We live in the “already” but “not yet”. Peace is already ours but not yet. The resurrection is already ours but not yet. Justice is already ours but not yet. Until then be comforted by the fact that you are reconciled in Christ on account of his life, death, and resurrection.
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.

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This is an edited excerpt from Addendum A, “The Church Year,” On Any Given Sunday: The Story of Christ in the Divine Service, written by Michael Berg (1517 Publishing, 2023), pgs. 113-120.
With the Spirit we will get lost in the world. We are on a new track.
Five promises were seemingly all those apostles, staring into the sky, had to go on. Five promises that were more than enough.
Don’t get in the habit (or, if you already do it, get out of the habit) of saying, “I could never talk about these things the way my pastor does.”
Sometimes, we get prayer dementia. We can’t remember what we were going to pray for, we can’t put the words together, and, frustrated, there is nothing we can do but sigh and groan.
Regularly reading and hearing God’s Word helps us to keep a song in our hearts.
In the Word, you find peace. It proclaims peace first between you and God because of Jesus. That empowers you to deal peacefully with others and brings you peace of mind.
Ever Heard of Candlemas?
It would serve us well to embrace the beauty of our diversity within the unity of the body of Christ.
Epiphany—is for the Gentiles, those who were once not God’s people, but who now, by the grace of God in Christ have become the people of God
If poetry elevates its subject, we could also say the reverse: the subject, in this case, the Most High God, elevates the language.
I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.