Theology at War: Understanding Iran Begins with Understanding Twelver Shiism
By Adam Francisco
07/10/26
11mins

Theology at War: Understanding Iran Begins with Understanding Twelver Shiism

Understanding Iran therefore requires more than studying military capabilities or diplomatic strategy. It requires taking theology seriously. Christians understand this because the gospel shapes lives, cultures, and civilizations. Our calling is not merely to analyze those competing stories but, more importantly, to proclaim the true King whose kingdom comes not through revolution or coercion, but through His death and resurrection.
Why Read Anything Else? Holy Scripture and Literature
Jeremiah Schultz
Jeremiah Schultz
07/09/26

Why Read Anything Else? Holy Scripture and Literature

For those Christians who feel the tug to read great literature, know that it is not a waste of your time. These books will only deepen your appreciation for the Scriptures and will open your eyes to a fuller, more profound vision of reality and the God who loves you.
The Myth of the DIY'er
Luke Kjolhaug
Luke Kjolhaug
07/06/26

The Myth of the DIY'er

We are invited to entrust everything to the one who accomplished what we could not: living and bleeding and dying and rising again, so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). To put it another way, when it comes to the kingdom of God, there’s no room for DIY’ers. Best leave it to the professionals.

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John Bombaro
John Bombaro
07/08/19

Epistle: Colossians 1:1-14 (Pentecost 5: Series C)

The Father, then, “has qualified you” through the work of Christ to share in the family inheritance. This inheritance is the Family of God itself and the family of the triune God Himself.
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
07/01/19

Making Preaching Great Again

The whole Reformation, and the reason for Lutheran theology at all, is to improve preaching.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
07/01/19

Epistle: Galatians 6:1-10, 14-18 (Pentecost 4: Series C)

According to the Law, everyone will be judged by their own deeds, on his own work. So, before the judgment of God we only have our own works to boast in and not our neighbor’s. But the Gospel shows us a wonderful exception.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
06/20/19

Gospel: Luke 8: 26-39 (Pentecost 2: Series C)

[This text] describes a journey to a foreign region where Jesus engages in a confrontational conversation with a legion of demons, performs a violent and scandalous exorcism, and leaves behind a community gripped by terror. Apparently, the only thing more frightening than a naked, graveyard-dwelling demoniac is this visitor from Nazareth who reigns over everything.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
05/16/19

Font to Table: Why Does the Pastor Wear That?

The minister’s clothing represents his office of service, derived from the ministry of Christ, and never himself.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
05/13/19

A Note on the Seriousness of Preaching

Our stories are decidedly unserious when viewed through the lens of the seriousness of God’s affairs. Jesus put the matter succinctly: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Human affairs are not serious in and of themselves. Rather, they are consequential because they garner meaning and significance within the overarching story of God and man.
Paul Dunk
Paul Dunk
05/01/19

The Divine Drama

If I don't preach Christ, then there's really no reason anyone should roll out of bed on Sunday to hear anything I have to say.
Matt Johnson
Matt Johnson
04/16/19

Pastor Of Disaster

How are things at your church? Are people getting saved in droves, are there mass baptisms every Sunday, is giving at an all-time high, and are your members model citizens and pillars of the community?
Jacob Corzine
Jacob Corzine
03/31/19

The Law and the Already Terrified Conscience

Where contrition is evident, the conscience has already been prodded, piqued, finally terrified. More Law only serves to confirm the lie this person is already at risk of believing: that the last work of the conscience is also God’s last word. But God’s last word is the word of absolution, not the confirmation of the conscience’s testimony, but now its contradiction.
Robert Kolb
Robert Kolb
03/24/19

Meditating on the Passion (A Forgotten Art: For Preachers and the Entire Congregation)

Lenten meditation is the one time Luther might advise us to be turning in on ourselves--and taking a cold, honest glance. For only in the shadow of the Cross can we look honsetly into the cause of the death of the man from Nazareth, the second person of the Trinity.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/14/19

So You Don't Like Your Pastor

Pastors are built from the same stuff as everyone else. That’s good, and that’s bad.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
02/19/19

God Speaks to Us to Give Us Gifts

When we say “forgiveness,” we mean, “Jesus.” When we say, “righteousness,” we mean, “Jesus.”
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