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

Martin Luther
Martin Luther
06/18/19

Vice, Virtue & the Christian

Naturally each individual forgets the beam in his own eye and perceives only the mote in his neighbor’s. One will not bear with the faults of the other; each requires perfection of his fellow.
Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
06/12/19

Stop Sign Theology

All I need to know about your spiritual condition, I can discover by watching you drive your car. What I’ve learned is that everyone is a lawbreaker, including me. It’s as simple as asking a few short questions about your driving habits...
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
06/06/19

Sunday Before Pentecost

The following is an excerpt from “A Year of Grace: Collected Sermons of Advent through Pentecost” written by Bo Giertz and translated by Bror Erickson (1517 Publishing, 2019).
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
05/31/19

Luther's Counsel on Persecution

While most of his letters were written as semi-private counsel and consolation, some, like the “Letter to the Christians of Miltenburg” were written openly for public consumption.
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
05/24/19

Luther's Counsel for the Bereaved

For Luther, Jesus does something much better for those who grieve than simply identify with them: He brings suffering and evil to an end in His own death.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
05/22/19

Dante and Our Obsession with Hell

Throughout the centuries, “Inferno” has also played a large role in the development of Christianity, particularly in the Western Medieval church.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
05/08/19

Heresy, Deconstruction, and What to Do About It

When orthodoxy becomes a Law, heterodoxy can feel like the Gospel.
Dan van Voorhis
Dan van Voorhis
05/03/19

George Whitefield Arrives in America

He is significant, not as a founder of his own movement, but for setting the procrustean bed of the particularly American church with its dogmatizing yet broad ecumenical stances.
Valerie Thur
Valerie Thur
04/12/19

The Day of Choosing

This day was a day of choosing. On this day, Jewish households would select their Passover lambs (Ex. 12:3-6). The lambs had to be without blemish, the best of the best.
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
04/11/19

Church Membership and the Gospel

Being a member of a church connects people to the whole reason the church has for existing: that we might obtain justifying faith in Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament.
Martin Luther
Martin Luther
04/09/19

The Truly Good Shepherd

You have heard that after his sufferings and death Christ our Lord arose from the dead and entered upon, and was enthroned in, an immortal existence.
Mark Mattes
Mark Mattes
04/09/19

A Q&A with Mark Mattes on Law and Gospel in Action: Foundations, Ethics and Church

The Gospel restores us to our true humanity, embeds us in the body of Christ, feeds us with Christ’s own body, and offers us a community.
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