This is an excerpt from the sixth chapter of Fear Not: How the Gospel Disrupts Our Deepest Anxieties by Luke Kjolhaug (1517 Publishing, 2026).
We draw near because Christ our Mediator has gone where we never could, and he has brought us with him.
The Israelite God was different from all the other gods, thus, the worship of Yahweh differed from that of all other gods.

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I’ve always been more at home in the Old Testament than in the New Testament.
Jesus, Who is truly God, became a regular Joe (or Joshua as the case may be) for us.
Our gods expect us to be perfect, pure, and in constant control of our feelings and thoughts.
Well, it is springtime! Just as you can always expect flowers to begin blooming, the days getting a little longer and everyone’s mood getting a little brighter, there’s something else you can always expect this time of the year.
It is the icon of the resurrection, for if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live into eternity, for this bread is the flesh of Christ for the life of the world.
What makes a meal more than food? We all have important meals in our lives; birthday meals; anniversary meals; traditional holiday meals.
Only Jesus’ absolute absolution can satisfy a troubled conscience.
I cannot recall how many times I sang along to this theme song, punching and kicking as a kid in the 80s. But much of my desire to join the Marine Corps had its genesis in the 80s cartoon “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.”
Neither did Christ’s absolution “run out” nor “reach a limit” due to Judas’ sin.
“We all partake of the one cup, the cup of blessing which we bless. This is not seen as a bunch of different cups, but as one cup, the same cup that Jesus blessed at the Last Supper.”
The pastor declares it. We receive it. The forgiveness of sins. It’s a simple thing.
You say: Since forgiveness depends on faith alone, why must one nonetheless do good works? Answer: If faith is of the true sort, it cannot be without good works, just as no good work can be where unbelief dwells.