The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
By Magnus Persson
03/25/26
12mins

The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew

God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.
Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
03/23/26

Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior

The gospel isn’t for the strong but people who know they aren’t.
Post-Denominational Lutheranism
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
03/20/26

Post-Denominational Lutheranism

One great thing about our post-denominational age is that it has opened up opportunities to make common cause with other Lutherans who, despite their differences and eccentricities, can agree on some of the most important things.

All Articles

David Schmitt
David Schmitt
08/14/22

Gospel: Luke 13:22-30 (Pentecost 11: Series C)

When offering encouragement to His disciples to follow Him, Jesus did not promise a pain-free life in this world. Instead, He highlighted the struggle and the difficulty. Why?
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
08/09/22

Going Back to Square One

We bring nothing with us that contributes to the preaching or the hearing of God’s promise to us.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
08/07/22

Gospel: Luke 12:49-56 (Pentecost 10: Series C)

This is true discipleship. We live with Jesus, we hold on to Jesus, we suffer with Jesus, because Jesus brings a divisive peace that saves.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
08/04/22

Christ’s Comfort in Our Crisis

Our comfort in this seemingly endless age of crisis after crisis is the inexhaustible hope of Jesus’s reversal.
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
08/01/22

Faith, Hope, and Love

Faith is like a horse with blinders because it only beholds God’s promise. It is obsessed with what God has already said.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
07/31/22

Gospel: Luke 12:22-34 (35-40) (Pentecost 9: Series C)

We are loved by our heavenly Father. When the Creator and Giver of all good things is caring for you, suddenly, you are free to care for others.
Dan Weber
Dan Weber
07/24/22

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21 (Pentecost 8: Series C)

What Jesus promises is better than justice. Jesus promises grace.
Dan Weber
Dan Weber
07/17/22

Gospel: Luke 11:1-13 (Pentecost 7: Series C)

This is not just a pericope about hereditary sin and actual sins, nor is it providing a pattern for prayer. It is fundamentally about God our gracious Father and His promise to hear us, answer us, and provide for us.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
07/14/22

Having Done All to Stand

History is the painful realization that we aren’t the ones who can save the world but, rather, we’re the ones who get saved.
Philip Bartelt
Philip Bartelt
07/12/22

Marx, Prayer, and Humanity

In the place of God, Marx sets the material, autonomous, self-creating man.
Dan Weber
Dan Weber
07/10/22

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42 (Pentecost 6: Series C)

But it is not always helpful to create tidy categories of good and bad and to say, “Stop being ‘a Martha’ and do a better job of being ‘a Mary.’” That is a dangerous sermon to preach. In doing so, we can fall into the very thing we see Martha doing.
Dan Weber
Dan Weber
07/03/22

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37 (Pentecost 5: Series C)

The parable of the Good Samaritan is both a call to faith in Jesus and a call to love our neighbor.
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