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

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When it comes to confessing the truth of the Christian faith, Christians are given the words. We don’t have to formulate them ourselves.
Throughout Scripture it is clear that the “keeper” is the LORD... It is the LORD who “keeps” His people and His creation. He is the creator and sustainer (keeper).
The Church Militant is under constant attack by the world, our flesh and the evil one. How do we contend against such powers? They are too strong for us, but there is One who has and continues to fight in our place on our behalf.
In the story of Ruth there is a strong focus on faithfulness, but not just to Naomi and later Boaz, rather her faithfulness is directed toward the LORD God.
The danger of denying the truth of our common human fallenness and brokenness by original sin is that the denial of this doctrine may also lead us to the denial of Christ as our Savior.
Indeed, the first in riches, luxury and power shall be the first into exile, not because of their riches, but because of their attitude of arrogance which leads them to ignore the poor and follow after the pagan rituals of self-indulgence.
As we do in daily life, so we have done in our reading of the Bible: we have placed ourselves at the center, and Christ at the periphery.
Contrary to what pop-psychology, social media memes, and your sweet grandmother told you, you are not fine just the way you are.
These treasures show us that, no matter how well we think we know this poem, there’s always more layers to uncover.
Our wants and desires are wholly driven by selfishness, just like Peter, James, John, and all the disciples
The Father uses this last festival of Epiphany, the Transfiguration, to announce one more time to us just who Jesus is: His beloved Son, the Chosen One
First, if this passage from Hebrews 3 shines any further light on the Transfiguration account (Luke 9 is already quite bright!), it’s that on the mountain Jesus is showing us where following Him leads to in the end. No wonder Peter wanted to stay.