Scroll down far enough and you'll see a heading for 'Most Read' and another for 'Now Trending'. In this episode Joseph Hewitt, our Reviews Editor joins us to talk about a couple of items at The Gospel Coalition website that many of us are reading.

At the time of recording* we noticed that the Most Read was "Things I Wish I Heard In A Funeral Sermon"

And the article that was Now Trending was "Blessing: It Doesn't Mean What You Think".

And the book review we kick off the episode with was "The Anxious Generation In The Pews".

*By the time this episode lands, we are expecting different articles to have taken the top spot on each of these lists.

We are joined in this episode by Annabel Nixey, who recently spoke at the Canberra Women's Christian Convention, and is on the pastoral team at the local church she attends with her family.

We talk about the place of para-church conventions and also about going deep into God's word so that it goes deep in us. Annabel has some wisdom to share on how to foster the kinds of growing together in God's Word that might bear fruit.

And we consider some things that might get in the way, and how a Bible study group leader might help their group to teach one another, growing in knowledge, but also in obedience to the Word.

In this episode we are joined by Brendan Hurley, who chat with us about the many places he's lived, around Australia and where he's planted now.

When people live and minster in a place most of us think of as a holiday destination, what is it like? And how does it shape the ministry?

Brendan is the pastor at Northern Hope Anglican Church, in Cairns.

For this episode I went back to re-listen to some of the earliest episodes of Commending and Contending, and I found some gems.

The guests in that first season shared about joys and challenges - and if you've joined the faithful band of listeners in the last year or so, you might like to go all the way back and tap into some of those early conversations.

The Gospel Coalition Australia exists to encourage and equip Australian disciples to commend and contend for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Part of how we aim to do that is bringing on a National Director, the recently appointed Dave McDonald.

You can read the extended interview with Dave here.

In our conversation we chat about how Dave heard about this role and what he hopes to do, as he serves in it.

The Bible tells us that older disciples should teach younger disciples, that in the family of Christ, we can learn from (and with) one another. In this episode we are joined by Betty Wan, who has found many ways to encourage and challenge younger disciples around her.

Prayer demonstrates our dependence on God, it helps us lay aside false beliefs about how "in control" we are, and how self-sufficient we are.

Peter Adam is our guest on this episode to talk with about prayer and give some insights from his recent book, Prayerfulness.

Peter helps us to think about what is stopping us from praying and how we might be able to take what we are learning in the Bible and have it shape our prayers.

We have an all new online workshop to share with you in this episode. We're joined by Bethany Lattimore, from Virtual Church Assist, who helped run last year's Online Workshops on Preaching Preparation.

This time, Council Member Rory Shiner will use the four Monday nights of the Online Workshops to take us through the life, legacy, and literature of C. S. Lewis. Famous for being the author of the Narnia series, C. S. Lewis has many other facets worth exploring.

Register for the Online Workshop here.