Josephus does not tell us that Christianity is true, and Christians do not need Josephus to tell them that Christ is risen. But Christianity makes claims about things that happened in public history under identifiable rulers, priests, and governors. For that reason, testimony from outside the church matters.
Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.
The student of Scripture should always have a map open next to their Bible as they read. If possible, they should also travel to Israel, not to make a pilgrimage, but to see the context of the land in which these stories took place. These are not fairy tales made up about fictional fantasy lands; these are stories about real people in real places interacting with a real God.

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John’s message doesn’t inspire religious leaders to repent. Instead, John’s message provokes them to resentment and rage.
Our sinful nature is ever present this side of eternity. We need a constant reminder of what a friend of mine once said, “Jesus is the reason. Period."
On Epiphany, we celebrate the day when men, made wise for salvation through the Word, met their righteousness.
But the Creator of life and breath does not wait for Moses to identify with worthiness.
Psalm 51 teaches two things: mercy and sin. But aren’t we already experts in sin? Why do we need God to teach it to us?
Immanuel is born to rescue all of us weak-hearted, cowardly, self-deceiving children of this world. He comes to set us free in the liberation of His death.
With her iPhone, Mary snapped a pic of Jesus in the manger, chose the Clarendon filter, and posted it to her Instagram account.
He is and evermore shall be God With Us: though we await His second physical Advent, He is still fully human and fully present in His Word and Sacraments.
It’s the Christmas season, that time of year when families gather together to exchange gifts and spend time with one another.
This blog is a part of our Advent series on the hope we find in, through and given by Christ. Each week’s installment will look at hope from a different perspective with special emphasis on corresponding passages of Scripture.
If there’s a time of year to grasp the significance of this number, it’s now. Because the birth of Jesus casts light on the dark meaning of 666. And, most importantly, the birth of God’s Son is the death of that number’s power over us.
It is the sort of joy that is brought about by the mutual consolation of the saints when they encourage one another through hard times.