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

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/14/13

"Born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate": The Fourth Commandment and the Creed

When the angel told Mary she had become a mother, she replied simply, ''Let it be to me according to your word.'' Therein is a grateful acknowledgment that the Creator had formed life in her womb.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/19/13

Enemies with Benefits

Indeed, our Lord pronounced no beatitude upon the man who is loved by his wife and cherished by his children, but He does say, "Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, on account of Me," (Mt 5:11).
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/24/13

A Compartmentalized Life: Keeping God in His Place

I don’t need to watch a blood-soaked story on CNN or visit someone of death row to familiarize myself with the beast of depravity crouched within the human heart. I just need to look in the mirror, to stare deeply into the eyes that are a window to a soul that has journeyed down dark paths whose only illumination comes from the fires of hell.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/16/13

When Fathers Are Failures

I lack the wisdom, and the experience, to counsel those who have been hurt so deeply. There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/10/13

"I Sure Hope SHE'S listening to this sermon!"

She against whom I preached, in her unexpected response actually “preached” to me three truths I have never forgotten.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/07/13

David, Bathsheba, and Jesus: Who Was the Greatest Sinner?

What kind of fool does what David did? What kind of fool ignores the riches spilling out of his pockets to steal the only penny a poor man has?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/14/13

The Spirit of the Old and New

The Spirit, who endowed the tabernacle architects with wisdom from on high, overshadows Mary's womb, the new holy of holies, where Wisdom is incarnate below.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/10/13

We Are All Beggars

We need not look the part to elicit divine compassion. We need not be on our knees, face downcast, eyes watery, voice quivering, to make sure we get heaven’s attention. We need not play the beggar before God.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/11/13

Let Him Who Is Without Sin

Let him feel the heft of stone cradled in his palm, and consider the gravity of guilt cast upon the hypocrite.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/14/13

The Temptation of Jesus

When Jesus was baptized, his Father’s voice fell from heaven, proclaiming, “You are my beloved Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased,” (Mk 1:11). But there in the wilderness it did not seem so, did it?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/23/13

“Still in the Loins of His Father”: Who Were You Before You Were Conceived?

If I am so bound up in the history of the first man, all the way back at the dawn of creation, how can I not also be bound up in the more recent history of my family?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/12/13

Rehearsing Confession

Never are we more Hollywood than when we admit wrongdoing. Our confession is scripted, edited, practiced. Move over Brad Pitt; I’ve got this role down pat, for it’s my version of me.
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