When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not
By Russ Lackey | Mark Mattes
01/20/26
19mins

When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.
Behold the Lamb
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
01/19/26

Behold the Lamb

The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.
Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
01/16/26

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

All Articles

Paul Dunk
Paul Dunk
05/01/19

The Divine Drama

If I don't preach Christ, then there's really no reason anyone should roll out of bed on Sunday to hear anything I have to say.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
04/30/19

When God Gets a Grip On Us

When we get wrapped up in tying God down, when we worship and work in a way that seems good to each of us, it’s impossible to recognize God as loving Father and helpful Savior.
RJ Grunewald
RJ Grunewald
04/22/19

A Table For The Broken

Something happens around the table that changes those who are given a seat at the table.
Erick Sorensen
Erick Sorensen
04/19/19

Is It I, Lord?

And when it was evening, he came with the twelve. And as they were reclining at table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”
Cindy Koch
Cindy Koch
04/18/19

Looking for the Lamb

Maundy Thursday is only the beginning of the long, grievous road Jesus must take before “it is finished” three days later.
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
04/18/19

Jon Snow And Romans Seven

Season eight of the Game of Thrones has begun. It's the long-awaited finale, the end of the story we have all long been eagerly waiting for even as we fear the impending winter.
Matt Johnson
Matt Johnson
04/16/19

Pastor Of Disaster

How are things at your church? Are people getting saved in droves, are there mass baptisms every Sunday, is giving at an all-time high, and are your members model citizens and pillars of the community?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/15/19

The Gospel According to Noah

When Lamech named his newborn son Noah—which means “rest”—he said, “This one shall give us comfort from our work and from the toil of our hands arising from the ground which the Lord has cursed”
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
04/11/19

Church Membership and the Gospel

Being a member of a church connects people to the whole reason the church has for existing: that we might obtain justifying faith in Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
04/09/19

The Truly Good Shepherd

You have heard that after his sufferings and death Christ our Lord arose from the dead and entered upon, and was enthroned in, an immortal existence.
Mark Mattes
Mark Mattes
04/09/19

A Q&A with Mark Mattes on Law and Gospel in Action: Foundations, Ethics and Church

The Gospel restores us to our true humanity, embeds us in the body of Christ, feeds us with Christ’s own body, and offers us a community.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
04/03/19

Who Told You? On Being Afraid in Sunday School

The initial sin, therefore, was not the eating of the forbidden fruit but rather listening to a cynic question and intentionally misinterpret God’s goodness
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