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.

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The ethos of the church’s worship is found in poor, needy, and desperate sinners finding solace and relief in the God of their salvation.
Wake Up Dead Man is not ultimately a story about mystery, exposure, or even justice. It is a story about what happens when mercy speaks to death—and death listens.
Christmas is not for remembering, thinking, pondering, trying to make sure you are really celebrating it properly, or for wondering whether you truly have faith.
What God perceives is not what our eyes see; he is focused on righteousness because his love creates what is righteous.
The unity of God’s people is grounded not in lineage nor land but in the promise of the coming Christ.
“The well that washes what it shows” captures the essence of Linebaugh’s project, which aims to give the paradigmatic law-gospel hermeneutic a colloquial and visual language.
Every age has its emergencies, and the church must never ignore them. Yet, our response cannot be one of panic or propaganda.
For the Christian, the iron gate of death was opened by the blood of Christ and the empty tomb.
Forgiveness is not ours to manufacture. It is ours to proclaim.
The testimony of the Word assures us that God isn’t waiting for us at the top of the stairs, with arms folded and brows furrowed.
This is the fifth installment in our article series, “An Introduction to the Bondage of the Will,” written to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s Bondage of the Will.
Just like Peter, you don’t need to do anything to earn God’s forgiveness for your soul wounds.