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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The gospel is best understood in terms of those two most important words: for you.
The narrative of the Nativity is what Christmas is all about.
Ambrose's preaching continues to ring out in churches around the world, especially during Advent when we sing his magnificent, proclamatory hymn, "Savior of the Nations, Come."
Longstanding tradition must be bolstered by something outside of ourselves that also lies outside of the traditions of men.
This is the second article in a special three-part Advent series on how Jesus is our prophet, priest, and king.
The Lord’s provision doesn’t rest on the strength of our gratitude.
Instead of a “how-to” manual, the Bible is a “what-you-didn’t-do” story.
The Lord has an answer to your tears, your trouble, your weariness, your enemies, your grief, your shame, your sin.
One Christ rules over all of it. He is the constant, the root that nourishes every estate and every vocation.
If we picture the New Testament as a divinely painted masterpiece that hangs in the middle of a museum, then all around it are other works of the period, in different corridors of the museum, in many styles, painted by diverse artists, with variations of color and technique.
Mary looms large in our theology, our liturgy, our confessions and creeds.
Below is the Thinking Fellows Essential Reading List with contributions from each of the Thinking Fellows hosts.