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

Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
03/11/14

Proclaim the Good News (to Children)

Why is it that we are so afraid to give the message of grace to our little ones? We bombard their ears with law on a constant basis.
Rick Ritchie
Rick Ritchie
03/10/14

Life Together Under the Cross (Part 2)

As with many teachings, the Lutheran teaching on Mutual Conversation and Consolation of the Brethren fits in with other teachings. The various teachings don’t stand alone, but they fit together as an organic whole.
Rick Ritchie
Rick Ritchie
02/26/14

Life Together Under the Cross (Part 1)

One of the strongest elements in the evangelicalism of my youth has a place in Lutheranism that might be surprising to many. This is what our confessions call “The Mutual Conversation and Consolation of the Brethren."
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/21/14

Look Who I Found in the Grave

God must kill me. He’s got to slay me, put me six feet under, and shovel dirt atop my corpse. Then, it’s like, “Hey, I finally understand! You’re God and I’m not.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/04/14

“There Goes My Life”: A Father's Day Reflection

One day I walked about that place I had tried to make home. I realized it was a prison cell of my own devising.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/09/14

Chewing on the Bible

But unlike fish, there was actual pleasure in the prolonged chewing of this food. For the longer it remained in my mouth, the better it tasted, the more pronounced became its flavor, the more nourishment I received from each bite. This food is the bread on which Jesus survived during his forty days of temptation in the wilderness.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/12/13

No-Man Remembered

Today, and every day, he wears a crown and every angel in heaven knows him by name.
Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
11/20/13

Friends

Have you ever experienced the awkwardness of meeting someone you really enjoy and thinking that it was the start of beautiful friendship, only to find out that they didn’t feel the same way?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/23/13

Following the Trail of Blood: Words for the Church as Reformation Looms Nigh

O such is the crumbling fortress of the god of this world, but how it entices our flesh! For it looks like a house of candy to the Hansels and Gretels who wander through this world.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/22/13

Waking up with Leah: Learning to Love a Disappointing Church

Like the patriarch, Jacob, who after his wedding night, awoke to the wrong wife in his bed, I too one day opened my eyes to find that the Rachel with whom I had fallen in love, for whom I'd labored long years, was not the one beside me as the sun rose.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/07/13

Barefoot Before God: Holy Space for a Holy God

The place where God appears or dwells ceases to be common ground; it becomes holy. Dust, rocks, vegetation, wood, metals, everything roundabout soaks in his sacredness.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/24/13

The Angels Carry a Concealed Weapon: A Sermon on St. Michael and All Angels

Their tongue is our shield, for the weapon of angels is the word of their Lord. Revelation 12 says Michael and his angels fought against the Dragon and his angels. And how did they overcome him? By the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.
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