Christopher Gillespie

  1. 396: Paulson - God's Law, God's Gospel

    book
    06/12/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    All That and A Bag of Chips. In this episode, we return to Steven Paulson’s book, The Outlaw God. We discuss law and Gospel, why God sends a preacher, why we hate Christ preached, and what therapy can do for the walking dead.
    396: Paulson - God's Law, God's Gospel

  2. 395: Questions Answered

    book
    06/09/25
    7 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Just Answer the Question. In this episode, we answer listener questions, specifically active and passive choices, active and passive righteousness, election and the bondage of the will, addiction, the limits of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the ultimate Good we all seek, and much, much more.
    395: Questions Answered

  3. 394: Paulson - The Battle of Words

    book
    05/30/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Strong Words for a Strong Word. In this episode, we read Steven Paulson’s book, The Outlaw God. We discuss preaching, doing God’s Word to listeners, calling out curses and blessing confessions, using strong words to expose and condemn the devil and the world, and much, much more.
    394: Paulson - The Battle of Words

  4. 393: Table Talk

    book
    05/23/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm In this episode, we discuss how pre-modern church history, the Industrial Revolution, therapeutics, language, corporate culture, and the flight of heretics from Europe in the 17th-18th century affected contemporary Western churches.
    393: Table Talk

  5. 392: Keller - What Is the Church?

    book
    05/16/25
    11 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Come Together, Right Now… In this episode, we read from Tim Keller’s sermon, which asks, “What is the Church?” We discuss the relationship between churches and culture, what the church is and isn’t, where we locate faith, whether Christian faith changes one’s values, and much more.
    392: Keller - What Is the Church?

  6. 391: The gracious will and good pleasure of God in Christ Jesus

    book
    05/08/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Burning Down The House. In this episode, we continue our discussion of election, addressing the certainty of election, how we are chosen, the human limits of perseverance in faith, why the pope is a bad example of Christian piety, and how old Adam tries to invert election by burying it in our sacrifices and pious moralism.
    391: The gracious will and good pleasure of God in Christ Jesus

  7. 390: Concerning the Eternal Predestination and Election of God

    book
    05/01/25
    7 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Somebody Told Me. In this episode, we read the Book of Concord on election, and discuss why God chooses to forgive all people on the cross, why some reject the gospel, why Lutherans reject double predestination, what the consequences are to trust that we are always justified for Christ’s sake, and much, much more.
    390: Concerning the Eternal Predestination and Election of God

  8. 389: The Power and Primacy of the Pope

    book
    04/24/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Over And Done With. In this episode, we read Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope and discuss the validity of the papacy’s claims to divine authority, the response of Lutherans and Protestants to the death of Pope Francis, how to love one’s neighbor while disagreeing them, the distinction between heterodoxy and heresy, and much much more.
    389: The Power and Primacy of the Pope

  9. 388: Luther - Maundy Thursday

    book
    04/19/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Sunday Bloody Sunday In this episode, we read Martin Luther’s sermon for Maundy Thursday (1534), discussing the Lord’s Supper, polity, sacramental piety, fellowship, election and all the rabbit trails we follow…
    388: Luther - Maundy Thursday

  10. 387: Flacius - Adiaphora and Tyranny

    book
    04/12/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Can’t You See. In this episode, we read the Lutheran theologian Matthias Flacius, and discuss inter-church debates, the Lord’s Supper as ground zero for most church conflicts, the consequences of compromise in matters of faith, the limits of love, and when it’s time to push away from the table and go into prayer.
    387: Flacius - Adiaphora and Tyranny

  11. 386: Pastoral Debrief with a bit of Flacius

    book
    04/04/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Kick Out the Jams. In this episode, we focus on the raw, real work of life in the parish—the ordinary burdens, the hidden insecurities, and the quiet faith that holds it all together. We explore the distinction between philosophy and theology and why attempts to fuse them often leave both diminished. There’s talk of reformation—its drama, its necessity, and its cost. We reflect on the pervasive victim-perpetrator dynamic that shapes so much of modern life and how the gospel when rightly preached, breaks that cycle. At the heart of it all is this: the power of Christ’s mercy to open what we’ve shut tight, to drive out the bitterness we’ve made into habit, and to speak a word stronger than shame.
    386: Pastoral Debrief with a bit of Flacius

  12. 385: Woodford - Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession?

    book
    03/27/25
    7 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Hey, Hey, What Can I Do? In this episode, we read Lucas Woodford’s book, Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession? and discuss the Great Commission, evangelism, the radical gospel, the purpose of the church’s preaching about Jesus, post-modern consumerism, and many, many rabbit trails into uncharted topics.
    385: Woodford - Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession?