American religion did not become optional because the gospel failed. It became optional because religion slowly redefined itself around usefulness.
The Passover wasn’t just Israel’s story; it’s ours.
God makes us pure saints by planting us back in the earth we imagined we needed to escape.

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The articles were used to catechize churches in Lutheran doctrine through a series of pastoral visitations.
If anyone could be accused of squandering riches, it would be Jesus. The Pharisees have seen Him squander the blessings of God on tax collectors and sinners. He did it then. He does it now, for you and me.
When we read this chapter, we find that we are actually shaped by the word.
Jesus will be working in our feeble misguided efforts to reach out to the world. He governs our words and our deeds, no matter how awkward they might seem.
Only true doctrine teaches people how to love God and others. Love is the best test for our theology, for true love and true doctrine go together.
We would expect Jesus to be delighted people have responded to the master’s invitation. Instead, Jesus asks these people to reconsider whether they should be following Him or not.
When disagreements break out we unfriend, unfollow, and unburden our minds by surrounding ourselves with only the right sorts of people.
As we do in daily life, so we have done in our reading of the Bible: we have placed ourselves at the center, and Christ at the periphery.
God is the only one who decides what we receive, when, and how it’s given to us.
The question that this text poses for us today is “What does it mean to believe in the resurrection?”
The focus of 1 Peter on baptism is one that has puzzled many people.
On this Day Handel Begins Composing Messiah, and 5 Things We Can Learn From It