The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
By Magnus Persson
03/25/26
12mins

The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew

God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.
Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
03/23/26

Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior

The gospel isn’t for the strong but people who know they aren’t.
Post-Denominational Lutheranism
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
03/20/26

Post-Denominational Lutheranism

One great thing about our post-denominational age is that it has opened up opportunities to make common cause with other Lutherans who, despite their differences and eccentricities, can agree on some of the most important things.

All Articles

Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
03/16/26

The Flock You Didn't Assemble: Pastoral Wisdom in a Non-Monolithic Church

The Church’s unity is not uniformity in every matter of her well-being. It is faithfulness in what constitutes her being.
Luke Kjolhaug
Luke Kjolhaug
03/05/26

Getting Over Your “Right” Theology

A rightly-oriented heart and a rightly-oriented love will consistently do what is best for God and best for our neighbor, which is why St. Augustine speaks of sin as a disordered love.
Caleb Keith
Caleb Keith
02/04/26

On Being Made Holy

The Scriptures consistently speak about sanctification as a sure gift for the Christian.
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
01/05/26

Wake Up Dead Man: A Word Worth Saving for Lent

Wake Up Dead Man is not ultimately a story about mystery, exposure, or even justice. It is a story about what happens when mercy speaks to death—and death listens.
Adam Francisco
Adam Francisco
12/15/25

Be Kind...But Why?

Christ did not merely urge humanity to be kind. He embodied perfect kindness by giving his life for those who neither earned nor expected such a gift.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
11/05/25

Mercy Runs Downstairs

The testimony of the Word assures us that God isn’t waiting for us at the top of the stairs, with arms folded and brows furrowed.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
10/07/25

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

We can lay down our sledgehammers of moralistic performance, which aren’t effective anyway, and we can trust that we are his and his life is ours.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
10/02/25

The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down

He doesn’t consume us, even though that is what we deserve. Instead, Jesus comes down to us and consumes all our sin by taking it on himself.
1517 Guest Contributor
1517 Guest Contributor
09/26/25

Yardwork and the Antichrist

The Antichrist offers another continual presence. It is every whisper that tempts us toward autonomy, that tells us to carry it alone, that insists suffering is meaningless.
Sarah Crowder
Sarah Crowder
08/11/25

Fighting Shame with a Song: What K-Pop Demon Hunters Taught Me About Grace

We need redemption, and we receive it in our church community through God’s Word.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
07/25/25

Grace for Unbearable Days

Instead of offering more details or more information, he does something even better: he promises his very presence.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
07/09/25

Inception and the Paradox of Grace

Paradoxes hold everything together, not just in Inception’s plot, but in your life and mine.
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