Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.
The confessors at Augsburg remind us that every generation of Christians is called to bear witness to the gospel amid the challenges and pressures of its own age. As they confessed Christ before emperors and kingdoms, so the Church continues to confess Him before the world today.
When Jesus washes you with baptismal water, you can rest assured that the Lion of Judah is on the move.

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Prayer is not just about asking for things. It's about receiving what has already been given to us in Christ.
The Holy Spirit isn’t so much the one you look at, as he is the one who turns you from looking at yourself and your sin to your Savior, Jesus.
Tim wanted everyone to know to the deepest part of their being that they were justified by Christ alone.
God wants his word of promise to be the only thing we bank on, the only thing we have confidence in.
What might Christians of the Reformation tradition think of claims like these about the nature of salvation?
What greater legacy could you claim than that of Mark? Listen to the Word. Learn from Jesus.
The testimony of every son and daughter of God is, God has brought us through.
A father's struggle to pray for his child's healing is one of the most difficult experiences he can face.
The story of salvation is the true story of God doing his unexpected work of salvation for us.
If the season of Lent is a journey, Holy Week is the destination.
Past, present, and future are tied together in Christ.
This is an excerpt from the introduction of “Common Places in Christian Theology: A Curated Collection of Essays from Lutheran Quarterly,” edited by Mark Mattes (1517 Publishing, 2023).