The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
By Magnus Persson
03/25/26
12mins

The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew

God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.
Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
03/23/26

Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior

The gospel isn’t for the strong but people who know they aren’t.
Post-Denominational Lutheranism
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
03/20/26

Post-Denominational Lutheranism

One great thing about our post-denominational age is that it has opened up opportunities to make common cause with other Lutherans who, despite their differences and eccentricities, can agree on some of the most important things.

All Articles

Ryan Couch
Ryan Couch
05/03/18

Why Do We Go to Church?

For most of my Christian experience I was taught and I taught others that church was primarily a place to go to serve, to use your gifts, to bless others.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/02/18

Ill-Conceived: Pinpointing When Our Lives Went Wrong

The little psychologist within us is often hard at work to pinpoint the origin of life’s problems.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
04/26/18

Getting Out from Under the Law

God’s Law is a death sentence for us sinners. There is no winning beneath the Law of God.
Steven A. Hein
Steven A. Hein
04/25/18

God’s Last Word

The Gospel predominates when hearers receive the saving gifts of Christ as God’s final word to them.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
04/24/18

Playing The Game...Or Not

Whatever we call “god,” how we act out our “religion,” what we call “living,” if its name isn’t Jesus, it’s a sham.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/20/18

Bring Your Internet History to Church

Bring your black eyes and bruised hearts. Bring your criminal records and soiled pasts. Bring your same sex attraction and internet history. Jesus isn't afraid of your sin or your righteousness.
Valerie Thur
Valerie Thur
04/20/18

Of Werewolves and Worldviews

We are called to proclaim the life, death, and resurrection of the Answer incarnate, Jesus Christ, and in love respond to the questions that inevitably arise against it.
Jake Allstaedt
Jake Allstaedt
04/19/18

We Are Nicholas

Pictures of God’s grace for us in and through His Son, Jesus, can be found in the most unlikely places. Recently, I witnessed one such picture of God’s grace during WrestleMania 34.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/18/18

God’s Grand Exit: Rethinking Why the Temple Veil Was Torn

The veil was not torn to let us in but to let God out.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
04/17/18

When Jesus Smashes Our Religious Piggy Banks

When we focus on God's self-giving Word, when we turn our attention to Golgotha, we are shown a wholly different way of viewing the Commandments.
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
04/13/18

Am I an Apple Tree?

The law demands love, and love has no limits, no end, it is never done.
Wade Johnston
Wade Johnston
04/12/18

Just Like Rome...

What did Christians do, both when they encountered a Rome in its glory, as when Christ was born, and in it decline, as when Constantine tried to pull stuff back together?
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