1. This is an excerpt from “The Alien and the Proper: Luther's Two-Fold Righteousness in Controversy, Ministry, and Citizenship,” edited by Robert Kolb (1517 Publishing, 2023).
  2. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  3. The nefarious thing about idolatry is that just about anything can become your idol: career, family, fame, wealth, status, spouse, you name it, any good thing can become a ‘god-thing” with ease. 
  4. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  5. Rejoice with Mary as she would rejoice with you. Be blessed, like her, with humility from God, so that you may serve joyfully and willingly wherever and in whatever role God has placed you.
  6. If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give
  7. God is not calling us to “grow up.” He is calling us to dependence.
  8. When the church is a political actor, the gospel doesn’t have the final word.
  9. It is terribly easy to set up our theology as a buffer against the real coming of the Lord and its consequences.
  10. We don’t start with behavior and work toward Christ. We start with Christ and everything works out from there.
  11. The good news is that with our God there is always more: more than we deserve, dare, ask, or expect, more than we can see, hear, feel, or think.