When we consider our own end, it will not bring us into a final wrestling match with the messenger of God, but into the embrace of the Messiah of God.
What do such callings look like? They are ordinary and everyday.
This is the third in a series meant to let the Christian tradition speak for itself, the way it has carried Christians through long winters, confusion, and joy for centuries.

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Our very lives as parents and children implicitly proclaim this higher and lovely truth: we have no value to God based upon our usefulness.
It is incumbent upon the faithful preacher, looking to see sinners transformed into the image of Christ, to preach a naked gospel.
When I hear my brother’s name, I will grieve a little. But I will also rejoice, for I know that he is with his Savior.
Throughout Scripture it is clear that the “keeper” is the LORD... It is the LORD who “keeps” His people and His creation. He is the creator and sustainer (keeper).
Faithful celebration of the Reformation is possible only for those who understand they have nothing. Whose incapability and insufficiency are obvious and owned. Who recognize their dependence on God for all things. In other words, Reformation is for children.
God daily broadsides us with his abundant power and glory as we observe nature around us. And yet, as glorious as this book of nature is, it is not enough.
Are people so different today? Is justification really irrelevant now? Is the preacher’s only point of contact with the life-giving Gospel a by-product of Microsoft’s word processor? I do not think so.
The Church Militant is under constant attack by the world, our flesh and the evil one. How do we contend against such powers? They are too strong for us, but there is One who has and continues to fight in our place on our behalf.
I suggest preaching a sermon that directs attention away from the main characters. Instead, highlight for your hearers (and proclaim loudly and clearly) the promise of Jesus in this text.
Friends are a gift from God, but all gifts flow from God to his children because of his love for us on account of Christ.
In the story of Ruth there is a strong focus on faithfulness, but not just to Naomi and later Boaz, rather her faithfulness is directed toward the LORD God.
This text gives us only a glimpse, a preview, of God’s plan in Christ to restore his broken creation to its physical and social perfection.