The Hermit and the Blackbird
By Donavon Riley
03/27/26
11mins

The Hermit and the Blackbird

Lent exists because we are forgetful creatures. We forget how hungry we really are.
Getting Over Your Moral Superiority
Daniel Emery Price
Daniel Emery Price
03/26/26

Getting Over Your Moral Superiority

The Pharisee valued fasting and giving tithes, but could not find value in his fellow sinner.
The Original Sin of Preaching: The Constant Craving for a Useful God in Pulpit and Pew
Magnus Persson
Magnus Persson
03/25/26

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.

All Articles

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/16/16

Unhappy Father's Day: When Dads Are Failures

There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
Mark Jasa
Mark Jasa
06/16/16

How Do You Measure If Evangelism Is Working?

We all began by hearing the truth, and then speaking the truth and believing the truth. That truth came to us on the lips of another.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/14/16

God's War Animal

No, when the Lord is ready for battle, of all creatures, he commissions Mary’s little lamb.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
06/14/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 3: The Syntax of Worship)

Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/10/16

We Need Less Goliath and More Bathsheba

I became like God’s child David, whom the Lord pardoned of his adultery and murder. I became like Noah, Abraham, Judah, Aaron, Gideon, and so many more wayward children.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/07/16

Five Failures I Hope to Achieve Before I Die

I have my list. It may seem strange to you, but, when I think about my own death, I often think in terms of positive failures.
Kathy Morales
Kathy Morales
06/07/16

Real Strength

God cannot love me unconditionally without prerequisites, especially after all I’ve done, can He?
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
06/06/16

Can You Be a Christian Without Your Rituals and Traditions?

Take away the water, words, bread and wine. Can you be a Christian without water, words, bread and wine?
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
05/30/16

First, the Bad News

Either one of those verses alone is scary; but both of them together are terrifying!
Sam P. Schuldheisz
Sam P. Schuldheisz
05/27/16

Heidelberg and Hobbiton: Theology of the Cross in Middle-earth

As the story unfolds we see Luther’s Heidelberg theses on display, even before the Fellowship leaves Rivendell.
Jeff Mallinson
Jeff Mallinson
05/24/16

When Church is Like Comedy Traffic School

At our churches must remain focused on the deep kick, the real deal, the thing itself. I’m not the first on this site to remind us that this is Christ himself.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/19/16

God, You Lied to Me: A Pastor's Struggle

He has wandered away into the darkness of his doubting, got lost in his grief, confused by the pains he’s suffered. It happens. Shepherds sometimes become lost sheep as well.
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