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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God preserves language so he might continue to communicate his love and grace to us, and that we might communicate his love and grace to others.
While these are familiar words to us, frequently they are dealt with in ways that fail to take into account the context and the situation.
The Church has traditionally understood Baptism as a naming Sacrament. It reminds us of our new baptismal identity.
We cannot scan any random passage of Scripture and automatically assume the words are unconditionally addressed to us. Often, very often, they are not.
Do you want to learn Hebrew or expand your knowledge of the language? What are some online resources for studying the Bible in the original languages?
The amount of Messianic/Christological connections in this account is stunning. This is an excellent Old Testament text with which to begin Lent!
Since the law is our mother-tongue, we naturally assume it’s the only language that exists; this ceaseless, damning voice reminding us that we are not all that we should be.
God’s plans and purposes for this world aren’t dependent upon us. They’re dependent upon him. This means our faith is liberated.
Elijah crosses over the Jordan to be taken into Heaven. Later, Elisha will cross the Jordan again into the Promised Land.
God is not what we experience him to be, what our emotions narrate him to be, or what our intuition thinks he might be. God is what and who he says he is.
Even though it may appear otherwise, the LORD has power over all things, Heaven and Earth, and He has and will use that power to save His people.
The Old Testament mentions wine about 140 times and beer ("strong drink") about 20 times. What can we learn from these passages? Chad Bird provides us with a short Q&A about the Hebrew background of alcohol, as well as a look forward to the Party of parties in the resurrection feast.