The Turk at the Door: Luther, Islam, and the Fate of Christendom in the 16th Century
By Adam Francisco
06/19/26
12mins

The Turk at the Door: Luther, Islam, and the Fate of Christendom in the 16th Century

It is within this charged atmosphere that Luther’s writings take on their full significance. His responses to the Turkish threat were not merely reactions to military events; they were rooted in a deep theological reflection on the nature of God’s rule over the world, the responsibilities of Christian rulers, and the role of the Church in times of crisis.
AI Can't Save You
Erick Sorensen
Erick Sorensen
06/17/26

AI Can't Save You

Your God is not artificially intelligent, but the source of all intelligence (including yours).
No One Builds Alone: Why the Future of Lutheranism Must Be Built Together
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey |
Mark Mattes
Mark Mattes
06/15/26

No One Builds Alone: Why the Future of Lutheranism Must Be Built Together

The church is not renewed when one pastor tries to do the work of the whole body. The church is renewed when Christ’s body begins to act like a body again.

All Articles

Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
04/16/19

The Loss of a Lady: Notre Dame and Sacred Space

She is so honored not because she is grand, but because her grandness reflects the gratitude and hopes of a people who need some way to express their affection for the God they love.
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?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/15/19

What Kind Of God Washes Filthy Feet?

Since God is most high, He can only look down. Nothing is above Him. No one is more exalted than He is.
Jason Lane
Jason Lane
04/14/19

Holy Week Epistles (Series C)

As preachers approach Holy Week, it is sometimes difficult to plan ahead. With a number of sermons to prepare, it can sometimes feel like you’re just trying to keep your head above water, say whatever the given text says for that service, and move on preparing the next.
Valerie Thur
Valerie Thur
04/12/19

The Day of Choosing

This day was a day of choosing. On this day, Jewish households would select their Passover lambs (Ex. 12:3-6). The lambs had to be without blemish, the best of the best.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
04/07/19

Gospel: John 12:20-43 (Sunday of the Passion: Series C)

It’s the following that caught my attention this week. It seems especially appropriate to consider this Sunday, for Holy Week is designed to help Christians follow Jesus through his last and consequential days.
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.”
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
02/17/19

Psalm 23: A Song of Christ (Or: A Note on Christ-Centered Preaching from the Psalter)

Christ and the Evangelists, along with saints Peter and Paul, show a deep attachment to the Book of Psalms...it was because the Psalms were about the Messiah, the Christ of God.
Jacob Corzine
Jacob Corzine
02/10/19

The Law and the Falsely Terrified Conscience

And so, when you preach the Law, you are also instructing the conscience and thereby forming it. For some of your hearers, this will result in activating their consciences, making them more sensitive, so they become more aware of their sin and more urgently seek the Gospel. For others, it is a re-instruction.
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