I am a podcast fanatic. There's no two ways about it.
I download fourteen podcasts to my iPod every week and digest them while I drive to and from the office, and around the city. News, current affairs, the latest in tech for the web, not to mention comedy asides like The Chaser, the best of u-tube and the ABC's Media Watch (which I find funny because I'm a journalist). But by far and away the most stuff I listen to is theology.
Each week I eagerly wait to listen to the latest from modern-day preaching greats like John Piper and Mark Driscoll, along with home-grown services offered by St Andrews' Cathedral and of course our own "Latest' and "Classic' streams on sydneyanglicans.net. It basically means that wherever I can wear ear-plugs I can turn lost time into time being drawn closer to God.
I've often wished, though, that there was one podcast stream that would bring together all of the gifted evangelicals I like to listen to and search out those I know nothing about. After three years of waiting it finally occurred to me that sydneyanglicans.net was in as good a position as any to take on that idea and make the best the world could offer available to all"
Our New Media team is currently investigating how to make available more of the Bible-based thinking that so underpins our walk with Jesus. Consequently, starting today it is expanding its "Classic sermons' podcast to include contributions from some of the best reformed, evangelical preachers available.
To date, Your.sydneyanglicans.net has used the "Classic Sermons' podcast to provide its subscribers with a weekly sermon from some of our most gifted expositors " Peter Jensen, John Woodhouse, Phillip Jensen, Al Stewart, John Dickson " just to name a few. From today it will be adding a range of international preachers who are well loved for their devotion to the Bible " including, Don Carson, John Piper, JI Packer. Your.sydneyanglicans.net is also negotiating to offer series by John Stott, Mark Driscoll, Rico Tice and many other respected evangelicals. All of this material is being made available free of charge thanks to the generosity of the preachers involved.
The first edition of this new "Classic Sermons' podcast will be the ground-breaking "Desiring God' sermon series preached by Dr John Piper, the senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This series reflects the teachings found in his profound book by the same name, which has helped to teach a whole generation of Christians to better enjoy their relationship with their Creator as they understand his purposes for them. For the next nine weeks subscribers will have an episode of this sermon series delivered to their computers to be enjoyed there or downloaded to a portable MP3 player. Those who choose not to subscribe will still be able to download or listen to the sermons at their leisure from our Media Library.
The re-tasking of the "Classic Sermons' podcast is only part of a much larger revision of Your.sydneyanglicans.net's downloadable resources. A new 10-minute "Big Picture' podcast will begin in the coming weeks, offering apologetic insights on the television programs that capture the attention of our friends and families each week. And in the new year Your.sydneyanglicans.net will launch its first digital audio magazine, providing its users with up-to-date analysis, interviews and discussion of the Christian and secular issues shaping our world.
Wondering how you are going to make the best of long commutes or stints on public transport? Clearly there has never been a better time to invest in an MP3 player.
