And they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. A Christian should be a striking likeness of Jesus Christ. You have read lives of Christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of Christ is his living biography, written out in the words and actions of his people. If we were […]
There once was a carpenter who visited one of two brothers who had recently grown embittered with each other over a misunderstanding over the farm they had managed together for the past 40 years. The carpenter was in need of work; or so he said, and he asked the one brother if there was anything […]
Paul describes the unity and diversity of gifts in the body of Christ by saying: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each […]
I recently attended a baptismal service and heard many testimonies from those being baptized. Many of the testimonies shared a common characteristic: people had gone to church for years finally “got it”—and began to follow Jesus more intentionally, leading to great transformation. For some, it might have been a “born again” experience. For others a deeper […]
“The following dissertation concerning the Trinity, as the reader ought to be informed, has been written in order to guard against the sophistries of those who disdain to begin with faith, and are deceived by a crude and perverse love of reason.”(1) Thus begins Augustine’s dissertation on the Trinity, written for those whose perverse love […]
Spirituality “And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.” Matthew 14:23 From the Justice Primer Couched between the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 and the miracle of walking on water, we find Jesus “up the mountain” alone praying. […]
What does it mean to be a servant of the Word? First, if we are to be servants of the Word, the priorities of our ministry must be such that the preaching of the Word is central—everything else must fall into place behind this priority. Are there other important tasks of ministry? Of course. Are […]
Martin Luther’s Definition of Faith Faith is not what some people think it is. Their human dream is a delusion. Because they observe that faith is not followed by good works or a better life, they fall into error, even though they speak and hear much about faith. “Faith is not enough,” they say, “You must […]