The life we are trying to manage, improve, and secure is not something to be mastered. It is something to be surrendered. And this is where everything changes. Because in Christ, the approval we are seeking has already been spoken.
It is within this charged atmosphere that Luther’s writings take on their full significance. His responses to the Turkish threat were not merely reactions to military events; they were rooted in a deep theological reflection on the nature of God’s rule over the world, the responsibilities of Christian rulers, and the role of the Church in times of crisis.
Your God is not artificially intelligent, but the source of all intelligence (including yours).

All Articles

When you are not experiencing this kind of tribulation, the promise of “you will” hardly seems comforting. But when you are in the midst of it—when the pressure of this world is bearing down on you—it is comforting to know it has not caught God unawares.
While the cross of Christ is a stumbling block to our self-righteousness and an offense to our rationalism, this is where God has chosen to reveal His power and wisdom.
Do you remember fairy tales? Tales of magical creatures and far away fantasy lands? They were legends of lore that included dragons, magic, a moral to the story or a hero saving the day.
Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.
John sees heaven on earth and earth in heaven. Wherever Christ is, whether here or there, tears are being wiped away. Christ does it here in time and there forever in eternity.
We also have reasons to grieve, and it should not be hard to think of causes for sorrow in your congregation. But, because of the Resurrection, we do not grieve as those without hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Our joy is a gift here and now, but it will not be complete until Jesus’ return.
Seasons of prolonged suffering have a way of beating your spirit down into the dust. Relational suffering. Physical suffering. Emotional suffering. Financial suffering.
The wizard stares into Billy Batson’s eyes. “Speak my name so my powers may flow through you.”
Do you really believe with all the saints that the church is one in Christ? Or are you the pragmatist who teaches your people that the church is broken, filled with sinners and false doctrine, and only in heaven will things be perfect? Have you complained that your people are not as holy as they ought to be or reverent as they should be?
Jesus makes two extraordinary claims in this text. One has to do with His relationship to the Father. The other has to do with His relationship to His followers. The preacher on this text would do well to recognize the magnitude of these two claims, and then choose one (or both) to proclaim without apology or reservation.
One of the great themes of the Game of Thrones is the personification of Death, most concretely in the form of the Night King, supreme commander of the blue-eyed nightwalkers.
If I don't preach Christ, then there's really no reason anyone should roll out of bed on Sunday to hear anything I have to say.