God can handle grief, rage, and cries for justice. God can handle the victim who cannot yet forgive. God can handle the prayer that comes out jagged and wounded. The good news is that God is holy and merciful enough to handle all our prayers.
But while scholars are right to focus on the bond between Martin and Hans, the evidence of Martin’s own words suggests their relationship may not have been as troubled as some suppose. For Hans Luther was not a cartoon villain but a normal human being attempting to make his way in the world and raise his children to the best of his ability.
Jesus offers something infinitely better. He tells us to put down our gavel—not because sin isn't real, but because the only Judge who has the right to condemn is the very One who was condemned for us.

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This is an excerpt from part two of “On Any Given Sunday: The Story of Christ in the Divine Service” by Mike Berg (1517 Publishing, 2023).
If it’s all a fiction spun by disappointed disciples, if it’s a mere symbol for the idea of an inner awakening, if it’s not a fact that Christ has been raised, then our grief and loss have no end, and we have no hope.
What if sin was truly removed and what if the one who took it from us had the power to conquer it’s curse and spit in the face of death?
This is the prelude of Easter. Is a dead Jesus still resting in the tomb? No!
Dear hearers of the word of God, you are finished. You cannot be the same now. All that is ended, over.
Maundy Thursday is your big night. For the Passover Lamb is given for you, given to you.
You are not alone if you find it difficult to wrap your mind around the auspices of the Old Testament sacrificial system.
If the season of Lent is a journey, Holy Week is the destination.
Today I would like to share The Legend of the Dogwood, inspired by the words of Stoney Cooper.
If we just say to God, “We don’t get it, please explain,” he will. He will send us a preacher to point us to his words for more clarification.
The needs of the people remain the same, but now the people are you and me. We still sin, and that sin causes so many challenges in our lives.
It’s scary to share my struggle and to show that I have cracks because once I’ve shown my cards, I open myself up for judgment.