In this reunion episode of Let’s Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger highlight the blessings and benefits of digging into the Bible with other believers as they discuss their new Bible study on the book of Ephesians. They talk about why they love Ephesians, what’s difficult about it, and what they gleaned from studying it together over the past two years. They also spend time catching up on their personal projects and plans for the summer. Links from this episode: Ephesi...
May 16, 2024•40 min
In this special edition episode, Collin Hansen is joined by Melissa Kruger as they look back on the big stories and trends of 2022, discuss how God has moved in and through their ministries, and share books that have stuck with them. They also take some time to thank you, their listeners, for encouraging them in the work of Gospelbound and Let's Talk. To listen to the full episode on the Gospelbound podcast, click here ....
Dec 21, 2022•20 min
In this episode of Let's Talk , recorded live at TGCW22 in Indianapolis, Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger discuss gratitude—why we struggle with it and how to cultivate it in our lives. If you've ever struggled to be thankful, listen in to this conversation for practical wisdom on walking in gratitude. Note: This is the final episode of Let's Talk . We've had a great time making this podcast for three seasons, and we're grateful to all of you for listening! Check out more ep...
Jul 27, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 10
On this final episode of season 3 of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger answer listener questions that range all over the place, including: What's a tip for improving communication in marriage? DIY, yes or no? What women's events have impacted you? Why don't we talk about women and porn use in the church? Do you like sports? What's the remedy for compassion fatigue? Do you all feel pressure to comment on social media about what's happening in the world? What are p...
Mar 23, 2022•52 min•Season 3Ep. 9
What is idolatry in our day? The people of Israel were tempted to bow down to literal idols, and in many parts of the world, literal idols and effigies are still believed to hold enormous power. But in the post-Christian West, idolatry—though harder to define—is just as prevalent. On this episode of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about how and why we are tempted to make idols. Although some may think we slip into idolatry when we want too much, Jackie say...
Mar 16, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Christians are saved by grace, not by works of the law. So where does obedience fit into the Christian life? On this episode of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about how to have a biblical view of obedience and the law. They talk about how to make sense of the Book of James, whether God's law evolves, how to avoid legalism in our homes, and how we sometimes make laws out of our own preferences. The Bible speaks of God's commands as a precious gift. Melissa...
Mar 09, 2022•48 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Sometimes it's easy to spot false teaching, but not all false teachers are so recognizable. The false teachers to whom we are most susceptible may be the hardest to recognize. "There are people [around you] who are going unaware, unnoticed," says Jackie Hill Perry, "that are teaching things that are not in line with the faith, but you don't see it. Why? Because they look like you." On this episode of Let's Talk, Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about how to identify fal...
Mar 02, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 6
The year 2020 was a year when Americans talked about race. But many would question whether we've gotten better at talking about race, or if we're worse at it than ever. So much is said that is hurtful, yet not saying something may be perceived as saying something. On this episode of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger give practical advice from their own experience for how to talk constructively about race. They discuss why critical race theory has become so contro...
Feb 23, 2022•54 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Shame is not a subject that has historically been talked about much in Western culture, but that doesn't mean it's not a big part of how we function as a society. In recent years, books that explain shame—and help women shake it off—have topped the best seller lists. On this episode of Let's Talk, Jackie, Jasmine, and Melissa discuss how the Bible views shame. The concept is present in the Scripture from the time sin entered the world. Jasmine explains, "Adam and Eve, they felt shame about the w...
Feb 16, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 4
We are living in an age of de-conversion . If you've had a Christian friend walk away from the faith, you know what a painful and confusing experience it can be. It may even shake your own belief. In this episode of Let's Talk, Jackie, Jasmine, and Melissa talk about the pain of watching someone lose their faith. They discuss why so many people are deconstructing their beliefs and what sorts of things churches may be able to do walk with those who are doubting so that they don't ultimately walk ...
Feb 09, 2022•53 min•Season 3Ep. 3
Most people have trouble saying "no," and Christians may have an even tougher time because we worry we are being selfish. But because we are finite beings, we have to place limits on our time and relationships. Even Jesus, who was God incarnate, had boundaries; he walked away from the crowds that were thronging to him to be healed in order to spend time with his Father. (see Luke 5:15–16). On this episode of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about boundaries...
Feb 02, 2022•47 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Work has existed from the time of creation when "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it" (Gen. 2:15). Once sin entered the world, we still had to work, but it became much, much harder (Gen. 3:17–19). Work can be a subject filled with angst. Some people love their work. Some make work an idol, while others work simply because they need to put food on the table. On this first episode of season 3 of Let's Talk , Jackie, Jasmine, and Melissa talk about how...
Jan 26, 2022•49 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Let's Talk, hosted by Jackie Hill Perry, Melissa Kruger, and Jasmine Holmes, is a podcast for women from The Gospel Coalition. Over the next nine weeks, Jackie, Jasmine, and Melissa will talk about how we can apply biblical wisdom to everyday life. They'll talk candidly about work, boundaries, race, shame, and much more. Tune in to season three, episode one on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, and subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts.
Jan 19, 2022•44 sec
Welcome to a preview special edition of Gospelbound and Let’s Talk. Join Collin Hansen and Melissa Kruger, hosts of Gospelbound and the Let’s Talk podcast as they discuss a bonus season-end episode of these two TGC podcasts, which launched in 2020. To listen to this entire hour-long episode featuring the top 10 Theology Stories of 2021, head over to the Gospel Bound podcast .
Dec 21, 2021•6 min•Season 2Ep. 10
In this episode of Let's Talk, recorded live at TGC's 2021 women's conference, Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger discuss the importance of practicing spiritual disciplines, even in life's busiest seasons. They talk about what spiritual disciplines are and why we shouldn't see them simply as boxes to be checked. They consider how to identify idols that might keep us from time with the Lord, and they point out the warning signs that you're too busy for your own good. Mentioned ...
May 07, 2021•45 min
"I'm defined by what I do." "I should be able to do it all." "I have to be married and have kids for my life to matter." "Women don't need theology." These are some of the lies Christian women (or men) may be tempted to believe. On this episode of Let's Talk , Melissa Kruger, Jackie Hill Perry, and Jasmine Holmes unpack why we find these lies compelling as well as why we shouldn't believe them. Jasmine points out that a way to combat lies is to follow the example of Mary, sister of Lazarus, by "...
Mar 26, 2021•41 min•Season 2Ep. 9
Most people either hate conflict or (secretly) love it. Both can cause problems, and conflict avoidance isn't always the most godly path. On this episode of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Melissa Kruger, and Jasmine Holmes talk about their own relationships with conflict. While none of them is naturally confrontational, Melissa points out that Jesus had a lot of conflict. Jackie says that she used to avoid conflict at all costs before she realized, "there is a beauty and an obligation, for the ...
Mar 19, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Melissa Kruger, Jasmine Holmes, and Jackie Hill Perry all come from different church backgrounds with different views of spiritual gifts. Yet when they talk about this sometimes contentious subject, they find a lot to agree about. Scripture teaches that unless we exercise spiritual gifts in love, they are worthless. And when we truly understand God's design for the body of Christ, we won't be threatened by others' giftedness. On this episode of Let's Talk , our hosts discuss whether spiritual gi...
Mar 12, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Sometimes, when a person starts to understand Reformed theology and the sovereignty of God for the first time, it can confuse her prayer life. We wonder, if God has already determined what is going to happen, why pray? Yet God's Word commands us to pray! The Bible clearly doesn't see a contradiction between God's absolute sovereignty and the fact that he works through our prayers. In this episode of Let's Talk , Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about why we don't pray s...
Mar 05, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 6
"Judgmental" is a negative descriptor in our culture, but the same culture holds some values so deeply that it "cancels" anyone who disregards them. And while cancel culture can bring great harm, it's existence points to the fact that not all judgment is bad. Jasmine Holmes says, "Even in our culture that is not a largely Christian culture, we understand that to judge is to protect. We want to make a judgment about people who are putting others in danger. We want to make a judgment about people ...
Feb 26, 2021•44 min•Season 2Ep. 5
It's not a bad thing to want to please others. So when do we cross a line into sinful people pleasing? Jasmine Holmes puts it succinctly: "It's when your identity is founded on other people's perception of you." On this episode of Let's Talk, Jasmine, Jackie, and Melissa all confess to people-pleasing tendencies that can become sin, though each faces different temptations. It's helpful to understand how your personality and gifting may bring with them a related temptation. Melissa shares that, i...
Feb 19, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Is our country ever going to be the same? Will I give my parents COVID? Are my children spending too much time in front of screens? Most likely, these questions, or others like them, have run through your mind in the past year. We live in an anxious age. If you sometimes feel like fear and anxiety are your roommates, you aren't alone! But we don't have to give fear and anxiety dominion over our lives or our minds. In this episode of Let's Talk, Jasmine, Jackie, and Melissa talk about coping with...
Feb 12, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Do we want to see the holiness of God? The answer might be more complicated than it seems. A glimpse of God's holiness immediately makes us aware of our own sin. But it's also the thing that empowers our obedience and gives us hope that all that is wrong with the world will be made right. In this episode of Let's Talk, Jackie Hill Perry, Jasmine Holmes, and Melissa Kruger talk about our complicated relationship with holiness. If we fail to appreciate God's holiness, we fail to know God as he rea...
Feb 05, 2021•39 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Who shaped your spiritual life? In this first episode of season two of Let's Talk, Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger consider the men and women, both living and dead, who have been their spiritual role models. They talk about historical figures as well as people they have known personally. They discuss about how to grapple with the flaws of our heroes, and why we might overlook some sins but not others. Melissa notes that when we look at the "cloud of witnesses" who have with...
Jan 29, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Let's Talk returns for a second season of conversations with Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger. Subscribe to Let's Talk and look for new episodes every Friday, starting January 29. This season of Let’s Talk is sponsored by RTS Global, the online program at Reformed Theological Seminary. Learn more at rts.edu/online .
Jan 22, 2021•1 min
As 2020 finally ends, it feels appropriate to look back on what we've learned and ultimately celebrate what God has done, even in the midst of one of the most difficult years ever collectively experienced. In this special bonus episode of Let's Talk, Collin Hansen is joined by TGC colleague Melissa Kruger, who co-hosts the Let's Talk podcast. They discuss big trends and stories from 2020, share their hopes for 2021, and reflect on God's faithfulness displayed through TGC and many other areas of ...
Dec 18, 2020•23 min
In this bonus episode of Let's Talk , Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger update each other on life over the past eight months of lockdowns, schooling disruptions, online church, and family life in close quarters. They talk about the difficulties of lockdown as well as the unexpected blessings. Jackie notes that the pandemic has been like a light that exposes both good and bad. One thing it has exposed is our inability to make and keep plans in our own power, something addresse...
Oct 23, 2020•46 min
In this final episode of the first season of Let's Talk, Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger talk about taming the tongue—both in face-to-face life and online. We may dismiss sins of speech, from gossip to complaining to tearing someone down, as minor. But James compares the damage our words can do to a blazing forest fire lit by just a spark (3:5). Jackie points out that Christians often say online what they would not say to someone's face. But if we truly fear God, we would h...
Aug 07, 2020•37 min•Season 1Ep. 9
On this episode of Let's Talk, Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger talk about building and cultivating friendships with people who aren’t just like you. This may mean someone of a different race, different life stage, different socio-economic class, or who simply has a different personality than you do. Building these friendships often requires overcoming insecurity, more communication, and a willingness to show grace over perceived slights or offenses. It's easy to be friends ...
Jul 31, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 8
A mentor is someone who "puts flesh on the Christian life," who helps you understand how to live what the Bible teaches. On today's episode of Let's Talk, Jasmine Holmes, Jackie Hill Perry, and Melissa Kruger talk about the people who have mentored them and why being a mentor shouldn't be intimidating. They give practical advice on how to find a mentor and on how to be a mentor. For example it's important to communicate your expectations of the relationship, to decide how long the mentoring is g...
Jul 24, 2020•39 min•Season 1Ep. 7
