Freely Given

We continue our conversation with Nancy Guthrie and how life changing it can be to find Christ in the Old Testament--and not just in the prophecies. It's transformative, and as she would say, there's nothing more practical.  We also talk about the book of Revelation, and how where we often assume fear, confusion, and a puzzle to figure out, she shares about the peace and blessings found in Christ...

We are excited to have Nancy Guthrie on to talk about her journey into Biblical theology. For many years she read and studied the Bible, but once she learned the Christ-centered approach to interpreting all of scripture, everything opened up. She talks with us about the practical nature of theology, and how understanding the centrality of Christ has been a comfort to her through many of the heavy...

In this episode, we talk about the grace given to process emotions. Very often, we struggle with anger, envy, sadness, that are mixed in with sin, trauma, and just normal human emotions. In this complexity of mental health and spiritual health, it's easy to put blanket shame over emotions that we are walking through. Gretchen and Katie talk about how they process through emotions that they sometim...

Just like there is pressure to have Instagram-worthy devotions everyday, there can be a pressure to have family devotions--with your husband leading. Gretchen and Katie both affirm male headship in the home, but how can that be twisted to put huge expectations on husbands to do certain things, a certain way? They talk about the common hesitation for women to teach their children, or even step forw...

In this episode, we bring on Dr. Dan van Voorhis, professor in the "History of Christianity in America" 1517 academy course, to talk to him about how our history affects our theology. We talk about migration patterns in America, as different people groups emmigrate here throughout the centuries, and how different denominations affect each other regionally. The circumstances of history often push t...

If we are saved by faith, not by works...then do our works matter? In this episode Gretchen interviews Mike Berg, author of " Vocation: the Setting for Human Flourishing " and teacher of the free academy course, " Masks of God: The Lutheran Doctrine of Vocation ." We discuss how when we have the doctrine of justification established, we are reoriented--not to try to use our works to earn God's fav...

We recently had the chance to meet in person with our podcast producer: Caleb Keith, and so we took the opportunity to have a conversation with him about catechizing children. In other words: what do you want your kids to know about God before they grow up and leave the home? Caleb is a young dad with 3 kids, and as catechism was important in his home growing up, it's something that's important as...

We interviewed Kelsi Klembara after she spoke at the recent "Here We Still Stand" Regional Conference in Bentonville, Arkansas. She spoke about the embodiment of our redemption, and how our theology of the body can effect how we view eating disorders, chronic health issues, various health improvement programs and even the body positivity movement. She points to the story of the bleeding woman who...

As Gretchen and Katie are traveling to the Here We Still Stand regional conference today, they prepared a special podcast for today, talking about upcoming things, both professionally and personally. They talk about retreats, substitute teaching, working with teenagers, the farm seasons, and more. Most of all, this episode is just for fun--to pull up a coffee with the 2 of us and come sit with us...

It might say "spring" on the calendar, but it doesn't say it yet when you look outside the window. In this episode, Gretchen and Katie talk about anticipating seasons in our lives, as well as looking back with nostalgia--for good or for bad.  They talk about the modern expectations in different seasons, the pressure to enjoy every season you are in to the fullest. Join us for the Here We Still Sta...

This episode we have Michelle Diercks to talk about her new book " Promised Rest: Finding Peace in God's Presence. " This is an 8 week study on the names of God that can be done individually or with a small group. These names of God lead us to a place of peace and rest, especially in times of hardship and anxiety. You can find more about Michelle at her website: https://michellediercks.com You can...

What was the significance of the women at the tomb? Did they just happen to be in the right place at the right time, or did Jesus intentionally seek them out first? The reason this is important doesn't have as much to do with women exactly, but it goes back to the Garden of Eden and points to the purpose of the resurrection, and what it means for Jesus to break the curse of sin.  Don't forget to r...

We are sitting down to talk about Bruno, and the other characters in the movie "Encanto." There's several spoilers in this episode, but we wanted to dig into some of the redemptive themes of this movie, as it can be a great starting point to have conversations (even with little ones!) about faith. We talk about how the miracle starts when a life is laid down to save the family. The miracle gifts t...

We asked Chad Bird about what it means to wrestle with God. Later this summer, he's coming out with his book on Jacob: "Limping with God." Our discussion went from Jacob being renamed to "Israel" which means "wrestles with God" and how wrestling with God was a keyhole to the crucifixion. We pivot a bit to the Psalms, where God actually puts bold words in our mouths that we are allowed to say to hi...

We invited Old Testament and Hebrew scholar, Chad Bird, to talk to us about Proverbs 31. This passage talking about a wife of noble character is often discussed in women's Bible studies or events. It's used to inspire, accuse, exhaust, or at least show us some kind of standard that we feel we can never reach. Chad explains how we can look at this text--and other texts, asking the question "what is...

We get to hear about the parable of the sower in this episode, as we continue to talk to Daniel Emery Price and Erick Sorensen about their book "Scandalous Stories: a Sort of Commentary on the Parables." In this parable we talk about the way that things grow, the gardener, the seed, and how all of this applies to us (not just some of it.)  As Katie is married to an agronomist, and Gretchen is marr...

We are talking about the abundance of forgiveness today, with special guests, Daniel Emery Price, and Erick Sorensen from the "30 Minutes in the New Testament" podcast. We are talking about how Jesus tells parables, and what we can learn about confession, forgiveness, and repentence from all of this. This relates a lot on our spiritual friendships, what it is to be accountable to one another, and...

Gretchen and Katie talk about love and forgiveness, particularly when it comes to marriage. They talk about what forgiveness does and doesn't do, and how forgivness enables us to be our honest selves with our spouse. Forgiveness is something that does not come from inside us, but from God himself. Forgiving is not saying what happened is ok--quite the opposite. It means when we forgive, we are poi...

In this episode, Gretchen and Katie discuss their recent interview with Aimee Byrd, and talk about how some of the issue is the "growth mindset" that can sometimes get us targeting certain demographics in order to get your church to grow. It's thinking that if we can get this specific demographic in our church, and pour into them, we will grow. One of the prime symptoms that this is happening to t...

This is the end of our conversation with Aimee Byrd to discuss the discipleship of women. We discuss the mixed messages often given to women, that they are a part of the great commission, and yet they should remain quiet. Then there's the different messages in "men's devotional Bibles" and "women's devotional Bibles" that take several passages that refer to both men and women, and make it about ju...

We have special guest, Aimee Byrd, on today to talk about her journey in being a woman who studies theology. She shares the purpose on each of her books and how they build off of one another, leading up to her most recent book that we are discussing today on Biblical manhood and womanhood. Aimee wanted to be a godly wife, and a godly mother, and read everything that was available to equip herself...

In one more episode before our interview, we wanted to go over Titus 2, which is often the prooftext given for the false idea that men and women are sanctified differently. This episode could fit both in our discussion of womanhood in the Bible, as well as verses frequently taken out of context. The misunderstanding in this passage comes when we start reading only when it references women. We must...

In this episode we introduce the topic of gender in regard to justification and sanctification. In other words, women aren't saved any differently than men. It was revolutionary back in New Testament times and in some circumstances, it's still revolutionary today.  Gretchen and Katie talk who both love and work in women's ministry, talk about the confusion that comes when that theology is tweaked...

In our out of context verses, we got a couple of requests for Matthew 7, specifically the verses that talk about people crying out "Lord, Lord" and claiming to have prophesies in his name, but God turning his back, and saying that he never knew you. In the context of Matthew 7, these verses are actually about assessing false prophets, not for the purpose of you wondering if God knows you. Gretchen...

In this episode, Gretchen and Katie talk about all the projects they have in the works. From speaking engagements, a book on patience, a book on motherhood, and perhaps a children's book? They talk about processing through preparing content, and trying to keep the gospel central to the message, and writing and speaking honestly. Support 1517 Reserve your ticket to the 1517 Here We Still Stand