Podcast Overview

Author

424: Kleinig - The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Divine Service

01/16/26

8 mins

By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley

In this episode, we learn about the Holy Spirit and the Divine Service from Dr. John Kleinig. In particular, we discuss how Christ gives the Spirit to the church through his word, how Christ institutes the divine service and empowers it with God’s Spirit, and how the church receives the Holy Spirit by faith in God’s word as it is proclaimed and enacted in the divine service. The conversation revolves around the central question: How then can we be sure that the Spirit is at work in our worship?
- Holy Spirit
- Liturgy
- Worship
- Faith
Has Lutheranism Failed?

01/11/26

5 mins

By Caleb Keith | Adam Francisco | Bruce Hillman | Scott Keith

Has Lutheranism Failed? In this episode, the Thinking Fellows discuss the purpose and aim of the church to examine if Lutheranism in America has failed.
423: Graff - Rationalism's war on everything "magical."

01/09/26

8 mins

By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley

Who Made Who. In this episode, Gillespie takes the wheel and steers us into tradition, liturgy, worship styles, and the various “-isms” that have sprung up within the churches over the centuries. What’s the purpose of the Divine Service? What is the fundamental meaning of Christian meaning? Have we jettisoned mystery for sensible explanations that find no seat pulled out for them in God’s house? Is Christian worship, polity, and piety about what we know, experience, feel, or conformity to specific doctrines? Why is the old magic not welcome amongst sensible worshippers? What’s the place of hymns, prayers, preaching, and Scripture in Christian worship? Is liturgy a delivery mechanism or a tool?
Monday, December 15, 2025

12/15/25

12 mins

By Dan van Voorhis

Today on the Christian History Almanac, we head to the mailbag to answer a question about Hanukkah and Christianity.
- Christian History
- Church Tradition
Why Do Christians Sing Hymns? | Dr. Steve Mueller, Concordia University Irvine

10/02/25

5 mins

By Scott Keith | Caleb Keith

Singing is one of the most recognizable parts of Christian worship. But why do Christians sing hymns?
- Hymns
- God's Word
- Liturgy
- Worship
On Apathy and Excuses

09/10/25

4 mins

By Adam Francisco | David Andersen

David and Adam discuss religious apathy and the excuses people give for avoiding church.
406: Giertz - The Parish Church

08/30/25

9 mins

By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley

Take Me to Church. In this episode, we read Bo Giertz’s "Christ’s Church: Her Biblical Roots, Her Dramatic History, Her Saving Presence, Her Glorious Future." The Church, who is she? What kind of life is present within the church walls? Who wants to understand that life better and know more about it? We read Christ's Church and take you on a walk from her biblical roots toward her glorious future.
Lost in Interpretation (Acts 2:1-24 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-5)

08/28/25

5 mins

By Scott Keith | Daniel Emery Price

In this episode of Tough Texts, Scott Keith and Daniel Price dive into the often misunderstood topic of speaking in tongues, focusing on Acts 2:1-24 and 1 Corinthians 14:1-5.
Peter's packed pericope for pastors

08/28/25

4 mins

By Craig Donofrio | Troy Neujahr

Peter--the apostle--exhorts pastors to be humble, and he leads by example.
- Ministry of the Church
- Humility
The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: “Why Do We Do That”? A Liturgical Mailbag

08/23/25

6 mins

By Dan van Voorhis

Weekend Edition for August 23-24, 2025
405: Barfield - Myth is the Ghost of Concrete Meaning

08/22/25

9 mins

By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley

Little Plastic Castles. In this episode, we read the first Inkling, Owen Barfield, as he defends the use of old words, old stories, and old ways of expressing what’s good, beautiful, and true against modern proponents that argued for more modern “scientific” ways of judging language, esp., poetics and myth, as well as religion and culture.
404: Auden - A Litany and the Horae Cononicae

08/16/25

9 mins

By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley

Liturgy Amongst the Rubble. In this episode, we read poems by W.H. Auden about pulp fiction, ancient myths, conversion, liturgy, poetics, and how industrialization and corporatism build a new Babel inside and around the churches.