The only hope for idol-addicted sinners who are utterly incapable of decluttering their souls is Jesus, the one at the heart of the gospel, and the only one who stands before the Father with an undivided heart.
More than a friend, Amsdorf was also an important figure in the work of religious reform, providing counsel to Luther on key occasions, shepherding the churches, and defending the faith until his death.
Just as it is necessary that Christ took on flesh for our salvation, so too, it is necessary that he should be in the supper bodily

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Mark makes no effort to impress listeners or win votes. His voice aims only to prepare those who hear it for the coming of the Lord.
The sneak-peek vision of the world to come, a preview of the Last Day, the Day of the Lord, has already been revealed, declares Peter.
Isaiah invokes beautiful imagery of the Good Shepherd who tends His flock, gathers His lambs in His arms, carries them in His bosom, and gently leads.
Advent is something of a liturgical speed bump that slows us down lest we rush to Christmas but forget that the baby born in Bethlehem will return with glory and power to judge the living and the dead.
The LORD God had promised He was coming, and they were certain there could be no better time for Him to fulfill His promise.
Human history and especially the Christian life have a shape and Jesus is its shaper at every point.
Jesus desires for us to watch. The question, however, is, “How do we watch for the return of Jesus?”
Love continues to gently but endlessly pursue the narrator, despite his persistence in pulling away in the opposite direction.
In this context where death looms large, Jesus reveals a kingdom where life looms even larger.
The resurrection of Jesus was the moment when the one true God appointed the Man through whom the whole cosmos would be brought back into its proper order. A man got us into this mess; the Man would get it out again.
The “New David” will manifest the power of the LORD and will not set Himself in opposition as did the false shepherds.
The following is an adaptation from "Law and Gospel in Action" written by Mark Mattes (1517 Publishing, 2019).