In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit             “O Almighty God, merciful Father….” The opening words to the formula for the confession of sin in the Divine Service give it away before the absolution is pronounced. God is almighty, no doubt about it. He is all-powerful, […]

All from his House Postils: It’s a simple thing to mouth the expression “forgiveness of sins” just as it is a simple thing to repeat the basic truths of Christian doctrine. Ah, yes, if all we had to do was to mouth the words! The problem is that when it comes to putting that expression […]

A free text for Reformation…freedom of the Gospel and all…. In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit             The text for today’s observation of the Reformation is from Romans chapter one, verses 16 and 17: For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for […]

In heaven, there are only forgiven sinners. There are no good guys, no upright, successful types who, by dint of their own integrity, have been accepted into the great country club in the sky. There are only failures, only those who have accepted their deaths in their sins and who have been raised up by […]

What is the evil root of man’s contradiction to the Christ? Two indictments made by Jesus, one of the people in general and one of their Pharisaic leadership, make it particularly plain. The indictment of the people takes the form of a little parable (Matthew 11:16-19). Jesus compares the men of “this generation” to petulant […]