Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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Do it again, God,” rings the psalmist’s appeal.
This is the first installment in our Lenten series, Through the Tombs of the Kings, where Steve Kruschel explores God’s faithfulness to Judah’s kings—and to us—through life, death, and the burial of his Son.
Christians don’t need a bucket list. We’ve got the whole bucket: the Word fulfilled, life fulfilled, and life in full.
Peace is ours, even when what seems like the end draws near, because we know who Christ is and we know what Christ has done, and we know that who he is and what he’s done is all for us.
Epiphany is one of the most important festivals of the church year, although often sadly overlooked.
Be relieved, whatever has had you anxious. He is with us and about his Father’s business, which is your salvation.
We now are the magi: we worship Christ because of who he is, but also because of what he has done for us and what he continues to do in his gift-giving to us.
Epiphany continues the work done at Christmas, bringing light and life to a dying world desperate for hope.
The “Chalking of the Door” is a way to celebrate and literally mark the occasion of the Epiphany and God’s blessing of our lives and home.
Belief at Christmas is neither neat nor safe. It is the path that leads to the manger and, from there, to the cross.
Are you looking for rest? Is your heart cluttered? Are you searching for comfort? Just look at the King-sized bed.
The grain of God’s goodness and grace is made known by many trees throughout the Bible.