This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
To Live Well is therefore not a general advice book, but a message suffused with the gospel.

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You have real freedom through the gospel of Jesus Christ, a freedom that doesn’t rest on founders, votes, or power plays.
One Christ rules over all of it. He is the constant, the root that nourishes every estate and every vocation.
No matter how many times we hear this good news, it never stops being good news.
Our faith is precisely where Paul puts it, namely, in the blood of Christ.
Just as trick-or-treaters arrive at doorsteps as beggars, we come to the Lord’s table with nothing to offer but our sin and need for forgiveness.
Luther understood that music is an exceptional teaching tool.
Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds.
Salvation doesn’t hang in the balance of a voting booth.
The difference between God's gospel and man's could not be greater.
To preach Christ and him crucified is to keep the message simple and accessible.
Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.
The story of Jesus's temptation has much more to offer than merely giving us a "how-to" guide on kicking Satan to the curb.