The Deep Dish

Courtney and Melissa talk about how to recognize and repent of the ways we may be relying on self-righteousness rather than the righteousness of Christ. They talk about tribalism, what happens when debatable issues are treated as primary, and how, paradoxically, the areas where we feel despair may point to areas of pride or self-righteousness in our lives.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What are some things that come to mind (such as...

Courtney and Melissa talk with New Testament scholar (and Melissa’s husband) Mike Kruger about the excellent evidence that Jesus physically rose from the dead and the difference that makes for our lives.

Dr. Kruger points out that because Jesus predicted his own resurrection, it validates his claims to be the Son of God and the Messiah. Dr. Kruger highlights the resurrection's transformative effects on early Christians, including their willingness to be martyred for their faith.

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To celebrate the first birthday of The Deep Dish, Courtney and Melissa welcome special surprise guests to answer tough questions sent in by listeners. They talk about the difference between shame and the Spirit's conviction, how to seek advice about a conflict without gossiping, how to sit with the tension of a biblical text, how to keep the Sabbath, and more. 

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Courtney and Melissa discuss helpful practices they’ve used in their prayer lives, including developing regular rhythms, alternating prayer with Scripture reading, and incorporating confession of sin as a part of personal prayer. They talk about how to be faithful to a promise to pray for someone else and how to make prayer part of a friendship.

Rather than speaking from a place of prescriptive legalism, Melissa and Courtney speak with infectious enthusiasm about the possibilities of a rich and growing prayer life.

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Melissa and Courtney talk with Jen Oshman about the lie that our worth is measured by what we possess. They discuss why we try to fill a God-shaped hole with earthly things and how to recognize materialism in our lives.

They talk about strategies to combat materialism, including inviting trusted friends into your financial decisions, seeking to be as generous to others as possible, and setting your heart on heavenly possessions rather than earthly ones.

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Courtney Doctor talks with Colleen Chao about how her faith has grown and flourished through living with a terminal cancer diagnosis. They discuss the difficulty of knowing she may not live to see her son grow up, what keeps her clinging to Jesus, and what excites her about the life to come. Colleen expounds a rich theology of suffering accompanied by contagious joy in the Lord.

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Courtney and Melissa talk with Christine Hoover about why we need friends and how to make them. They discuss how to get over the awkwardness of walking into a room where you don’t know anyone, why our friendships may shift in different life stages, how our friends shape us, and how an idealized view of friendship (where your friends never disappoint you) runs counter to the gospel.

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Courtney and Melissa talk with Jen Wilkin about how they each related to their siblings while growing up, how those relationships have changed over the years, and how to foster a healthy relationship with adult siblings.

In this laughter-filled conversation, they talk about how they dealt with conflict among their own children, words of wisdom they wished they’d heard sooner, and how to encourage kindness and love between siblings throughout their lives.

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Melissa and Courtney talk with Raechel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams about how they learned to love the Bible. They discuss both the challenges and rewards of studying Scripture, memorizing it, and learning to interpret it in community. They explain the difference in thinking the Bible is written to you and understanding that it was written for you.

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Courtney and Melissa talk about the gap between our high expectations for the holidays and the disappointment we often feel in others or in ourselves. They discuss how to be pro-active in preparing our hearts to hope in the Lord rather than in perfection, how to bear the fruit of the Spirit while also meeting the practical needs of those around us, and how inviting nonfamily into family holidays can bring great blessing. Whether you are excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas or tired just thinking about them, listen to this conversation and be encouraged!

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Melissa talks with Ann Wilson about the power of words in marriage and the importance of speaking life to one's spouse.

Ann recounts a memorable turning point in her 45-year marriage when she realized her many attempts to help or “tweak” her husband were having the opposite effect than intended. They talk about recognizing that every marriage has peaks and valleys and give practical advice for getting through the hard seasons.

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Melissa and Courtney talk with Becky Pippert about how to develop godly confidence to engage in evangelistic conversations with love. Becky tells stories about sharing her faith with her own parents and talks about how to go from a natural conversation to a spiritual one. She emphasizes the need to pray for opportunities, to rely on the Holy Spirit, and to be a good listener. 

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Melissa and Courtney talk with Megan Hill about how God’s Word helps us understand the deep hurts that can come from God’s own people. They discuss why church hurt is so painful as well as why we shouldn’t run from church when we’ve been hurt. They talk about how to know when it might be right to leave a church and how to find comfort in God’s word. Listen to this episode if you’ve ever experienced church hurt or want to care for those who have.

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Sighing on Sunday: 4...

Melissa and Courtney talk with Jackie Hill Perry about the sin of covetousness and why it’s so hard to recognize and admit. They discuss signposts that tip them off that they are coveting, the relationship between covetousness and other sins, and why we desire for others to covet what we have. Listen in if you want to get serious about putting to death the sin of covetousness in your own life.

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Melissa and Courtney talk with Lisa Whittle about how a whole body theology can keep us from obsessing or neglecting our bodies. They discuss the need for a foundational view of our bodies drawn from the whole of Scripture rather than isolated verses. Whether we struggle with accepting imperfections in the way we look or we get frustrated because our bodies don’t function the way we wish they did, recognizing that our bodies exist for the glory of God can lift the weight of worrying about what others think of us.

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When we treat gossip as an “excusable sin,” we ignore the corrosive power it has in our lives and relationships. In this conversation, Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk about why we’re so drawn to gossip, how to avoid it, and how to repent of it when you fail. They discuss some telltale phrases that are red flags for gossip, how to turn the conversation to something else, and when and how it’s right to confess gossip. Listen in as Courtney and Melissa spill the tea on gossip.
 

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Jen Wilkin about how to make decisions regarding good opportunities in light of our finiteness. They talk about why quitting is sometimes wise, how to think about decisions that will affect your family, and why it’s better to think of God's will as a field rather than a maze.

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Melissa and Courtney talk with Mark Vroegop about the gap moments of our lives when we have to wait. They discuss why waiting is so frustrating, what it means to wait on the Lord, what the Bible says about waiting, and how to recognize the sinful patterns we should avoid in times of waiting. No one likes to wait, but waiting is where we learn to walk by faith and where God does some of his best work in our lives!

Discussion Questions: 

1. How are you currently experiencing waiting?

2. What expectations are you b...

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Rubric Questions for Choosing a Group Bible Study:

Melissa Kruger talks with her friends Hunter Beless and Laura Wifler about the role social media has played in their lives, both positive and negative. They talk about temptations that can arise from social media—from neglecting other good pursuits to inspiring covetousness. They discuss why it can be helpful to take breaks and what red flags they look for in their own lives that show social media is doing them more harm than good.

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Vanessa Hawkins about the Bible’s trustworthiness. They discuss why things like apparent inconsistencies and many different authors can actually point to the truth of the Christian Scriptures.They recommend resources to help listeners become familiar with biblical genre and the overarching narrative of the Bible to better understand how Scripture fits together.

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We’re sharing this episode of our Gospelbound podcast as a bonus episode for Deep Dish listeners because we know you love to read! In it, Melissa Kruger and Collin Hansen talk about what’s on their own summer reading list and share recommendations of other books they believe our listeners will enjoy. We hope this conversation will lead you to books that are edifying and enjoyable. Happy reading!

Collin's Summer Reading List

Melissa's Summer Reading List

Courtney Doctor talks with Whitney Pipkin and Wendy Alsup, two of her friends who have known deep grief. They talk about why grief can be so surprising, why God allows it, and how to talk to a friend who is grieving (hint: it’s better to listen). Whitney talks about why we shouldn’t rush through grief; it’s appropriate to rage against death! Wendy says that we can see our grief as our resistance to the effects of the Fall. Listen to this episode and be comforted that even if grief feels strange and disorienting, you are not alone...

Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor respond to questions submitted by listeners such as what advice they have for newlyweds, how women can thoughtfully have relationships with their pastors and elders, their go-to verses for lonely times, and last but not least, their favorite pizza toppings!

New episodes of The Deep Dish will now be released every other Thursday. Sign up for exclusive content for women and updates on The Deep Dish podcast here. 

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk about how to seek out the counsel of wise friends and how to respond well when friends seek your counsel. They discuss how to ask good questions, how to deliver a gentle rebuke when necessary, how to follow up on requests for accountability, and how to point someone to Scripture without treating it like a Bible Band-Aid. Listen prayerfully to prepare yourself for opportunities that arise to bear one another’s burdens.

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Trillia Newbell about the depth and richness of Romans 8. They explain how to understand Romans 8 in the context of the previous chapters, why there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, how to let that truth make a difference in your life, and how to respond to the question “If there’s no condemnation for me, why am I suffering?” We hope you will open your Bibles and dive in!

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Vanessa Hawkins about the vital and beautiful role church should have in the life of every Christian. They discuss what keeps people from regular church attendance and how to move beyond church hurt. They talk about why your church attendance and involvement is not only necessary for your own spiritual growth, but for the other members of the body of Christ.

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Courtney Doctor and Melissa Kruger discuss how to make decisions about using your time. They they talk about how to think of yourself with sober judgment, the wrong reasons to say “yes” and “no,” and how to recognize which callings in your life must be prioritized. Although there is no formula for determining when to say yes or no, there is always wisdom available from God when we ask for it!

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Courtney Doctor, Melissa Kruger, Vanessa Hawkins, and Jen Wilkin have each been married for more than 25 years.

In this conversation, they talk about how marriage was different from what they expected, what practices have strengthened their marriage through life's ebbs and flows, and they debunk some of the worst marriage advice they’ve heard. 

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with their colleague Ann Westrate about how understanding each others’ gifts has enhanced their work as a team. They talk about how much the Working Genius assessment helped them understand why what might be easy for one of them is hard for someone else. Understanding what different gifts are represented in a team can enhance morale and strengthen relationships. We all have gifts, but none of us have all the gifts.

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Courtney Doctor talks with Melissa Kruger, and Elizabeth Woodson about the true meaning of contentment and how to find it. They discuss how discontentment springs from the attitude of our hearts rather than our circumstances and will only be overcome by trusting God’s goodness. They talk about the enemies of contentment as well as how the psalms of lament show us that grieving is compatible with contentment. We can confess that God has withheld no good thing while also asking, “How long, O Lord?”

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Melissa Kruger talks with Sandi Taylor and Ruth Chou Simon about parenting teenagers. They reflect on the principles of their parenting that have stayed the same even though their practices have changed as their children age. They discuss how to pick the right battles, why you shouldn’t look shocked when your teen tells you something shocking, and why teens need both firmness and warmth from their parents.

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk with Jen Wilkin about how to embrace a more beautiful and biblical view on bodies, aging, beauty, and youth. They discuss why we should see aging as a gift rather than a disease, and how we can prepare our spirits for the decline of our bodies. This conversation will not tell you where to “draw the line” when it comes to pursuing a more youthful appearance through beauty treatments, but it will renew your perspective so that that question will seem less important.

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Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor talk about the mysterious tension between the doctrine of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. They discuss what implications God’s sovereignty has for our prayer lives and why it shouldn’t cool our passion for evangelism. Although it may be hard to understand how God could be sovereign when we are suffering, what is initially a troubling doctrine can become our deepest comfort.

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Courtney and Melissa talk with Nancy Guthrie about their prayer lives. They talk about why it makes sense to pray, even when we believe God has already determined what is going to happen, and why it makes sense to let God’s Word shape our prayers. Listen to this deep and honest conversation if you want to leave more eager to pray!

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Courtney Doctor, Melissa Kruger, Vanessa Hawkins, and Jen Wilkin share their experiences of mentoring and being mentored. They discuss the biblical impetus for life-on-life discipleship and how to overcome the intimidation factor when someone asks you to mentor her. They give practical advice on how to make a mentoring relationship work in real life.

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Courtney Doctor and Melissa Kruger introduce The Gospel Coalition’s new podcast for women. They talk about why women need to have deep conversations and what might stand in the way. Listen to find out about the guests and topics this first season will cover, and join them for deep conversations about deep truth!

Let this Mother’s Day be a reminder that she deserves care, too. Head to cozyearth.com and use our code DEEP for an exclusive 20% off, and if you see a post-purchase survey, be sure to mention you heard about Cozy Earth from...

The Deep Dish is a new podcast from TGC hosted by Melissa Kruger and Courtney Doctor that invites women into deep conversations about the deep truths of God. These discussions (which are always better served up with a slice of deep-dish pizza!) will equip women to engage in richer discipleship relationships in their local contexts. Tune in for warm conversations among friends—including special guests along the way—to dig deeper into God’s Word and explore how it applies to every area of our lives.

Let this Mother’s Day be a reminder that she deserves...