A happy, terrible act is Baptism — a rebirth of life and, at the same time, a drowning and death. We see this contrast in Romans: “We were buried therefore with [Christ] by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

If you’re looking for some spiritual significance to the total eclipse, why speculate? Rather than guess that it’s a harbinger of the future apocalypse, look back instead to the cross. Let it remind you of the Lord’s death for you, when even creation convulsed as the Creator suffered for your sins.

A solar eclipse is one of the most spectacular astronomical events observable with the naked eye. But what does it look like to a Lutheran scientist?

America’s founding fathers believed that the “pursuit of happiness” was an inalienable right, and most people today certainly think that they deserve to be happy. But what happens when we face unhappiness? How does God’s word comfort us then?

Congregations can get over pastors. Pastors are, and should be, replaceable. But pastors don’t get over the places, the people, they serve. In a pastor’s mind, those two names, his and theirs, will always go together.

Doggedly chasing the world’s standard for inclusivity and hypersensitivity often falls flat and possibly lands with a lawsuit or two. But maybe there’s another way.