Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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Although Jesus bodily ascended and is hidden from our earthly eyes, he is not far off.
This is an excerpt from part two of “On Any Given Sunday: The Story of Christ in the Divine Service” by Mike Berg (1517 Publishing, 2023).
Only by accurately and honestly reporting the views of those with whom we disagree can we then properly address and refute them. This is the approach Solberg has taken.
This week we are taking a closer look at 1 Corinthians 15:14-19 and what we lose if Christ has not been raised from the dead.
If we just say to God, “We don’t get it, please explain,” he will. He will send us a preacher to point us to his words for more clarification.
My fear of this coming darkness only lasts a moment.
We can’t predict the harvest. We can only sow.
Nothing moves or drives Paul more than preaching about “Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2).
We don't make Church "happen." Only Christ can do so. It's his happening.
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.
Reading includes, on some level, striving. Hearing, on the other hand, remains passive.
Zephaniah has given us something more visceral to help us understand the love of God: the sound of salvation.