A Review of
By Philip Bartelt
12/12/25
8mins

A Review of "Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus" by Wade Johnston

Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
A Tale of Two Mothers
Matthew L. Rubinstein
Matthew L. Rubinstein
12/11/25

A Tale of Two Mothers

This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
Christmas with the Herdmans: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Sam P. Schuldheisz
Sam P. Schuldheisz
12/10/25

Christmas with the Herdmans: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/06/16

Animals Teach Us How to Read the Bible

The church is God’s flock. Jesus is both a lion and a lamb. The zoo turns out to be as packed with theology as a seminary, if not more.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/31/16

The Hardest Thing to Believe

You matter so much to God that he would rather die than lose you. You matter so much to Jesus that no suffering was too much, no deprivation too burdensome, no punishment too severe for him to endure to have you as his own.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/11/16

Some of the Best People Are Not Christians

Christians are Christians not because of anything that they have done but because of everything Christ has done for them.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/07/16

Reading Life Backward: Why Hebrew is the Language of the Cross

Read your life like a Hebrew, from the end to the beginning, and you will see that the last is first. The dead are alive, the cursed are blessed, the humble are exalted.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/06/16

Mr. Ritual and Ms. Grace: The Ideal Marriage

We who fall within the Protestant camp of Christianity have longstanding issues with ritual. I get that. Ritual is often abused. Idolatrized. It can easily devolve into a hollow act of religious farce.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/04/16

When We Wish God Didn't Exist

The side of God he has made known to us is Jesus. He is the one and only revelation of the Father, the one and only revelation we need.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/01/16

R-Rated Prayers

He holds you tight and loves you even as you weep and fight in his arms. His Son suffers alongside you as your brother in the flesh.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/29/16

The Secret Weapon Angels (and Pastors) Carry to Protect Us

We need pastors who carry that same concealed weapon in their mouths, who are outfitted with the same word the angels have: the word steeped in divine blood, shed for you. That is all we need, for the word does it all.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/27/16

My Favorite Dirty Word in Church

You became, for a time, ritually unclean. Not sinful. Not immoral. To be unclean meant you bore in your own body the effects of a creation in bondage to decay.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/23/16

The Beast of "Should" at the Zoo

All our little laws reveal that we are, by nature, trying to justify ourselves before others, and before God, based on what we do and who we are.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/22/16

Why is God Hanging out with the Wrong People?

Imagine if Zacchaeus posted on Jerusalem's Facebook a selfie with Jesus. The top dog among the tax-gougers with Christ at his dinner table. Oh, the outrage! The puritanical zealots would have been tweeting and blogging about it for months.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/20/16

Discovering God in the Ugly

We see someone driving a fancy car, owning a big home, having healthy children and an attractive spouse. Instantly, almost without a second's thought, we assume they are successful. Life is good for them.
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