Podcast by Jeremy Merritt
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Life’s tough--Get a helmet...or a relationship with Jesus! Join Dennis and Christine each week as they use over 3 decades of experience in church ministry and faith formation (with a little wit and wisdom!) to help listeners encounter the love of God and live well in the modern world.
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Real. Different. Relevant.
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Anna and Peter Kapsner sit in conversation about the failures (and merits) of the church, biblical interpretation, what it means to be a disciple, and the changing shapes of modern Christianity between generations
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Of everything that can or should be said as a statement of Christian belief, why has the church confessed the Nicene Creed for seventeen centuries? Where did this creed come from? What figures or texts in its backstory might provide further context for, or develop the implications of, these articles of faith – some of which are less intuitive than others? Is the theology of this creed even intelligible to us today, who inhabit very different plausibility structures of the modern, secularizin ...
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We diverge from our usual format in this episode to conduct and interview with none other than Christine's dad, who is a psychiatrist and a deacon in the Catholic Church. We discuss the role of spirituality in mental health, the importance of a holistic approach to mental health, and much more. Plus, we gain a lot of insight into what makes Christi…
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Peter reflects with Anna about how much he actually knows about following Jesus. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles…
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Coffee (and Tea) Talk - Candid Conversations on Living as Disciples of Jesus
46:25
46:25
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Join Christine and Dennis for candid conversations on church attire, tattoos, and using foul language. We'll provide tips on how to incorporate sacramentals in the home and share some of the most influential people in our own journey of faith. That and more in this next segment of Coffee (and Tea) Talk.…
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Are angels real? Do we become angels when we die? Are there different types of angels? Who are they and what do they do? Join Dennis and Christine for this week's episode as they explore the nature of angels and their roll in the Christian life, with a special focus on our Guardian Angels and how we might cultivate our friendship with our Guardian …
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Peter and Anna welcome Anabella into Deeper Magic, a theater enthusiast who has lived all around the world and is now faced with big questions of adulting, community, and future decisions. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standa…
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Join Dennis and Christine this week as we discuss the backlash from the opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics and the proper Christian response in the face of sacrilege, blasphemy, and persecution.By Regan and Mueller Productions
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In this episode, Dennis and Christine continue and wrap up their deep dive into the Beatitudes by looking at what the final four Beatitudes demand of us in regard to loving our neighbor, and their implications for us as we strive to live Gospel values and as intentional disciples of Christ Jesus in the modern world. (Christine is ecstatic that Denn…
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Adam Holz from PluggedIn Joins Deeper Magic
56:03
56:03
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Anna and Peter welcome Adam Holz to talk about parenting, Taylor Swift, and Inside Out 2 and what the church can learn from them. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.…
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Can you name all eight Beatitudes? The Beatitudes are more than ideals, they are the way of life for disciples of Jesus Christ, and more importantly the way to eternal life, but what exactly are the Beatitudes asking of us and how do we live them in our daily life? Join Dennis and Christine as they break open the Beatitudes in this first of a two p…
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Anna takes the host chair and Peter draws on his background in practical theology to passionately defend the idea that though the attack on Trump's life is horrid, our allegiance is not to democrats or republicans….but to Jesus alone. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn Li…
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Glamorized in Hollywood and viewed as a "boogieman" of sorts by contemporary society, Satan is often dismissed as a figment of the religious imagination, but therein lies the greatest of lies crafted by the Father of Lies! Make no mistake, the Devil is real. In this episode, Dennis and Christine expose the reality of the Devil, and wade into the ma…
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Peter makes a critical mistake in a recent sermon about the “angry God” and Anna leads a study on Cain and Abel. (Where did all those extra Bible people that Cain was scared of come from anyway?) Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io…
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It seems like being kind is en vogue today, but what society means when it calls for someone to be kind is very different from the kindness that the Christian is called to live. In this episode Christine and Dennis challenge our secular understanding of kindness and present kindness as the Christian virtue and gift of the Holy Spirit that it truly …
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There’s No Such Thing as “Christianity”
1:03:28
1:03:28
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Peter makes a critical mistake in a recent sermon about the “angry God” and Anna leads a study on Cain and Abel. (Where did all those extra Bible people that Cain was scared of come from anyway?) Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io…
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Dennis and Christine continue to break open the Mass from the perspective of God's love and how God is loving us through the various parts of the Mass. In this episode, we delve into the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the Communion Rite, and the Concluding Rite, hoping to once again lead listeners to a new perspective on the Mass that will open their he…
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Graduation, Adulting, and the Great Unknown
1:08:33
1:08:33
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Anna graduated from university but now faces the great unknown of adulting and how to live a lifetime with no more benchmarks. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com…
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Continuing on the heels of the previous episode, where Dennis and Christine presented the Eucharist as the supreme and most intimate encounter of God's love that we can experience this side of heaven, they now break open the Mass from the perspective of God's love and how God is loving us through the various parts of the Mass. In this, the first of…
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We all desire to be loved perfectly for who we are, and yet it's the love of another that transforms us and inspires us to be more than we are or that we think we can be for love of them. This transforming love that we yearn to experience finds its ultimate fulfillment in God, and it's through the Eucharist that we come to experience thee most inti…
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Who in your life, past or present, is in need of your forgiveness? Who in your life have you trespassed against and need to seek forgiveness from? Forgiveness is hard, but holding on to our hurts and the wrong done to us by another enslaves us to those trespasses and creates a hardness of heart that actually prevents us from experiencing the mercy …
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The Holy Spirit is a mighty advocate, helper, and guide in achieving the goal of becoming the saint God created each of us to be, but who is the Holy Spirit and how can we relate to Him? Often referred to as the "Forgotten Person of the Blessed Trinity," the Holy Spirit can seem somewhat nebulous and abstract in comparison to the Father and the Son…
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Those who claim to be spiritual but not religious are one of the fastest growing "religions" in America and across the world, but can one truly be spiritual without being religious? Are they mutually exclusive? Delving into the issue, Dennis and Christine look at this spiritual path and offer some perspectives on why this path is not optimal for th…
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Coffee (and Tea) Talk - Candid Conversations on Living as Disciples of Jesus
42:40
42:40
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For this episode, Christine and Dennis have candid conversations about a variety of questions pertaining to living a life of discipleship. We discuss some misperceptions about Catholicism, share how and when we feel closest to God, what we struggle with the most in our relationship with God, our favorite Biblical figures, and even the pros and cons…
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As we enjoy the beauty of the month of May, a month traditionally devoted to honor Mary, Christine and Dennis delve into how we, as Catholics, truly honor Mary. We explore the meaning behind some of the doctrines and beliefs about Mary, and delve into four unique but relatively unfamiliar titles of Mary using meditations based on the writings of St…
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Where Are You God? The Problem of Evil & Suffering
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44:33
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Suffering is real. Evil is real. Yet, how do we reconcile the existence of both with a God whose very nature is Love? How can an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-benevolent God allow suffering and evil to exist? These age-old questions are challenging because the existence of evil and suffering is used to disprove the existence of God or at the v…
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What Is the Bible and Why Does It Matter?
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47:33
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The Bible is many things to many people, and how we understand the Bible impacts everything we claim to be true in our faith and in revelation. It even influences our relationship with God! So, ensuring that we have a solid understanding of what the Bible is and is not, and of how we can be certain that what it contains is true and accurate is of p…
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The Exodus - Its Relationship to the Resurrection and Us
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32:34
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The Resurrection event is the culmination of God's story of salvation, but this wasn't the first time God saved his people. The Exodus event and the Passover have deep ties to the Eucharist and the Resurrection, and they prefigure God's saving action through the Cross, but what does this have to do with us today? In this episode we talk about the n…
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Peter gave a Good Friday message for the first time in his time in ministry and tries to tell God's redemptive story from Genesis to the Cross. Anna takes the host chair (for the first time) to ask him what felt like a sacred experience. The Deeper Magic team then plays the 25-minute stream of the Good Friday message. (Special thanks to Westgate ch…
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The Resurrection of Jesus...Our Eternal Hope!
33:36
33:36
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In our last episode we had a little fun discrediting some of the alternative theories that try to explain away the resurrection of Jesus as a lie, legend, or hoax. Now, we delve into the truth of the Resurrection and its implications for how we are to live as disciples of Christ Jesus! The Resurrection allows us to live in hope, but what do we mean…
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This conversation includes some occasional strong language. Listener discretion is advised. Anna and Peter welcome Anna's university advisor, April Vinding, into Deeper Magic. Anna and April talk about faith & fiction as well as how to bear fruit in our work. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/…
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Jesus rose from the dead! The tomb is empty! Alleluia! This is the central claim of Christianity and without it Christianity is a lie. Yet, rumors that Jesus never resurrected from the dead have abounded for millennia, and they have intensified during our time where secularism tries to explain away the miraculous and relativism reduces faith to an …
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Anna is back from an academic trip to India and she and Peter talk about an entirely different way of life and faith experienced that is quite different than the Western world. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license A…
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You Got Something to Say? Expand Your Prayer Life!
39:25
39:25
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Having defined what prayer is, the obstacles we face when trying to pray, and offering practical suggestions for overcoming those obstacles in our previous episode, we now delve into how to pray. Have you got something you wanna say to God but aren't sure how to say it? Is it really possible to “pray without ceasing” as Paul urges? What are differe…
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God is always calling us, but often times we fail to pick up the phone. Tuning into God's presence in our lives is a real challenge, especially with all of today's distractions and busyness. We all try to pray in one way or another, but if we’re being honest, we’d all admit that we struggle with prayer. Finding the time, fighting distractions, and …
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Go big or go home! In this, our first content episode, we tackle the very identity of God, who reveals himself as Love. What does it mean to say that God is Love, and why does it even matter? We'll help listeners come to see how this self-revelation from God reveals not only a great deal about Him, but is also essential in helping us understand who…
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Here we are, but who the heck are we? Christine and Dennis use this episode to introduce themselves and share a little about themselves and what this podcast is all about. This self-revelation will lead listeners on a saga to see how the love of God, Star Wars, tennis, and coffee are all connected.By Regan and Mueller Productions
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Anna has a quick cameo as Peter welcomes pastor Luke Veum to reflect on what it was like to teach about sex in a large group church setting. CONTENT WARNING: May contain material inappropriate for those under 13. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): htt…
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Peter and Anna dig deeper into the beauty and pain of Ishmael and Hagar. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles…
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Peter and Anna welcome Rebecca Rhee into Deeper Magic to go through the beauty and pain of Ishmael and Hagar. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfile…
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Peter and Anna welcome Rebecca Rhee into Deeper Magic to go through the beauty and pain of Ishmael and Hagar. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfile…
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Peter and Anna welcome Gary Stratton to Deeper Magic, where they talk about a range of topics including the difference between trusting in God and trusting your ideas about God. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license …
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Peter blows Anna’s mind with his knowledge of transgender influencer Dylan Mulbaney. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles…
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Anna decides what part of Matthew's Gospel Peter should talk about an upcoming University-wide chapel....but only after he is first deeply disappointed by the results of a Gilmore Girls quiz. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/sta…
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Get Your Tithe Back When No Blessing Comes
48:38
48:38
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Anna and Peter review a church-giving program advertised with a money-back guarantee. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixsite.com/musiclibraryfiles…
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Anna and Peter return for Season Two of Deeper Magic. They discuss what Peter learned on sabbatical about St. Cuthbert's dead body, the power of story, and how hesed love can cure the pervasive anxiety of the age. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): ht…
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Two theater kids join Peter and Anna to discuss playing the role of Jesus and writing a meaningful, but not obviously, Christian play. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wix…
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Anna and Peter talk about her attending a Harry Styles concert in Scotland and what we can learn about mental health, belonging to God, and ditching a life of comparisons. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions and mentions of suicide. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras…
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Anna takes her first big whack at interpreting the Bible for one of her classes as Peter wants against the dangers of reading one’s own views into Scripture. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: http…
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Anna and Peter break up in the box on the massive mental health conversation while identifying the categories of questions that need to be asked. Content Warning: This episode contains discussions and mentions of suicide at 6:30 Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License …
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Leadership, King Saul and Asking Questions
1:31:14
1:31:14
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Anna and Peter are joined once again by rabbis Noah and Holly Ulman. They discuss why spiritual leaders often fail, and the importance of asking questions with humility. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist w…
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Anna and Peter welcomed Dr. Sue Stratton into Deeper Magic to discuss how God’s original blessing from Genesis One was never revoked. Music Credits: Auroras of Saturn by MusicLFiles. Free download: https://filmmusic.io/song/6782-auroras-of-saturn License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license Artist website: https://cemmusicproject.wixs…
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