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

Pete Lange
Pete Lange
12/11/19

Joy to the World

All creation joins together to repeat the sounding joy.
Kathy Morales
Kathy Morales
12/10/19

The God Who Won’t Repent

God will not repent. He will not repent of His promises. He will not change His mind regarding His selfless, self-sacrificing, inconceivable love for sinners.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
12/09/19

Gospel: Matthew 11:2-15 (Advent 3: Series A)

There he sat, awaiting his executioner. John looked around at what God and His Messiah were not doing, and even the greatest among those born of woman had his doubts. “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?”
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
12/05/19

The Good News That We're Not Good Enough

Our actions, moral choices, appearance, definitions of family and friendship are all defined by how we see ourselves in relation to the question, "Am I good enough?"
Kyle G. Jones
Kyle G. Jones
12/04/19

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

Despite its familiarity and frequent usage, the imagery in "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel," is often underappreciated.
Peter Nafzger
Peter Nafzger
12/02/19

Gospel: Matthew 3:1-12 (Advent 2: Series A)

The problem is not that we are unrepentant. The problem is our contrition is too small.
Pete Lange
Pete Lange
11/22/19

Back In Time

JFK was not the only national figure who died on November 11, 1963. Though his death certainly took up most of the headlines, the acclaimed writers C.S. Lewis and Aldous Huxley also died that day as well.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
11/19/19

World's Strongest Man

God comes to fix what is broken by being broken himself. He abolishes death by dying. He subsumes sin by being made sin itself.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
11/18/19

Gospel: Luke 23:27-43 (The Last Sunday in the Church Year: Series C)

God invites us to have intimate conversations in a world filled with mockery and hate. To trust Jesus reigns whenever and wherever He extends a word of promise to the displaced and the disfavored, welcoming them home.
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
11/14/19

21st Century Digital God

Our smartphones, tablets, and laptops tempt us to enter into a virtual world without flesh and blood. A world without concrete, real consequences. No real pain or suffering, and no actual death.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
11/11/19

Gospel: Luke 21:5-28 (Pentecost 23: Series C)

Jesus offer us this vision of violence not so we might be drawn into it but so we might be drawn through it to come closer to Him.
David Schmitt
David Schmitt
11/04/19

Gospel: Luke 20: 27-40 (Pentecost 22: Series C)

If the resurrection were just a repetition of this world, then it would be ridiculous, indeed. But the resurrection is different. It is a world without death.
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