The real story of the Reformation is about the march of the Church of Jesus Christ in the face of impossible odds — thirsting for Christ and His means of grace, trusting in the Bible as God’s inerrant Word, struggling in the North but growing tremendously in the South.
The secret to living a good news life in a bad news world is marveling with joy at the vast ordered complexity of all creation and recognizing by faith the God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) who created it all for our blessed surprise, enjoyment, and faith.
The Church endures because Christ endures, and he will never let his Gospel go un-believed, until the end of time.
Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son provides the grandest sprint ever recorded. It unveils for us the heart of God the Father in Christ. Our God rejoices over sinners and sprints to show it.
The verse that lit the Roman world and sparked the Lutheran Reformation is true still today: “The Gospel . . . is the power of God for salvation” (Rom. 1:17).
Understanding vocation is critical for the relationship of pastor and people.
You’ll be reminded of Jesus, who sees nothing and no one as taboo, but who loves to forgive and comfort His children.
It’s very safe and chic these days to say, “I’m agnostic” or “I believe all religions have truth” or to be otherwise uncommitted. Most of the time, these are a safe mask for ignorance of what these religions actually teach and certainly of the actual content of the Bible. If we don’t recognize who Jesus is (and His identity is given us in Holy Scripture in stark clarity), if we are not continually in His Word, the world will have its way with us in all matters, not just our generation’s particular traps (like sexuality). “Lord, keep us steadfast in Thy Word.”
When it is commonly said that America was founded as a “Christian Nation,” that is only true in the sense that the overwhelming number of the founders were Christians, and that they recognized the benefit Christianity affords government.
[The angels] wish that there will be peace on earth, and that the kingdom of Christ, which is a kingdom of peace, will flourish on the earth.
We know we shall bear the cross in this life, and as Christianity continues to fade from our nation (even as it blossoms elsewhere in the world), the soil will become harder here. But it still remains that God works through means, and He is even now working through us, and the message on our lips, to bring to Himself the full number of the elect.
There is unbelievable freedom in worship (Gal. 5:1). Yet, as St. Paul teaches, we are to use our freedom in service to our neighbor, and we therefore accept limits to our freedom (Gal. 5:13).