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

Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
07/06/16

No Salvation Without Works

One of the interesting things about Paul’s writings that is not noticed enough is that Paul doesn’t really have an “application” section.
Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
07/05/16

Baptism's Promise

A promise was made to my older brother roughly 50 years ago. He was just an infant and had no idea that this promise was being set upon him.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/04/16

Miracle on July 5

Today, if you look closely at my left eye, you’ll see one tiny speck of powder embedded in the whiteness.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/30/16

Dear Church: The World Needs a Cross Not a Pacifier

Why was Jesus crucified? Not to save victims, but to save sinners.
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
06/28/16

So Bad Even God Won't Forgive?

The authority God gives to men—to you and I as baptized believers in Christ—is to forgive sins, to free them from guilt, to free them from the power of sin.
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
06/27/16

Horizontally Challenged

I am not one of those people who can put together a jigsaw puzzle without using the picture on the box.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/24/16

Bible Verses That Haunt Me

The dying words of Jesus were not, “Make it worth it,” but “It is finished.”
Larry D. Hughes
Larry D. Hughes
06/21/16

The Gospel—Beyond Time and Space

Jesus takes that burden away in the “I forgive you and them” and gives us His “light” burden.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/16/16

Unhappy Father's Day: When Dads Are Failures

There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
Mark Jasa
Mark Jasa
06/16/16

How Do You Measure If Evangelism Is Working?

We all began by hearing the truth, and then speaking the truth and believing the truth. That truth came to us on the lips of another.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/15/16

Let's Talk About Shame

What we see in the face of this God is not a loathing expression. We find the face of a compassionate man who knew all about shame himself.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
06/14/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 3: The Syntax of Worship)

Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.
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