1. 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).
  2. We don't make Church "happen." Only Christ can do so. It's his happening.
  3. Even if the numbers are bad, the news about Jesus crucified for sinners and raised to new life hasn’t become any less good.
  4. There is a revival, no less real and even more definitive, taking place in every church, every weekend, where God’s people gather around his gifts.
  5. 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.
  6. Despite our best efforts to avoid him, King Jesus remains very much unavoidable.
  7. When and how did the church start this season of anticipation?
  8. Help comes for those who cannot help themselves. When we bottom-out and come to the end of ourselves, that is where hope springs.
  9. Preachers and church workers must also hear the gospel preached to them.
  10. If a key part of the Reformation was placing God’s Word back into the hands of the people in a clear, understandable way, then John of Ragusa can be called a “Prometheus” in his own right.
  11. When the Reformers read the Bible (especially when studied in the original languages), they found a God who was gracious and merciful for the sake of Christ.