The Myth of the DIY'er
By Luke Kjolhaug
07/06/26
10mins

The Myth of the DIY'er

We are invited to entrust everything to the one who accomplished what we could not: living and bleeding and dying and rising again, so that “whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). To put it another way, when it comes to the kingdom of God, there’s no room for DIY’ers. Best leave it to the professionals.
Justice: Earthly and Biblical
Michael Berg
Michael Berg
07/02/26

Justice: Earthly and Biblical

We live in the “already” but “not yet”. Peace is already ours but not yet. The resurrection is already ours but not yet. Justice is already ours but not yet. Until then be comforted by the fact that you are reconciled in Christ on account of his life, death, and resurrection.
What about the Apocrypha?
Philip Bartelt
Philip Bartelt
06/30/26

What about the Apocrypha?

Luther neither removed the Apocrypha from the Bible nor discouraged its use. Rather, he received and preserved the ancient distinction inherited from the fathers: the Apocrypha is valuable, edifying, and worthy of reading, but it is not Holy Scripture and therefore cannot serve as the foundation of Christian doctrine.

All Articles

Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
06/20/19

Gospel: Luke 8: 26-39 (Pentecost 2: Series C)

[This text] describes a journey to a foreign region where Jesus engages in a confrontational conversation with a legion of demons, performs a violent and scandalous exorcism, and leaves behind a community gripped by terror. Apparently, the only thing more frightening than a naked, graveyard-dwelling demoniac is this visitor from Nazareth who reigns over everything.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
06/20/19

Epistle: Galatians 3:23-4:7 (Pentecost 2: Series C)

Baptism demolishes all boasting, for it is passively received and all that is received is pure gift. No one can, therefore, boast a better salvation than another.
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
06/11/19

One of Those Days

I'm having one of those days. You know, the kind where you're filled with confusion, guilt, and fear? If you don't know what I'm talking about, just stop reading now.
Kyle G. Jones
Kyle G. Jones
06/10/19

A Communion of Saints for the Forgiveness of Sins

The Holy Spirit gathers us together and keeps the church in the true faith, and He does it all by way of the Gospel.
Joshua Miller
Joshua Miller
06/10/19

Preaching Saints: On the Communion of Saints and Being Kept in the Faith

While the Holy Spirit does work within us, He always comes to us from the outside, through the external Word and Sacraments.
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
06/06/19

Sunday Before Pentecost

The following is an excerpt from “A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
05/26/19

Gospel: John 17:20-26 (Easter 7: Series C)

After teaching his disciples many things about himself, the world, and the things to come, Jesus concluded his last evening with his disciples in prayer to the Father. And he concluded his prayer with the words in this text. As the old saying goes, you can learn a lot about a man by listening in on his prayers.
Daniel van Voorhis
Daniel van Voorhis
05/22/19

Dante and Our Obsession with Hell

Throughout the centuries, “Inferno” has also played a large role in the development of Christianity, particularly in the Western Medieval church.
Jason Lane
Jason Lane
05/19/19

Epistle: Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27 (Easter 6: Series C)

I know some of us get excited to show that faith and reason are like oil and water, and natural theology is the death of a theologian of the cross. But there’s a bit of nonsense in that. If we teach our people only to suffer (which they will do anyway), and to expect nothing more than suffering, we are sometimes unintentionally teaching them to want less. But Christ is more. His resurrection means there’s more.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
05/19/19

Gospel: John 16:23-33 (Easter 6: Series C)

When you are not experiencing this kind of tribulation, the promise of “you will” hardly seems comforting. But when you are in the midst of it—when the pressure of this world is bearing down on you—it is comforting to know it has not caught God unawares.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
05/16/19

Font to Table: Why Does the Pastor Wear That?

The minister’s clothing represents his office of service, derived from the ministry of Christ, and never himself.
John Bombaro
John Bombaro
05/13/19

A Note on the Seriousness of Preaching

Our stories are decidedly unserious when viewed through the lens of the seriousness of God’s affairs. Jesus put the matter succinctly: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Human affairs are not serious in and of themselves. Rather, they are consequential because they garner meaning and significance within the overarching story of God and man.
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