This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
To Live Well is therefore not a general advice book, but a message suffused with the gospel.

All Articles

Today, Maundy Thursday, we receive the feast of Christ’s true body and blood for us, for the forgiveness of our sins. All of them.
Obviously, the LORD has no intention of slapping a bandage on creation. He will completely restore—it will be made new.
Jesus died for the people who put Him to death. Jesus rose for the people whose minds rejected the idea of a resurrection.
The sacrifice of Jesus stands completed, once for all, and we believe in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
Jerusalem, temple, and king, all three bespoke of Yahweh’s kingship, as well as of His Kingdom and presence on earth and all the blessings bound up with it.
On Good Friday, poetic justice is satisfied. Poetic mercy is all which remains.
On this Maundy Thursday, in particular, let the “for you” of Christ’s gifts dominate.
Simon carried the cross, but Jesus was carried by the cross to death.
Out there the instincts to protect yourself from embarrassment, ridicule, and rejection can easily overcome you as they did Peter. Our only hope is in Peter’s Lord.
Betrayed. It is a word which chills the soul and sickens the stomach. To be betrayed is to have a friend turn on you, treating you as an enemy.
False holiness is always a possession and achievement of the individual in isolation from the good of others. And so it isn’t holiness at all.
Passion Week preaching is not simply preaching about the events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion but to announce to the world how through this single death, sins are answered for, and God is reconciled with humanity.