is discouragement that comes when I am left grappling with failure, when I have not succeeded at the things I’ve attempted to do well. There are the sermons that never take shape the way I had wanted them to, the ones that never seemed to yield to time and patience and brute force. There are the dreams that never grow into anything more than a rough and untenable plan, the relationships that never lead to friendship, the chapters that have to be left out of books, the opportunities wasted, the holiness lost and neglected. This life is one of so much failure and there in failure’s wake is discouragement, towed along behind it.Discouragement can come in a very different form—the form of other people’s success. Here is the excruciating pain of seeing others do well in those areas where I have failed, of hearing of the sermons that went in all the directions my own never did or the books that sold a hundred copies for every one of mine. There is the discouragement of coming up to the edge of my own talent an | 1/31/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
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On Being Gospel-Centered (CK2:23) | The phrase “gospel-centered” is fast entering the Evangelical mainstream. We are encouraged to be gospel-centered or to preach the gospel to ourselves. It is easy to say but, in my experience, far more difficult to do. This morning David Murray and I spoke with Joe Thorn about this very thing.Joe Thorn is Lead Pastor of Redeemer Fellowship in St. Charles, IL and is the author of the great little book Note To Self. We took the opportunity to ask Joe what it means to be gospel-centered, whether the gospel truly applies to all of life, and then to give some practical pointers for how to preach the gospel to yourself in joy and in pain. Speaking personally I found it very, very helpful. So why don’t you give it a listen? It will take less than 30 minutes of your time and I think you’ll be well-rewarded for the effort.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 11/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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The Attributes of God | I am woefully underqualified, or perhaps just plain unqualified, to evaluate rap music. Whatever I say on the subject, at least as it pertains to the beats and the rhythms and any other component that makes rap what it is, should be taken with a grain of salt. Or two. Maybe even three.However, even if I am unqualified to speak of the music as music, I can at least comment on the lyrical content and on my personal feelings toward an album. And with the full weight of my complete lack of qualification I say that Shai Linne’s new album The Attributes of God is the best rap album I’ve heard; at least, it’s definitely my favorite.As you may have surmised from the title, this is an album that speaks of God’s attributes. In a statement in the liner notes, Shai writes this:In releasing this music, I’m hoping for something that is humanly impossible. My hope is that this collection of songs would point beyond themselves to the God who is described in them. That as His character as revealed in Exodus 33:18 - 34:14 is expounded through rhythmic poetry, complex rhyme schemes, melody, harmony and instrumentation —the heart of the listener would be compelled to exalt God and to love and trust and adore Him. To the extent that I have failed in this attempt, I am solely to blame. To the extent that I have succeeded, all of the credit goes to God. Soli Deo Gloria!This is a noble goal and certainly a brave one. And what’s more, I think he has succeded. By combining that rhythmic poetry along with the rhymes, melodies, harmonies and instrumentations, he has crafted an album that speaks powerfully of the attributes and character of God. It is an album not of personal experiences with God, but rather an album that delights in the God who is. He writes of God’s glory, goodness, sovereignty, holiness, wrath and patience and love and faithfulness and so on.So how does someone go about writing a song that delights in God’s wrath? Here is how Shai did it:God’s wrath is a perfection for which He should be adored. / A passion for this message: yes it needs to be restored / He has holy reflexes towards the evil / He abhors Cats who don’t respect Him will receive His lethal sword / The mass prefers the pleasures that sin easily affords / Our blasphemous affections are the reason we’re at war / We should be in awe, His sweetness should keep us floored / Sin’s radical infection is the reason we get bored / Repeatedly we snore, He’s frequently ignored / We explore evil lusts leaving us greedy for more / The Master’s recollection of our evil He records / We have zero protection because He is keeping score / It’s bad for every section, there’s no passing His inspection / Because we’re lacking the perfection that we need to be secure / Everlasting dissection: the unbeliever’s reward / Disaster for rejection of the truth—Jesus is Lord!Chorus God is an all-consuming fire / Burning away all false desires / soon He’s gonna burn it away, the holy furnace will blaze / Eternal the days, Somebody come on / They’re longing for mountains and rocks to be falling / Please don’t refuse the One who’s calling you / He’s calling you, He’s warning you / Whatcha gonna do? Somebody come onWhere this album is so successful, at least in my books, is in both the depth and the width of the lyrics. Shai covers a wide variety of topics and he does so by using thousands and thousands of words. As a medium, rap allows a vast amount of content, at least when compared to a rock or pop song. Some of the songs work 1,000 words into 4 or 5 minutes. Those words simply speak of who God is and, at times, of what he has done.A couple of weeks ago I had spent the week working on a sermon and, on Sunday morning, was weary and discouraged. On the way to church I turned on this album and just soaked in | 11/1/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:21 - Mormons & Mormonism | Our guest on this week’s edition of The Connected Kingdom podcast is ex-Mormon and now Christian author Latayne Scott. She answers questions like these ones:How did you become a Mormon?How were you converted to Christ?Is Mormonism a cult?Can a Christian vote for Mitt Romney?What are the changes in and challenges to Mormonism?How should we evangelize Mormons? Should we invite them into our homes?Through Zondervan, Latayne has just published a new and updated edition of The Mormon Mirage. You can also catch up with her at her blog Latayne.com.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 10/19/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:20 - Talking about Preaching | David and I are back this week with another episode of The Connected Kingdom podcast—episode 20 in this second season. This week’s guest is Timmy Brister. A short time ago he wrote a blog post about preaching from a manuscript; since David and I have often discussed not preaching from a manuscript, we thought this would open up an opportunity to discuss that topic. We hope you enjoy it!If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 10/13/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:19 - Christianity Explored | Our guest on this week’s Connected Kingdom podcast is Rico Tice who founded Christianity Explored. Because I am on the far side of the continent, David took the lead in interviewing Rico. Be sure to give it a listen!Rico Tice is Associate Minister of Evangelism at All Souls Church, Langham Place, London. He is also Founder of Christianity Explored, the evangelistic introductory course to Christianity. This week on the Connected Kingdom podcast, Rico talks about the impact of John Stott upon his life and ministry, how his previous singleness made Christianity Explored possible, and how he keeps his own evangelistic fervor alive. US listeners can find Christianity Explored resources here.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 9/27/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:18 - Catching Up | After a long summer hiatus, The Connected Kingdom Podcast is back. David and I got back in front of our microphones yesterday and recorded the first podcast in some time—and the 18th podcast in season 2. Because it has been a while, we mostly got caught up with one another, talking about David’s new book, about my new position at Grace Fellowship Church and about my crazy schedule over the next couple of weeks.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 9/20/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:17 - Counseling One Another | This week’s guest on The Connected Kingdom is Paul Tautges. Paul is a pastor, author, counselor and father of ten(!). He has recently begun a new blog called Counseling One Another. In this podcast, the last one we’ll be recording until after the summer, David and I speak to Paul about the importance of setting counseling within the context of Christian discipleship (which in turn takes it out of the exclusive hands of the experts).If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 7/8/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:16 - Myths About Calvinism | This week’s guest on The Connected Kingdom is Dr. Ken Stewart, who is Professor of Theological Studies at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Georgia. Intervarsity Press recently published Dr. Stewart’s book Ten Myths About Calvinism: Recovering the Breadth of the Reformed Tradition. David and I spoke to him about the Old Calvinism about the New Calvinism and about what the even newer future Calvinism may look like. Here is a table of contents pointing out some of the highlights of our discussion:1:30 - Overview of the ten myths about Calvinism9:35 - Purpose and audience of the book11:00 - Our polarized movement; who has the inside track on explaining and articulating the Reformed faith; too many Calvinist authorities14:47 - Clarification on Calvinistic brands16:15 - Did we blow the Rob Bell situation?29:06 - Theological accountability and Gospel Coalition31:42 - Fault lines in CalvinismThere is lots of interesting food for thought in this podcast!If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 6/23/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:15 - Thriving at College | This week’s guest on The Connected Kingdom podcast is Alex Chediak who is the author of the brand new book Thriving at College, a book that about how college students can launch into responsible, fruitful adulthood for the glory of God against the backdrop of a young adult culture that often values perpetual adolescence and the avoidance of responsibility. In this interview Alex talks about who he wrote the book for, he discusses who should and should not go to college and offers up some sound advice for the parents of young people. If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 6/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:14 - Training Your Children | In this week’s edition of The Connected Kingdom, David and I discuss a topic that we’ve both written about but never actually talked to one another about—children’s devotions. I wanted David to explain why he created a program of personal devotions for his children and then wanted to describe how I’ve adapted it a little bit for my own children. You may want to see this article for reference. We discuss the importance of having children learn to do devotions on their own while also touching on family devotions and the importance of a father leading his children in this area.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 6/9/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:13 - Be Encouraged! | Tim Keesee has a pretty amazing ministry. He travels around the world with Frontline Missions in order to encourage missionaries, to meet indigenous Christians and to find new ways to partner in spreading the gospel. Some of his journeys have been documented in the Dispatches from the Front DVDs that I wrote about last week. As soon as I saw those videos I knew that I wanted to talk to Tim, and that is just what I did in this week’s podcast.I’d encourage you to listen so you can be encouraged as you hear how and where the Lord is working. Tim shares some amazing stories and tells what he has seen of the church in faraway lands.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 6/2/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:12 - An Interview with Nancy Guthrie | Author and speaker Nancy Guthrie pays us a visit on this week’s Connected Kingdom podcast. We talk about Nancy’s teaching ministry to women, and especially her Bible Study books on Christ in the Old Testament. Nancy also explains how the Lord used the loss of two infant children to move her and her husband David to host regular retreats for other bereaved parents. You can watch David and Nancy glorify God as they talk with Joni about Holding on to Hope in the midst of this suffering.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 5/25/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:11- Important Lessons | I do not want to overstate the case, but I think this may be one of the more important podcasts David and I have recorded. David has recently suffered through some very serious medical complications and in this episode we discuss what he has learned from these trials. In the midst of difficult times God has taught him some very, very important lessons. At least I know that I benefited a lot from hearing them.So listen in and hear how the Lord has graciously caught David’s attention.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 5/17/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:10 - Was Adam a Real Man? | A few weeks ago we had Carl Trueman on the podcast with us. One thing he said really stood out—that one of the great challenges in the church today is defending the historicity of Adam. Although I had sense of what’s at stake in that debate, I wanted to know more. Since David Murray has done a lot of work in this area, I took the opportunity in this week’s podcast to ask him about that whole issue. What is the debate about? Who are some of the people who deny that Adam actually existed? What are some of the theological and practical implications of this? How can we prove that Adam is a historical figure?I hope you enjoy hearing this discussion. If Carl Trueman is correct (and certainly he is not the only one who feels this is a fault line within evangelicalism right now) you may do well to listen in and at least learn the basics of what the debate is all about.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 4/21/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:9 - A Discussion with Todd Friel | David Murray was not available for a podcast this week, so I drafted Todd Friel to help me out. Todd is host of Wretched Radio and, you know, various other things. He and I spent some time discussing New Calvinism, Rob Bell (including what those of us who responded to Bell didn’t do so well), the gospel and various other things. Mostly I was just trying to keep Todd from taking over.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 4/7/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:8 - The Next Story | I don’t know if this is a fascinating or a boring podcast, but I think you’ll benefit from it if you give it a listen. Yesterday I sat down with David Murray and Ryan Pazdur, an editor at Zondervan, and we talked about The Next Story and subjects related to it. I hope you enjoy it!If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 3/31/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:7 - Pornography and Sex Addiction | This week’s episode of The Connected Kingdom finds us in coversation with Harry Schaumburg, a man who has dedicated his life and ministry to helping people recover from sex addiction and addiction to pornography. In this conversation we seek to ask him very practical questions about issues that are on many people’s minds.Here is a breakdown (including time stamps) of some of the topics we cover and the questions we ask:2:55 - How widespread is this problem?4:30 - What’s the real issue here? What’s the heart issue?8:48 - Should every wife suspect her husband and be suspicious that he is looking at pornography?13:12 - How important is open communication about the sexual relationship within marriage?15:41 - How can we protect our children?24:30 - Here we quickly go through a list of very practical questions and answers.What does a wife do if she discovers that her husband is looking at pornography?What does a husband need to know about how pornography may affect his wife and family?Does pornography tend to escalate over time?When and how do you know you’re cured?Can you offer a quick critique of Every Man’s Battle?When does a person need to seek out help from his local church and when should he seek out help from a professional counselor?Harry is the author of Undefiled and False Intimacy. You can learn about his counseling ministry at StoneGateResources.org.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 3/16/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
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CK2:6 - Answering Your Questions | In this week’s episode of The Connected Kingdom, David Murray and I answer some questions asked by you, the people who listen in. We answer (or attempt to answer):Is there any value in critiquing a book like Rob Bell’s Love Wins or are we just giving him press?Should Bible translations be copyrighted?What is the importance of church membership?Should members of churches have privileges that non-members do not?How can I help my teens become self-directing in their use of technology?Why do you believe what you believe about baptism?I’m sure there were some other questions as well. We had intended to make this podcast available yesterday, but with the site getting a lot of extra traffic based on the review of Love Wins I thought it would be better to wait a day. So here it is—a day late, but not a dollar short.If you want to give us feedback or join in the discussion, go ahead and look up our Facebook Group or leave a comment right here. You will always be able to find the most recent episode here on the blog. If you would like to subscribe via iTunes, you can do that here or if you want to subscribe with another audio player, you can try this RSS link. | 3/10/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 20 Episodes |
Customer Reviews
A Great Beginning!
My wife, an avid reader, has been a Tim Challies blog fan for quite a while. Tim's book reviews have been indispensable to her as she picks books for our church library. I, on the other hand, listen to six to eight hours of podcasts a day. When my wife told me about Tim Challies and David Murray starting a podcast, I had to check it out. It was a great beginning! It will be a podcast on living as Christians in a digital world. As I listened, I heard references to other Christian podcasts on my daily download list. Thanks sweetheart! Tim is all you said he is and more.
