Wisdom and strength require bootstrap-pulling and the placing of noses to grindstones.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
How do the words “The righteous shall live by his faith” go from a context of hope in hopelessness to the cornerstone declaration of the chief doctrine of the Christian faith?

All Articles

This is an excerpt from “The Alien and the Proper: Luther's Two-Fold Righteousness in Controversy, Ministry, and Citizenship,” edited by Robert Kolb (1517 Publishing, 2023). Now available for purchase.
God gives us the power and authority to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to burdened sinners who entrust us with their pain, guilt, and defeat.
The sign of the cross, according to the earliest centuries of Christians, is “the sign of the Lord,” and every baptized Christian was “marked” with it.
Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
The sermon takes place in the context of a multi-facetted set of relationships experienced through the weeks and months of being together in congregation and community. Those relationships shape the credibility of the preacher in the pulpit. 
In Memory of My Friend, James Arne Nestingen
That great truth of creedal Christianity – that God is man in Christ – is not set forth for our speculative enjoyment.
Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
A.I. can’t make the proclamatory move that delivers God’s word in a way that is specifically for me.
Hains offers a novel yet simple contention: Luther is most catholic where he is boldest.
When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
Help comes for those who cannot help themselves. When we bottom-out and come to the end of ourselves, that is where hope springs.