The Psalm now is this: as Christ suffered and then was exalted, so we are also in him.
No matter how stringent one's "regulations" — "Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch" (Col. 2:21) — the sinful nature that resides in everyone's heart is untamable by self-effort alone.
Kleinig continually directs the reader's attention to Christ and his gifts.

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What does Jesus send these people to do? He sends them to speak peace.
The following is an excerpt from “Crucifying Religion” written by Donavon Riley (1517 Publishing, 2019).
When the church has gone astray, it has been the responsible (not slavish) approach to history that has helped correct the course.
Freedom from restraint, if it is to be of any use, must be matched by a sense of freedom for a particular purpose. Once set free, what is freedom for? Paul tells us.
Whether your hearers are lifelong church-goers or recent converts, following Jesus is not a casual pastime. It is not simply one more thing we do.
This creed is no mere squabble over words. Salvation is on the line.
I’d like to offer a short reflection on the theme of “worldliness” as it appears in his later work and how that’s connected to an item of his Lutheran heritage: the theology of the cross.
[This text] describes a journey to a foreign region where Jesus engages in a confrontational conversation with a legion of demons, performs a violent and scandalous exorcism, and leaves behind a community gripped by terror. Apparently, the only thing more frightening than a naked, graveyard-dwelling demoniac is this visitor from Nazareth who reigns over everything.
Baptism demolishes all boasting, for it is passively received and all that is received is pure gift. No one can, therefore, boast a better salvation than another.
When we brag about what Jesus does for us, we win the battle.
On Holy Trinity Sunday, God draws our attention, not to the inner workings of the Trinity, but the outer workings of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
They cannot know that I am already a father, but, this side of eternity, I won’t ever meet my child because of a miscarriage.