God can handle grief, rage, and cries for justice. God can handle the victim who cannot yet forgive. God can handle the prayer that comes out jagged and wounded. The good news is that God is holy and merciful enough to handle all our prayers.
But while scholars are right to focus on the bond between Martin and Hans, the evidence of Martin’s own words suggests their relationship may not have been as troubled as some suppose. For Hans Luther was not a cartoon villain but a normal human being attempting to make his way in the world and raise his children to the best of his ability.
Jesus offers something infinitely better. He tells us to put down our gavel—not because sin isn't real, but because the only Judge who has the right to condemn is the very One who was condemned for us.

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Satan and the old Adam don't want Jesus to bear our crosses for us because that means we can't claim that we've done anything to merit God's mercy and salvation.
The Gospel is gift, pure and simple. It is backwards. It is upside down. It is foolish. And as long as people are sinners, it is as relevant as ever.
The command to love those nearby is as challenging as it is simple. Jesus took the initiative to come near to us in loving sacrifice.
Justification matters so deeply. It is a matter of life and death, Heaven and Hell. It must be preached that way. Especially today.
In God's way of doing salvation, we see Jesus crucified and risen from death. We see in Jesus God's great mercy and the depths of our selfish sinfulness.
The Gospel is a precious and comforting word. It comforts and refreshes the sad heart. It wrestles it out of the jaws of death and hell and transports it to the certain hope of eternal life, through faith in Christ.
Imperatives are good for many things. Luther said the Law is good, but precisely because it is good, it has become poison and death to the bad. The Law does not give life but evaluates it, and we encounter day in and day out its negative evaluation of us.
In other words, preachers need to help Christians navigate election season faithfully. This text can help.
As God in his mercy enacted his plan to redeem his loved ones, he took them step by step. In the process of redeeming every part of us, he sent us prophets like Moses.
The church is of no use to this world if all we do is ape the world’s rhetoric, antics, and actions. We are a unique community with a unique message. Here are four reasons I'm convinced that 2020 is a great year for the church.
The only reason we're aware of our old self is in baptism, God created a new self for us.
Jesus is making it crystal clear that the master, the king, God Himself decides who is and who is not welcome in His Kingdom.