His Face Shines On Us
For God to shine his face upon us is the same as saying, “Christ Jesus is with us.”
Contributors
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author, and contributing writer for 1517, Christ Hold Fast, and LOGIA. He is also a co-host of Banned Books and Warrior Priest podcasts. He is the author of the book, "Crucifying Religion." He is also a contributing author to "The Sinner/Saint Devotional: 60 Days in the Psalms" and "Theology of the Cross".
Banned Books
Most Recent
189: Kennedy - A Christian stands for truth even when it hurts the most
White Bread with Bologna and Propaganda Spread. In this episode, we continue reading a sermon preached by Bishop Gerald Kennedy, on Communism in Churches (c. 1960). The discussion focuses on whether propaganda is more important than the truth.
188: Kennedy - This communist doctrine that God is something we can take or leave
Religion is Extra Important. In this episode, is religion an extra? How has the communist doctrine on religion influenced our society and the churches? When is it time for churches to preach against society, and to what end?
187: Gerald Kennedy - Contentiousness is not listed as Christian virtue
Red Dawn in the Church. In this episode, a sermon by Bishop Gerald Kennedy on communism in the churches. What did it mean in 1960, and what does it mean today, that religion is an opiate?
The Mystery of God's Incarnation
Christmas-time is the bold proclamation that God was born to save sinners.
Are You the One Who Is to Come?
People do not seek the gospel because they want to, but because God’s Word drives them to it.
186: Christmas During the Civil War
Can We Just Have A Civil Christmas? In the episode, what was Christmas like during the Civil War? Puritans, holiday traditions, and why the Church is an incarnate Church.
An Advent Ransom Note
Advent is not a call to prepare to engage in a transaction with God.
185: Christmas after the Enlightenment
Have Yourself A Very Enlightened Christmas. In this episode, an examination of the impact of the Enlightenment on the Church, especially the preaching and traditions of Advent and Christmas.
The Message of Advent Never Changes
The proclamation of Christ's coming is for all people, at all times.
184: Bowler - Christmas in Nazi Germany
It’s Christmas in Germany for Hitler. In this episode, a historical examination of Christmas in Germany during the Nazi regime, including new hymns, advent calendars, the emergence of Wotan, and Hitler’s Silent Night.
Advent Time
To a world enslaved to time (because it has no future), the Church's disregard for clocks and calendars is ridiculous.
Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart
Trusting Jesus, worshipping our Christ, and praising him, we have the blessing of God so that we can give thanks with a grateful heart for everything he gives to us today and always.
183: Sasse - The secular and the spiritual are indeed to be dearly distinguished
A shelter from pigs on the wing... In this episode, how do Christians interface with a godless state, love our neighbors without being complicit in promoting sin, and maintain the tension between the two kingdoms?
182: Sasse - The office of the governing authority belongs to God’s created order
You Know Who Else Misunderstood The Kingdom of God? Hitler! In this episode, we read Herman Sasse’s 1930 essay on The Social Doctrine of the Augsburg Confession and its Significance for the Present. We discuss the two kingdoms doctrine, peoples’…
181: Chesterton - Once abolish the God, and the Government becomes the God
Chairman Mao Loves Ice Cream. In this episode, G.K. Chesterton on what happens when we abolish God, and the government becomes the god. We discuss “unalienable rights endowed by the Creator.” The language of freedom and rights belongs to the…
Jesus has Overcome Evil
Jesus overcame sin, death, and Satan on the cross. His bloody suffering and death marked this sinful world's defeat.
179: Girolamo Savaronola - O you who have anything superfluous, give it to the poor!
The Pirates of Penance part 2. In this episode, we continue to examine Girolamo Savaronola’s sermon on penance. What happened in Florence that occasioned this sermon, and what can it teach us about church and society today?
Justice is Power?
God's justice is marked and measured by sacrificial love, not power as the world defines it.
The Gift of Marriage
Unlike human marriage, which is marred by sin, Jesus never seeks to divorce us due to irreconcilable differences.
178: Girolamo Savaronola - Do penance, Do it now!
The Pirates of Penance, part 1. In this episode, we look at pre-Reformation preaching. Girolamo Savaronola’s sermon on penance is read and discussed. What is penance, what effect did the sacrament of penance have on church and society, and what…
180: Whitford - The Church and State Have Existed in An Often Unhealthy Tension
It’s The Most Important Election of Our Lives, Until The Next Election. In this special election episode, Gillespie and Riley read David Whitford’s book, "Tyranny and Resistance," and discuss church, state, and the two kingdoms doctrine.
In Christ, We Are Free to Vote, Work, and Worship
This new life is marked not by fear of death but hope in eternal life.
How God Wants to Be Known By Us
We need a God who acts for us, each of us in particular. We need a God who sticks to His Word that He will never abandon or forsake us.
Killing in the Name of
God uses the fifth commandment to protect us from selfishness, prevent us from only thinking about our needs, and to drive us to Christ and our neighbors.
Featured Resources
Banned Books
Welcome to Banned Books, where we read and converse with the rebel children, the holy mischief-makers of God, who fight against the kind of useless religious, spiritual, and moral methods of life improvement that seek to smother the glory of…
Crucifying Religion
Jesus is the end of all religion. He did not come to tweak Judaism or create a new religion. When the nails were driven into his hands and feet, when the spear pierced his side, when he said, “It is…
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Here We Still Stand 2021
Consciences Captive to the Word of God