Up is down. Down is up. That’s not a clever riddle. That’s how the kingdom of God works. When you keep climbing, you’ll fall. When you bow low, you’ll be lifted high. “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Thesis X — To the preaching office, according to divine right, belongs also the office to judge doctrine, but laymen also possess this right. Therefore, in the ecclesiastical courts and councils they are accorded both a seat and vote together with the preachers.

Follow him, and you’ll lose some things—your pride, your self-importance, your false security. But you’ll gain everything. Because when you have Jesus, even with nothing at all, you are complete. The rich man walked away sad. But you don’t have to. You can walk away free—free to give, free to love, free to live like someone who already owns heaven. Because Christ, the only One who is good, has called you his own.

Death still stings, but it cannot keep you. The grave still claims the body, but not the soul. Christ has made death a servant of life, turning the enemy into the doorway through which He brings His saints home. And so, when the day comes—and it will—when your strength fails and your eyes grow dim, do not be afraid. Christ will be there, as He was at Nain, as He was at the tomb, as He is here now. And He will say to you, not as a command of judgment but as a word of promise: “I say to you, arise!”

Thesis IX — To the preaching office there is due respect as well as unconditional obedience when the preacher uses God’s Word. Yet the preacher has no dominion in the church. Therefore, he has no right to introduce new laws or arbitrarily to establish adiaphora or ceremonies in the church. The preacher has no right to inflict and carry out excommunication alone, without the preceding knowledge of the whole congregation.

And when He gives us Himself, He frees us. He frees us to live differently. Not in fear. Not in bitterness. Not always guarding what is ours. But in charity. In truth. In love. Because we know that nothing we give up is ever lost in Him. Because we know that nothing taken from us can rob us of His kingdom. Because we know that every insult, every slight, every injustice we endure for His sake will be made right in His resurrection.

Thesis IX — To the preaching office there is due respect as well as unconditional obedience when the preacher uses God’s Word. Yet the preacher has no dominion in the church. Therefore, he has no right to introduce new laws or arbitrarily to establish adiaphora or ceremonies in the church. The preacher has no right to inflict and carry out excommunication alone, without the preceding knowledge of the whole congregation.

You cannot serve God and mammon. One gives death, the other gives life. One enslaves, the other frees. One deceives, the other tells the truth. One ends in the grave, the other opens the grave to eternal life. So do not despair. Do not lose hope. The world may cling to mammon, but Christ clings to you. He is not letting go. He has fought for you, He still fights for you, and He will not stop until you are safe in His kingdom. And in the end, that is all that matters.

The Church falters when Christians refuse to pray, confess, and reconcile in conflict, but Christ’s unyielding mercy calls them to lay their grievances at the altar and be made whole.

So when Jesus touches the leper, He gives a preview of the cross. There, He Himself will become the leper. He Himself will be numbered among the unclean. He Himself will be cut off, forsaken, and condemned. He will cry out, not “Unclean!” but “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And in that moment, He bears your uncleanness so that you may be clean. That is what He gives you even now. Jesus still reaches out and touches you. He does it in the means He has appointed—His Word and His Sacraments.

Thesis VIII — The preaching office is the highest office in the Church, from which flow all other offices in the Church.

The call was not complicated. It was simple: “Follow me.” No explanation, no conditions, no delay. And Matthew rose and followed. That is how Christ works. He does not wait for the righteous to come to Him. He comes to the unrighteous. He does not gather the clean, but the dirty. He does not call the healthy, but the sick. He calls sinners. And when He calls, His Word creates what it commands.

This is Jesus: the Spirit-anointed Servant, chosen and beloved of the Father, who does not conquer by shouting, does not redeem by politicking, does not establish His kingdom by power plays. He redeems by mercy. He conquers by weakness. He saves by suffering.

You don’t love God. You don’t love your neighbor. But Jesus does. Jesus loves His Father completely, and Jesus loves His neighbor completely. And then He dies for every failure of yours. He dies for the times you looked away. He dies for the grudges you still carry. He dies for the names you called people in your heart. He dies for your selfishness, your coldness, your Cain-heart. And in exchange, He gives you His heart. His Spirit. His love. Paul says in Romans 5: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” You don’t love by nature. You love by gift. And the gift is Jesus.

Thesis VII — The holy preaching office is the authority, conferred by God through the congregation as the possessor of the priesthood and of all churchly authority, to exercise the rights of the spiritual priesthood in public office on behalf of the congregation.

And this is your hope: what He begins here, He will complete on the Last Day. The blind shall see, the deaf hear, the mute sing, the dead rise. For the same Jesus who opened eyes and loosed tongues has conquered death itself. “Behold, I am making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). Therefore, we join the blind men in their prayer: “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” This is the Church’s daily cry. In sickness, in sorrow, in sin—we cry for mercy. And Christ answers. Not always with a miracle of healing, but always with forgiveness, always with His presence, always with the promise of resurrection.

In our busy world full of distractions and daily hustle, it's easy to forget about that amazing book on your shelf or in your phone app: the Bible. As a Lutheran, I believe in Sola Scriptura—that Scripture alone is the top authority for faith and life. But this isn't just for Lutherans; it's a great call for all Christians. Whether you've been following Jesus for years or are just starting to check it out, digging into God's Word can change your life, bring you closer to Christ, and help you handle whatever comes your way. Let's chat about why making time for Bible study is so important—and not just a nice idea.

Thesis VII — The holy preaching office is the authority, conferred by God through the congregation as the possessor of the priesthood and of all churchly authority, to exercise the rights of the spiritual priesthood in public office on behalf of the congregation.

As Jesus cried out, “Ephphatha!” more ears were opened and more tongues confessed. Within eleven years, the congregation had grown so that it called its first teacher, Jakob Brater, to assist the pastor in opening the children’s ears to Christ and His Word. In that same year, some of our own who lived closer to Cascade began a new congregation there. And through fire and plague and Civil War, Jesus continued to open ears and loosen tongues, with new buildings, new congregations, and pastor after pastor. His Word went out and the people of Sherman Center “were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well. He makes both the deaf to hear and the mute to speak’” (Mk 7:37).

As we approach Labor Day, it’s worth considering the value of our work. When we think of holy work, our minds often go to pulpits and altars, to missionaries in distant lands or saints who lived extraordinary lives of sacrifice. Yet Martin Luther, in his Small Catechism and throughout the Lutheran Confessions, while upholding church vocations, reminds us that the work of parents, farmers, teachers, mechanics, and office clerks is no less sacred. In fact, it is precisely in these everyday tasks that God delights to serve His world.