Between Two Trees Podcast

The essence of love is relational; it cannot be static. The character of love often quoted in 1 Corinthians 13 is the love relationship of the holy Trinity. Our experience of marriage is personal and that is what we find in the beautiful dance between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit throughout the canyons of eternity. Join the final guest conversation of Season One, as Dr. Marcus Johnson opens our eyes to the dynamic love found in the Trinity and to the mysterious echoes our marriages make as we reflect His love in this cultural moment. 

Join us in Part 2 of our chat with our friends Nicky & Sila Lee, founders of the Alpha Marriage Program & Marriage Course, as we dig deeper into the profound mystery and goodness of God's marriage design. When we seek Jesus and our spouse first, we begin to discover things about ourselves as a result. With this new found self-awareness, we have the freedom and power to make a radical change and better our marriages for the glory of God. 

Seven dinners over two and a half months with a facilitated conversation that guides couples helping their marriage become strong and more vital. This would be your experience attending the Alpha Marriage Program & Marriage Course, founded by Nicky & Sila Lee. Join us in Part 1 of our dialogue with our friends across the Atlantic, as we listen to their incredible love story and learn how a little bit of faith in God's sovereignty over personal success can transform a relationship forever. 

No marriage question gets more airtime than, “what do 1st Century biblical guidelines have to do with marriages in this present moment, especially considering the roles of both husband and wife?” The parallels between the generation that personally heard the teachings of Paul and couples today are far more similar than different. But the bigger question called to light is the distinction between marriage roles, husband and wife, as defined by Jesus versus the culture we live in - whether in the 1st or 21st century. Dr. Lynn Cohick, professor of New Testament Literature and Director of Women’s Studies brings her historical, cultural, and biblical insight on how we can walk in the way of love in episode eight. 

Family Life Ministries for over forty years has brought marriage to life for couples and churches through conferences and literature. When it was time to add radio to their offerings, they pursued the GOAT marriage broadcaster, Bob Lepine, to host their show. B2T Podcast welcomes Bob to episode 7 as he helps us unpack the biblical secret for those who long for something more in their marriage. As he writes in his new book, Love Like You Mean It, “it’s not primarily emotions that define marital love, but actions and decisions that fuel emotions and cause marital love to grow.”

Do you ever find your marriage feeling more like a competition than a romance? Losing sight of the mission of your relationship can rob you of the romance, stability and sustainability that keeps marriages strong. The testimony of your marriage to your family, neighborhood, and the world is one of the great means of communicating the beauty and mystery of the gospel. In the sixth episode Dr. Joel Lawrence, Executive Director of the Center for Pastor Theologians, unfolds how the mission of your marriage gives you the stability of an enduring relationship which brings sustainability in the most difficult of times and joy in the journey at the best of times.

If marriage is designed to bring God glory, a legacy of marriage displays that from one generation to the next. Father and son Dr. Crawford Lorrits and Dr. Brian Loritts demonstrate the extended image of Psalm 145 in Episode 5. They both speak of a "time we cannot see" and how the framework of our marriages supersede the present and our present comfort and desires.

The contemporary narrative of marriage is so broad that it is at risk of losing its very meaning. The revelation God has given us in both scripture and natural revelation (psychology and other sciences) is necessary to gain clarity in our understanding of His design for life, community, and marriage. Listen in as we process with best friends Tremper Longman and Dan Allender about how interdisciplinary interaction can expose our bias and complement the ongoing discovery of the revelation of God in life and marriage.

Episode 3 kicks off our first conversation with our first guests of the season - Dan Allender and Tremper Longman. Dan is the founder of the Allender Center at the Seattle School specializing in the healing and transformation of lives by bridging the story of the gospel and the stories of trauma and abuse that mark so many. Tremper is a distinguished biblical scholar at Westmont College and was one of the main translators of the New Living Translation of the Bible. Listen as these best friends since junior high bring an interdisciplinary theology of marriage to life through the jocularity and trust of their friendship.

In this cultural moment dialog about marriage is more often dominated by the moment than an authentic conversation energized by a theology of marriage. Jesus, Paul and even Moses shifted the conversation from the contemporary context and controversy to the clear design of marriage from the Creator of God, Himself. Join us as we follow the way of Jesus and His disciples in our modern day marriage conversation.

In the premier episode, co-hosts Curt Hamner and Christian Rowe explore why Moses, the Apostle Paul, and Jesus all shifted the controversial conversation about marriage during their cultural moment back to God's original design of marriage - and why we should too. The reality is we all have a theology of marriage. This then begs the question, what is our theology of marriage and how does that paradigm impact our lives?