The certainty of faith is utter assurance because it depends upon nothing of your own. It is entirely trusting that God is a propitious, pardoning God—the God who justifies sinners by forgiving them.
Sinners get faith as a gift when Christ takes their captivity captive.

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What makes a meal more than food? We all have important meals in our lives; birthday meals; anniversary meals; traditional holiday meals.
You have been invited to bring God’s grace to people who are dying for want of it.
In an age when families are already fractured beyond comprehension, are we seriously going to separate parents from children in the one service in which God himself is present to unite us to himself and one another?
The greatest joy of Lent is failing at it only to find Jesus has already done it for us.
The Law must attack because nothing outside of Christ can enter Heaven—nothing!
Jesus’ sacrificial death is the perfect sacrifice because He is sinless, the spotless Lamb, and it is for you.
God has given us a way out of our plight of “ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” It is the way of the cross.
Every day for the baptized is a good day to die."
Preaching is a dangerous and difficult task. Some occupations might involve more harrowing situations and circumstances but I will continue to contend that there’s not a more perilous or vulnerable position to be in than behind the pulpit.
Heaven is as near as the Word proclaimed from the mouth of the preacher into the ear and heart of the sinner. It is as near as the bread and wine in your mouth. For, you see, Word and sacrament are where Jesus is.
His clarity and fearlessness made him a favorite interview subject for the press in both great and small questions.
While I was still an over-eager seminarian the professor warned me, “Mr. Riley, this is exciting stuff.