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

Bradley Gray
Bradley Gray
01/16/17

Law-Abiding Citizens

Among the things that perturb me about modern Christianity is our residual clinging to a sort of “Christian-karma.”
RJ Grunewald
RJ Grunewald
12/13/16

Grace In The Shadows

On the television show Portlandia—a satirical comedy centered on hipster culture in Portland, Oregon—one episode highlights a conversation between the characters as Carrie and Alexandra look through Fred’s endless photo album of the places he’s traveled.
Paul Dunk
Paul Dunk
12/12/16

Grace Came Down

God coming to us at Christmas encapsulates the essence of Christian faith: we don't make ourselves strong and then work our way up to a strong God.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/30/16

Gospel Phobia

If the devil took over a church, I suspect it would be bursting at the seams every Sunday, with smiling faces, clean noses, straight morals, conservative voting, institutional fidelity
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley
11/08/16

The Hard Reset: Rediscovering God's Word

It's easy to forget that today, just like then, most people who laud Luther publicly as a reformer, revolutionary, and so on, secretly reject his teaching because it's too much to take.
Rod Rosenbladt
Rod Rosenbladt
10/31/16

What Drove Luther's Hammer?

This evening we will together take a very abbreviated look at what led Luther down the long road to the discovery of the Gospel.
Steven A. Hein
Steven A. Hein
10/31/16

Human Depravity: The Doctrine on which Justification Stands or Falls

Lose trust in the free grace of the righteousness of Christ alone, and the holiness of the Church and all in her is lost.
RJ Grunewald
RJ Grunewald
08/19/16

Calling "Bull" On Theology

It’s time to call bull on a theology the dominates Christianity.
Larry D. Hughes
Larry D. Hughes
08/09/16

The Reality of Sin, Death, and Forgiveness

When we explain away God’s Word, we jettison the reality of our ominous diagnosis in the “Thou shall/shall nots” of the law, and with it the sweet cure in the, “This is My body/blood” of the Gospel.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/14/16

Your Own Personal Bible—And Other Insanities

We treat the Scriptures as if they’re our literary property to toy with as we please.
Bonnie Petroschuk
Bonnie Petroschuk
05/30/16

First, the Bad News

Either one of those verses alone is scary; but both of them together are terrifying!
Jeff Mallinson
Jeff Mallinson
05/24/16

When Church is Like Comedy Traffic School

At our churches must remain focused on the deep kick, the real deal, the thing itself. I’m not the first on this site to remind us that this is Christ himself.
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