Curiously Kaitlyn

Jesus cries out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" How can the Father forsake the Son if they're the same person in the Trinity? Was the Trinity severed? Kaitlyn has thoughts on this important theological debate—and reveals how this debate is part of why she became a theologian!

0:00 - Intro

0:37 - Theme Song

1:20 - Show Starts

2:40 - Kaitlyn's Origin Story

12:50 - Penal Substitutionary Atonement

18:42 - Sponsor - Dwell - Listen to scripture throughout your day. Go to https://www.dwellbible.com/CK for 25% off!

19:42 - Sponsor - Word Relief - World Relief has a $415,000 challenge gift that ends December 31. Your gift can go three times as far! Give now at https://www.worldrelief.org/kaitlyn

21:18 - Relational, Trinitarian God

32:10 - The Father Grieving the Son

39:37 - Outro Song

Resources:

Forsaken: The Trinity on the Cross, and Why it Matters by Thomas H. McCall: https://a.co/d/1PvcWvZ

Delighting in the Trinity: An Introduction to the Christian Faith by Michael Reeves: https://a.co/d/ikSTCLB

The Crucified God by Jürgen Moltmann: https://a.co/d/9LVdAw3

What if there was no angry innkeeper in the nativity story? Despite what Christmas pageants might suggest, Jesus was likely not born in a stable, and Mary and Joseph were probably not rejected by an innkeeper.

Kaitlyn takes a closer look at Luke's nativity account, exploring what Scripture actually says about mangers, guest rooms, animals, and family—and why those details matter. What may seem like a small detail about Jesus' birth location reveals something much bigger about power, empire, and the surprising way God enters the world through humility, vulnerability, and nearness.

0:00 - Theme Song

2:01 - Was Jesus Born in a Barn?

6:03 - No Guest Room Translation

13:45 - Sponsor - World Relief - Giving will be tripled up to $415,000 til December 31! So start giving monthly now at https://www.worldrelief.com/kaitlyn

15:30 - Beautiful Chaos

22:10 - Why Bethlehem?

33:52 - End Credits

Why would God choose such a young woman to be the mother of Jesus? Kaitlyn Schiess reflects on Mary's age, vulnerability, and social position, and why those details matter so much in the Advent story. Drawing from Luke 1, they explore how God consistently works through surprising people, why Mary's response is so different from Zechariah's, and what this teaches us about faith, doubt, and trust. Mary shows us that faithful waiting isn't about doubting whether God can do this, but about asking how we are meant to participate.

0:00 - Theme Song

1:42 - Why Did God Choose Someone So Young?

6:33 - Cultural Marriage Norms

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13:36 - Mary Compared to Zachariah

21:42 - When is Doubt Good?

29:37 - End Credits

What's the point of Advent in a world that's already been playing Christmas music since October? Kaitlyn digs into the ancient roots of Advent, why the church calendar begins with longing instead of celebration, and how this season teaches us to live in the tension between God's promises and our present reality. When we feel the quiet ache from the Christmas season never quite living up to our expectations, Advent helps us understand the true meaning of Christmas better than Charlie Brown ever could.

0:00 - Theme Song

1:20 - Why Do We Do Advent?

3:32 - Christmas Starts December 25?

7:20 - Advent is Somber?

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16:16 - Living Differently from the World

20:04 - A Thrill of Hope

26:48 - The Second Coming

30:21 - End Credits

We all know the wise men from our nativity sets, but what's actually going on in this story? Who were the wise men, and why did Matthew include them in his accounting of the birth of Christ? This well-known but undeniably odd part of the nativity story is loaded with meaning that can reorient how we enter Advent. Kaitlyn and Producer Mike follow kids' simple questions about stars, gifts, and travel timelines into the deeper layers of Matthew's Gospel, where foreign astrologers, of all people, become some of the first to recognize Jesus as king. 0:00 - Theme Song

2:05 - What's Up With the Star?

9:00 - How Many Wise Men?

12:50 - Sponsor - Blueland - For 15% off first order of Blueland cleaning products, go to this link: https://www.blueland.com/CURIOUSLY

14:03 - Sponsor - Aura Frames - Need a holiday gift to share memories? Get 35% off the Aura Carver Mat Frame with promo code KAITLYN at https://www.auraframes.com

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17:00 - Why's this in the Bible?

27:00 - Balaam and the Magi

37:37 - End Credits

Does prayer make a difference? After all, if God knows everything about us, then why should we bother praying? Kaitlyn helps us understand how prayer is more than listing our requests, but an opportunity to experience relationship with a Father who delights to hear from His kids, reshaping our desires, and drawing us into dependence on Him.

0:00 - Theme Song

0:23 - Sponsor - Dwell - Listen to scripture throughout your day. Go to https://www.dwellbible.com/CK for 25% off!

2:50 - What's the Point of Prayer If God Knows Everything?

7:00 - God and Relationship

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16:33 - God Likes Us

21:25 - Prayers Aren't Magic

26:00 - Wanting the Right Things

29:05 - Being With God Daily

34:37 - End Credits

Let's dive into the surprising story behind God revealing Himself as Yahweh. Why does the Bible sometimes say God, sometimes LORD, and why do we almost never see "Yahweh" printed in English translations? Kaitlyn and Mike explore how this ancient name points to God's character, His promise of presence, and why the "philosophical God" and the "personal God" are actually the same God. They also unpack how knowing God's name shapes the way we read Scripture, pray, and understand Jesus.

And with Advent coming soon, Kaitlyn and Mike invite you to send in your kids' Christmas and Advent questions at holypost.com/curiously. The weirder the better.

0:00 - Theme Song

2:33 - Why Did God Name Himself God?

4:47 - How the Bible Introduces God

9:45 - God's Name and His People

15:54 - Sponsor - Check out the Gracebased Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or learn more at https://gracebased.com/podcasts/

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23:00 - Should We Say the Divine Name?

33:00 - God's Name

36:33 - End Credits

What do we do when God feels silent, distant, or forgetful? Kaitlyn and Producer Mike explore how the Bible talks about God "remembering," why Scripture also says He "forgets" our sins, and why it can sometimes feel like God has overlooked us. They walk through stories from Noah to Zachariah, reflect on waiting, disappointment, and hope, and offer a reminder that God's presence—not quick fixes—is the promise we can rely on.

0:00 - Theme Song

0:48 - Does God Forget Stuff?

3:55 - God Remembering

9:00 - Sponsor - Blueland - For 15% off first order of Blueland cleaning products, go to this link: https://www.blueland.com/CURIOUSLY

10:02 - Sponsor - Check out the Gracebased Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts or learn more at https://gracebased.com/podcasts/

12:28 - Does God Forget Me?

26:24 - End Credits

If Jesus tells us to love our enemies, does that extend all the way to Satan? This week, Kaitlyn and Mike take a surprisingly thoughtful kids' question and use it to explore what Christians mean when we talk about the devil, and what Scripture is actually asking of us when it commands enemy-love.

They also revisit the much-maligned phrase "love the sinner, hate the sin," and ask whether it still has value, and consider why the hardest "enemies" to love usually aren't cosmic villains, but the people who cut us off in traffic, frustrate us in the checkout line, or vote differently than we do.

0:00 - Theme Song

2:23 - Does God Love Satan?

6:00 - Who/what is Satan

10:14 - Satan and Evil

14:00 - Sponsor - SelectQuote - Go to https://www.selectquote.com/kaitlyn to get started on your new life insurance policy

15:02 - Sponsor - World Relief - Let's Talk About It! World Relief has conversation cards about displacement and immigration, downloadable at https://worldrelief.com/KAITLYN

18:05 - What is Love?

31:42 - Enemy Love and God's Love

34:23 - End Credits

Why don't Christians talk about the Holy Spirit more often? Have we quietly replaced dependence on God's Spirit with confidence in our own smarts and systems? What starts as a kid's Halloween question about the "Holy Ghost" quickly turns into a bigger conversation about why the church is so divided, whether we'd even notice if the Spirit disappeared from our theology, and how we might learn to let God surprise us again. After all, the Holy Ghost isn't here to haunt us, but to make us alive.

0:00 - Theme Song

0:19 - Sponsor - Dwell - Listen to scripture throughout your day. Go to https://www.dwellbible.com/CK for 25% off!

3:03 - Is the Holy Ghost Real?

6:33 - What Even is the Holy Ghost?

11:18 - How the Holy Ghost Helps Us

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19:15 - But why a "ghost?"

26:30 - What's the Takeaway?

33:21 - End Credits