American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.
The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.
God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

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Faith is a gift from God. It’s not flashy or boast-worthy. It’s total dependency on the God who saves utter fools.
The following is an excerpt from "Finding Christ in the Straw," written by Robert M. Hiller (1517 Publishing, 2020).
We live in the strength of our baptism again and again and again, returning to it every day according to God's promise. 
The following is an excerpt from “A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019).
What then does this sequence of stories teach us? It teaches us a pertinent lesson about the Christian life.
Looking back on the year, the narrative we’re fed is that we should be able to show how much we’ve grown, how much we’ve done, all the successes we’ve had, how improved we are.
Christmas is, therefore, the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry, even while he awaits a number of years to gather his disciples and inaugurate his preaching of the kingdom.
The promise of Advent is the promise of the lamb slain, who is born and given for us so that we don’t have to fear sin, death, and hell.
‘What’s so great about Christmas?” That is the question which the preacher must answer!
Should we really be surprised that it would happen this way, that the servant would suffer for our salvation and die for our forgiveness?
One gloomy, silent night, God stepped into our darkness. The Word had not only spoken but was now made flesh.