By Philip Bartelt

12/12/25

8mins

A Review of "Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus" by Wade Johnston

Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.

Matthew L. Rubinstein

12/11/25

A Tale of Two Mothers

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.

Christmas with the Herdmans: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

Sam P. Schuldheisz

12/10/25

Christmas with the Herdmans: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

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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Bruce Hillman

01/27/23

I Don't Want Eternal Life, It's Too Long

I think the problem with the idea of eternity is that we do not have any direct experience of it, but we encounter enough of its possibility to be unsettling.

Wade Johnston

01/20/23

The Gospel for Morons

Morons though we all have been, there is nothing we need that Christ hasn’t given us.

Ryan Couch

01/16/23

I Believe in the Forgiveness of Sins

God gives us the power and authority to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to burdened sinners who entrust us with their pain, guilt, and defeat.

Dan Weber

01/14/23

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-25 (Epiphany 3: Series A)

Though it may feel to us like the darkness is winning, God’s Word reveals the darkness is waning. The Light of the world has come.

Haroldo Camacho

01/10/23

Another Look at the "Loving" Expert on the Law

The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.

Dan Weber

01/07/23

Gospel: John 1:29-42 (Epiphany 2: Series A)

When all the people had been baptized, when all the people had washed the filth of their sins into the water, Jesus went into the water to draw their sins unto Himself.

Steven A. Hein

01/06/23

In the Stars

The usual acclamation when one becomes King is: “Long live the King!” But this King of kings, this son of David, has come to die.

Luke Kjolhaug

01/02/23

A Toast to the End of Ourselves

Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.

Dan Weber

12/31/22

Gospel: Matthew 2:1-12 (Epiphany: Series A)

Because we could never intuitively figure it out, God reveals Christ to us.

John T. Pless

12/31/22

Book Review: Justification Is for Preaching

While they speak on various aspects of the preaching task, these essays share a unity in their authors’ commitment to the fact that the preaching of Jesus Christ is not simply motivational, informational, or inspirational; it is the delivery of God’s promise into the ears of those who if left to themselves are deaf to the Creator’s voice.

Chad Bird

12/29/22

Index of Videos for Reading the Gospels through Hebrew Eyes

For almost three years, I have produced a weekly video in the series “Reading the Gospels through Hebrew Eyes.” Here is an index of all the Gospel readings covered so far, with links to their YouTube videos.

Ryan Stevenson-Cosgrove

12/26/22

A Proper Christmas

It makes perfect sense that the day honoring Jesus' birth would be observed in a decidedly less than refined manner.

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