Slipstream - the leaders' podcast produced by Focus for the Evangelical Alliance

Subscribe here. We've just launched Slipstream - a new podcast for leaders, from the Evangelical Alliance, featuring guests like Terry Virgo, Shane Claiborne, Bishop Tom Wright, and many others. Read more...

David Couchman

David Couchman is the lead author for the 'Facing the Challenge' series of courses.

Challenging Times

David Couchman's blog on living in today's world in the light of the Bible

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David Couchman has a respected Bible teaching ministry, and many of his sermons can be found on this web site.

He has also led seminars at national events such as the Christian Resources Exhibition, Keswick Convention, and the FIEC Conference.

More about David...

Listen to Phil Prior interviewing David about Focus's vision

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Mike Frost's UK tour 3-11 October 2008

90 days to go.

Mike Frost is a missional church leader from Australia well known around the world as an inspiring and provocative speaker on how to face the challenge of our times. In October, he'll be visiting the UK. Read more...

Go here to watch a Youtube video about his visit

Details of dates, venues, and ticketing

FREE OFFER 'Meals with Jesus' course

The meals Jesus eats with different people play a vital role in the unfolding story of Luke's Gospel. This new course from Focus Radio explores the meals people have with Jesus in Luke's Gospel, and what they mean for us today. Read more... (You will need to register on this site to download this free course.)

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The Bible

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• General articles
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• The Lost Message of Jesus
  • Introduction
  • Human nature
  • More on human nature
  • Unforgiven sin?
  • Judgment?
  • A ransom for many?
  • A sacrifice for sin
  • When was the message lost?
  • Summary
• Alone in the Universe?
• Trying to know the future
• The problem of pain
• Singleness
• Dealing with debt

• Old Testament
• Who is God?
• How to read the Old Testament
• Genesis
  • 1 - What does it mean to be human?
  • 3 - The beginning of trouble
  • 13-14 - How to succeed without trying
  • 22 - Abraham and Isaac
  • 40-41 - A series of unfortunate events
• Exodus
  • 3 - An encounter with God
  • 7 - A contest of wills
  • 16 - Testing times
  • 20 - Living as the people of God
  • 24 - God's Peace Treaty
• Joshua 6 - God and the Canaanites
• 2 Kings overview
• Nehemiah
  • 2 - Living on a building site
  • 6-7 - Dirty tricks
  • 9-10 - Time to put things right
• Psalm 73 - Knowing God when you doubt he's there
• Proverbs 1 - What is Wisdom?
• Understanding the Prophets
• Isaiah
  • 1 - State of the Nation
  • 2 - The Day of the Lord
  • 5 - When God is disappointed
  • 6 - Knowing God in his holiness
  • 43 - Hope for God's people
  • 65 - Living for God in a hostile world
• Jeremiah 20 - Angry with God
• Jeremiah 22 - Acting with Justice
• The message of Ezekiel
• Daniel 4- Human pride and power laid low
• Daniel 9 part 1- How to pray like Daniel
• Daniel 9 part 2- What to expect when you pray like Daniel
• Hosea
  • 1 - A story of love betrayed
  • 6 - Vanishing love and empty religion
  • 9-10 - Does God judge people?
  • 14 - Turn back to God
• The book of Jonah
• Jonah 4 - Sharing God's heart for the nations

• New Testament
• Matthew
  • 5 - Blessed when you face rejection
  • 6:1-18 - A challenge to religious hypocrisy
  • 6:33 - Priorities: seek first God's kingdom
  • 11 - Dealing with doubts
  • 22 - The parable of the wedding feast
  • 25:1-30 - Are you ready for Christ's return?
  • 25:31-46 - The parable of the sheep and the goats
• Mark
  • 2 - Jesus - who does he think he is?
  • 4 - The Secret Teachings of Jesus
  • 5 - Jesus takes charge
  • 6 - Can you believe Jesus' miracles?
  • 8 - Jesus - born to die
  • 13 - Jesus - signs of the end
• Luke
  • A teaching outline of Luke
  • Making the most of the teaching outline
  • 1 - a Christmas meditation
  • 4 - The Nazareth Manifesto
  • 7 - Who is Jesus?
  • 9-10 - Job description for a disciple
  • 11 - Prayer
  • 13 - When tragedy strikes
  • 15 - The Prodigal Son
  • 16 - Hell
  • 19:1-10 - The changed life of a short angry man
  • 19:11-44 - Welcoming the king
  • 21 - The end of the World
• John
  • 14:6 - Only one way?
  • 15 - Fruit that will last
• Acts
  • A teaching outline of Acts
  • The Church at prayer
  • 4 - Confronting the authorities
  • 6-7 - To die for
  • 9 - The conversion of Saul
• A teaching outline of Romans
• A detailed breakdown of Romans 3-5
• 1 Corinthians 13 - The Prominence of Love
• 2 Corinthians - a teaching outline
• Galatians
  • A teaching outline of Galatians
  • The argument in 3:6-4:7
  • 'Works of Law' in Galatians
• Ephesians
  • 4 - What is unity?
  • 5-6 - Family affairs
• Colossians
  • 1 - What do I pray for?
  • 1 - Why should I be different?
  • 2 - True freedom
  • 3 - dynamics of a spiritual life
• 1 Thessalonians 5 - Christian Community
• A teaching outline of 2 Timothy
• 2 Timothy 1 - Passing on the baton
• Hebrews
  • Introduction - no turning back
  • 2 - Jesus - a real human being
• 1 John
  • 1 - Does it matter what you believe?
  • 1 - Does it matter how you live?
  • 2 - The world and the Father; the antichrists and the true believers
  • 4 - Is love all you need?
  • 5 - True faith in a shifting world
• Revelation
  • The return of the king
  • 1 - It's all about you, Jesus
  • 2 - When the going gets tough
  • 3 - The letter to Laodicea
• The danger of forgetting and the danger of remembering

Contemporary culture

Main sub-sections:

• Can we be confident in the truth?
• The Media
• Films
• Television
• Special feature: Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials
• Special feature: Madonna - Icon of Postmodernity
• Church for today
• Spirituality today
• Our society
• Biblical resources
• Apologetics
• Links
• Postmodern parables

• Can we be confident in the truth?
• Introduction
• Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion
• The God Delusion: Richard Dawkins and the Bible
• Modern and postmodern objections
• Written sources outside the Bible
  • introduction
  • Tacitus
  • Pliny the Younger
  • Suetonius
  • The Babylonian Talmud
  • Josephus
  • Bar-Serapion
• Reliable documents?
  • Introduction
  • How many copies?
  • How close in time?
  • The earliest known New Testament document
  • How much variation?
  • If the documents are so reliable, why are people so skeptical about them?
• Real people, real places: evidence from archaeology
  • Introduction
  • Lysanius - ruler of Abilene
  • Nicodemus and the Ben Gurion family
  • Mary, Martha and Lazarus
  • The crucified man
  • Simon of Cyrene
  • The Pilate inscription
  • Sergius Paulus inscriptions
  • Erastus, the treasurer of Corinth
  • Gallio, the governor of Corinth
  • Nazareth - where Jesus grew up?
  • Peter's house in Capernaum
  • The synagogue in Capernaum
  • The 'Jesus Boat' at Nof Ginosar
  • The temple warning notice in Jerusalem
  • The pool of Bethesda
  • Stone water jars in Jerusalem
  • The pool of Siloam
  • The Burnt House from AD 70
  • Caesarea - Herod's capital
  • Megiddo - inscription to God Jesus Christ
  • The city of Derbe in Turkey
  • Worship of Artemis in Ephesus
  • Demetrius the silversmith
  • The synagogue in Corinth
  • Meat sacrificed to idols
  • A letter of divorce
  • A promissory note
  • Legal documents
  • Who wrote Luke and Acts?
  • Luke's accurate use of titles
  • Is Luke's Gospel historically reliable?
  • Evidence and Paul's Journeys
• Something to die for?
• The Bible itself
  • The Bible's own evidence
  • Individual stories
  • Out of Egypt
  • The sacrificial system
  • The kings of Judah
  • Prophecies
  • Jesus's attitude to the Old Testament
• Evidence in personal experience
• A cumulative case
• The Media
  • Introduction
  • 'Remotely Controlled' by Aric Sigman
  • Survey of how young people use the media
  • Television - agent of truth decay
  • Douglas Rushkoff's 'Children of Chaos'
• Films
  • Amazing Grace
  • The Da Vinci Code
    • Introduction
    • Buy
      • The DVD (North America - NTSC Format)
      • The DVD (UK/Europe - PAL Format)
    • Seek the Truth - pre-release review
    • The People
      • Jesus and the Gospels
        • When were the Bible's Gospels written?
        • Who wrote the Bible's Gospels?
        • Eyewitnesses
        • What about the Gnostic Gospels?
        • Did the Gnostics worship the Sacred Feminine?
        • The Gospel of Thomas
        • The Gospel of Judas
        • When did Christians first believe that Jesus was the Son of God?
        • Jesus in Paul's letters
      • Mary and the Sacred Feminine
        • Who was Mary Magdalene?
        • Was Jesus married to Mary?
        • Jesus and Mary in the Gnostic Gospels
        • Was Mary a prostitute?
        • When did the Church outlaw Mary?
        • How did the Church suppress women?
      • Constantine and the Council of Nicea
        • Who was Constantine?
        • What was the Council of Nicea all about?
        • Did Constantine choose the Gospels?
        • Was Jesus made divine by a vote?
    • The Places
      • The Louvre
      • St. Sulpice
      • Temple Church
      • Westminster Abbey
      • Rosslyn Chapel
    • More resources
      • Free Study Guide
      • Web sites
      • Books
  • 'Seek the Truth' - review of The Da Vinci Code
  • The Passion of the Christ
    • Introduction
    • Jim Caviezel talks
    • Is it violent and anti-Semitic?
    • Is it historically accurate?
    • What crime did Jesus commit?
    • Why is it the death of this man that atones? Review by Mark Bonnington
    • 'The Passion of Jesus Christ' - John Piper's book on why Jesus had to die
    • 'It will change your heart' Review by Stephen Pointon
    • 'Who has a stomach for violence like this?' Review by Geoffrey Stephenson
    • Seen the film? Have questions?
    • Resources for churches
  • The Matrix trilogy
  • The Matrix Reloaded
  • The (original) Matrix
  • The Lord of the Rings
  • Harry Potter and the half-blood prince
  • Harry Potter: a Christian parent's nightmare?
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • M Night Shyamalan's 'Signs'
  • Minority Report
  • Spiderman
  • Contact
  • Focus - the Art and Soul of Cinema
  • Hollywood Worldviews
• Television
  • The unreal world of Reality TV
  • Doctor Who
    • Something old, something new
    • Changes
    • Right and wrong
    • Science fiction for postmodernity
    • Russell T Davies
    • Sex and Dr. Who
    • Family viewing?
    • Religion and the new Dr. Who?
    • Conclusions?
  • The Story of God
  • The Simpsons
  • Friends
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer
  • Star Trek Voyager
  • Eastenders
  • Big Brother
  • Popstars
  • Brain Story
• Special feature: Philip Pullman - His Dark Materials
  • Introduction
  • The back story
  • Why is His Dark Materials harmful?
  • How should we respond?
  • What the reviewers say
  • Philip Pullman and C S Lewis
    • C S Lewis for atheists?
    • 'Lewis writes with a purpose'
    • 'Lewis is racist and sexist'
    • 'Lewis celebrates death'
  • Frequently asked questions
    • Is it 'just a story'?
    • Is 'god' different from 'God'?
    • is Dust God?
    • Does Pullman attack the Church?
    • Is Pullman's attack on the Church justified?
    • We're all entitled to our own opinions
    • No-one can know the truth!
    • There's no proof that God exists!
    • Your faith must be very insecure
• Special feature: Madonna - Icon of Postmodernity
• Church for today
  • Change is not a dirty word
  • Future Church event with Mike Frost
  • Missional Church resources
  • The Shaping of Things to Come
  • Exiles: living missionally in a post-Christian culture
  • The Forgotten Ways: reactivating the missional church
  • Total Church: a radical reshaping around gospel and community
  • The Gospel-centred church
  • Multiplying Churches
  • The Younger Evangelicals
  • Gone but not forgotten: church leaving and returning
  • A churchless faith
  • Whatever happened to the Brethren?
  • The Challenge of Leadership
• Spirituality today
  • The Spiritual Revolution: why religion is giving way to spirituality
  • Understanding the spirituality of people who don't go to church
  • Gone but not forgotten
  • A Churchless faith
  • Soul of Britain
    • Introduction
    • What do people today believe?
    • Life after God
    • Moral values
    • Consumerism
    • The family
    • Community
    • The New Age
    • The Arts
    • Faith in the Future
  • Whatever happened to the Brethren?
  • Alternative medicine
• Our Society
  • UnChristian - what a new generation really thinks of Christianity, and why it matters
  • Religion is harmful
  • The Gospel and postmodernism
  • practical considerations for postmodern-sensitive churches
  • Evangelism by invitation
  • 'We don't do God'
  • David Beckham and the World Cup
  • 'A Nation that lies to itself'
  • Mapping Britain's moral values
  • Christians and the 2001 Election
• Biblical resources
• Apologetics
  • Higher Education?
  • Home and away
  • Why do we need apologetics?
  • From Clapham to Bloomsbury - a genealogy of morals
  • Six enemies of apologetic
  • Why study worldviews?
  • The worldview clash:
    • 'The worldview clash' by Don Carson
    • From modernism to postmodernism
    • Strengths and weaknesses of postmodernism
    • The changing face of university evangelism
  • The Death of Truth
  • Capturing the low ground
  • Postmodernity in Europe
  • Apologetics links
• Links
• Postmodern parables
• The Experiment
• Colony 4
• The Boxer's tale