Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.
The confessors at Augsburg remind us that every generation of Christians is called to bear witness to the gospel amid the challenges and pressures of its own age. As they confessed Christ before emperors and kingdoms, so the Church continues to confess Him before the world today.
When Jesus washes you with baptismal water, you can rest assured that the Lion of Judah is on the move.

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The Church is called to be Christ-like and that means reaching out in mercy to the widows, orphans and outcasts-the disenfranchised and helpless-like Christ Jesus gave example.
The true miracle of springtime isn't simply its beauty, but in the way it foreshadows the sprigs of life that spring forth when God creates faith from the fallow ground of dead sinners.
This love story goes on and on, from the beginning of time. Every retelling of this incredible story reveals a little more, exposing our inadequacy, producing more devotion, capturing unspoken emotion, inspiring us to a greater love.
We have one thing which will never change. We have a shepherd who knows us by name and who promises to speak to us in all of life’s situations.
You have been chosen to come out of the darkness and into this marvelous light, the light of the Resurrection. You are a people who constitute an exodus from racism, sexism, elitism, classism and now participate in a new race of human beings who are, through baptism, the foundational cure for the evils of these things in human society.
The teaching of the Apostles, the fellowship of believers, the breaking of bread and prayer lay out the components of worship.
In this season of a global pandemic, Peter’s little letter is especially potent as he writes to sustain the hope born of Christ’s resurrection in scattered believers whose lives were marked by suffering.
In our text we learn that Baptism is in the name of Jesus Christ and grants forgiveness and gives the gift of the Holy Spirit. Faith is worked in the heart.
The life of holiness will overtake the world on the last day. Practice living in the coming world now.
We may hear the voice of Jesus through recordings and digital media, but the Jesus who walks through locked doors has no problem coming to us through technology.
It is interesting to note how there is no mention of strife, trouble, pain, suffering or sin in this particular psalm. Nothing but praise as the name of the LORD is exalted.
John chose to write these things for a specific purpose: “So that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name."