Dear Partner in Preaching, Upon sitting down to write this letter to you, I quickly reviewed the three earlier times I’ve written on this passage (once on these pages, once in a Dear Working Preacher column, and once by way of commentary for Working Preacher) and realized… that they same more or less the same thing! (Less you miss this, take it as a warning about reviewing old sermons, too! 🙂 ) I suppose that’s not terrible and, for what it’s worth, I’ll still stand by my sense of Luke’s audacious testimony that moves from history to confession. But it does remind me that there’s only so much one can say about any given...

If you happen to be in or near the Twin Cities September 30 or October 1, I want to invite you to Mount Olivet Lutheran Church (5025 Knox Ave., Mpls) for several events featuring Dr. Timothy J. Wengert, Emeritus Professor of Reformation History at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. Beyond being a world-renowned Reformation scholar and the author or editor of more than 20 books, Tim is one of the finest teachers in the church today. He was my advisor and mentor while I was a student at LTSP and the most important and influential teacher in my career. If you’re in the neighborhood, I hope you’ll come by. And feel free to...