Authority and submission often feel like problems to solve or power struggles to survive. In this episode, Krisan Marotta explores Colossians 3:18–4:1 and shows how Paul reframes those relationships through the gospel. Rather than asking how to protect ourselves or get our way, Paul calls us to live as people who belong to Christ, acting in every role with humility, responsibility, and trust in God.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• What it means to do everything “in the name of the Lord Jesus”
• How the gospel reshapes relationships involving authority and submission
• Paul’s teaching for wives and husbands, and how responsibility differs from worth
• What children and parents are called to in a relationship shaped by love and wisdom
• How Paul’s words to slaves and masters speak into the realities of work and leadership today
• Why every human role is ultimately accountable to the Lord Christ

After listening, you’ll have a clearer framework for thinking about authority, submission, work, and responsibility in light of the gospel.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

In this episode of Wednesday in the Word, Krisan Marotta returns to Genesis 2:15–25 to recover a biblical vision of marriage—not as a checklist of moral rules, but as God’s beautiful design for human intimacy and flourishing. By watching how God creates Adam and Eve, Krisan shows why marriage is God’s wise provision for a need we were made to have: the need to know and be known in a uniquely human relationship.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why God says it is “not good” for Adam to be alone—even before sin enters the world
• What it means for Eve to be a “helper fit for him”: truly corresponding, matched, and human
• How Genesis presents marriage as God’s gift and design, not a human invention we can redefine
• The three foundational commitments of marriage in Genesis 2:24: leaving, holding fast, and becoming one flesh
• How “specialness,” “permanence,” and shared life reshape everyday tensions—including chores, priorities, and conflict
• Why the Bible frames sexuality as an expression of covenant faithfulness: chastity before marriage and fidelity after

After listening, you’ll come away with a clearer, more compelling picture of what marriage is meant to be: a covenant where two people reorder life around one another, stay committed through hardship, and learn to live as “we” instead of “me.” Most of all, you’ll be invited to see God’s design not as restrictive, but as the path toward the intimacy and security our hearts were made to seek.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

In this episode of Wednesday in the Word, Krisan Marotta walks through 1 Corinthians 6:9–14 to answer a question many believers quietly carry: If I still struggle with sin, does that mean I’m not truly saved? Paul’s warning is sobering, but it’s not meant to crush the repentant struggler. Instead, it exposes the danger of self-deception and clarifies the difference between stumbling into sin and settling into it as a way of life.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why Paul says “do not be deceived,” and what kind of deception he’s warning the church about
• How to understand the “will not inherit the kingdom of God” list without denying either grace or the reality of ongoing struggle
• The crucial distinction between momentary failure and a life characterized by settled, defended unrighteousness
• How Titus 3:3–7 helps explain what it means to be “washed,” “justified,” and “sanctified”
• Why “all things are lawful” can become a dangerous misuse of the gospel when it’s used to excuse sin
• Paul’s correction to the “food is for the stomach” argument—and why the body matters to God, including the hope of resurrection

After listening, you’ll have a clearer framework for examining your own heart without despair or denial: not whether you’ve ever sinned, but whether you’re willing to repent, be taught, and move toward the Lord.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 8 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.

Do you ever feel like a trial has you cornered, like you have to choose between trusting God or taking matters into your own hands? In this episode, we walk through James 1:1–8 and learn why James can say to “count it all joy” when life gets hard.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Who James is, why his voice matters, and what we know about his role in the early church
• What James means by “trials” and how pressure reveals what we truly trust
• Why perseverance is so valuable
• How “perfect and complete” means mature faith reaching what it was intended to become
• What “wisdom” is in James 1:5
• Why God gives wisdom “generously…without reproach,” even to the immature and struggling
• What it means to ask “in faith” instead of being double-minded

By the end, you’ll have a clearer, steadier way to think about hardship: not as random pain or a spiritual failure, but as a proving ground where God strengthens faith, grows endurance, and teaches wisdom.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 7 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.

In 1 Corinthians 12:1–3, Paul speaks to a church that’s confused about what makes someone “spiritual.” The Corinthians had started treating dramatic experiences—especially speaking in tongues—as proof that God was truly at work.

Paul redirects them to something far simpler and far more decisive: the Spirit’s work is shown in a person’s confession and conviction that Jesus is Lord, not in how impressive their worship looks or how extraordinary their experiences feel.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why the Corinthians’ pagan background shaped their expectations of spiritual “signs”
• What Paul means by “spiritual things” in 1 Corinthians 12:1
• How Paul identifies the real mark of the Holy Spirit’s work in a believer
• Why “Jesus is Lord” summarizes the heart of the gospel message
• How modern Christians can repeat Corinth’s mistake
• What true spirituality looks like in ordinary life: work, family, faithfulness, and daily obedience

By the end of this episode, you’ll have clarity and relief: the Spirit’s presence isn’t measured by flash, intensity, or spiritual comparison.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 6 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.

In Matthew 10:40–42, Jesus makes a startling connection: the way we welcome His people reveals the way we welcome Him and, ultimately, the God who sent Him. This episode clarifies what it means to “receive” Jesus in Scripture, showing that it’s not a passive feeling but an active choice to accept, listen, and embrace His messengers and message.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• What “receive” means in the Bible and why it implies deliberate welcome rather than passive contact
• How receiving Jesus’ disciples reflects receiving Jesus Himself (and the Father who sent Him)
• What it means to receive a prophet “in the name of a prophet”
• Why Jesus links “reward” to salvation and mercy
• Why Jesus calls His disciples “little ones,” and how humility and dependence shape true faith
• How welcoming a disciple with something as small as a cup of cold water carries eternal significance
• What your response to Scripture (the apostles’ words) and to fellow believers reveals about your heart toward God

After listening, you’ll have a clearer, more biblical understanding of what it means to “receive” Jesus and why faith shows up in concrete, everyday welcomes.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.

Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 5 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.

Jesus closes the Sermon on the Mount with a warning that is both sobering and hopeful: it’s possible to talk like a disciple while walking the wrong road. In Matthew 7:12–29, we learn how a God-centered worldview reshapes what “love” looks like in practice—and how the Golden Rule, true spiritual fruit, and the foundation we build on reveal whether we’re actually headed toward life.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• How the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) summarizes “love your neighbor as yourself” as a call to seek another person’s good—not simply to be “nice”
• Why Jesus frames the choice before us as two roads: the wide way to destruction and the narrow way to life (Matthew 7:13–14)
• What it means to “recognize them by their fruits,” and how discernment protects God’s people from false teachers (Matthew 7:15–20)
• Why calling Jesus “Lord” and even doing impressive religious works isn’t the same as doing the Father’s will (Matthew 7:21–23)
• How the images of rock and sand press the question: are we hearing Jesus’ words and living as if they’re true? (Matthew 7:24–27)
• How humility, mercy, repentance, and a longing for God’s kingdom mark the path Jesus describes throughout the sermon

After listening, you’ll come away with clearer “markers on the road” for examining your faith—not through fear or performance, but through the settled direction of a life built on Jesus’ teaching. You’ll be invited to center your worldview on God, practice love with wisdom and integrity, and choose the narrow path that leads to life.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

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Today's passage is one of the "See For Yourself" passages Chapter 4 of Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity.

What does saving faith actually look like and how did Jesus define it? In this episode, we turn to Matthew 5:1–12 and the Beatitudes to hear Jesus describe the people who are truly “blessed.” Rather than offering a path to personal happiness or self-improvement, Jesus paints a picture of saving faith that recognizes sin, depends on grace, and trusts God for eternal life.

In this week’s episode, we explore:

• Why the Beatitudes are not a checklist for a better life, but a description of people who inherit the kingdom of heaven
• What Jesus means by calling the poor in spirit, the meek, and the persecuted “blessed”
• How the Beatitudes reveal the sharp divide between those in God’s favor and those under judgment
• The four core convictions of saving faith: Recognize, Embrace, Accept, and Lean (R.E.A.L faith)
• Why future hope, not present comfort, defines who is truly fortunate
• How Jesus’ teaching exposes the lies we believe about God, ourselves, and where real life is found

After listening, you’ll come away with a clearer understanding of what saving faith is—and what it is not. You’ll see how the Beatitudes describe the heart posture of those who trust God rather than themselves, and why faith is ultimately about where you are headed, not how comfortable you are now.

Series: Start Strong: A New Believer’s Podcast

Start Strong: A New Believer’s Guide to Christianity is available now wherever books are sold.