The Christ who rescues does not wait for you to be clean. He comes to clean you. He does not need your strength. He brings his own.
When you remember your baptism, you're not recalling a ritual. You're standing under a current of divine action that has not ceased to flow since the moment those baptismal waters hit your skin.
“The fear of the Lord” is our heart’s awakening to and recognition of God’s outrageous goodness.

All Articles

Obviously, the choice is very black and white: good or evil; life or death; blessings or curses...Unfortunately, the actions of the people will speak louder than their words.
The following is an excerpt from "Finding Christ in the Straw," written by Robert M. Hiller (1517 Publishing, 2020).
There are good, God-pleasing reasons to attend a Divine Service, but worship attendance can also be an action by which we try to earn or deserve the favor and love of God. This is an ongoing struggle in every worshiping community.
We live in the strength of our baptism again and again and again, returning to it every day according to God's promise. 
A close examination of the entire life and ministry of Jesus reflects the Exodus event, and Jesus is the New Moses/the prophet like Moses.
The following is an excerpt from “A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Sometimes believers vigorously debate God, sometimes they nod a silent Amen. Together, their narratives paint a picture of a life of faith characterized by complexity and tension.
We preach, teach and confess the virgin birth, and rightly so, but the actual sign is not the Virgin giving birth, it is the Child who is born.
What then does this sequence of stories teach us? It teaches us a pertinent lesson about the Christian life.
Throughout the Old Testament, the seas and fish were symbols of the Gentiles. When Jesus ate fish, and called fishermen, he showed us that the mission to the Gentiles was about to begin in earnest.
For the Israelites, the language of restoration cannot be separated from the language of resurrection.
In chapter 41 the servant is identified as Israel, but chapter 42 is a different servant. In fact, Matthew 12:18-21 makes the ID clear—this Servant is Jesus!