Sacred Trash Pits and Holy Garbage
By Mark Duerr
09/24/26
14mins

Sacred Trash Pits and Holy Garbage

The Israelite God was different from all the other gods, thus, the worship of Yahweh differed from that of all other gods.
Psalm 15: Who Abides in God?
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
09/23/26

Psalm 15: Who Abides in God?

David finally found the truth that it was not his seed of kingship but the promise made to Abraham that made him holy. From that, David refused to be moved and wrote this Psalm by the necessity of the Spirit as the assurance of faith. The law never made a man holy, not even one as robust as David; yet faith did this great thing without lifting a finger.
Political Polarization and Cultural Christianity
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
09/18/26

Political Polarization and Cultural Christianity

Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.

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Steven A. Hein
Steven A. Hein
09/30/15

Christians Have A Secret: Good Works

Just how should we think about our good works in the Christian life of faith as we live that life before others... and before God?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/18/15

God Writes Straight With Crooked Lines

I stumbled down labyrinthine paths, crawled in and out of cavernous pits, got lost a million times, and somehow ended up a little farther down the road to healing. Yet in all those crooked lines I see the hand of God writing straight.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/10/15

The Nameless Little Girl Who Changed a General's Life

Ultimately, the lie we have believed is that God is like we are. He is not. Thank God that he is not. He is the Lord who reverses all our expectations.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/12/15

When God Drags His Feet

For most of us, waiting on God is not funny at all. It makes us wonder if he cares. If he has forgotten us. In our darkest hours, many even wonder if the atheists are right, if our prayers are nothing more than sick words vomited into an empty heaven.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/30/15

Climbing One Hundred and Nine Mountains

Rather than praying a lie by pretending all is well, this psalm places upon our lips a truthful plea. A godly complaint. These are God’s words, given as gifts to you, by which you can speak back to him.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/08/15

Learning Theology in the Devil’s Classroom

My best teacher, the instructor who taught me more theology than any other, has been the devil.
Erick Sorensen
Erick Sorensen
06/12/15

The Punisher: Preacher of Justice

Job’s friend Zophar had it up to here! He was done hearing Job defend himself in the midst of his suffering. Surely, Job must have done SOMETHING to bring all this calamity upon himself.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/09/15

What Is the Theology of the Cross?

His glory is made known precisely in the cross, His strength in weakness, His wisdom in folly, His exaltation in humiliation.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
05/15/15

Where’s Drunk, Naked Noah on the Sunday School Felt Board?

For the less we tell these stories of sin, the more it seems we are ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation of bad people.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/15/15

Married to the Cross in Divorce

In divorce God married me to the cross. I didn’t want it; indeed, I hated it. But upon my shoulders God laid it. The ring of nails. The veil of darkness. The kiss of death. When we are stripped of all the good we think we are and have, we come face to face with the evil within. We fight and wrestle and gasp and die and become nothing.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/26/15

The Dark Sacraments in My Jail Cell

I don’t mean simply that I “loved the darkness rather than the light because my deeds were evil,” as Jesus says (John 3:19). While that is true, there was deeper magic at work. I loved the darkness because I feared all the good things in the light.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/21/15

An Address to the Graduating Devils of Discordia Seminary

With regard to evil, your objective is not merely to tempt humans to do bad things. Yes, of course, there is profit in theft and adultery and such, but only if you follow through to the next step.
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