The Laymens Lounge

Apart from the doctrine of God, no doctrine is as comprehensive as that of creation. Join us as we sit down with the Rev. Dr. Craig Bartholomew as we discuss creation and how it is woven throughout the entire fabric of Christian theology. It goes to the deepest roots of reality and leaves no area of life untouched. Across the centuries, however, the doctrine of creation has often been eclipsed or threatened by various forms of gnosticism. Yet if Christians are to rise to current challenges related to public theology and ethics, we must regain a robust, biblical doctrine of creation.

“Who would have thought that dropping your kids off at school is a moment of glory?”

-Craig Bartholomew

Join us as we sit down with Kristyn Getty and discuss “Evensong’ – Hymns and Lullabies at the close of day, and how we too can, as Getty puts it, “be making worship part of the fabric of life in general” for our families, especially our children. Kristyn says “A good hymn is curating wonderful ideas about the Lord, distilling great truths in memorable lines in beautiful ways and catchy melodies, and so it invites questions. Its starts conversations…”

“’O for a thousand tongues to sing’” what does that mean – ‘a thousand tongues’? It gives that sense of: the praise we desire to bring the Lord is so great but I just have one tiny little mouth, but you bring your mouth, and I'll bring mine, and one day were all going to be together with angels and the believers that went before us from all over the world and we’re going to have thousands and thousands and thousands of voices singing”

Join us as we sit down with Dr. Carl Trueman and discuss Martin Luther on the Christian Life, the Cross and Freedom.

The Dogmatics and Ethics of Herman Bavinck applied to daily life. Herman Bavinck gave much thought to Dogmatics, ethics, and being a human created in the image of God, or “imago Dei” – join us as we sit down with Dr. Nelson Kloosterman, who has played a part in the translation of many modern Bavinck works we read, and ask: What is the difference between ethics and Dogmatics? If we were to ask Bavinck “What does it mean to be human?” what would his response be? What are the implications of being created in the image of God for a non-Christian and what are the implications of being created in the image of God as a Christian? Can you speak to the Biblical referents of the term “imago Dei”? Can you touch on the unfolding, developmental character of the imago Dei? If you and Bavinck were to come over to Hawaii, and sip on a mat tai with me, and have a profitable discussion - what do you think he would exhort us to in this our cultural moment?

Join us as we sit down with Mike Wagenman to discuss one of the most important theologians of the last 300 years: Abraham Kuyper. Kuyper still speaks powerfully to our day. The battle he was  fighting to confess the Lordship of Jesus over all of life and the  public truth of the gospel in the face of the powerful currents of  modern humanism that sought to privatize the Christian faith is as  important to the church today as then, if not more important! Michael  Wagenman has given us a great popular introduction to Kuyper’s thought  on the mission of the church in the public square set in his original  context but with helpful reflection on its contemporary significance.

Today we sit down with Michael Horton and ask him to ask him a thousand questions about justification. The doctrine of justification stands at the center of our systematic reflection on the meaning of salvation as well as our piety, mission, and life together. In his two-volume work on the doctrine of justification, Michael Horton seeks not simply to repeat noble doctrinal formulas and traditional proof texts, but to encounter the remarkable biblical justification texts in conversation with the provocative proposals that, despite a wide range of differences, have reignited the contemporary debates around justification.

"Rightly Distinguishing the Law and Gospel is the Most Difficult & Highest art of Christians" - CFW Walther

Today we sit down with Dr. Jordan Cooper and discuss the proper distinction between the law and the Gospel - as well as CFW Walther's contribution to the subject. 

In this episode we sit down for an interview with Dr Matthew Barrett to learn how to read the Bible as one story (and not just a bunch of bizarre un-related scenes) and how Jesus Himself read the Scriptures (as all pointing to Him). 

Join us as we interview Danny Olinger, author of the definitive Geerhardus Vos biography. We explore Vos’ personal life, his theology, and we learn of Vos the poet and the sad reality of how he died in obscurity with less than 10 people at his funeral, but how his work has become the go-to for doing proper Biblical Theology and seeing the big picture of the story of God unfold.

An Interview with N.T. Wright on C.S. Lewis, Demons, Lament and More.

Join us as we sit down with N.T. Wright to discuss, in connection with his new book “Broken Signposts: How Christianity Makes Sense of the World”, things like:

1. How do things like Justice, Beauty, Freedom, etc., in all their fleetingness, make sense of this world and point towards Jesus?

2. C.S. Lewis and the “moral argument” for God

3. Should we share the Gospel with a family who are minding their own business at the beach and having a great time?

4. It seems every third person in the NT was demon possessed, it was a part of daily reality for many… How come we don’t see this anymore?

5. What does it mean to be “filled with the Spirit”, and how do I get filled?

6. If you had one message to share with the world – with your own grandchildren, what would that message be?