The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
By Magnus Persson
03/25/26
12mins

The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew

God is not a tool in our hands. He does not exist to serve our goals, our metrics, or our platforms.
Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior
Russ Lackey
Russ Lackey
03/23/26

Even Chuck Norris Needed a Savior

The gospel isn’t for the strong but people who know they aren’t.
Post-Denominational Lutheranism
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
03/20/26

Post-Denominational Lutheranism

One great thing about our post-denominational age is that it has opened up opportunities to make common cause with other Lutherans who, despite their differences and eccentricities, can agree on some of the most important things.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/08/14

God Doesn't Look for the Right Kind of People to Believe

You think the sower sowed his seed in you because he saw such good soil, such a good, generous, noble person.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/02/14

Have We Made Christianity Too Easy?

Have we made Christianity too easy? No, God has made Christianity “too easy” because He has made it pure gift.
Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
06/28/14

I'll Get the Tip

It was happening again. I sat across from my dear friend at one of our favorite restaurants. We were finishing our glass of wine and eating the end of the sushi when the waitress approached.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/22/14

The Parable of Lazarus and the Poor Man

Seeing, we do not see. Our eyes are busy deceiving us 24/7, like two liars sunk into our faces, calling black white and white black. To see God's work in our world, our eyes must retire and our ears labor overtime.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/15/14

A Life Worth Living: A Tribute to My Father

From you, Dad, I learned that a man is truly a man when, as Ecclesiastes says, whatever his hand finds to do, he does it with all his might (9:10).
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
06/04/14

Christless Christianity in Church

I’ve come to realize at the tender age of 47 that sometimes church doesn’t work.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/23/14

Call Me Lazarus...One Year Later

I was angry at heaven, at earth, and everything in between, for my life and my love and my hopes had all gone wrong, terribly, irreversibly, wrong.
Steve Byrnes
Steve Byrnes
05/05/14

Christian Drinking: Wine that Overflows

The wine of communion is a gift from God and the blood of Christ we receive at the rail an inebriant that encourages and frees us.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/12/14

What Would You Want for Your Last Meal?

I am lord of all I eat. I lord it over meat, potatoes, pecan pie. I make those foods serve my body, transforming them into me. But it is not so with the meal of Jesus.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/03/14

All Sins Are Forgiven, But Some Are More Forgiven Than Others

In this particular church, all sins are forgiven, but some sins are more forgiven than others.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/02/14

I Haven’t Made Jesus My Personal Lord and Savior

I say I was dead before Jesus called me, but actually, I was worse off than that. Imagine a corpse who is at war with life, who is an enemy of the Life-giver. That was me.
Elyse Fitzpatrick
Elyse Fitzpatrick
03/31/14

There's My “Beautiful Mermaid”

“There’s my beautiful mermaid!” Those were the words spoken by my husband the other morning as he approached me while I waited by our car in the parking lot of the Y.
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