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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Jesus is very difficult to bring down. That’s the power of it.
The liturgy ensures that the gospel is never something inward, merely a thought or sentiment of the believer.
The story being told in the film is not Bonhoeffer’s story. It’s not the Confession Church’s story. Nor is it the story of the German resistance against Hitler. It is a completely fictional story of Hollywood.
"When God has his say, have confidence that his Word and sacraments bestow precisely what he says."
We now are the magi: we worship Christ because of who he is, but also because of what he has done for us and what he continues to do in his gift-giving to us.
Epiphany continues the work done at Christmas, bringing light and life to a dying world desperate for hope.
The “Chalking of the Door” is a way to celebrate and literally mark the occasion of the Epiphany and God’s blessing of our lives and home.
Christ is the beating heart of Christian faith and its only object.
If we picture the New Testament as a divinely painted masterpiece that hangs in the middle of a museum, then all around it are other works of the period, in different corridors of the museum, in many styles, painted by diverse artists, with variations of color and technique.
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.
This is the second installment in our series entitled, God and Nature, which explores the relationship between our Creator and nature: how God uses nature, how we are meant to view nature, and how God chooses to reveal (or hide) himself in nature.
When the historical importance of revivalism is understood, one can appreciate that the question, “Could America experience another revival?” is also a question about the fate of Christianity in America.