A Little More on Voc...

God’s people please God even in the least and most trifling matters. For God will be working all things through you; God will milk the cow through you and perform the most servile duties through you, and all the greatest and least duties alike will be pleasing to God. ~From Luther’s...

Vocation in the New ...

“The Christian shoemaker does his or her duty not by putting little crosses on the shoes, but by making good shoes, because God is interested in good craftsmanship.”  I love this oft-quoted saying of Luther because it gets to the heart of his understanding of vocation. And that is, quite...

Hallowing Creation

The more we draw Christ down into nature and into the flesh, the more consolation accrues for us…. [Indeed,] how could God have demonstrated his goodness more powerfully than by stepping down so deep into flesh and blood, that he does not despise that which is kept secret by nature, but...

Advent Preparation

Martin Luther loved Christmas. There are countless stories from students who would stay with the Luther family at their home, a converted monastery that they opened to many visitors and guests. He would grow more and more cheerful as Christmas approached, students reported, and gather his...

Giving Thanks To God

I hold and believe that I am God’s creature, that is, that God has given me and constantly sustains my body, soul, and life, my members great and small, all my senses, my reason and understanding, and the like; my food and drink, clothing, nourishment, spouse and children, servants, house...

Luther on Education

While we’re on the topic of public education… Okay, so we weren’t on that topic, but rather Luther’s understanding of good government. Last week I cited Luther’s urgent appeal to the city councils and magistrates of Germany to establish schools as an example of what government was...