More Than Chocolates: St. Valentine, Baptism, and the Love of Christ
By Russ Lackey
02/13/26
7mins

More Than Chocolates: St. Valentine, Baptism, and the Love of Christ

Baptism does not promise us chocolates or flowers, but something far greater: life in Christ.
Laughing with Moses All the Way to the Promised Land
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
02/11/26

Laughing with Moses All the Way to the Promised Land

The Promised Land invites us to laugh at how relatable it is to be exhausted and exasperated by all the people, and the egos and opinions they bring with them, that come with living.
Justice Reclaimed
Philip Bartelt
Philip Bartelt
02/10/26

Justice Reclaimed

Christians can pursue projects of justice free of the burden of being the justifier of the world; that office belongs to Christ and Christ alone.

All Articles

Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
10/10/16

Please, Sing to Me!

I once heard an old, retired Lutheran professor give in interview on a podcast. He was asked by the interviewer why people should bother going to church if they could just be saved through a personal relationship with Jesus?
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
07/07/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 4: The Dialect of Worship)

We are continuing our summer series on a theology of worship through the lens of language. Before moving forward, let me highlight a few points by way of review.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
06/14/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 3: The Syntax of Worship)

Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
04/29/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 1: Basic Grammar)

Over the next few months, I invite you to join me in looking at what the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions have to say about the subject of worship through the lens of language.
Rick Ritchie
Rick Ritchie
12/22/15

Have Yourself a Vulgar Little Christmas

People lamented that ancient paganism was dead, but the same people who profess that they would love an old pagan feast ignore Christmas, where the best of paganism has survived.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/16/14

Taking the Road More Traveled By: The Benefit of Tradition in the Church

Ultimately, however, I fell in love with traditions—and specifically, traditional worship—for a single, overarching reason: its components, to varying degrees, are all in the service of the Gospel.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/03/13

Bloodshed at the Altar: The Genesis of Worship Wars

Why would God reject from Cain what he later accepted from and mandated of his people? So as far as the material itself, neither Cain’s nor Abel’s offering was superior.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/09/13

'Your Church Is Too Sexy": the Sedlec Ossuary, Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, and the Theology of Church Architecture

In accordance with their views of what a church is, or what a church ought to be, they planned and executed each of these sanctuaries. In other words, theology designed architecture, and architecture signaled theology.
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