Christianity does not locate freedom in radical autonomy. It does not tell either men or women that happiness consists in escaping obligations arising from relationships we did not entirely choose.
Jesus never promised me a World Series championship. He never promised that my children would always succeed or that life would go according to plan. He promised something better.
In Jesus, God acted first, even when we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:5).

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Senkbeil is a pastor’s pastor, a master of the art of pastoral care.
Is there a significant difference between changing your mind and doing penance? Absolutely.
You cannot sever the saint from the sinner. Christians remain both simultaneously.
Luther’s final thoughts were not meant to bum you out or lead you to despair.
There is no one — not now, not ever — who cannot be included in the family of God through the efficacy of Christ’s saving power.
What do we do with Katie Luther? What kind of historical character can we paint her to be?
There is a “re” involved with baptism, but unlike the Anabaptists, it’s not a “re-do,” but a “re-turn" or a “re-member.”
It's a new year, and you are still the same you: a sinner who is simultaneously perfect in every way because Christ declares it to be so.
Longstanding tradition must be bolstered by something outside of ourselves that also lies outside of the traditions of men.
A Bit of Earth is about the garden, but it’s also about us—as we are made from dirt.
This is an excerpt from Broken Bonds: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi (1517 Publishing, 2024), pgs. 24-27
Christ is the beating heart of Christian faith and its only object.