This is an excerpt from the third chapter of By Water and the Word: God’s Gift of Baptism for You by Brian Thomas (1517 Publishing, 2026), pgs 52-60.
Even when the bitter places sink down deep into our bones, the Restorer never relinquishes his grip on you.
To Live Well is therefore not a general advice book, but a message suffused with the gospel.

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Longstanding tradition must be bolstered by something outside of ourselves that also lies outside of the traditions of men.
The crucified and risen Christ comes to renew, restore, and build up.
Instead of a “how-to” manual, the Bible is a “what-you-didn’t-do” story.
One Christ rules over all of it. He is the constant, the root that nourishes every estate and every vocation.
No matter how many times we hear this good news, it never stops being good news.
Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds.
To preach Christ and him crucified is to keep the message simple and accessible.
Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.
God’s creatures on four legs are some of the greatest storytellers of the Scriptures.
John inspired me to see each sermon as an apologetic opportunity.
Dr. Montgomery taught me the Christian faith is both a true story and a delightful story—in fact, it is the greatest story ever told.
Dr. Montgomery spent his life—even into his final year at the age of 92—contending for the whole Christian faith once and for all delivered to the saints.