Free to read and share

Essays

Longer-form essays on the confessional Lutheran faith — free to read, share, and hand on. Each is offered as a printable PDF for congregational use. New essays are announced in Ordinary Means first.

The Sacraments

Depart, Unclean Spirit

What the Lutherans Lost at the Font

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On the Majority Text

The Text the Church Copied for a Thousand Years

The Majority Text Position, Fairly Presented — and Why I Do Not Finally Hold It

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On the Support of the Ministry

Double Honor

What a Congregation Owes Its Pastor

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On the Antichrist

Who or What Is the Antichrist?

A Confessional Reading Against the Prophecy Charts

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On Sola Scriptura

What Sola Scriptura Actually Means

The Bible Above Everything, Not the Bible and Nothing Else

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On the Theology of the Cross

The Theology of the Cross

How God Hides in Order to Be Found

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On Law and Gospel

Law and Gospel

The One Distinction That Unlocks the Bible

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On the Lord's Supper

Is Christ Really Present in Communion?

Taking Jesus at His Word

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On the Means of Grace

How Are Lutherans Different from Other Protestants?

The One Difference Behind All the Others

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On the Lord's Supper

The Proof of the Cup

Where the power of the sacrament actually lies — and why the wine-only argument misplaces it

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On the Perseverance of the Saints

Held, Not Holding

Perseverance, the Means of Grace, and the Ground of Assurance

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On a Common Saying

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin

A saying that isn't there — and the harder thing the gospel actually asks

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Confessional Lutheran Theology

A Word From Outside Us

Why the Anxious Conscience Needs a Faith It Did Not Invent

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On the Doctrine of the Call

No One Takes This Honor for Himself

The External Call, the Enthusiast's Error, and the Comfort of Rite Vocatus

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On Church and State

Two Kingdoms, One Lord

The Two Kingdoms Doctrine in Confessional Lutheran Perspective

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On Contemporary Worship

The Leaderboard

How a Copyright Service Quietly Decided What the American Church Would Sing

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