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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Forty-five seconds is about how long I have as a pastor leading a Sunday morning service to sit at the feet of the cross and receive Jesus’ body and blood given to me by the hands of another at the Lord’s Table.
God will give you more than you can handle. But he doesn’t leave you alone. Not at all.
Take away the communal aspect, take away the communal gathering around Christ’s body and blood, and the Christian will begin to suffer a malnutrition of faith.
Christian hope means always hope in God and hope in Christ simultaneously without distinction.
Luther saw that God demands not that we become perfectly righteous like God but that we simply receive the gift of righteousness; a gift that actually makes us worthy.
Jesus rejects what we believe is most necessary and instead points us to his pain, suffering, death, and self-sacrifice.
When you walk into church on Sunday, you may not notice, but there are wounded soldiers sitting in every single pew.
When it comes to the Book of Concord, there are really two types of people: those who read the contents and see a series of rap albums, and those who aren’t Flame.
People do not seek the gospel because they want to, but because God’s Word drives them to it.
We give thanks to the Lord for His victory over death and the grave both for those who are now with Him in glory and for ourselves even as we press forward in faithfulness awaiting the Day when our eyes will see Him.
Whether you are a Christian or not, you cannot escape the significance of the Reformation. It is an important chapter in western history; yes, in world history.
What is it that the 13th session actually has to say about the Eucharist, and how does it compare to what Luther and the reformers confessed about the Lord’s Supper?