Those who venture through these pages will find a veritable gold mine for the task of theology today, especially in the realm of apologetics.
Should you then abandon David’s plea that God use his law against his enemies and send a Legal Avenger? No, the law must be preached to the Christian (insofar as he is not one).
The Church needs mystics again. Not fringe figures, but saints ablaze with love.

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I got your life application right here! First off, Happy New Year! It's 2019 and there's a sense of optimism floating about in the air.
Each of these little epiphanies in Middle-earth are like the star the magi saw arise in the sky, a light that reflects and points to Jesus who is the Light of the world.
This text teaches us about concepts found in the Third Article of the Creed; concerning the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, and the communion of the saints (or of holy things). I would suggest, along with your study of the text, a devotional study of the Large Catechism on the Third Article this week.
And there is Jesus to save the day. With a little prodding from His mother, and some help from obedient servants, He swoops in and solves the problem before anyone even knew it existed. That is what we are looking for from God, right? To swoop in. To save the day. These are good reasons to like this text, but they all miss the point.
Epiphany teaches us that when God’s peace advances, spiritual warfare against the powers of darkness does not decline. It increases.
The location of this text, its context, is quite interesting. Preceding this text is the very strong language of Isaiah 42 which is a judgement speech of Yahweh which proclaims a brutal rebuke of Israel which includes the destruction of the country of Judah, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. But now, beginning in 43:1, we have what Reed Lessing calls “the oracles of assurance.”
The location of this text, its context, is quite interesting. Preceding this text is the very strong language of Isaiah 42 which is a judgement speech of Yahweh which proclaims a brutal rebuke of Israel which includes the destruction of the country of Judah, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. But now, beginning in 43:1, we have what Reed Lessing calls “the oracles of assurance.”
Having Romans 6 as the Epistle for the Baptism of our Lord, and paired with Luke’s account of Jesus’ baptism and Isaiah’s prophetically rich baptismal language in Isaiah 43, allows preaches to proclaim Romans 6 in a more appropriate liturgical context. It could only be better, were someone in your congregation to be baptized on this day. If that’s your situation, the sermon will almost write itself.
On Epiphany, we celebrate the day when men, made wise for salvation through the Word, met their righteousness.
The first Sunday after Epiphany is traditionally a time to think about the baptism of Jesus. It is common on this Sunday for preachers to make connections between Jesus’ baptism and our own. That seems like a natural move, for most sermons are directed primarily to the baptized.
When bishops err we must not follow...We must obey God before man.
But the Creator of life and breath does not wait for Moses to identify with worthiness.