1. Forty days after giving birth, Mary, along with her husband Joseph, presented their firstborn Son at the temple and "bought" him back with a sacrifice of two small birds. This is known as the "Presentation of Our Lord."
  2. Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
  3. Even as he was dying, the heart of God poured itself out for the sake of sinners.
  4. Repentance is meaningless unless we are willing to acknowledge who we are: sinners needing mercy.
  5. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  6. God resolves his wrath through the unexpected giving of his Son.
  7. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  8. Toy Story is indeed a Christmas story.
  9. That great truth of creedal Christianity – that God is man in Christ – is not set forth for our speculative enjoyment.
  10. The good news of the Gospel is Jesus has come, and Jesus will come again.
  11. It makes perfect sense that the day honoring Jesus' birth would be observed in a decidedly less than refined manner.
  12. When we pray to Jesus, we pray to the King's right hand. We know one who has the Father's ear, respect and trust. And the one who intercedes for us is still one of us, with nail-pierced hands.