Christ is our King!
He rules over all, both now and for eternity!
So why does the world seem to be in such bad shape?
When Jesus Christ came to earth, He came as King,
but as a King born in a feeding trough.
His most kingly act on earth was not a triumph over Roman oppressors,
but triumph over sin ... Read more
Who is a saint? You are!
A saint is anyone who is part of God’s Church—that is, anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as his or her Savior—both those here on earth (the Church militant) and those enjoying eternal life in heaven (the Church triumphant).
We are saints because the Holy Spirit sanctifies us (makes us holy), ... Read more
WHAT DOES IT MEAN when a pastor is called and ordained?
For starters, it does not mean that he is made some sort of
spiritual supreme leader, or even a spiritual upper-class citizen.
It also does not give him special magical powers of any sort.
It does mean, however, that he has been appointed
by God through the congregation to ... Read more
In the Harry Potter mythology, if you say the right words and move the right way, you can make magic happen.
Similarly, some Christians believe that if you say the right words and go through the right motions, you will magically receive forgiveness, especially when they think of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
However, this way of ... Read more
ONCE WE’VE BEEN BROUGHT to the saving good news of the Gospel,
is the Law done with us? (Or are we done with the Law?)
Well, yes and no.
The Law does three things:
1. It keeps order in the world, even for non-Christians.
(That is, it acts as a curb—see Romans 2:14-15.)
2. It shows us our sin.
(It acts as a ... Read more
One of the primary tasks of your pastors, especially as pastor-teachers, is “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ… so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by ... Read more