Pentecost and the Beautiful Mess of the Church
By Ryan Couch
06/06/25
15mins

Pentecost and the Beautiful Mess of the Church

Every time someone is baptized, every time bread is broken and wine poured, every time a sinner hears, “Your sins are forgiven in Christ,” Pentecost happens again.
Hymns at Midnight
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
06/05/25

Hymns at Midnight

They were still praying, trusting, and hoping. Why? Because they knew who was with them and who was for them: the risen Christ.
What Now?
Wade Johnston
Wade Johnston
06/04/25

What Now?

So Christ is risen, but what now?

All Articles

Kathy Morales
Kathy Morales
03/17/16

Tell the Easter Bunny How Much You’ve Grown

I was walking through a mall recently, and all the spring decorations and colors were starting to appear. It was refreshing to see the fresh colors and a change of scenery as I strolled through the mall.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/14/16

The Most Unusual Cemetery in America: New York City’s Hart Island and the Heart of Easter’s Lord

The Lord has a special place in his heart for those whom the world forgets. For the anonymous. For the rejected.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/28/16

Pastors Don't Always Want to Go to Church Either

For many, there are days when they’re as excited about going to work on Sunday morning as you are about going to work on Monday morning.
Rod Rosenbladt
Rod Rosenbladt
01/12/16

How To Choose Your Church

All other subjects—even Biblical subjects—were subservient to an accurate view of the Person and work of Jesus Christ for sinners.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/05/16

The River of Life and Death

The manna God provides is never tasty enough. God never lives up to your expectations. So silently or audibly you wish for an easier way.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/16/15

Rusting Chariots Found at the Bottom of Baptismal Fonts

He has Israel right where he wants them: a body of water in front of them, their enemies behind them, and God above them, ready to save. Our Lord is always undoing us that he might redo us, killing us that he might enliven us.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
12/08/15

Power in the Blood

But I remember that that’s how it ended. Words. Wine. Blood. A sudden halt to the conversation.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/07/15

Shielded by Blood

Behold the seemingly foolish ways of our wise God. He bids us embrace what appears impossible: that blood alone is our defense, that blood alone saves us from destruction, that the blood of a lamb is more than enough.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/02/15

Violence and the Church Go Way Back

We are like the spoiled children of kings who spit in the face of paupers on the street. We have been given so much, yet we treasure so little.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/29/15

Preaching from a Wheelchair: Dan Chambers and the Unhandicapped Gospel

Dan reminded me—in his words, in his patient suffering, through his unwavering faith in Christ, by his confidence in his baptism—that Jesus Christ does not abandon his own. No matter where they are, no matter what they’re going through, He is there.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/27/15

Six Words to Inscribe onto Your Heart

There has only been one baptism in the history of the world: the baptism of Jesus. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/25/15

The Best Time for a Pastor to Yawn During Worship

What if, while we were admitting all these serious infractions of the divine law, our pastor simply yawned?
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