1. This is an excerpt from “The Alien and the Proper: Luther's Two-Fold Righteousness in Controversy, Ministry, and Citizenship,” edited by Robert Kolb (1517 Publishing, 2023).
  2. The sign of the cross, according to the earliest centuries of Christians, is “the sign of the Lord,” and every baptized Christian was “marked” with it.
  3. The law had to have its way with the expert to bring him around (and back) to Abraham's response.
  4. The nefarious thing about idolatry is that just about anything can become your idol: career, family, fame, wealth, status, spouse, you name it, any good thing can become a ‘god-thing” with ease. 
  5. Maybe, just maybe, our goal for 2023 should not be to live more but to die more.
  6. That great truth of creedal Christianity – that God is man in Christ – is not set forth for our speculative enjoyment.
  7. Rejoice with Mary as she would rejoice with you. Be blessed, like her, with humility from God, so that you may serve joyfully and willingly wherever and in whatever role God has placed you.
  8. If Jesus shows up and you are a sinner, ‘tis more blessed to receive than to give
  9. God is not calling us to “grow up.” He is calling us to dependence.
  10. It is terribly easy to set up our theology as a buffer against the real coming of the Lord and its consequences.
  11. It all starts with God; and it all ends with God. He is the alpha and omega of giving and generosity.