When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

By Russ Lackey | Mark Mattes

01/20/26

19mins

When Religion Becomes Obsolete, Christ Does Not

American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.

Bradley Gray

01/19/26

Behold the Lamb

The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

Steven Paulson

01/16/26

Psalm 12, Part 2: The Saint Fails, The Word Purifies

God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

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Amy Mantravadi

03/26/25

A Review of Unloved: The Rejected Saints God Calls Beloved

Sometimes the old story is the one we need to hear again and again.

Donavon Riley

03/11/25

The Wound and the Well

The great lie of addiction is that suffering must be fled, must be numbed, must be drowned out by any means necessary.

Joey Goodall

02/28/25

You Can't Sever the Saint from the Sinner

You cannot sever the saint from the sinner. Christians remain both simultaneously.

Jason Oakland

02/17/25

A Remnant Chosen By Grace

In grace, God chooses to love his people.

Bradley Gray

01/30/25

The Gospel for All

There is no one — not now, not ever — who cannot be included in the family of God through the efficacy of Christ’s saving power.

Ryan Couch

01/03/25

New Year, Same You

It's a new year, and you are still the same you: a sinner who is simultaneously perfect in every way because Christ declares it to be so.

Amy Mantravadi

12/16/24

Life in the Bleak Midwinter

The love of God is creative, always giving, always reviving.

Matt Johnson

12/02/24

Too Soon for Tinsel? Why November Christmas Lights Might Be More Than Holiday Hype

In Scripture, laments are raw expressions of grief, but they always point to hope. What if our culture’s obsession with holiday lights is an unconscious way of crying out, “We need good news, and we need it now”?

Scott Keith

10/16/24

Essential Reading for Lutheran Theology: The Thinking Fellows List

Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.

Adam Francisco

09/26/24

John Warwick Montgomery: Apologist par excellence

Dr. Montgomery spent his life—even into his final year at the age of 92—contending for the whole Christian faith once and for all delivered to the saints.

Bradley Gray

07/05/24

The Mystery of Divine Descent

It is Jesus himself who is the ladder by which sinners get to God, not by them climbing up but by God climbing down.

Bruce Hillman

06/12/24

Minding Moltmann: Musings on the Legacy of a Theological Giant

Moltmann is gone now, but his theology will continue to provoke and provide.

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