Westview Church Podcast

Fourth of July Special: Celebrating 250 Years of Freedom and Faith
 
Why has the separation of church and state been such a gift—not only for America, but for the church itself?
 
In this special episode, Pastor Marty Lettow reflects on the Lutheran understanding of freedom, conscience, and the gospel. Together we’ll explore why authentic faith cannot be created by government, why the church is strongest when it is free to proclaim Christ, and why the First Amendment remains one of the great protections of religious liberty.
 
This isn’t a conversation about choosing politics over faith. It’s a conversation about why the freedom of the gospel has always depended on the freedom of the conscience.
 
Watch, listen, and join the conversation.

The early church didn’t change the world because it had better buildings, better programs, or better marketing.
 
It changed the world because it created communities where people practiced a different way of being human together.
 
This week on the Westview Church Podcast, Pastor Marty explores the habits that made the early church different—and asks whether those same habits can still transform us today.

In this episode of Westview On Deck, Pastor Marty sits down with Ali during her final week of her first year of seminary and asks a simple but powerful question:
 
“What was your favorite question of the year?”
 
The conversation moves through theology, faith, curiosity, learning, and the questions that continue to shape discipleship. Honest conversation before worship at Westview Church in Boulder, Colorado.

Before worship on May 3, Pastor Marty Lettow and seminarian Ali Gebhardt sat down on the deck at Westview Church to talk about one of Jesus’ most challenging statements:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
What does it actually mean to walk “the way” of Jesus in a world full of noise, anxiety, politics, distraction, and exhaustion?
This isn't a lecture. It's an honest conversation about faith, discipleship, uncertainty, seminary, church life, and learning to follow Jesus as a living relationship instead of just an idea.
Real talk. Real questions. Real faith.

This might be the most famous miracle story in the Bible—and it doesn’t make sense.
 
In John’s account of Lazarus, Jesus:
•delays when his friend is dying
•says things that don’t seem true
•weeps even though he knows the ending
•raises a man… but leaves others to finish the job
 
So instead of explaining it, this episode asks seven questions.
 
Not to resolve the story—
but to open it.

In one of the most famous stories in the Bible, a shepherd boy confronts a giant. But the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 is about more than courage. It’s about power—how intimidation works, why systems freeze in fear, and how faith can break the spell of bullying power. In this new reflection from Westview Church, Pastor Marty explores what this ancient story teaches about power, justice, and the quiet ways God still works in the world today.

Why does Jesus call people to follow before explaining anything? In the final episode of Why Matthew, Pastor Marty brings the series together, exploring Matthew’s unique approach to discipleship. This episode reflects on why learning comes through participation, how faith is formed along the way, and why understanding follows commitment—not the other way around.

Matthew ends his Gospel not with comfort, but with a commission. In this episode of Why Matthew, Pastor Marty explores the purpose of the church through Matthew’s lens: not as a faith-maintenance institution, but as a community formed to make disciples. This episode challenges common assumptions about church, mission, and belonging, and invites listeners to reconsider what the church is actually for.