There are important historical reasons for making a distinction between ministry and vocation.
It appeared everything would work out perfectly when Ivan the Great married Sophia Palaiologos. But when inheritance was discussed the problems arrived.
When the enemies of your faith surround you, don’t look to your own wits and wisdom.

All Articles

We don’t flinch at sin. We speak Christ into it.
“If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36).
This is the second installment in the 1517 articles series, “What Makes a Saint?”
This story is not meant for six-year-olds, but it is meant for us, though we should hardly handle it.
Because Jesus Taught It. By Flame. Concordia Publishing House. Paperback. 205 pages. List price: $17.99.
This is the first installment in the 1517 articles series, “What Makes a Saint?”
What I was missing—what so many are missing—is a Church that doesn’t just speak about Christ, but delivers him.
So Christ is risen, but what now?
In Christ, you are bound. Bound to mercy. Bound to grace. Bound to a God who won’t let you go. And because of that, you are free—gloriously, joyfully free.
The baptized do not celebrate sin—they grieve it.
Should you then abandon David’s plea that God use his law against his enemies and send a Legal Avenger? No, the law must be preached to the Christian (insofar as he is not one).
Forgiveness from Jesus is always surprising to us.