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.
The confessors at Augsburg remind us that every generation of Christians is called to bear witness to the gospel amid the challenges and pressures of its own age. As they confessed Christ before emperors and kingdoms, so the Church continues to confess Him before the world today.
When Jesus washes you with baptismal water, you can rest assured that the Lion of Judah is on the move.

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Mark makes no effort to impress listeners or win votes. His voice aims only to prepare those who hear it for the coming of the Lord.
The sneak-peek vision of the world to come, a preview of the Last Day, the Day of the Lord, has already been revealed, declares Peter.
Isaiah invokes beautiful imagery of the Good Shepherd who tends His flock, gathers His lambs in His arms, carries them in His bosom, and gently leads.
In a year where things are unclear, tensions are heartbreaking, and uncertainty is rampant, what can we be thankful for?
Even when you’re praying and you feel like you’re not getting what you want, God loves you. God hears you.
We are given, so we give thanks, and we give thanks by giving.
God’s love does not have an off switch. You cannot earn it or deserve it. And your thankfulness for it will not determine if you get it or not.
In a year in which every day seems to blur together, Luther's orders of daily prayer help order our daily lives.
Because everything we possess, and everything in heaven and on earth besides, is daily given, sustained, and protected by God, it inevitably follows that we are in duty bound to love, praise, and thank him without ceasing
Trusting Jesus, worshipping our Christ, and praising him, we have the blessing of God so that we can give thanks with a grateful heart for everything he gives to us today and always.
Like Luther and like Hannah, we also receive God’s promise.
Advent is something of a liturgical speed bump that slows us down lest we rush to Christmas but forget that the baby born in Bethlehem will return with glory and power to judge the living and the dead.