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.

All Articles

Sometimes the old story is the one we need to hear again and again.
Senkbeil is a pastor’s pastor, a master of the art of pastoral care.
The great lie of addiction is that suffering must be fled, must be numbed, must be drowned out by any means necessary.
You cannot sever the saint from the sinner. Christians remain both simultaneously.
God is a judge, but unlike you, God is just!
In the upside-down wisdom of God, the place of the cross becomes the place of life, absolution, and triumph.
Luther’s final thoughts were not meant to bum you out or lead you to despair.
In grace, God chooses to love his people.
The liturgy ensures that the gospel is never something inward, merely a thought or sentiment of the believer.
There is no one — not now, not ever — who cannot be included in the family of God through the efficacy of Christ’s saving power.
The gospel is best understood in terms of those two most important words: for you.
It's a new year, and you are still the same you: a sinner who is simultaneously perfect in every way because Christ declares it to be so.