Kids Talk Church History

The Reformed Church in Transylvania

The Protestant Reformation spread around Europe in the 16th century but blossomed in Transylvania during the 17th century. Join Trinity, Mina, and Sean as they discover how Christ protected the Protestant churches in Transylvania and nearby Hungary and Romania. Listen to our Romanian guest, Rev. Mihai Corcea, as he explains the interesting history of the Transylvanian church during this time.
 
Show Notes:
If you’d like to find out more about the people Rev. Corcea mentioned in this episode, here are their names: Istvan Fogorasi, Istvan Szonyi, Istvan Bocskay, and Zsuzsanna Lorantffy.
 

KTCH Hosts Meet Five Solas Media Kids

Ready for something different? In this episode, our guests are three kids who, like our hosts, are promoting church history. Jackson, Madelyn, and Owen live in sunny California, where they make fun videos about church history and produce a wonderful podcast called All Things Together, a Five Solas Media Podcast. Join us for an energetic, inspiring conversation and hear about their passion for church history, the Gospel, and what they describe as "the tapestry of God's work" throughout time.
And we're thrilled to offer Five Solas Media's John Knox DVD to one of our listeners, which will include a link to the digital version. Thank you Jackson, Madelyn and Owen! Enter here to win. 
 
Show Notes:
For more information about Five Solas Media and to see what Jackson, Madelyn and Owen are up to (as well as their parents), visit their website, https://fivesolasmedia.com/.

Joshua Janavel and the Waldensians

Have you ever heard about the Waldensians? Who were they? Why did they have to leave their homeland and how did they manage to return? Learn about this exciting story as Emma, Christian, and Linus talk with Dr. Erica Scroppo, Executive Secretary of the Waldensian Church Mission.
 
Show Notes:
Dr. Scroppo found out that the exact distance the Waldensians walked on their march was 160 miles from near Geneva to the first top of the Waldensian mountains!
Article by Simonetta Carr about Francis Turretin:
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/joshua-janavel-and-the-plight-of-the-waldensians

Early Protestant Missionaries

We often think of William Carey as the father of modern Protestant missions, but did you know that many Protestants went to preach the gospel to foreign lands from the time of the Reformation? Join Emma, Christian, and Sean as they discover the exciting travels of French and Dutch Protestant missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. Thankfully, they have  Dr. Zach Purvis, professor of Church History and Theology at Edinburgh Theological Seminary, the author of several articles on this subject, to guide them.
Would you like to be a guest host on Kids Talk Church History? These wrap-up episodes have been so much fun that we’re offering our listeners the opportunity again! If you’d like to join the hosts to discuss your favorite episodes and characters from our series on the 17th Century, fill out this form. 
 
Show Notes:
Articles by Simonetta Carr about Francis Turretin:
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/jean-de-lery-and-the-first-reformed-mission
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/antonius-hambroecks-sacrifice
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/petrus-plancius-%E2%80%93-theologian-and-geographer

Turretin and the Scholars

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "scholar"? An old man buried behind a pile of old books? Join Emma, Christian, and Sean as they continue their trip through church history and meet some 17th-century scholars who have helped us understand what we believe and why. You'll be surprised by what they discover as they interview  Dr. Nick Cumming, associate professor of Humanities at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, and author of the book Francis Turretin and the Reformed Tradition.
Would you like to be a guest host on Kids Talk Church History? These wrap-up episodes have been so much fun that we’re offering our listeners the opportunity again! If you’d like to join the hosts to discuss your favorite episodes and characters from our series on the 17th Century, fill out this form. 
 
Show Notes:
Francis Turretin (1623-87) and the Reformed Tradition (St Andrews Studies in Reformation History) by Nicholas A. Cumming
Episode 55 – John Owenhttps://kidstalkchurchhistory.podbean.com/e/john-owen-the-prince-of-puritans/
 
Articles by Simonetta Carr about Francis Turretin:https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/francis-turretins-italian-family
https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/francis-turretin-and-his-love-for-biblical-truth

The Pietists

Piety is a good thing. It means devotion to God. Pietism was a movement in history that started out well and inspired many missionaries and hymn writers but caused some problems when it shifted people's attention from Christ's gospel to the pietists' own acts of devotion. Learn all about it as Trinity, Sophia, and Christian discuss this important movement with  Dr. Larry Rast, president of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and professor of American Christianity and American Lutheranism.

Paul Gerhardt and Other 17th Century Hymn Writers

How did the first Protestant hymns start? Who were the most important hymn writers? And how could they write so much about gladness while living through the pain and horrors of the Thirty-Years War? Trinity, Sean, and Grace sit down with Dr. Paul Grime, Dean of Spiritual Formation and Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to discover the answers to these questions and more.

John Bunyan

The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan has been translated into more than 200 languages, set to music, and made into movies. But who was its author and how did he start writing this book? Why did he have to spend 12 years in prison? And what do we know about his courageous wife Elizabeth and other women who influenced his life? Listen to the answers to these questions and more as Trinity, Sean, and Christian talk with Dr. Shannon Murray, Professor of Early Modern and Children’s literature at the University of Prince Edward Island, and president of the executive committee of the International John Bunyan Society.
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Reformation Heritage Books, we are excited to offer a bundle of Simonetta Carr’s books to two listeners! The winner will be selected just in time for Christmas. Register here to win this special giveaway!
 
Show Notes:
 
Giving Tuesday: https://www.alliancenet.org/giving-tuesday
 
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan: 
https://reformedresources.org/the-pilgrims-progress-clothbound/
 
Pictures from Pilgrim’s Progress by C.H. Spurgeon:
https://reformedresources.org/pictures-from-pilgrims-progress-paperback/
 
John Bunyan: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr:
https://reformedresources.org/john-bunyan-christian-biographies-for-young-readers-hardcover/
 
Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners by John Bunyan
https://reformedresources.org/grace-abounding-cloth-bound/
 
Dig deeper into The Pilgrim’s Progress on the Theology on the Go Podcast
 
The Pilgrim’s Progress Part 1: https://theologyonthego.podbean.com/e/the-pilgrims-progress-part-1/
 
The Pilgrim’s Progress Part 2: https://theologyonthego.podbean.com/e/the-pilgrims-progress-part-2/
 
The Pilgrim’s Progress Part 3: https://theologyonthego.podbean.com/e/the-pilgrims-progress-part-3/

Anne Bradstreet: The First Published Poetess on American Soil

When you think of early American writers, what comes to mind? Perhaps the writings or sermons of Puritans. Maybe you think of the Mayflower Compact. But did you know that Anne Bradstreet, an ordinary wife and mother of eight children in New England, was the first published poet on American soil? Join Emma, Grace, and Linus as they interview Dr. Francis Bremer, Professor Emeritus of Church History at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, about this interesting (and often surprising) Colonial woman.
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Reformation Heritage Books, we are excited to offer a bundle of Simonetta Carr’s books to two listeners! The winner will be selected just in time for Christmas. Register here to win this special giveaway!
 
Show Notes:
Anne Bradstreet: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by Simonetta Carr:
https://reformedresources.org/anne-bradstreet-christian-biographies-for-young-readers-hardcover/
 
Phillis Wheatley: Christian Biographies for Young Readers by SImonetta Carr:
https://reformedresources.org/phillis-wheatley/
 
Verses upon the Burning of our House, July 10th, 1666
BY ANNE BRADSTREET
 
In silent night when rest I took,
For sorrow near I did not look,
I wakened was with thund’ring noise
And piteous shrieks of dreadful voice.
That fearful sound of “fire” and “fire,”
Let no man know is my Desire.
I, starting up, the light did spy,
And to my God my heart did cry
To straighten me in my Distress
And not to leave me succourless.
Then, coming out, behold a space
The flame consume my dwelling place.
And when I could no longer look,
I blest His name that gave and took,
That laid my goods now in the dust.
Yea, so it was, and so ‘twas just.
It was his own, it was not mine,
Far be it that I should repine;
He might of all justly bereft
But yet sufficient for us left.
When by the ruins oft I past
My sorrowing eyes aside did cast
And here and there the places spy
Where oft I sate and long did lie.
Here stood that trunk, and there that chest,
There lay that store I counted best.
My pleasant things in ashes lie
And them behold no more shall I.
Under thy roof no guest shall sit,
Nor at thy Table eat a bit.
No pleasant talk shall ‘ere be told
Nor things recounted done of old.
No Candle e'er shall shine in Thee,
Nor bridegroom‘s voice e'er heard shall be.
In silence ever shalt thou lie,
Adieu, Adieu, all’s vanity.
Then straight I ‘gin my heart to chide,
And did thy wealth on earth abide?
Didst fix thy hope on mould'ring dust?
The arm of flesh didst make thy trust?
Raise up thy thoughts above the sky
That dunghill mists away may fly.
Thou hast a house on high erect
Frameed by that mighty Architect,
With glory richly furnished,
Stands permanent though this be fled.
It‘s purchased and paid for too
By Him who hath enough to do.
A price so vast as is unknown,
Yet by His gift is made thine own;
There‘s wealth enough, I need no more,
Farewell, my pelf, farewell, my store.
The world no longer let me love,
My hope and treasure lies above.

The Westminster Standards

Some time ago, we discussed Guido de Bres and the doctrinal statements known as the Three Forms of Unity used by Reformed churches. However, there is another set of documents used by Presbyterian churches everywhere, known as The Westminster Standards, which includes The Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms. These documents were written in the seventeenth century by a group of English and Scottish pastors who met for ten years during one of the most challenging times in British history. But how could a meeting last ten years? How did these pastors live, and how did their families live without them during a time of war? Join Emma, Trinity, and Sean as they pose these questions and others to Dr. Chad Van Dixhoorn, a leading authority on this subject.
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Reformation Heritage Books, we are excited to offer a bundle of Simonetta Carr’s books to two listeners! The winner will be selected just in time for Christmas. Register here to win this special giveaway!
 
Show Notes:
https://www.alliancenet.org/giving-tuesday
The Westminster Larger Catechism (paperback)
https://reformedresources.org/the-westminster-larger-catechism-paperback/
The Westminster Larger Catechism (booklet)
https://reformedresources.org/the-westminster-larger-catechism-booklet/
The Westminster Standards (includes the Confession of Faith, and the Larger and Shorter catechisms: https://reformedresources.org/the-westminster-standards/

Primoz Trubar: Why Slovenia Celebrates Reformation Day

Every year on the 31st of October, an Eastern European country named Slovenia celebrates Reformation Day - the day Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the door of the church in Wittenberg. It’s a national holiday when people stay home from work and school. Particularly interesting is that less than 1% of Slovenians are Protestant! So why these celebrations? Tune in to Kids Talk Church History as Emma, Christian, and Ruth discuss this with Slovenian historian Todd Hunnicut and delve into the adventurous life of Primoz Trubar, the father of the Slovenian language.
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Reformation Heritage Books, we are excited to offer a bundle of Simonetta Carr’s books to two listeners! The winner will be selected just in time for Christmas. Register here to win this special giveaway!
Show Notes:
Episode 46 about Cyril and Methodius: https://kidstalkchurchhistory.podbean.com/e/cyril-lucaris-a-controversial-reformer/
Trubar Forum: https://trubarforum.si/ (Be sure to click on the English setting, unless you read Slovenian!)
YouTube videos created by Todd Hunnicut and his teammates about Primoz Trubar:
https://youtu.be/aQnARBpsK7k?si=jSUKwt6oXk4wgaM7
https://youtu.be/_MJw39g3834?si=p6nynZojtFN8OclT 
Article by Simonetta Carr about Primoz Trubar: https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/primo%C5%BE-trubar-%E2%80%93-protestant-reformer-who-fashioned-language
Other Resources from Todd Hunnicutt: 
A small booklet with three chapters summarizing the message of the first Slovene book, the Katekizem. It is designed as an evangelistic tool, but it also shows key ideas from the Katekizem. 
An English translation of the first printed Slovene song. Here is a link of my wife, myself and a friend singing it in Slovene. The tune is a German church song, but a completely different text. It’s a great summary of the Gospel message, mixing the biblical narrative of Genesis 3 and 4 with extra Gospel/Christ comments. Imagine this being the first ever printed song in the language, and the solid, simple Gospel message in it. https://youtu.be/zZ8LgodEFRk?si=IxFDPv1bJVdqKYxi
A section introduction and three chapters I wrote for the Slovene version of the missionary/Christian hero biographies book, Hero Tales. A family devotional with stories from Trubar’s life that might be the most appealing of these to kids.
The final section of the Katekizem, the “Sermon on Faith.” This is key because the phrase “Stand and Withstand” which is well-known, which is on the Slovene €1 coin, is here in its proper context. It’s on page 5 in the fourth paragraph. The part before that, where he defines true faith, I find to be very, very profound; I quote this in sermons in English and in Slovene often because it’s a gritty, realistic, biblical view of what faith is – basically holding on to God’s truth on the Word no matter what.

John Owen: The Prince of Puritans

The inscription on John Owen's grave says he is "a traveler on earth who grasped God like one in heaven." Later, he was called "the Prince of Puritans." How did he earn these high praises while navigating one of the most tumultuous times in British history, when hundreds of others were forced to leave the country? Why did they find six boxes of pistols in his house? And how was he instrumental in bringing John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress to print? Christian, Grace, and Hannah discuss these questions and others with Dr. Lee Gatiss, the director of Church Society, editor of the NIV Proclamation Bible, and a lecturer in Church History at Union School of Theology, on this episode of Kids Talk Church History.
Thanks to the generosity of our friends at Reformation Heritage Books, we are excited to send a bundle of Simonetta Carr’s books to one of our listeners! Congratulations to Karisa R. from Kirksville, MO!
Show Notes:
Simonetta Carr’s book about John Owen: https://reformedresources.org/john-owen-christian-biographies-for-young-readers-hardcover/
Daily Readings – John Owen by Lee Gatiss: https://www.christianfocus.com/products/2980/daily-readings-john-owen
The New City Catechism: https://newcitycatechism.com/
The Complete Works of John Owen: https://www.crossway.org/articles/introducing-the-complete-works-of-john-owen/
Lee Gatiss’ favorite book by Owen: https://banneroftruth.org/us/store/commentaries/hebrews-8/
In case you’d like to do some research of your own, the three people that Lee would like to meet from church history are James Usher, Edward Reynolds, and William Gurnall.