For Valentine's Day, Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin talk about the trend of writing marriage vows, and some of the pitfalls of such a trend.

What are the purpose of marriage vows? We look at trends, from both conservative and liberal perspectives, to define marriage beyond "for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health."

We look at the history of marriage vows, what was going on in the church at the time, how marriage was redefined from being a sacrament to being a vocation, and the implications of all of that.

With an eye on freedom, they talk about the burden of the younger generation to be unique and define themselves as a couple, and consistently reinvent the wheel. The gift of tradition can be burden lifting, so that you don't lose the plot of what marriage is, and what it is for.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Pre-order: Ditching the Checklist by Mark Mattes

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi 

• Bible in One Year with Chad Bird

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

• Take 20% Off Our Lenten Devotionals until March 5th:

• The Sinner/Saint Lenten Devotional

• Finding Christ in the Straw: A Forty-Day Devotion on the Epistle of James

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

Many times, Christian homes view sin as a problem "out there" and not a problem "in here." As we built a framework of building a community, in light of sin, it's important to realize, it's going to be a community that will have to deal with sin.

Katie Koplin and Gretchen Ronnevik talk about expectation, boundaries, letting fallen people into your life, and into your children's lives. It's a conundrum, working through fears of protecting our kids, while acknowledging that we need a community, but the only people who are available for that community (everyone) deal with sin.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Bible in One Year with Chad Bird

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

In this episode, Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin discuss the Slate article "I'm Starting to Think You Guys Don't Want a Village." It speaks to the cry of young families "where is the villiage?" and yet the high, maybe even impossible standards that are set for people who are in proximity to our kids.

Though the article brings about questions that go beyond families and childraising. Can you have friendships with people who have different values than you? What do you do when all of the people around you are sinners? Is it unreasonable to have high standards?

This was a fun, and even vulnerable conversation as we talk about boundaries, being willing to have hard conversations, and being a good neighbor.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Bible in One Year with Chad Bird

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

What is a spiritual director? Are they directing your spiritual life? Are they telling you to do something? Are they fulfilling a pastoral role? Rev. Alan Johnson talks about this, as he has been studying it for his disseration. He distinguishes the difference between a spiritual director and a pastor, and would explain that spiritual direction is listening to someone and helping them pay attention to God's work in their life. Spiritual directors seek to ask good questions, rather than give answers.  A spiritual director is more of a mentor who can, as Eugene Peterson said "show up and shut up" and let people talk and work through problems, and help people gain some clairty through that process.

This was a fascinating conversation, on working through when you feel "stuck" and various aspects of the church body who can continually point us to Christ.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Bible in One Year with Chad Bird

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

Are the concepts of "spiritual formation" and Lutheran doctrine compatible? Gretchen Ronnevik discusses this concept with Rev. Alan Johnson who is finishing up his dissertation on this very topic. He says that we Christians feel we should love the Lord our God with all our mind, all our mind, and all our mind. After graduating from seminary, he contemplated about how he knew more about God, but questioned whether he knew God himself better. He started asking questions about what it means to love God with our heart, and the all consuming, holistic aspect of faith.

They talk about spiritual disciplines/practices, the difference between Christian spiritual practices and spiritual practices in other religions, and how they feel about contemplative practices, and the concept of "lone-ranger Christianity."

This is 1 of 2 episodes on our conversation. Next week we will discuss the concept of spiritual direction.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Bible in One Year with Chad Bird

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

Support 1517 This Giving Tuesday

This is Caleb Keith, director of the 1517 Podcast Network. Today, as many of you may know, is Giving Tuesday. On this special day, I have a question for you: Does this podcast bring Jesus and His Gospel of peace into your life on a regular basis? At 1517, our mission—and the mission of the 1517 Podcast Network—is to declare and defend the Good News that we are forgiven and free through the death and resurrection of Christ alone. Because of Jesus, God has made peace with you and continues to actively give you His peace. You can give by visiting 1517.org or by following the link in the show notes.

What does Jesus mean that we should be perfect, as Jesus is perfect? Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin look at the context of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5 where this passage is found. Curiously, the command to be perfect comes right after the command to love your enemies.

We often think that being righteousness as repelling sin, and repelling sinners, when the righteousness of Christ is goodness and holiness running toward sin and sinners to heal them.

We also must define perfect correctly, as it means "complete" in this context. Another translation could be "be complete, as I am complete." This whole sermon is a paradigm shifting lecture on what it means to be righteous. It isn't about doing good enough, or trying our hardest. It's understanding the fullness of the law, and the fullness of our need for Christ, and the fullness of his redemption for us. 

And as we are full of his righteousness, not our own, we run toward our enemies with love, not away from it, as our self-righteousness prescribes.

So how do we deal with our enemies? We get into that, and more.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

• Listen to 1517 Executive Director Scott Keith and Magnus Persson on the latest Re:Formera podcast

• Signup For Free Advent Church Resources for 2024

• Clothed with Christ by Brian William Thomas

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

After a bit of a hiatus, Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin sit down and catchn up. They talk about the recent "Here We Still Stand" Conference out in California. The theme of the conference was "Long Live the Church." They talk about their highlights from the conference, and how this year went.

They talk about running around everywhere, what's going on with our families, and what our families do when we are running everywhere. They talk about harvest time, waiting in the drive thru, grad school, and living through a season where you can't finish a thought.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Events Schedule

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation, Book 1 of 2 by Amy Mantravadi

• Junk Drawer Jesus By Matt Popovits

• Listen to 1517 Executive Director Scott Keith and Magnus Persson on the latest Re:Formera podcast

• Signup For Free Advent Church Resources for 2024

• Clothed with Christ by Brian William Thomas

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

• Gretchen's New Katie Luther book

Katie Koplin and Gretchen Ronnevik talk about what it means to grow in Christlikeness. This can be taken a couple of different ways, of trying to do what Christ did, or walking in what Christ did. They also talk about what it means to stir one another up for good works. Looking at the full context of several verses, as well as giving word pictures, everything somehow keeps coming back to Christ.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• The Inklings: Apostles and Apologists of the Imagination with Sam Schuldheisz

• Hitchhiking with Prophets: A Ride Through the Salvation Story of the Old Testament by Chad Bird

• 30 Minutes in the NT on Youtube

• Remembering Rod Rosenbladt

• Encouragement for Motherhood Edited by Katie Koplin

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin

What does it mean to be Christ-like? Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin have been hearing various definitions from people on what it means to be Christ-like, and so they go through those definitions. Are we walking in the path made by Christ for us, in his death and resurrection, or are we trying to be like-Christ, in a way that we become the judge of what is right and wrong, and we become the one who keeps the law.

It all comes down to control and independence. All stories seem to go back to Eden. We want to know what is right and wrong so we don't need to depend on God quite so much. What does it mean to walk humbly? How does that play into rest? 

They talk about Philippians 2, and what it means it means to "grasp equality with God" and how that helps our understanding of what it means to be Christ-like.

Show Notes:

• Support 1517 Podcast Network

• 1517 Podcasts

• 1517 on Youtube

• 1517 Podcast Network on Apple Podcasts

• 1517 Academy - Free Theological Education

What’s New from 1517:

• The Inklings: Apostles and Apologists of the Imagination with Sam Schuldheisz

• Hitchhiking with Prophets: A Ride Through the Salvation Story of the Old Testament by Chad Bird

• 30 Minutes in the NT on Youtube

• Remembering Rod Rosenbladt

• Encouragement for Motherhood Edited by Katie Koplin

More from the hosts:

• Gretchen Ronnevik

• Katie Koplin