1. This is an edited excerpt from the conclusion of The Resurrection Fact: Responding to Modern Critics, edited by John Bombaro and Adam Francisco. (1517 Publishing, 2016).
  2. In that moment of greatest despair, we find the antidote for all our fears. We know we are beloved of God and there is salvation in Christ’s atoning death.
  3. God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.
  4. I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.
  5. In the tumultuous sea of information, opinions, and ideologies that break over us each day, we hold fast to the anchor of our faith—Jesus, the true prophet.
  6. A pastor is sent to proclaim the unconditional grace of God, reminding us again and again that it is our Heavenly Father who reaches out to us in love through his Christ-won forgiveness, and not the other way around.
  7. Chains may have restricted Paul, but nothing can restrict the gospel.
  8. If Jesus did not rise, then religion is just religion — a mere anthropological phenomenon.
  9. It was meant to be Karlstadt’s moment to shine, but all anyone remembered was Luther.
  10. The resurrection of Jesus encompasses the total and comprehensive glorification of a human being, not merely his restoration.
  11. As Luther said, “Our Lord has written the promise of the resurrection not in books alone, but in every leaf of spring.”