What does it take to draw near to God? It takes a perfect priest, a finished work, and a broken body to open the way. In short, it takes everything, which is exactly what Christ has given for you.
Christianity need not retreat from investigation. Its central claim is that the Word became flesh, entered history, was crucified, and on the third day rose from the dead. That is not an embarrassment to be overcome. It is the claim we have been given to declare and defend.
In the end, your story isn’t an epic of personal glory. You aren’t the hero. Your Savior Jesus is.

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Preaching is simply the verbal bestowal of what Scripture has already given us in written form
Stories like Onoda’s offer an interesting parallel to our life in the Gospel.
These new texts and manuscripts, while not altering the message of the text, can give us better insight into particular historical and grammatical issues.
Indeed, baptism is life because resurrection is life. Nothing short of regeneration—renewal of life—is accomplished by God through sheer grace because of Christ Jesus.
Jesus names what life does not consist of, and in doing so he gets to something near and dear to our hearts as Americans—our possessions.
These treasures show us that, no matter how well we think we know this poem, there’s always more layers to uncover.
We are saved by God's grace, apart from our work – so why does obtaining God's wisdom require such work?
Believers are reminded—and the preacher is to remind them—baptism marks the forgiveness of sins, the end of legal demands, justification and regeneration, and the ultimate triumph over rulers and powers.
The story of these faithful Christians serves to highlight the roles of both Africa and martyrdom in the early church and today.
Nothing, not pain, hurt, resentment, bitterness, or hopelessness can separate us from God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.
The following is an excerpt from “Crucifying Religion” written by Donavon Riley (1517 Publishing, 2019).