Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
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.
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.

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Every age has its emergencies, and the church must never ignore them. Yet, our response cannot be one of panic or propaganda.
This is the fifth installment in our article series, “An Introduction to the Bondage of the Will,” written to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will.
When a congregation is abused by its pastor, it loses more than a shepherd. It loses its threshold place; that fragile seam between earth and heaven.
We don’t need another brand. We need a people who remember who they are. And that’s us, Gen-X.
MacArthur’s courage to speak Scripture’s truth, no matter the audience, should be commended.
Wisdom and strength require bootstrap-pulling and the placing of noses to grindstones.
This is the first installment in the 1517 articles series, “What Makes a Saint?”
So Christ is risen, but what now?
Forgiveness from Jesus is always surprising to us.
The women at the tomb were surprised by Easter. Amazed and filled with wonder at Jesus' Easter eucatastrophe. And so are we.
Christ does not hide his wounds. He offers them.
If you struggle with doubt, take heart: You are not alone.