Episode 10

Not my will but Yours

"His goal in inviting us into his presence is to remake us in His glory and for our will to then become His will…This is actually about you becoming a mirror of the will of God."

Stepping into a new way of living, means a death to our 'little selves'; that which is operating out of our own will. This continual act of humility sees our lives become more holy and we can go forth as God's agents in the world. 
Listen out for: 
+ Holiness and humility go together 
+ The humble get to enter His presence and see the Messiah 
+ Self-forgetfulness 
+ The direction of your giftedness 

References:  
Thomas Kelly – A Testament of Devotion (1941)

Episode 9

From the temporal perspective to the eternal perspective

"It's something you have to practice and walk out. It's not a works thing, it's not like you have to do this to be saved. Because we're saved, we can enter into the presence. But this is a way of going deeper and being transformed in that glory."

Developing the discipline of being in God's presence, of being in constant communion with Him, we can be remade in His glory and it changes how we weigh things in our lives. 
Listen out for: 
+ Solomon, the temple, idols and God's presence 
+ Behind the scenes: simple prayer and inner worship 
+ Transition moments in our days 
+ Our attachment to the world 

References:  
J. Daniel Hays – The Temple and the Tabernacle (2016) 
Frank Lauback – Letters by a modern mystic (1937) 
Thomas Kelly – A Testament of Devotion (1941)  
Brother Lawrence - The Practice of the Presence of God (1692)  

Episode 8

That deeper space with God

"…inside of us is this holiest of holies. The sad thing is…imagine if it’s a room that never gets opened."

The great Christians throughout history have a commonality - a deep communion with God. While the holiest of holies in the Old Testament temple was cordoned off by a curtain, and only the high priest could enter; now, we are the temple, the holiest of holies is within us. This is the deeper level where it is you and God and He speaks to your soul in that space. 
Listen out for: 
+ The two levels in our inner world 
+ Heaven being inside of us 
+ The invitation is to walk with Him because He is always present 
+ What is the 'Shekinah Glory of God'?  

References:  
Thomas Kelly – A Testament of Devotion (1941)  
Tom Wright – Surprised by Hope (2007) 

Episode 7

He wants to find home in you

"Our lives are a system, our lives are a temple. There are idols in there that often are on the throne."

The temple has both a throne and an altar. A place for God to be exalted and a place to sacrifice. Our hearts often put idols on the throne, in God's place. The way we use our time can point to what idols we hold.
Listen out for: 
+ Unholy inputs 
+ What do we put on the altar in the temple 
+ The hound of heaven 
+ Flourishing life starts with contrition and repentance 

References:  
Basilea Schlink – Repentance: The Joy-filled Life (2016) 
Francis Thompson – The Hound of Heaven (1893) 

Episode 6

Temples that are flourishing contain the presence of God

"If you're leading a life and you're doing what you want to do and disobeying, you're actually going to work against the flourishing of your temple… So seeing your life as a system, what you put into it shapes who you are and what comes out the other side, is a complete paradigm shift."

There are many times when we experience heaven and earth overlapping during church services or worship meetings but we need to see our whole lives as a space where heaven and earth can meet.  
Listen out for: 
+ Psalm 1 and the way to walk 
+ Humans live in systems – inputs and outputs 
+ Ways to flourish  

References:  
Peter Senge – The Fifth Discipline (1990) 
Michael Wilcock – The Message of Psalms 1-72 (2001)

Episode 5

The kingdom is where heaven and earth are meeting

“Humans, then, re-take on the task that they had in Eden. In Eden, in God's original temple, we were His images, we were like that Governor General, to represent His rule and reign in the world.”

We are currently living in a state longing for heaven and earth to be re-united. Like Tolkien’s words acknowledged in episode one: ‘everyone longs for Eden’. We are longing for a home, and that home we are created for is found only with our creator. 
Listen out for: 
+ Living in constant dissatisfaction 
+ Home is relational 
+ A temple is where you live with God 

References:  
Max Picard – The Flight from God (1951) 
John Steinbeck – East of Eden (1952) 
John Milton – Paradise Lost (1667) 

Episode 4

We desire home because it’s where the longing ends

“A temple in most cultures are… models of how the universe should work. A temple is where you dwell with God, where you live out your true humanness, which is your holiness… This concept that we’re only truly human when we are fully holy.”

We are currently living in a state longing for heaven and earth to be re-united. Like Tolkien’s words acknowledged in episode one: ‘everyone longs for Eden’. We are longing for a home, and that home we are created for is found only with our creator. 
Listen out for: 
+ Living in constant dissatisfaction 
+ Home is relational 
+ A temple is where you live with God 

References:  
Max Picard – The Flight from God (1951) 
John Steinbeck – East of Eden (1952) 
John Milton – Paradise Lost (1667) 

Episode 3

A link between belief and action

“Your life project, if you’re listening to this, is to grow in the knowledge of God; something that can only happen, not with more information, more values, but actually when you dwell in the vine.”

We discuss the need for a catalyst to change and pursue radical discipleship to Jesus.  
Listen out for:
+ Mythology of Western Culture 
+ Renewal of spiritual knowledge 
+ Thinking, by itself, won’t allow you to enter renewal 

References: 
Dallas Willard – Knowing Christ Today (2009) 
John Kotter – Leading Change (1988) 

Episode 2

The story that moves us

“This is not trying to change the church to fit 21st Century Western culture, this is Jesus’ kingdom culture becoming the centre of who we are, how we think, how we operate, and we live that way. We believe it. We live it... It’s our everything. That’s the kind of Christianity which we’re being invited into in this moment of social and cultural turmoil.”

Culture tells us we belong to one story one where the individual is the centre of their own grand narrative. Jesus invites us into something completely different. Listen out for:
+ The story we’re sold VS reality
+ Etymological navigation of the word: ‘CULTURE’
+ The problem with the church and secularism
+ Devoting our lives to having the mind of Christ 

References: 
Lesslie Newbigin – The Open Secret (1995) 
Tim Keller – The Reason for God (2008)  
Ronald Rolheiser – The Shattered Lantern (1995) 
N.T. Wright – Paul: A Biography (2018)  

Episode 1

This is for people who want to go deep

“...this sense that there’s something that we long for and there’s people listening to this who sense that those longings are not going to be met by the world and sense that there’s something bigger...and, perhaps, find themselves at this place where they’ve moved from the faith of their parents or the faith of doing our cultural Christianity and just wanting something greater...”

In this episode, we discuss what ‘The Living Temple’ podcast is and who, you, the audience are. 
Listen out for: 
+ What are we invited into as followers of Jesus? 
+ Why the name? 
+ How we are longing and what are we longing for? 
+ What is the western story we are told about the world? 

 References: 
J.R.R. Tolkien – The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981)