An Excerpt from Untamed Prayers: Psalm 123 and Psalm 136

By Chad Bird

09/30/25

8mins

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

Amy Mantravadi

09/29/25

St. Michael, Defender of God’s People

Why did the church dedicate a day to St. Michael anyway? Who is he, and what does he do?

1517 Guest Contributor

09/26/25

Yardwork and the Antichrist

The Antichrist offers another continual presence. It is every whisper that tempts us toward autonomy, that tells us to carry it alone, that insists suffering is meaningless.

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Peter Nafzger

02/03/20

Gospel: Matthew 5:13-20 (Epiphany 5: Series A)

The followers of Jesus have a function to perform. When they do not perform it—that is, when they are not being themselves—the world suffers.

John Bombaro

02/03/20

Epistle: I Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) (Epiphany 5: Series A)

Paul says Christian faith means confessing Jesus is Lord, beginning at the Cross, and owning the historical fact that God raised Him from the dead.

Jeffrey Pulse

02/03/20

Old Testament: Isaiah 58:3-9a (Epiphany 5: Series A)

There are good, God-pleasing reasons to attend a Divine Service, but worship attendance can also be an action by which we try to earn or deserve the favor and love of God. This is an ongoing struggle in every worshiping community.

Gretchen Ronnevik

01/29/20

Your Bible Reading Plan Won't Save You

If I’m honest, I want that completed Bible reading plan more than I want grace.

Peter Nafzger

01/27/20

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12 (Epiphany 4: Series A)

Our first mistake in thinking about the blessed life is we expect to experience it fully in this life.

John Bombaro

01/27/20

Epistle: Hebrews 2:14-18 (The Purification of Mary but also the Presentation of Our Lord)

This passage, above all others, speaks most fully about Jesus as the elder brother, the firstborn, of a large family; the family of God the Father, Creator of humankind.

Jeffrey Pulse

01/27/20

Old Testament: Micah 6:1-8 (Epiphany 4: Series A)

A close examination of the entire life and ministry of Jesus reflects the Exodus event, and Jesus is the New Moses/the prophet like Moses.

Craig Donofrio

01/22/20

Let Us Sing Our Faith

We sing, and in so doing, we are blessed as we are instilled with the word of God in word and song.

Chad Bird

01/21/20

Neither Bootlicking Nor Pigheadedness: Freedom of Speech Before God

Sometimes believers vigorously debate God, sometimes they nod a silent Amen. Together, their narratives paint a picture of a life of faith characterized by complexity and tension.

Robert Kolb

01/20/20

Siegfried Sack’s Homiletics

Above all, pastors must aim their preaching at the people God has placed in the care of the pastor rather than airing pious ideas that did not speak to their situations.

Jeffrey Pulse

01/20/20

Old Testament: Isaiah 9:1-4 (Epiphany 3: Series A)

We preach, teach and confess the virgin birth, and rightly so, but the actual sign is not the Virgin giving birth, it is the Child who is born.

John Bombaro

01/20/20

Epistle: I Corinthians 1:10-18 (Epiphany 3: Series A)

The Church becomes anti-church when the new world order Christ inaugurated by eliminating demographic division through the commonality of Baptism is exploded by allegiance to cults of personality.

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