Freely Given

In this unusual episode, recorded in Gretchen's basement, getting interrupted by children too often, Gretchen and Katie talk about parenting. With 10 kids between them, they still don't feel qualified to offer any how-to instructions on raising children. So instead, they wrestle through understanding the purpose of the law and gospel when it comes to the ups and downs of parenting, and pointing your kids to Christ. Part 1 of 2 episodes on Parenting Resources Mentioned Parenting: 14 Gospel Principles that Can Radically Change Your Family by Paul David Tripp Christ in the Chaos by Kim TGC article You are not your child's sin

Gretchen and Katie, two women who are married with kids, sit around and talk about singleness. They unpack the false idea that it is in marriage that we find our sanctification and fulfilled Christian life. God has used marriage to sanctify us. But our sanctification isn't found in marriage. It's found in Christ. With all the focus on marriage and families in churches, they talk about some ways we can minister to singles, and what relationships between singles and married people can look like that edifies the whole body of Christ. Freely Given: Lutheran Women Theologians Facebook Group Support 1517

In this episode, Katie and Gretchen talk about how law and gospel distinctions affect relationships we have at church and in ministry. It is often the first place where we substitute practical theology for things that appear more practical like guilt and manipulation in order to make a ministry "work." Church relationships can be full of good intentions, but when we miss the practical (and patient) nature of the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of people, it starts to become a ministry based on our work, instead of a ministry based on Christ's work.

In the final episode on the 3 parts of friendship, Gretchen and Katie talk about what it means to bear one another burdens. It starts with a lot of humility and ends with us continually being realigned to tangible truth when our circumstances start to crush us. While many of us like to be the one to rush to help and "be the savior" in a situation, it's almost harder to be the one asking for help with a burden, as though not handling a burden very well is affiliated with so much shame. God has designed and gifted us with friendship, and bearing one another's burdens is one of the main part of that. Books we mentioned at the end: Where Two or Three Are Gathered: Essays on Friendship by Scott Keith Unveiling Mercy by Chad Bird Support 1517

In our series on how law and gospel distinctions effect relationships, we are in part 2 of our conversation on friendships. This episode focuses on healthy expectations of people, as well as our own insecurities going into friendships. We take some passages from Galatians, and talk about what freedom in friendships looks like, when it is rooted in Christ. Resources mentioned in this episode: CLB Forge podcast on Spiritual Friendships Support 1517

Gretchen and Katie are starting a new series on how law and gospel theology effects relationships. Starting with friendships, they go through some of the challenges of making friends, keeping friends, and the importance of vulnerability. They also discuss cancel culture, boundaries, and difference between pointing people to the Savior, and abiding in Christ, as opposed to constantly trying to be the savior, or expecting others to be the savior in our relationships. Sources mentioned in this episode: Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer Mockingcast Podcast episode Support 1517

Discipleship as a spiritual discipline can be a means of hearing the gospel repeated like a wave washing over you, bringing to mind the reality of God's faithfulness consistently. However, it is often intimidating for believers of all walks of life, because we don't know what we should say, or how to orchestrate the spiritual life of another person. Authentic discipleship involves the love of Christ training us to love others with that same gospel. As we reach out to others with our own testimony of God's faithfulness, it builds us up as well as points them to the actual source of our faith. At its worst, discipleship can be used as a form of manipulation to better behavior or a better lifestyle, as a means of gradually understanding God through our own works. When we get discipleship wrong, we are not only loading burdens on others, but we feel burdened to make it happen one way or the other. But within the theology of law and gospel, the only way to Christ is through grace, not our works. The grace of Christ takes the burden of discipleship off of getting people to do certain things, and instead introducing them to the person or Christ. Gospel Mentoring (Gretchen's free online training course) Song referenced: Craig Fiction book: Virgil Wander by Leif Enger Parenting book: Age of Opportunity Episode on Confession and Absolution Support the ministry of 1517

Meditation is part of what C.S. Lewis calls the "baptism of the imagination." In Christ, we belong to him, all the parts of us--even our brain. In this episode we talk about both rational and imaginative sides of meditating on God's word. It isn't about emptying our thoughts, but courageously thinking those thoughts, asking the questions, sitting in wonder, and wrestling with theology that we worry may shake us. God isn't scared. Like adopted children, we may know the legality of our identity as part of God's family was purchased through his blood on the cross. However, it's normal to wrestle with what that means, and to not understand the full extent of our freedom as a son or daughter. Asking the honest questions that we don't understand is not shameful. It's wonderful. God uses our wonder, curiosity, logic, and imagination all for his glory as we interact with his Scriptures by the power of the Holy Spirit. Links: Here We Still Stand Conference 2020 on YouTube Grace Upon Grace by John Kleinig

Sometimes the guilt in us manifests itself in different ways. Whether it's a weight or sadness, anger or venting, blame or defensiveness, we see it in ourselves and we see it in our relationships. As believers, we live under the redemption of Christ, and yet this consistent guilt in our real life undermines this redemption in a way that makes us wonder if our redemption is just theoretical, or inside our heads. Gretchen and Katie talk about the practice of confession and absolution--what it is, and what it isn't, and how it can set us free. For further reading/watching, check out this article about this playing out in real life at the recent HWSS conference. Support 1517

When we approach the Bible from a hyper-individualistic viewpoint, the burden to be in it daily is on our individual shoulders, the burden to interpret and understand it is all on our individual shoulders, and we can end up sitting down to what can appear at first glance to be an enormous to-do list we cannot live up to--an activity to dread. It's the "just read it and then do it" method. In reality, we are called to "hear the Word" which is different than "read the Word." Hearing means someone else is speaking it to you. It involves others. In community, we are given the Holy Spirit, theological frameworks, creeds, and discipleship in the Scriptures and we soon find out the Bible isn't a great to-do list. It's all pointing us to the work of Christ. God loves us as individuals, but he has not called us to a spiritual life in isolation. Gretchen and Katie talk about ways to make the most of Bible reading time, as a gift, instead of adding burdensome requirements on individuals that make us think "why bother?" Links: Theocast podcast episode mentioned Recommended podcasts to assist specifically in Bible reading: 40 minutes in the Old Testament 30 minutes in the New Testament Support 1517 Did you know that 1517 has over 300 videos on Youtube? Today, you can find videos from the 2020 HWSS Freedom of the Christian Livestream featuring 16 hours of conversations centered around Christ for you. From conference talks to weekly videocasts, you can find it all in one place and stay up to date by subscribing today. Search 1517 on Youtube or follow this link.

Whether it is the awkwardness of praying aloud in a group, starting a prayer journal and then forgetting about it, using prewritten prayers, or having notecards, we often feel like we aren't that good or consistent in prayer. Katie and Gretchen talk about the ups and downs of their prayer lives, and how failure is not possible when the weight and responsibility is on the Holy Spirit's shoulders. We can pray in freedom when He intercedes for us. Gretchen's Blogpost on prayer journals. There is still time to a little bit of time to register for Here We Still Stand conference!! Support 1517.

Today Gretchen and Katie talk about the spiritual discipline of rest. We look both at the command, and the gift aspect of it, the challenges, and what's at the core of our resistance to it. Support 1517

In this episode, Katie and Gretchen get sidetracked and talk about food and the routines of farm life. That's mainly because eating is something we love to do every day. They address questions like: when are liturgies helpful, and when are they harmful? What is the purpose of liturgies? They also address the problem of a life where routines and schedules are constantly interrupted in changing, how clarifying routine-based liturgies and response-based liturgies can be helpful. (Also, this episode was recorded before harvest started, and they refer to that a few times. Their lives are very, very much in the intense season of harvest currently.) Episode 2 referenced Book by Sally Clarkson referenced Support 1517

What "should" daily devotions look like for a Christian? How much is considered enough? What are they for? Who are they for? Gretchen and Katie talk about their wrestling with these questions. Screwtape Letters Grace Upon Grace 1517 donate

It's easier to wrap our heads around independently performing for God, rather than understanding that as we were under the law, dying because it was to heavy for us, we couldn't hold it, Christ set us free, completed the law on our behalf, and gave us his Spirit to hold us up and help us. Hebrews 12:2 says "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." He is the justifier. He is the sanctifier. Sanctification isn't something he's assigned for us to do, it's something he's promised us that his Spirit would do. What happens when we use the law to perform for God, and how is that different from learning to depend on God in all things? Gretchen and Katie discuss dependence on God vs independently performing when it comes to spiritual disciplines. Support 1517 Facebook Twitter Register for Here We Still Stand 2020

In this episode Gretchen and Katie start at the beginning. In this episode they each share a bit about their faith, and why the law and gospel mean so much to them. They also share about how spiritual disciplines look like in their own lives, with kids, jobs, and constant interruptions. Support 1517 Facebook Twitter Register for Here We Still Stand 2020

Welcome to Freely Given, hosted by Gretchen Ronnevik and Katie Koplin. What we really want to talk about is freedom in Christ because honestly, there's a lot of "how to be the 'best or strongest Christian' out there. We want to share how grace isn't just our means of salvation, but something that carries us through everyday life--and gives us freedom. We are going to talk about life in Christ, and especially how the distinction between law and gospel helps us live that life of freedom.