The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down
By Bradley Gray
10/02/25
23mins

The Consuming Fire and the Holiness That Comes Down

He doesn’t consume us, even though that is what we deserve. Instead, Jesus comes down to us and consumes all our sin by taking it on himself.
When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/01/25

When Pastors Are Abused by Their Congregations

This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/30/25

An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

The following entries are excerpts from Chad Bird’s new book, Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of the Psalms (1517 Publishing, 2025), pgs. 311 and 335

All Articles

Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
01/16/17

Law-Abiding Citizens

Among the things that perturb me about modern Christianity is our residual clinging to a sort of “Christian-karma.”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/11/17

Birds in the Pulpit

The preacher does not merely send out the raven. From the pulpit flies forth the dove of the Gospel.
Bob Hiller
Bob Hiller
01/06/17

When Old Adam Fences the Table

I grew up with a great deal of guilt. It still keeps me up at night. For one reason or another, I was convinced I hadn’t done enough to be loved by God.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/05/17

Christ's Bride Doesn't Need Botox

Hers is not a beauty of breathtaking cathedrals, stained glass, or towering arches, but of a body.
Joel Hess
Joel Hess
01/05/17

The Church is not a Hospital for Sinners, It's a Morgue for the Dead

It is the strangest of morgues—people arrive dead as doornails and leave alive.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/03/17

Baptism Foreshadowed in Old Testament Narratives

Old Testament narratives foreshadowed the gifts that our Father gives us in baptism.
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
12/29/16

A Bridegroom of Blood

The arrangement was made with Abraham when God claimed for Himself all of his being, and put the seal of His promise upon the most personal member of his anatomy.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
12/27/16

Where There Is No Gospel...

Can one still find a church that teaches that Christianity, and the Christian life, can be summed up as: "We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone?"
Joel Hess
Joel Hess
12/22/16

Where Is Jesus?

In his Gospel account, Luke challenges us to play "Where is Jesus?"
Paul Dunk
Paul Dunk
12/12/16

Grace Came Down

God coming to us at Christmas encapsulates the essence of Christian faith: we don't make ourselves strong and then work our way up to a strong God.
Larry D. Hughes
Larry D. Hughes
12/07/16

"God Said, 'Take'"

The devil is effective with this attack because it calls out all the things a Christian sinner experiences as simultaneous sinner and saint.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/03/16

Two Ways to Launch Your Career in the Self-Salvation Business

Sometimes we try be the bad god, sometimes the good god, oftentimes a freaky hybrid of both. The result is the same: Jesus the savior just gets in our way.
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