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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What if Jesus had said on the cross, “Earn it”?
It is of the utmost importance that pastors teach their congregation that through faith in Jesus Christ, they are fortified against the machinations of the adversary.
Lewis takes us to the planets to satisfy our cravings for spiritual adventure, which, as he says, “sends our imaginations off the Earth,” in the first place.
God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.
I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.
In the tumultuous sea of information, opinions, and ideologies that break over us each day, we hold fast to the anchor of our faith—Jesus, the true prophet.
A pastor is sent to proclaim the unconditional grace of God, reminding us again and again that it is our Heavenly Father who reaches out to us in love through his Christ-won forgiveness, and not the other way around.
Chains may have restricted Paul, but nothing can restrict the gospel.
Only the resurrection of Jesus guarantees and facilitates divine presence and love to us as divine life for us.
Everything in Scripture is God revealing himself to his people, you and me.
Christ Jesus brings his word and presence to where you are and he is even willing to do so through the likes of your personally present pastor.
God's faithfulness is constant and consistent. It knows no season. His love for us doesn't fade with the summer sun.