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

Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
04/29/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 1: Basic Grammar)

Over the next few months, I invite you to join me in looking at what the Bible and the Lutheran Confessions have to say about the subject of worship through the lens of language.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/19/16

Church and the Toilet Flush

Burdened within and without, we cross the threshold into church. We don't leave behind our earthiness, our tragedies, our white-knuckled grip on the last vestige of dignity in our sad lives.
Larry D. Hughes
Larry D. Hughes
04/14/16

Why Do The Youth Leave The Church?

This story is all-too-common, and illustrates a key dynamic driving the youth out of church.
Daniel Emery Price
Daniel Emery Price
04/11/16

Sinners Get To Wear White

Years ago a young woman approached her pastor with a request. It wasn’t a strange request. She simply asked if he would perform her wedding ceremony.
Cindy Koch
Cindy Koch
04/06/16

Easter 101 with Satan

Before you ever know what happened, Satan has taught us to doubt the promise of the crucified and risen Christ.
Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
03/31/16

Repentant Enough

If you’ve been in church long enough, you might have seen the worst of someone’s unrepentant sin get them kicked out, cast out, excommunicated or “handed over to Satan so their flesh might die and their soul might live.”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/22/16

Putting a Gag Order on the Gospel

The first person who attempted to stop people from talking about Jesus was not a tyrant, a secular government, or a bully religious mob.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/03/16

Dirty Little Secrets

Your sins do not exist because He who called heaven and earth into existence, has called your sins out of existence. He who made everything from nothing unmakes your sins into nothing.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/01/16

New Life Begins in the Dark

We spend the first nine months of our lives in utter darkness. There are no tiny fluorescent bulbs beaming from the ceiling of the womb, no fetal flashlights, not even a pinprick of illumination.
Scott Keith
Scott Keith
02/22/16

Concerning the Gospel

The term Gospel came to mean a new kind of proclamation so that the Law and the new doctrine [Gospel] are distinguished in such a way that the new doctrine gains primary influence.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/21/16

Our Precious Sins We Don't Want God to Forgive

We hang on to our sins not despite the fact that they hurt, but precisely because they do hurt. We need to hurt, to fret over them, to cry over them, to make amends over them, because by doing so, we will grease the wheels of God’s forgiveness.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/17/16

Weaning Christians Off the Gospel

Really, once you’ve heard and believed the Gospel, the goal now is to learn more and more about the law of God, so that you can mature into a commandment-keeping, law-loving, obedient disciple of Jesus. Right?
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