1. What greater legacy could you claim than that of Mark? Listen to the Word. Learn from Jesus.
  2. The drama of Scripture is about God renaming us by bringing us into his image-bearing family once again. And it would take “a name above all names” to accomplish it.
  3. A father's struggle to pray for his child's healing is one of the most difficult experiences he can face.
  4. This is the prelude of Easter. Is a dead Jesus still resting in the tomb? No!
  5. Past, present, and future are tied together in Christ.
  6. This is an excerpt from the introduction of “Common Places in Christian Theology: A Curated Collection of Essays from Lutheran Quarterly,” edited by Mark Mattes (1517 Publishing, 2023).
  7. Unprompted, without any warning, for no reason at all, without any instigation say, "I love you." And that will wash over your parents like a beautiful absolution.
  8. Even if the numbers are bad, the news about Jesus crucified for sinners and raised to new life hasn’t become any less good.
  9. His love for you is so deep that in his mercy, while you were yet a sinner, God sent his only begotten Son to die for you.
  10. Rightly distinguishing between law and gospel, as Paul helps us see in 2 Corinthians 3, is, quite literally, a matter of life and death.
  11. All of Scripture, every last syllable of it, is meant to drive us to "consider Jesus," the One who comes to "make us right" by gifting us his righteousness.
  12. God gives us the power and authority to proclaim the forgiveness of sins to burdened sinners who entrust us with their pain, guilt, and defeat.