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

Joel Hess
Joel Hess
12/09/16

Spending Advent in God’s Winter Garden

So it is with my little garden as well; dead, so it would seem. Nothing. Barren.
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
12/07/16

In Our Time of Need

Have you ever grown despondent from trying so hard to stop behaving in certain destructive ways, but always failing?
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
12/06/16

Isn't There Anywhere A Person Can Be Still?

This time of year, Christmas time, the world isn't so much Christ-expectant as it is Christ-haunted.
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.
Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
11/30/16

Forget Not All His Benefits

I have the easiest time remembering all the good things I have done. How I was kind in the face of anger.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/20/16

The Naked How and the Fleshy Why

Over and over, generation after generation, sinners repeat the same mistake. "How is it possible that God can be a man," we ask.
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
10/13/16

Like a Frightened Dog

My husband and I just adopted Duke, a very cute beagle mix, from a nearby shelter. He is about three years old and was found wandering in a park several months ago.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
10/13/16

The Gardener's Blood, The Fruit of Brambles

They were incapable of covering their shame. They knew what they'd done was evil, but since they were only "like" God, there was no way for them to go back and replace evil with good.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/11/16

Some of the Best People Are Not Christians

Christians are Christians not because of anything that they have done but because of everything Christ has done for them.
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
10/10/16

Please, Sing to Me!

I once heard an old, retired Lutheran professor give in interview on a podcast. He was asked by the interviewer why people should bother going to church if they could just be saved through a personal relationship with Jesus?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/07/16

Reading Life Backward: Why Hebrew is the Language of the Cross

Read your life like a Hebrew, from the end to the beginning, and you will see that the last is first. The dead are alive, the cursed are blessed, the humble are exalted.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/06/16

Mr. Ritual and Ms. Grace: The Ideal Marriage

We who fall within the Protestant camp of Christianity have longstanding issues with ritual. I get that. Ritual is often abused. Idolatrized. It can easily devolve into a hollow act of religious farce.
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