A Word Fitly Spoken Podcast

The First Council of Constantinople

The first ecumenical council answered the challenges of Arianism, but failed to make it go away. With Arians gaining strength in every level of society, even with Arian emperors, how would the Church respond? Join us as we discuss the history of the second ecumenical council at Constantinople, the relationship between the church and the state, and why religious toleration isn't necessarily a good thing.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideEpisode: 32
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

The Practice of Prayer

Just as breathing is necessary for life, prayer is essential to a living and active faith. How do the logistics of prayer— time, posture, and words—aid or detract from a prayer life? What is presumed when we pray? How can a pastor especially pray for his congregation?  Join us as we discuss piety and its cultivation in the habit of prayer.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideRegular Guest:  Rev. David AppoldEpisode: 31
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

Walther on Marriage

Marriage is a perpetual source of joy and frustration in and outside the church. Today we look at how C.F.W. Walther discussed what makes a marriage and what unmakes a marriage, who should marry whom, and who shouldn't be married at all. We delve into the relationship between marriage and the public good, especially how a minister's marriage affects everything else in his life and his church.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideRegular Guest:  Rev. Adam KoontzEpisode: 30
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

The Wauwatosa Theology

As heirs of the Reformation, do we follow them because they speak the truth or because they are the Reformers? The Wauwatosa theologians called on the church of their day and also on our own to examine ourselves critically, to hold fast to the pattern of sound words, and to search the Scriptures. Rev. Peter M. Prange joins us to define the Wauwatosa theology and to discuss its historical background.
For essays by Rev. Prange and others on the Wauwatosa Theology, please visit our website.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideGuest:  Rev. Peter M. Prange, Associate Pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church, Kenosha, WIEpisode: 29
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

All Talk...

What we say and what we do go together in the Bible.  But what happens when we become so focused on what we say that we forget that the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power?  Maybe we end up explaining the Bible away.  Join us as we discuss the dangers of slogans and the promise of letting the Bible speak for itself.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideRegular Guest: Rev. Adam KoontzEpisode: 28
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

The Second Great Awakening

Few movements have had a greater impact on American Christianity than the Second Great Awakening.  Whether in the way it changed the established churches or brought entirely new movements into existence, it extends into nearly every sphere of American religious life.  Join our discussion of the lessons and cautions of this movement as we look at its history, some of the most important figures in it, and how it continues to have enormous influence today.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideEpisode: 27
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

Amos and the Justice of God

Amos, a shepherd called to speak against Israel even in the height of her power, speaks very vividly about the justice of God. What did injustice in Israel look like in Amos' day? How does that compare to modern concerns about "social justice"? What does Amos teach us about the church's and the individual Christian's role in pursuing God's justice? What do these prophecies of judgment teach us about the cross and the Last Day?  Join us as we discuss Amos and how his message calls for us to prepare for the Day of the Lord.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideRegular Guest: Rev. David AppoldEpisode: 26
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

Walther on the Lord's Supper

God's mandate matters. What did Jesus mean His Supper to be? How should His holy words and holy things be handled by pastors? All this and much else about the Supper C.F.W. Walther discusses in his Pastoral Theology. We dig into why Lutheranism is distinctive in its use of the Lord's Supper, why that's a good thing, and what makes the Sacrament what it is.
Books for further reading:  Pastoral Theology, and Suelflow's biography Servant of the Word.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideRegular Guest: Rev. Adam KoontzEpisode: 25
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

The First Council of Nicaea

Few events in the history of the world have had so profound an impact than the relatively short ecumenical council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.  Constantine the Great seeks to preserve the fragile unity of his empire even as the Church threatens to be torn apart over the question of how God the Father and God the Son relate to one another.  The First Council of Nicaea is not a political maneuver by wily politicians, the caricature which crops up especially today, but a bold and concise confession of the truth in the face of overwhelming odds.  Join us as we discuss the historical background of this council and why this historical event shows that God continues to work in history to preserve His Church.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideEpisode: 24
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.

Jonah the Prophet

In many people's minds, the story of Jonah is about a man being swallowed by a whale, but this is only a part of the story.  When and where did Jonah prophesy? Why do some people say the book is an allegory? What does it mean that the Lord relents of the disaster he was going to send on Nineveh? How does Jonah's preaching inform our own?  Join us as we discuss these and other questions about Jonah in our latest podcast.
Hosts: Rev. Willie Grills and Rev. Zelwyn HeideRegular Guest: Rev. David AppoldEpisode: 23
Find articles and other podcast episodes on our website: wordfitlyspoken.orgFollow us on Twitter: @wordfitlySend us a message: podcast@wordfitlyspoken.orgSubscribe to the podcast: RSS Feed, iTunes, Spotify, or your favorite podcasting app.