How do the words “The righteous shall live by his faith” go from a context of hope in hopelessness to the cornerstone declaration of the chief doctrine of the Christian faith?
As soon as people understand what crucifixion means, the cross becomes offensive.
This is the third installment in the 1517 articles series, “What Makes a Saint?”

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He comes to fill our old, stony heart with the new wine of his forgiveness.
Blood is the thing. In the Scriptures, sin must be covered or "atoned for" as it's called, by blood.
At the Passover, when Jesus said, "Take, eat, this is my body... take, drink, this is the New Testament in my blood, which is given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins," he wasn't inventing a "new" thing.
Have you ever invited someone over to your house? Most of us have either invited someone into our homes for supper.
Christmas wrecks all attempts to penetrate God's hiddenness and seek him out in Heaven. He comes to us clothed in our humanity.
But when we trust Jesus, then we close our eyes to it all and say, “Heavenly Father, I’m your child.
We expect that if it is God’s word, it must have fallen out of the sky on golden plates.
The miracle of Pentecost is not obvious; it is the miracle of faith created through the preaching of the word of the cross.
Well, it is springtime! Just as you can always expect flowers to begin blooming, the days getting a little longer and everyone’s mood getting a little brighter, there’s something else you can always expect this time of the year.
The disciples and Christ have just finished their last meal together. The disciples, of course, didn't know this, but Jesus did.
There is something about high art forms that touches the soul.
It is the icon of the resurrection, for if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live into eternity, for this bread is the flesh of Christ for the life of the world.