Wade Johnston, Life Under the Cross: A Biography of the Reformer Matthias Flacius Illyricus, Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis: MO, 2025.
This ancient “tale of two mothers” concerns far more than theological semantics—it is the difference between a God who sends and a God who comes.
This story points us from our unlikely heroes to the even more unlikely, and joyous, good news that Jesus’ birth for us was just as unlikely and unexpected.

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God gives his church a story that helps to make sense of this life.
It would serve us well to embrace the beauty of our diversity within the unity of the body of Christ.
Do our petitions move God?
The goodness of God's grace is also offensive to our egos
Of all the Inklings, Williams was certainly the most enigmatic. His mind and body were always moving.
Even at Lewis’ graveside, Havard was a faithful friend, and a friend full of faith in Christ, confessing his hope in the resurrection.
Faith sees your neighbor not as a means to an end, not as a way to score points, but as an object of love: Christ's love and yours.
We must also address the stigma surrounding addiction within so many churches.
What if Jesus had said on the cross, “Earn it”?
It is of the utmost importance that pastors teach their congregation that through faith in Jesus Christ, they are fortified against the machinations of the adversary.
God comes to us through the flesh and blood and spirit of Christ precisely where he promised to be manifest to us and for us.
I’ve experienced firsthand the promise that God never leaves a congregation empty-handed.