The Music and the Dance

This episode came from a conversation I had with Peter Fiore. He had mentioned an especially moving morning of reflection on the gospel so I invited him to play host and let me be the guest - not sure we stayed in our lanes but we went for that.  so here you go....

In our series on basic doctrines of the faith, we've come to the fourth aspect of the doctrine of Scripture. We've looked at the authority, necessity, and clarity of Scripture in our earlier podcasts. In this episode, we address the sufficiency of Scripture. 

We continue to survey the doctrine of Scripture. We're considering four attributes of Scripture: Authority, Clarity, Necessity, and Sufficiency. In this episode we take on the second of these attributes, The Clarity of Scripture.

We're back with Peter Fiore to pick up on our summary of Systematic Theology. This week: The Authority of Scripture. It's so powerful to just review some basic Scriptural Truths and reacquaint ourselves with what Scripture says about Scripture!

Sanctity of Human Life Day is observed on January 22, the date of the historic Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion-on-demand in all 50 states. In this episode, I talk with Kayla Mowery about her experience working with pregnancy centers and women dealing with unplanned pregnancies. We then reflect on two critical truths from Psalm 139.

Here's the first episode for the New Year! After an extended rambling update we talk about butter on bread spread too thin and the New Year with its challenges and opportunities. We will also be sharing a message from Psalm 63 about our thirst for God and his fullness for us.

In this episode Peter and I finish up our foundational introduction to God's incommunicable attributes. We deal with difficult doctrine of impassibility. And then dive into the attributes of omnipresence, omniscience and omnipotence. It's time to stretch our thinking and discuss some of the awesome incommunicable attributes of our God. Impassibility, Omnipresence, Omniscience, Omnipotence are big words and challenging concepts with huge implications.!

This is Thanksgiving week 2021 in the USA and for this episode of the Music and the Dance we are offering up a message on gratitude from the sermon archive. It was first preached at Christ Community Church in Daytona Beach, Florida. Gratitude isn't just a nice thing, it's crucial and powerful. Nurture it!

In this episode Peter and I discuss another one of God's incommunicable attributes: Immutability.  Malachi 3:6 "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed.”  Hebrews 6:17-18 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.  18  God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged.  James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. Many Scriptures speak of God's unchanging nature but what does that mean and why does it matter? Peter and I discuss the doctrine of the immutability of God and also reflect on some of the recent events at Christ Community Church. 

In this episode we discuss the veracity of God, get into the incommunicable attributes and talk about why it all matters!

This episode lays the foundation for our look at the attributes of God. Peter and I discuss the relationship between the attributes and God's essence. What is an attribute? How should we think of God's attributes? How do God's attributes relate to each other. We explore the meaning of communicable and incommunicable attributes and get started on some of the communicable attributes, all in this episode!

In this episode Peter and I continue our series on Theology and especially Systematic Theology. We discuss the basics contours of one of the most foundational and challenging doctrines of the Christian faith: The Trinity!  What is the Trinity? Is the Trinity Biblical? Does the Trinity matter?  If you have never thought much about this important doctrine this is a great place to start. 

This episode continues our discussion of Systematic Theology  with some foundational introductory issues and questions. At the end we share an important announcements about a change in schedule for the upcoming episodes.

In this episode we continue our new series on Systematic Theology but do so with a sermon on the first part of the Apostles' Creed. I hope to go back and forth from podcast interviews and discussions to sermon clips with commentary to flesh out Theology in the context of worship and life. It's all the Music and the Dance.

In this episode we begin a new series in which we will be exploring what you might call a doctrinal survey of the story of redemption.  We are going to be looking at significant doctrines,  or Biblical Teachings and relating them to The Story of Redemption in Scripture and to the gospel-centered dynamic of The Music and the Dance. 

With this episode Peter and I wrap up our series on The Dynamics of Spiritual Life,  An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, by Richard Lovelace. 

The penultimate chapter of Lovelace's classic work on spiritual renewal focuses on the issue of gospel-centered concern for social issues. What fuels it and what impedes it and how true renewal empowers and inspires concern for justice and for mercy.

The Evangelical Muse - Chapter 11, The Dynamics of Spiritual Life. In this episode Peter and I discuss Richard Lovelace's take on the relationship between Evangelical Renewal and the Arts.  

This chapter explores the relationship between church unity and revival. Does renewal and or revival produce more division or more unity in the church? How can we best respond to the call to unity and, at the same time, the call to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the Saints? Today Peter Fiore joins me as we dig into Chapter 10 in Lovelace's book, The Dynamics of Spiritual Renewal.

In today's episode I settle in with my frequent guest, Pastor Tommy Clayton of GraceLife Church in Deltona Florida to discuss The Dynamics of Spiritual Life again. Tommy recently preached two sermons on what Lovelace calls, “The Primary Elements of Spiritual Renewal.”So we're going to talk about his approach to preaching these truths in the local church.Tommy references a picture which he had on a slide during his worship service. If you want to check that out click on the link below. The illustration begins are 33-34 minutes in.https://www.gracelifeflorida.com/mediaPlayer/#/sermonvideo/232

In this episode, we take a break from The Dynamics of Spiritual Life and dip into our archives to bring a message first delivered by Dr. Jim Coffield at Christ Community Church in Daytona Beach, Florida. It's a message that fits right into the themes of The Music and the Dance and The Dynamics of Spiritual Life.

Whooops! For those of you who listened in this morning sorry for the mess up - we reposted last week's episode and just now caught the error. He's the chapter you want!My friend and fellow pastor, Tommy Clayton joins me in this episode as we review Lovelace's chapter on "Live Orthodoxy.” It's all about holding on to both the reality of true spiritual vitality and the foundation of orthodox Biblical doctrine. 

As helpful as it is to know about the key elements in revival, it is also important to know how revivals go wrong. That's the theme for this podcast with Myself and Peter Fiore. 

This is a great chapter and I get to discuss it with two great guys! I'm joined by Peter Fiore and Barry Cooper. In chapter seven of Richard Lovelace's book, The Dynamics of Spiritual Life, we deal with "the sanctification gap." By this Lovelace means not only the gap serious Christians feel between who they are and who they are called to be but also the gap, in the sense of the neglect, of the issue of sanctification amongst Evangelicals. Join us!

In this episode of our continuing series on The Dynamics of Spiritual Life, by Richard Lovelace, we talk through chapter 6. This chapter is titled, "The Renewal of the Local Congregation". Peter and I are joined by pastor Tommy Clayton of GraceLife Church in Deltona Florida. We talk about Lovelaces' experience of what happens when renewal begins and the local church is too enculturated to received new converts. We explore both individual and congregational issues related to spiritual renewal and  Tommy draws a gospel-centered connection to Dr. Seuss and the Grinch who stole Christmas. 

In this episode of our continuing series on The Dynamics of Spiritual Life, by Richard Lovelace, we explore chapter 5. This chapter is titled, "Secondary Elements of Renewal". Peter and I take a huge chapter,  break it down and talk it through. We discuss 1.) orientation toward mission, 2.) dependent prayer, 3.) the community of believers, 4.) theological integration and 5.) disenculturation. This chapter concludes the first half of this highly praised and widely influential classic. Join us!

In our continuing series on The Dynamics of Spiritual Life, An Evangelical Theology of Renewal we have come to a critical chapter.  In this episode, Peter Fiore and I discuss what Lovelace describes as the four primary elements of spiritual renewal: Justification, Sanctification, The Indwelling Holy Spirit, and Authority in Spiritual Conflict. Why are these four elements so crucial? What do they mean? How do we appropriate them?

In this episode, Peter Fiore and I continue our discussions about The Dynamics of Spiritual Life, by Richard Lovelace. We take on two chapters this time: Chapter 2, Biblical Models of Cyclical Renewal, and Chapter 3, Preconditions of Continuous Renewal.  These are important chapters in themselves and they lay the foundation for much that follows. 

In this episode, Peter and I survey and discuss chapter one of Richard Lovelace's classic, Dynamics of Spiritual Life.  Lovelace sketches a history of revivals in the evangelical movement. He especially focuses on The historical period from Jonathon Edwards and The First Great Awakening to the Jesus Movement of the 1970s. In the process, he identifies and discusses key principles and lessons relating to the dynamics of spiritual life ending with hope for the present and the future.  Here's the link to the Gospel Coalition clip with time killer and Don Carson on their experience of revival in the 1970s: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/video/keller-and-carson-on-revival/  

In this episode, we introduce a tremendously important and influential book: The Dynamics of Spiritual Life, An Evangelical Theology of Renewal, by Richard F. Lovelace. This is truly a classic book. Tim Keller writes the forward in which he says, “Dynamics of Spiritual Life is a book we can't do without. Richard Lovelace's classic was amazingly prescient when first published forty years ago, and it is still relevant to many of today's ministry issues. Earlier in my ministry, when church planters came to me and asked, “What should I read?” I always gave them  Lovelace's Dynamics of Spiritual Life.  Lovelace's book gave leaders a way of using the gospel in people's lives that not only brought them to saving faith but also kept renewing them individually and corporately.” As important as this book is, it is a big book, and many people may not be able or willing to read it. In the upcoming episodes, my friend Peter Fiore and I are going to take it one or two chapters at a time in order to survey the whole book, reflect on its key themes and learn from it together with you! 

A friend recently sent a text testifying to how much he appreciated this sermon from a few years ago. It's sort of a different take on Ephesians 4:15-16 and what it means to speak the truth in love. 

While on vacation this week I am uploading a carefully, prayerfully chosen recording of one of our regular Sunday morning worship services at Christ Community Church in Daytona Beach, Florida. This is a message that received quite a bit of encouraging feedback and one that I believe is also especially fitting for the season we're in. "Things that seem mysterious to us are ordained by God for his glory and our good. Therefore we can always choose to trust in him.”

Waiting is a struggle for all of us and especially in this present challenging season. In this episode  we are sharing a message on waiting delivered by Dr. Jim Coffield during a regular Sunday Morning service at Christ Community Church. Dr. Coffield received his Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee in counseling psychology and is a licensed psychologist. Dr. Coffield brings a wide variety of teaching and clinical experience. He is a former member at Christ Community and a former professor in the counseling department at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. 

This episode wraps up the extended conversation with Barry Cooper and Tommy Clayton on the theme of being gospel-centered in our Christian life. I share a story and then delve into the dynamic of repentance and renjoicing in the gospel-centered life.

We're back at the conversation! Me, Barry Cooper and Tommy Clayton talking about the music and the dance. We discuss the expulsive power of a new affection and other topics related to gospel-centered spiritual life and growth. For a downloadable version check out this link: https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/Chalmers,%20Thomas%20-%20The%20Exlpulsive%20Power%20of%20a%20New%20Af.pdf 

We continue the conversation with Barry and Tommy and then I unpack some observations from Galatians 5:6 regarding, “faith expressing itself through love.”

In this episode I meet up with Barry Cooper and Tommy Clayton to talk about the main theme of the podcast, namely, what does it mean to be "gospel-centered." This will begin a series of episodes that explore this central biblical idea of how we grow and change as Christians.  What is the relationship between the gospel and the life we are called to live in Christ?

In this episode, I connect with an old friend Randy Scharf. Randy and I lived through the same season of change together in the mid-60s to 70s. We both came to Christ in that same season and ended up at the same, somewhat controversial drug rehab program: The Seed. Listen in as we talk about that time in our lives, and of course, the power and hope of the gospel.

In this episode, I continue my conversation with professor Mike Glodo of Reformed Theological Seminary and we move from preachers and preaching to Christian Leaders, Godly Character and Moral Failures. 

In this episode, I have a fun conversation with Professor Mike Glodo of Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando Florida. We talk about the state of preaching and of preachers in the Evangelical Church.

In today's episode, I get to continue my conversation with Dr. Michael Allen in the second of two episodes on sanctification.  

In today's episode, I get to talk with Dr. Michael Allen in the first of two episodes on sanctification.  In mid-January I spent a week at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando Florida teaching a course on preaching. While there I had the opportunity to spend some time talking with Dr.  Allen. Dr. Michael Allen (whose PhD, is from Wheaton College)  serves as John Dyer Trimble Professor of Systematic Theology at RTS. He is also the Academic Dean of the Orlando campus. He teaches core courses related to systematic theology and historical theology.He is an author who has written… • Justification and the Gospel• Ephesians in the Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible• Grounded in Heaven; Recentering Christian Hope and Life on God.• Sanctification in the New Studies in Dogmatics series, which is the book that prompted my interview.He has also written many, many more… You can check out his author page on Amazon. Under “R. Michael Allen”

In this episode, I continue the conversation with Tommy Clayton regarding the Biblical Doctrine of Adoption and we get into its practical significance in everyday life.

A conversation with Tommy Clayton of Grace Life Church in Deltona, Florida about the biblical doctrine of adoption. 

Continuing the conversation with Dr. Steve Childers on how hope is seen in the Lord's Prayer and love is expounded in the Ten-Commandments. For those interested in exploring the learning opportunities at Pathway Learning check out this link:  https://www.pathwaylearning.orgTo email, The Music and the Dance write to  ccc@cccdaytona.org. Remember to put "podcast" in the subject line.

In this episode, I talk with my old friend Dr. Steve Childers about The Enchiridion of Augustine and Pathway Learning's Applied Theology Project. We catch up on some seminary experiences and then dig into our discussion that takes us from church history to the cardinal virtues of faith, hope, and love, some fundamental summaries of Christian faith, and the often-overlooked power of the Apostles' Creed.If you want more info on Pathway Learning and some of the many rich resources they offer for transformative learning check out the website: https://www.pathwaylearning.org/To email, The Music and the Dance write to  ccc@cccdaytona.org. Remember to put "podcast" in the subject line.

I'm going it alone again in this episode following up our discussion of the providence of God with a story from 1 Kings 18. This chapter is one that many might think of as obscure but, without ever using the word, “providence” it beautifully reveals God's rule over the forces of nature, the destiny of nations, and the lives of individuals. If you enjoy our podcast and want to help us with the project please consider leaving a positive review. If you have questions, topics to suggest or other input email us at this address:ccc@cccdaytona.org. Be sure to write "podcast" in the subject line.

Larry, Barry, and Pat share and reflect on stories of God's providence in their lives, more of the Scriptural teaching on God's work of providence as well as some of the great theological statements that help us better understand this crucial Biblical doctrine. 

A conversation with Barry Cooper and Pat Altes about the providence of God plus some reflection on historic creedal statements and a review of Scripture all on the theme of providence.

In this podcast,  Larry goes "ruminant" style but adds in some fun sound effects and a bit of Christmas music to help capture the Christmas spirit! The theme is "The True Story of Christmas". It's a reflection on some common seasonal attacks on the veracity of the Christmas story.  We'll look at certain aspects of the story that people think are in the Bible but are not. And then end with the credibility and power of the story in Scripture. 

We start off with a quick Bible Study on hope then pick up our preceding conversation about hope in hard times. "Funkorama" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/