1. Paul knew that, without the resurrection, the Christian life was a “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video.
  2. He declared you what you might not always feel you are, but what you were from the moment he knew you, before you were you, when he foreknew you.
  3. This feast is the Gospel, “the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.”
  4. In this article Amy Mantravadi give a short but helpful summary of the differences in Lutheran and Reformed thought regarding assurance.
  5. When the waters of anxiety and depression rise, there is One who understands.
  6. Confession and absolution offer more than assurance, they gift real and genuine Divine promises.
  7. Finding rest in God when the “what ifs”come calling
  8. We know that death does not have the last word in Christ.
  9. The issue is not the existence of so-called inner rings, but our desire and willingness to spend our lives in order to gain from an inner ring what is freely promised in Christ: hope, security, and identity.
  10. Honest confession brings us into the fatherly care of God where we are always greeted with grace, mercy, peace, love, and forgiveness in Jesus Christ.
  11. The only place to begin a discussion of human/creaturely identity is with our relationship to the God whose breath filled dust, brought us to life, sustains us and gives us a hopeful future.