What about the Apocrypha?
By Philip Bartelt
06/30/26
10mins

What about the Apocrypha?

Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.
Remembering and Commemorating the Augsburg Confession
Caleb Keith
Caleb Keith
06/25/26

Remembering and Commemorating the Augsburg Confession

The confessors at Augsburg remind us that every generation of Christians is called to bear witness to the gospel amid the challenges and pressures of its own age. As they confessed Christ before emperors and kingdoms, so the Church continues to confess Him before the world today.
The Sacrament of Baptism: Through the Wardrobe and the Water
Sam P. Schuldheisz
Sam P. Schuldheisz
06/24/26

The Sacrament of Baptism: Through the Wardrobe and the Water

When Jesus washes you with baptismal water, you can rest assured that the Lion of Judah is on the move.

All Articles

Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
12/03/21

Implications of the Incarnation: The Incarnation is New Creation

Each week during this year’s Advent series, we will take a look at a specific implication of Christ’s incarnation. This week, we will discover how God reaffirms the goodness of his creation by making all things new in the incarnation.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
12/01/21

Advent's Double Helix

There is no other transitionary event in human history that warrants three full months of focused attention and persistent acknowledgment than the incarnation of the Son of God.
Ken Sundet Jones
Ken Sundet Jones
11/30/21

The Antidote to "Sadvent"

If Jesus is indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever, everything his enfleshment brings is already assured: life, salvation, and forgiveness.
Kevin Hale
Kevin Hale
11/29/21

Waiting and Fulfillment and Surprise

In Advent we wait, in Christmas we rejoice over the coming of Christ in the fulfillment of the promises, and in Epiphany we celebrate the surprise, the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/26/21

Implications of the Incarnation: Christmas in the Garden of Eden

In Genesis 1-2, the Lord reveals—or, at a bare minimum, starts dropping some big hints—that he will be quite comfortable becoming a human being himself someday.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/22/21

From the Mark of Cain to Baptism

Throughout the Scriptures, God puts "signs" or "seals" upon people. Often these are placed upon the forehead. How do all these connected stories take us from the mark of Cain, to the Exodus, to the cross, and finally to baptism?
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
11/22/21

Offering the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving

That's how true faith talks. It doesn't talk about itself. It says "Thank you!" to the one who gives healing and salvation.
Scott Landrum
Scott Landrum
11/17/21

Be Specific, Please!

“God in general” is of little use to all of us suffering the ravages of sin, the fear of death, and satanic prosecution.
Ken Sundet Jones
Ken Sundet Jones
11/15/21

The Beatitudes are Ridiculous

Look the judge in the eye and pin your sin on Jesus, the divine judge’s son. Jesus knows you can’t do it, so he trades places with you and pits himself against God’s righteous demands.
Jeffrey Pulse
Jeffrey Pulse
11/14/21

Old Testament: Isaiah 51:4-6 (Last Sunday of the Church Year: Series B )

The Israelites had taken the Covenantal promise and the language of separation and interpreted them to mean the message of salvation and restoration was meant for only them. But this is counter to the reality of the Scriptures.
Kelsi Klembara
Kelsi Klembara
11/13/21

On Demystifying the Church

The church is the only place God promises to lift us out of ourselves not in order to become more like God but so that we may finally be freed from our obsession with becoming little gods.
Sam P. Schuldheisz
Sam P. Schuldheisz
11/12/21

A Reformation of the Imagination

The Reformation was yet another era of history when God’s people were faced with the question that Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?”
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