God never lays his hand upon us in order that we would be damned but pursues a course that leads us to repentance, so we would seek his grace.
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Man is made in God's image and God wills that we revere his image in our neighbor, doing all we can for him, protecting him and doing him good.
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In Cain, we see the hateful world, and on the other hand, that poor, abject Abel well represents the obscure little brotherhood: the Church of Christ.
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"All who preach the doctrines of men make man the light, lead men away from God to themselves, and set themselves up as the true Light."
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"Come what will, let us say: Here is God’s Word; that is my rock and anchor; to that I cling and that abides; and where that abides, there I abide also."
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Christians are to be confident of eternal glory, to implore the Lord God to hasten the Day, for Jesus has taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come.”
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We must be able to say that we know we have God’s pledge and the witness of the Holy Spirit, that he wants to be our Father through Christ, his Son.
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Experience teaches how difficult it is to keep Christ's Word, but the Christian will love Christ, his Word, and his kingdom more than all things of the earth.
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God uses marriage to get us out of our parents' homes so we may grow up, make a home and family of our own, and enjoy the blessings of that estate.
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One of the sweetest pleasures of Christian marriage is not sexual, that the blessing of the sense of completeness at being merely with one another.
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You may be a blessing to your neighbor because you know you are a child of God, received into his grace, and living in the sure hope of salvation.
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The whole creation cries out for a speedy end of these injustices and abuses of the ungodly, and for the dawning of glory for the children of God!
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If the affections and thoughts of men are without faith in God, they are without Christ and his Word, and therefore, they are without the truth.
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God would have us occupy this world as guests, striving after an eternal kingdom, abstaining from lusts, maintaining a godly life of good works.
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The affection of the intended husband toward his betrothed spouse is of a particular and elevated kind, a knowledge and revelation of the Holy Spirit.
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Christians should love and pray for the salvation of all, for the sanctification of God’s name, the coming of his kingdom, and the fulfilment of his will.
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Even in danger and death, you have a faithful Father and Savior, who has taken you into his own hand, and will preserve you. Journey on in joy.
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God’s ears are open to the prayers of the righteous, looking upon you with gracious, winning eyes, his ears alert even to the faintest sound of prayer.
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One may confess Christ but still deny him in deeds and works, by insisting he is his own lord through his religious observances being the way to salvation.
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It is not enough that Christ be preached; the Word must be believed. So, God sends the Holy Spirit to impress the preaching upon the heart.
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It is impossible to love, where no faith exists, and impossible to believe, where there is no love. Love of neighbor depends upon the love of God.
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We are not condemned because we have great riches, but because we are attached to them and trust in them, instead of in Jesus Christ the Lord.
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God often lays hold upon leaders of sects who blaspheme with false doctrines, inflicting on them unusual punishments for the sake of warning others.
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As long as unity of faith and oneness of mind survive, the true Church of God abides, so we must be careful to cherish the virtue of harmony.
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An angry heart knows no moderation, fanning a tiny spark into a conflagration, retaliating and cursing, committing a greater wrong than suffered.
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The day will come when only righteousness and holiness shall dwell on the earth — none but godly, righteous souls — for we shall be like God.
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"What is temporal suffering, however protracted, contrasted with eternal life? It is not worthy to be called suffering or to be esteemed meritorious."
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It is not becoming of Christians to lead heathenish lives, as they have something nobler to do. They are to be occupied with the Word of God.
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Those who would follow their reason in the things dealt with in the article of the Trinity, will reject the Word, and be defeated in their "wisdom."
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The primitive church would assemble daily for prayer, morning and evening, and also at certain other appointed hours, and frequently entire nights.
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The Spirit, pouring into our hearts, makes us different beings, creatures who love and obey God. This is simply the manifestation of his work in the heart.
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The Holy Spirit has comes to enlighten your hearts, so that you will understand the truth, and will call to remembrance all things of Christ.
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May the Holy Spirit working through the Word convince you that the Father would have your heart free, at peace with him through faith in his Son.
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Church is where it happens. What happens there but God's Spirit working through the read and preached Word? We avoid the assembly at our peril.
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We are loved of God through Christ Jesus and enjoy his favor and grace, but also have the great promises of the Lord himself dwelling completely in us.
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Christ binds the church to his Word and dwells in the midst of those who gather for the teaching and preaching of it, and live under its rule.
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Do not judge things according to feelings but keep to the Word and the comfort of preaching which the Holy Spirit gives to distressed consciences.
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The office of the Holy Spirit is, namely, to invest the treasure — Christ and all he has, to enfold him in your heart so that Christ Jesus may be your own.
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The Church is not known by the name on the sign or external appearance but those who have real knowledge of Christ in his Word and promises.
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Why does God permit his own to suffer? In order to subdue the free will, that we should accustom ourselves to build alone upon Christ.
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"Take heed to accept in purity and to maintain with patience the Word so graciously and richly given you by God without effort or merit on your part."
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The Lord suffers a lifetime with us, giving us the opportunity to repent and believe in his Savior. But he will suffer no longer than a limited lifetime.
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May you hear the Word of God and believe because the Spirit has born witness with your spirit that this word comes from God, and is for you.
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May you know the will of the Father so that you may ask rightly in the Son's name, knowing that you receive for Christ's sake, not by your own merit.
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The gospel is a teaching that gives the world nothing but offense — a thing unworthy to be heard or tolerated because it is not worldly, but spiritual.
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The great and powerful work of all true Christians is, by God’s grace, to keep the faith so that they may have a clear conscience and peace before God.
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Those who would believe and preach the gospel, must cast aside all works supposed to make one just and holy , and allow nothing to remain but faith.
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Christ as a gift makes you a Christian and nourishes your faith, but Christ as an example moves your faith to do good works for your neighbor.
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In the gospel is an entirely different, a spiritual government, that exists alone in the Word, by which sinners are convicted and Christ proclaimed.
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Christ hung upon the cross that we might learn how deeply strength lies hidden under weakness, and learn to know his strength in our weakness.
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We are joint heirs with Christ by believing on the same Lord Jesus Christ alone and the promises of his word and the Father's grace are ours.
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Cling to the great and glorious gifts of the resurrection: the gospel, holy Baptism, the power of the Holy Spirit, and comfort in all adversity.
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When despairing, our works must immediately sink out of sight, leaving no help or victory except the faith that clings to the word of Christ the Lord.
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It is not for human beings to say what is right or wrong, whether an act or ruling is divine, for that is left to God alone who elects those who believe.
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Out of pure grace and mercy, God elects, as beneficiaries of his goodness, the poor, and wretched, and unworthy, who acknowledge themselves guilty.
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We are to remember the poor, as the apostles urged, but there is another poor Man whom the whole world would forget, while Christians remember.
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Christ's kingdom abounds in grace and mercy for he is a comforting, friendly shepherd, who tenderly invites, and all people to come to him.
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If you believe that Christ died to save you from all evil, and hold fast to that word, you will find it so certain and sure that no creature can overthrow it.
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Through Christ's death, you are redeemed from sin and death, raised to an imperishable life you cannot yet perceive in yourselves except through faith.
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We do not have to win any battles, but only to keep the victory that has already been won, by holding onto faith in Christ and his cross.
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To keep company with the "weak Christ" is the highest wisdom on earth, and a second is like it, to bear with his weak followers, the church.
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Unbelief is the greatest sin there is, for it cares not for God or at least, cares little for him who is to be loved with one's whole heart and entire being.
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The true church is not known by its government or its name but because it is known by its Shepherd and knows him, having faith in him alone.
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Scripture teaches that we cannot be saved by our own works, but through hearing and believing by the power of his Spirit that Jesus is the Christ .
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There is a great Day coming when we will be raised bodily from the dead, but in the meantime, we are being raised spiritually into a better existence.
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Christ cannot remain in death — although he may suffer death by reason of his human nature — yet he must of his own power rise from the dead.
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The world, seeing no wrong with itself, does not receive one part of Christ's word, reproval, and so, seeing no need of it, cannot receive his grace.
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Christ is the righteousness of Christians before God, going to the Father, that is, suffering and rising for us, and thereby reconciling us to the Father.
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The role of the pastor or shepherd is to feed the sheep, and to protect them from all evil, which begins and ends with proper feeding from the Word.
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Be careful that what you hear from the pulpit is the sure Word of God instead of those doctrines that suit a pastor's or denomination's agenda.
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We are not to trifle with the Scriptures, else there would then be no reliable and permanent foundation whereon the conscience may rely.
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Only devout, childlike people may grasp and understand the Bible, those who say by God's grace that because he has said it, then they do believe it.
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It is not enough to know the historical fact of Jesus, but to also know that he calls us dear brothers, infusing his own righteousness and glory into us who believe.
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It is comforting to hear Jesus tell us that his Father is also our Father, for as Jesus returns to him, we too, will one day ascend to our God in heaven.
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It is comforting to hear Jesus tell us that his Father is also our Father, for as Jesus returns to him, we too, will one day ascend to our God in heaven.
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Christ lay in the tomb for a part of three days, rising on the third, but what we should note is not so much the number but the fact that he truly died.
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Jesus calls us his brothers, not because of anything we have done to merit this inclusion in his family, but because we believe on him for salvation.
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God's Word and works in the Sacraments are not idle, but instead set people free from sin, death, the devil, and every sort of fear.
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You may be a birthright Jew, or a birthright Quaker, but without being born again, a salvation through the Word of Christ, there can be no salvation.
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When we receive Holy Communion, we should be careful to increase love, to find our neighbor who is in need and reach out to him in Christ's name.
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If you would be a Christian, then you must not be terribly alarmed or impatient at the the torments of the world and of the devil.
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We have the clear Word of God as testimony for us who believe, that Christ gave himself as a grace to be received in the bread and wine of his table.
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May you be a fresh lump with whom Christ Jesus being worked in, that the grace and power of the Spirit may continue to work out your salvation.
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The one who desires Holy Communion should receive all of it, not the bread alone but the cup of the New Covenant in Christ's blood as well.
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"The baptized Christian is born a citizen of heaven through baptism. We should be mindful of this fact and walk here as if native there."
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We may know the Lord's presence everywhere through the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the blessed Sacraments.
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May you have faith in God, believing the unbelievable, that sin and death are overcome for you, not because you earned it, but for Christ's sake.
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We aim to believe in what is written in the words of Scripture, so that we may have a faith like Enoch, faith in the God who takes up his people to himself.
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We are left to believe the Word, the word of Christ, and his works that follow after us. not in our own works, but by faith in the word of the cross.
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The Christian life is not a matter of outward appearance but of living by the Word and through faith in and under the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord.
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Faith must be of a character that excludes all works, personal devotion, piety, or holiness as the reason for salvation, and trusts in Christ alone — that through his death, resurrection, and ascension we are saved from sin and death.
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God demands admission or confession of sin, and that people everywhere repent of their sins, turning away from self to God through his Savior.
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When anxiety, distress, or other trials come your way, hold fast to the Word, keep the faith, you will see Christ clearly there, and he will again bring you joy.
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We confess that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
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The old saying that confession is good for the soul is not sufficiently correct; it is the absolute forgiveness of sins that is good for the souls of sinners.
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One finds in Jesus strength and comfort against all vice and bad habits, as true Christians incorporate the life and name of Christ into their own lives.
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Do not try to work yourself up to a feeling of being forgiven and loved by God, but ask him for the faith to know Christ crucified, and the assurance of salvation.
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No one but Christ Jesus has suffered for the sins of others, yet his passion, his suffering and death, avail for the salvation of every sinner who believes on him.
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Whoever disregards the life of Christ on earth, wishing to find eternal life in some other way than he accomplished for us, fails to find salvation.
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In order to keep our focus on God, instead of on self, we are sometimes given a gift: an affliction of the flesh that makes us rely upon God.
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It is the sin of all who have ever lived — including you and me — that sent Christ Jesus to the cross to pay the ransom for of a whole world of sinners.
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