This article is the first part of a two-part series. The second part will take a look at when pastors abuse their congregations.
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
Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?

All Articles

God picks the unexpected and the unlikely, and goes to the unforeseen places, stacking the odds against himself, in order that age after age might stand in open-mouthed wonder at his sovereignty in and over all things.
What God created, God will grow. We don’t add a few stitches onto his creation.
Green is the color for “ordinary time” in the liturgical church year. It's the regular time of year that always gets overshadowed by other seasons such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter.
Hypocrisy continues to rear its head as the formalistic worship and worshippers neglect their LORD and their neighbor.
Is this text about marriage or Jesus? The answer should be obvious by now: Yes!
No longer do we read about Jesus promising to satisfy and raise and abide in His people. Instead, we encounter a Jesus who goes on the attack.
So many distractions—so many false and foreign gods—so many side paths and rabbit trails. What choice, what decision? Who will we follow?
God’s Word of forgiveness, new life in baptism, and life given in the Lord’s Supper direct our lives in this world of sin and cause us to follow Christ’s light through the darkness.
Jesus, the Son of God from all eternity, the agent of creation, the Savior of all people, promises to abide IN His people.
The Old Testament is a long, strange book that’s not easy for modern readers to understand. What is understandable, therefore, is that people can get lost and confused when studying it. Here are three common misconceptions about it.
God will give you more than you can handle. But he doesn’t leave you alone. Not at all.
Instead of providing a way out, the LORD gave Elijah a way through, which included the calling of Elisha as his apprentice.