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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The LORD cleanses, prepares, and fills the mouths of His prophets, so they might be able to proclaim the holy Word of the LORD.
The same Christ we proclaim to the people in our pews is the same Christ who is for those not in our pews.
Paul has no interest in a love which does not find real traction in our daily lives.
Justification and regeneration are, therefore, necessarily connected and have profound implications upon the craft of preaching.
Grace remits sin, and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever.
God's power and works are awesome and cannot be stifled. His grace and mercy will be heard above the growls and howls of those who deny Christ Jesus is God and Savior
Is the serpent in Genesis 3 just a snake or Satan? Does the Hebrew refer to "the satan" or "Satan"? And does it make a difference? Let's take a look at the Old Testament, early Jewish literature, and the New Testament for the answers.
Here, robed in Word and Sacrament, is your King, infant though He be, come out of eternity into time to bring you out of time and into eternity.
Jesus' cross is for dull shepherds and bright magi. It is for the whole world. It is for you.
The gift is God’s and not ours, and the fact that any of us have any role to play at all in the Body of Christ is an amazing grace.
Thus, the people weep and mourn, but they are told to cease with their mourning and rejoice and celebrate as a festival without worry or care, for the day is holy to the LORD who is their refuge and strength.
During this season of Epiphany, we experience more than the revelation of who Jesus is. We also celebrate how Jesus makes God fully known.