Romans 1:8-17

“The righteous shall live by faith,” words that transformed the ancient world. “The righteous shall live by faith,” words that sparked the Reformation. “The righteous shall live by faith,” words by which, still today, the Church stands or falls. Who are these righteous? Look back a verse. These righteous are those declared righteous by God, those whose only righteousness is not their own, but Christ Jesus’. This is the righteousness that comes through faith, “from faith for faith. Thus, “the righteous shall live by faith.” Continue reading “Romans 1:8-17”

Romans 1:1-7

Paul is clearly the author, placing his name first, as was the ancient custom. Paul is a servant of Christ Jesus, having been called by God to proclaim Christ Jesus by proclaiming his gospel. Christ Jesus and his gospel are not mere occasional themes in Scripture, but, rather, all of Scripture is centered in Christ and God’s promises concerning him. Continue reading “Romans 1:1-7”

Bird’s Eye View 33.1: Luther Lectures – St. John’s Lutheran, Mukwonago (part 1 of 3)

In this Bird’s Eye View episode, we bring you the first of a three-part series from a talk that Wade gave at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mukwonago, WI. Wade was asked to talk on Luther and the reformation, and he did so following the rough outline suggested by Martin Brecht’s three-volume series on Luther. This first part of his talk covers Luther’s early years, up to the early part of the Reformation. This is roughly the time the Brecht covers in his first volume: Martin Luther – His Road to Reformation 1483-1521.

Wade is grateful to St. John’s for having him come and speak, and we are grateful to them for allowing Wade to record it so that we could share it with our listeners. Stay tuned for the next two installments of this series.

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What’s It Gonna Take to Make You Happy?

I spent a lot of time working in restaurants before I went to seminary. I liked it, too, for the most part. There was one time, though, that really got under my skin. I was in college, nearing the end. There was a guy who used to come in where I worked almost every day when I was there. He was almost always unbearable. Morning after morning it was the same routine. He’d come in, berate one of the girls working up front (high school girls on the weekend, most working their first job), and complain no matter how quickly he was served. One day I lost it. Continue reading “What’s It Gonna Take to Make You Happy?”

Melancholy and Angst

Luther talked about Anfechtung. Kierkegaard talked about Angest. All manner of philosophers and theologians have put it in different ways. Ultimately, though, what they are driving at is something similar: life in a fallen world isn’t easy, and it plays with your psyche, your nerves, your gut. Anxiety is a terrible thing. It can shut a person down. It can overwhelm them. It can take captive an otherwise wonderful mind. It can cripple a body. Melancholy can do the same. Continue reading “Melancholy and Angst”