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

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/16/16

Showing Mercy to Former Ministers

I don’t care why you left the ministry—moral failure, congregational politics, burnout, whatever—the Christ whom you proclaimed has not left you.
Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
11/14/16

The Righteous Revenant’s Revenge

As an avid movie-goer, one of the ways Scripture comes alive for me is to picture the stories as if they were scenes and beats from a live-action movie.
Joel Hess
Joel Hess
10/30/16

The Reformation Will Not Be Televised

The same can be said of the Reformation. I have often heard both Roman Catholic and Lutheran brothers and sisters bemoan the celebration of the Reformation.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/07/16

Reading Life Backward: Why Hebrew is the Language of the Cross

Read your life like a Hebrew, from the end to the beginning, and you will see that the last is first. The dead are alive, the cursed are blessed, the humble are exalted.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/29/16

The Secret Weapon Angels (and Pastors) Carry to Protect Us

We need pastors who carry that same concealed weapon in their mouths, who are outfitted with the same word the angels have: the word steeped in divine blood, shed for you. That is all we need, for the word does it all.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/20/16

The One Hebrew Word You Don't Want to Forget

To forget ourselves is to remember another, that is, to act in such a way that benefits them. That’s the problem: we don’t.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/16/16

The Beginner's Guide to Giving Your Sin a Holy Name

Although I was too young to have mastered the skill of lying, I also knew that I couldn’t tell this woman the truth.
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
07/25/16

Ask or You Won’t Receive

Years ago a pastor friend of mine who felt betrayed by someone he trusted told me that he was under no biblical obligation to forgive his betrayer unless and until he asked for forgiveness.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/22/16

Church in Bed: Why Leave Home on Sunday Morning?

He lavishly pours out His rest in the waters of Baptism, in the spoken words of absolution from the pastor’s lips, in the preaching of the cross and resurrection, in the consumption of heavenly cuisine from the table at which He is host and meal.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/30/16

Dear Church: The World Needs a Cross Not a Pacifier

Why was Jesus crucified? Not to save victims, but to save sinners.
Bror Erickson
Bror Erickson
06/28/16

So Bad Even God Won't Forgive?

The authority God gives to men—to you and I as baptized believers in Christ—is to forgive sins, to free them from guilt, to free them from the power of sin.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/24/16

Bible Verses That Haunt Me

The dying words of Jesus were not, “Make it worth it,” but “It is finished.”
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