Luther on God’s Governance of the World
Here is some fantastic insight from Luther on how God governs the lowly. Furthermore, God’s presence in this most humble kind of life should be recognized. Like the other kinds…
Bach’s St. John’s Passion, A Quick-Start Guide
Bach’s St. John’s Passion is a musical setting of John 18-19 (with two verses from Matthew inserted), interspersed with chorales (Lutheran Hymns) and original arias (original poetic reflections). It is absolutely…
How the devil accidentally gave us the New Testament
(Here’s a quick note. Pr Will Weedon was teaching 1 Thessalonians this weekend and pointed this out to us. Thanks, Will.) Remember that 1 Thessalonians is the first New Testament…
Five Critical Questions about Living Together Before Marriage (and Chastity)
The Bible speaks clearly about marriage and chastity. The Christian is appointed by the Lord to pursue the virtue of chastity, to honor the great gift of marriage, and practice…
The Trinity: Four Pages of Biblical Proof
Earlier today I was digging around The Doctrinal Theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Church on the topic of the filioque. The pour pages that follow gave a wonderful outline of…
Filioque: Seven Proofs
In the Nicene Creed, the western church confesses that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The eastern churches do not. This is a point of longstanding…
Luther’s Theological Last Will and Testament (1528)
In the Third Part of Martin Luther’s Great Confession Concerning Christ’s Supper (1528) he lays out a summary of his doctrine and teaching, like a mini-Augsburg Confession (which came two…
Christmas Meditation: The Marvel of the Angels (with help from Luther)
Luther on Jacob’s Ladder, this is great Christmas preaching! But what is this ascent and descent? I reply that it is this very mystery that in one and the same…
Give Thanks 2023 Calendar
The theme for the Around the Word 2023 calendar is “Give Thanks.” Combining classic Christian art with Bible passages about Thanksgiving, this calendar will be a daily reminder of God’s…
Twelve Thanksgiving Texts
Download a pdf of twelve Thanksgiving Text cards here:
Creation Conference 2022 Media
On November 5, 2022, Dr Joel Heck and I lectured on creation topics. You can find the audio and handouts of the sessions here. “The Importance of Beginnings” Dr Joel…
Christmas in Genesis: Martin Luther on Jacob’s Ladder
Here is a glorious passage from Luther’s Genesis commentary explaining Jacob’s Ladder. Here’s a video of me teaching this passage in the Worldwide Bible Study. But this is Jacob’s dream:…
A Biblical Case for Closed Communion
Closed Communion is a difficult doctrine and practice. Much of the difficulty comes from the different assumptions the Bible has about our faith (is it individual or corporate, private or…
The Passion of Jesus (drawn from all four Gospels)
Download: Portions selected from Matthew 26:15-27:66, Mark 14:12-15:47, Luke 22:7-23:56, and John 13:1-19:42, arranged chronologically to tell the story of the arrest, trials, suffering, crucifixion, death, and burial of our…
Fasting: Two Ways
Martin Luther on the two types of fasting. Here’s a helpful distinction from Luther: the fasting we choose, and the fasting God chooses. This Gospel is read today at the…
Against a Minimalistic Theological Aesthetic
Why do we need forgiveness in the Lord’s Supper if we are already forgiven in baptism? I was answering this question in the March 7 edition of the Lent-Up-Early What-Not…
The Four Winds that Blow in the Human Heart (Martin Luther’s Map of Human Emotions)
This is a nice little paragraph in Martin Luther’s introduction to the book of Psalms in which he sketches out the four winds that toss around the ship of the…
Vain Rage
Looking at Psalm 2:1 this morning, and noticing a few things I hadn’t before. Why do the nations rageand the peoples plot in vain? Psalm 2:1 First, this verse is…
Luthardt on the Ancient Memory of the Fall
I’m finally reading Luthardt. [Alex, sorry it’s taken me eight years.] This reminds me of the C. S. Lewis reflection from a few weeks ago. The remembrance, more or less…