PODCAST · religion
Freedom Announcer
by Louie Schmitz
What would it look like if we as believers would wrestle with the questions that roam through our mind? What would it be like if we were all encouraged to ask questions even though we may not find an answer?
Episodes
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E58: Is it a sin to not participate in worship?
What if not participating in worship actually reveals something deeper about our hearts? In this episode, I’m joined by Yancy, a passionate leader in kids and family worship. She shares her story of writing and leading songs that help children encounter God, and we lean into a big question: Is it…
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E57: What is discernment?
The definition of discernment, in a general concept, is the ability to judge well. Some might call it wisdom. But when we define that in biblical terms, it's much more than that. Worldly discernment might call on your experience, knowledge and trust to make the right call. Biblical discernment...
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E56: Is God the same in the Old Testament and the New Testament?
Have you ever wondered about the differences in how God acts in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament? Many times in the Old Testament He will condone the people of Israel to slaughter an entire kingdom or city. In contrast, in the New Testament, Jesus will say things like "Love your...
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E55: How important is communion?
How many times have you taken communion on a whim? Should there be more preparation to it than realizing it's "communion Sunday" as you walk in the doors of the church and see the elements prepared on a table? Is there more to the 1 Corinthians 11 passage we read before partaking? Dive in as Sam...
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E54: Why are there so many denominations?
In many places in the world, you will find a church. In many regions of the U.S., you can find a church on almost every corner. Additionally, the doctrinal belief systems and faith traditions are all over the board! Why, if we say we follow the same Word of God, are there so many different...
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E53: What is worship and who is it for?
Many times "worship" is translated as the time when you gather together at church and sing together songs about God. Is that it? Is there more? And if it includes singing, who is it to and who is it for? If it's not for us, then do we get a say in what it looks like? "I didn't like worship today"...
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E52: Do you need to serve at your local church?
If you are a believer attending a local church, do you need to volunteer there? Does it say in the Bible that there needs to be a service element to my weekly worship with others? Does it have to be on Sundays? What if I'm serving everywhere else in town? Join Corinne and I as we talk about this...
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E51: Where did Old Testament saints go when they died? Part 2
Now with part 1, I kind of left you on a cliff hanger with people coming out of their tombs and going to the holy city. That would definitely be an eye opener! But take a listen to the second part of my conversation with Scarlett as we discuss what good is it to ask questions like this? If I do...
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E50: Where did Old Testaments saints go when they died? Part 1
Have you ever heard of Abraham’s Bosom or Abraham’s side? Well, in this episode Scarlett and I try to unpack this term ‘Sheol’, paradise and torment, soul and body. Maybe you’ve never thought about this and you’ll want to do a deep dive? Take a listen as we pull apart some different verses and…
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E49: How do you know if you’re called to something?
We’ve probably all heard “it’s my calling” or “I’m not called to that.” And some of us are asking the question “what is my calling?” Jump in as Ian and I discuss calling and see if you find yourself somewhere in the mix.
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E48: What does it mean to “count the cost”?
Luke 14:28 Have we counted the cost? Are we in the middle of this Christian thing and we don’t have a clue what it takes? Or what it will take? Join in as Emily and I connect about projects, windows, track and more. What if we considered more the cost of discipleship?
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E47: If I’m forgiven at salvation, why do I keep asking for forgiveness?
Is Christ’s payment for my sin sufficient? All throughout Scripture it states that He has died once for all. When I ask for forgiveness as a believer, is that right? Am I forgetting what He’s forgiven me for? Take a listen as Joe and I dialogue about these very important topics: identity,...
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E46: What sin is ok?
I’m sure you reread that title. It’s an obvious answer, right? Not necessarily. Well, you’ll have to take a listen to get where Daniel and I take it :)
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E45: Why is it so hard to follow Jesus?
As a believer, we have God’s Word. As a believer, we have the Holy Spirit. And if as believers we have both the Word of God AND the Holy Spirit living within us, why is following Jesus so hard? In this episode, Katie and I unpack some examples of hard times and some encouragement along the way.
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E44: What are spiritual disciplines?
In my opinion, we don’t talk about spiritual disciplines like we ought. We highlight that you should read the Bible and pray as a good Christian. But those are just two ‘muscles’ that we can be working on as we walk with Jesus. In this episode, Jared and I talk about what spiritual disciplines…
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E43: Is it possible to not worry?
Philippians 4:6-7 “Don't worry about anything.” How is that even possible? Alex and I unpack a bit about this command and if we are expected to not worry, is that doable?
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E42: Are we making disciples or duplicates?
How many of us in the Church can say that we look more like Jesus than we do our congregation or our pastor? Who are we following? If we take the definition of a disciple to be “someone who is following Jesus, being changed by Jesus, and is committed to the mission of Jesus,” Can I say that’s me?...
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E41: Christians don’t know how to suffer well.
In my experience, I’ve seen many of us Christians try to push through the bad times. Who wants to sit in the suffering? No one! But should we have a theology of suffering? Should we try to run to healing and/or learn through the process? How can we help each other?
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E40: Why do we live like biblical commands are optional?
“Pray continually”- I don’t have the time. “Don’t worry”- easier said than done. “Love others”- well you don’t know my neighbor. We make a lot of excuses why we’re not following the commands in God’s Word. But then how do we rationalize John 14:15? “If you love me, keep my commands.” It’s got to...
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E39: Why is the world skeptical of the church?
“If it weren’t for Christians, I’d be a Christian” – Gandhi. If you look at yourself, the local church, the global church, and you’re honest, we are not acting like who we say we follow. So there’s a great reason why many people look at us as believers in a skeptical way. So how do we identify…
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E38: Why are we skeptical of others’ spiritual journey?
We might all have that friend or relative that when we hear that they’ve come to know Jesus, we ask the question “is it real?” Why are we skeptical? Should we be skeptical? If not, then, what should our response be?
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E37: How important is the resurrection?
“Jesus loves you so much that he paid for your sins by dying on the cross for you.” You’ve probably heard that many times before. But is that it? We leave out the resurrection! So if many of us leave that out, how important is the resurrection in the gospel message? Visit James’ site here:...
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E36: Should we preach toward conviction or encouragement?
You’ve probably walked away from a Sunday sermon encouraged, right? You’ve probably walked away from a Sunday sermon feeling convicted, maybe? Is there a balance between the two that our pastors and churches should strive for? Listen in. *Maybe the verse Kate mentions on grace and truth? The Word...
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E35: Why have we made our faith safe?
Has God called us, as believers, to only win? Not get hurt? Not be tested? Definitely not! It’s through the times of trial and tests where our faith grows. Then why do we live such safe lives? Listen in for this conversation with Mike and how we might be able to live unsafe, holy lives.
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E34: How do we grieve with others?
We all go through it. Sooner or later, there are times of grief in our life when things get hard. Storms, situations, life happens. Rather than not connecting with our friends that are going through hard times, how do we grieve with others? Chaplain Kundan shares some experiences with ministering...
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E33: I’m an heir and coheir. What does that mean?
There are a number of scriptures that mention we, as followers of Jesus, are both an heir and coheir with Jesus. What does that mean? What am I an heir to?
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E32: What is revival, and should we pray for it?
On February 8, 2023, there was a revival that ignited which started after a chapel service at Asbury University. Students stayed for prayer and singing, and it launched into a revival. What is revival?
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E31: Does/Can God speak to us in the storm?
If you’re honest with yourself, you probably have had storms in your life. Maybe they’ve been emotional, relational, spiritual, financial. No matter the title, we all have storms. And if you’re a believer, you may have had experiences where, in the midst of those storms you wonder ‘is God there?’...
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E30: What would you do if you were free in Christ?
What would you say? How would you act? What would you do? So many of us continue to live in our old life that we forget we have freedom and new life in Christ. What would you do/say, how would you live with freedom in Christ? If you are a follower of Jesus, you have freedom in Christ. So let’s…
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E29: Why aren’t more people serving in the church?
Ask most any church staff if they have enough volunteers for the ministries that they operate, and I almost guarantee that that would get a good chuckle. The typical statistic is that 20% of the people are doing 80% of the work. Why is that? We are the body of Christ and so we should be serving...
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E28: God wants me to be happy.
I’ve heard people say “God wants me to be happy,” or “Do what makes you feel good.” Is the Christian life about me? What does God want out of me? In this episode Tim and I discuss God’s goal for us. Is His goal our happiness or our holiness?
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E27: God doesn’t give us more than we can handle.
Have you heard this statement before? Many people think it’s Scripture, but it’s not! Mike and I jump into this idea and talk about what scripture actually says as opposed to the clichés that we hang onto.
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E26: Why don’t we put feet to our prayers?
So many times in my life experience have I been presented with an opportunity where I could physically or financially meet the need of someone else. But instead of being a blessing to that person, I have limited myself to praying for that person and not being the answer to their prayer. Why do we...
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E25: Why don’t we pray *with* people more often?
A few months ago Zach and I were talking and he asked “how can I pray for you?” I shared whatever was current on my mind and then he said, “can I pray for you right now?” I was shocked. So many times I/we say we’re going to “pray for you,” but do we? Do you? Why don’t we just pray right then…
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E24: How do you pray when you don't have words?
Are we supposed to talk with God as a believer? Yeah, sure! But how do I pray when I don't have the words? When trouble comes and I'm angry, frustrated, annoyed, doubting; how do I form the words? In this episode, Trey and I connect about what praying looks like during these times. Take a listen...
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E23: Do your best and God will do the rest.
In this episode we dissect this cliché saying into potentially the true meaning behind it; That we are unintentionally and selfishly attempting to please God through our own efforts, and once that’s done, then God takes control.
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E22: Sundays are no longer sacred.
I think it’s a bit of a rub, that statement. Because I almost want to push back. But our culture of busyness has overshadowed what maybe God intended 1 day to look like. What if it looked different than we thought?
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E21: Should we love TO the gospel?
Here’s a question that I hope pulls in a variety of thoughts. It comes from my general thinking that Christians love unbelievers with the hopes that they become believers. And if they don’t, we write them off. Should that be our motivation?
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E20: Why are we so bad at missions?
So if our command is to “Go”, why aren’t we on the same page? There has to be something off. Giving, going, sending, involvement here and there. This is a great discussion I’m sure you’ll enjoy!
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E19: Why are we so bad at discipleship? Part 2
It’s apparent (at least I think) that discipleship in the Church has largely been boiled down to a class or program that you sign up for. Not everywhere, but a lot of places. So I asked, and 19 of you answered :) But what was surprising was the % of people discipling/being discipled and their...
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E18: Why do we think evangelism is inviting someone to church?
Can we boil evangelism down to a church invitation? There’s got to be more to sharing Jesus than passing it off to a pastor to do. Are we called to share our faith or mandated to? UPDATE: in this recording, I mentioned that there is no gift of evangelism. In Ephesians 4 we are told that some are...
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E17: Do you need to go to church?
This question takes on another level over this last year because of not being able to physically go for some time in 2020. Is attending a church essential for salvation?
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E16: Why do we believe in a Junior Holy Spirit?
It’s not a deliberate thing, I don’t think. But it feels like for the most part, we diminish or push aside the spiritual experiences and questions of children and call them ‘cute’. As fellow Christ followers, they have the same Holy Spirit. I think we can learn more from kids than we know.
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E15: Why are we surprised when God answers prayer?
If God can do anything, why are we so surprised when He answers prayer, performs a miracle? Is it because we don’t believe He can? Or because we don’t believe He will?
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E14: Is Grace Enough?
Should I allow what others do to influence my view of grace for them?
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E13: How should we NOT treat new believers?
Top 4 ways we shouldn’t treat new believers.
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E12: Does God care about the little stuff?
In this episode we talk about whether God cares about the little things or just the big things in our prayer life?
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E11: Comfortable evangelism
Preach the gospel at all times, use words when necessary.
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E10: Pray consistently...for how long?
We’re supposed to pray without ceasing. How does that work? How long are we supposed to pray about something?
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E9: Why are we so bad at evangelism and discipleship?
Some of the main things we are to do as believers is share the good news of Jesus and disciple. But I think these two things we don’t do a great job at. Why?
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
What would it look like if we as believers would wrestle with the questions that roam through our mind? What would it be like if we were all encouraged to ask questions even though we may not find an answer?
HOSTED BY
Louie Schmitz
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Freedom Announcer have?
Freedom Announcer currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Freedom Announcer about?
What would it look like if we as believers would wrestle with the questions that roam through our mind? What would it be like if we were all encouraged to ask questions even though we may not find an answer?
How often does Freedom Announcer release new episodes?
Freedom Announcer has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Freedom Announcer?
You can listen to Freedom Announcer on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Freedom Announcer?
Freedom Announcer is created and hosted by Louie Schmitz.
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