In this episode, we sit with Rev. Dr. James Nestingen’s writing on the gospel and repentance. We talk at length not only about law and repentance, but also about the consequences of therapeutic culture for the preaching and reception of calls to repent in the churches. If the law is known by its uses, who is the user? What is it to have a God? What do you have if you have one? How does it work? How does the law summarize the non-negotiables of creaturely life? Can the devil use the law? What is the preacher’s use of the law? How does this lead us to the topic of repentance? All this and much, much more on this week’s podcast.

Surveying Scripture, it is an immense comfort to know we’re not alone in our sinfulness.

Christian faith is never a solitary possession. When the congregation confesses, the old speak for the young, the strong for the weak, and the clear-voiced for the trembling.

This is the third in a series meant to let the Christian tradition speak for itself, the way it has carried Christians through long winters, confusion, and joy for centuries.

Confession isn’t a detour in the liturgy. It’s the doorway.

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.

Kelsi chats with David Zahl about themes of faith and grace in Rian Johnson's newest film, Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man.

Son of a Preacher Man. In this episode, we conclude our study of Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles, discussing the office of the keys and confession. We go through and sum up the previous episodes — the gospel, the mass, repentance, sin, and the law — then sit with the function and power of the forgiveness of sin. What is the office of the keys for? Where does it come from? Who gets to use the keys? Then, we talk over confession and its consequences for pastoral care and its effect on the churches.

Don’t Look Back in Anger. In this episode, we continue reading Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles, focusing on contrition, repentance, and freedom. Why does the law need to terrify and leave us hopeless? How does attention to the self lead us into death and hell? What happens when belief is preached as something “we do” rather than something “done to” us? Likewise, when repentance is self-activated and self-actuated, what are the consequences for our daily lives? This and much, much more on this episode of the show.

Forgiveness is not ours to manufacture. It is ours to proclaim.

Christian spirituality is not a flight from the world, but a deep dive into its brokenness.