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

Dominick Santore
Dominick Santore
01/23/15

Gospel Transparency

Sometimes I think transparency is the bastard child of Christianity. Everyone is willing to talk about transparency (and its cousin, accountability), but when it walks into the room and stays awhile, most people pretend it doesn’t exist.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/20/15

Preachers With Soiled Résumés

Headhunters have a straightforward job. There’s a position to fill, usually in the corporate world, so they hunt down a candidate for that position.
Daniel Emery Price
Daniel Emery Price
01/08/15

Who Puts His Hand to the Plow?

“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” These are the words of Jesus to a man who promised to follow him after saying good-bye to his family in Luke 9:62. Tough stuff.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/05/15

I Am Not Unbroken

I thought I had it all together. I had my life figured out. Even though outwardly I was serving God, inwardly I served only the god named Ego. My heart was the shrine at which I bowed the knee.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/03/15

My Secret Struggle with Atheism: Seeking Answers to the Wrong Questions

That’s what I mean when I say that I’ve struggled with atheism. And still do. The suffering me becomes the questioning me who becomes the doubting me who becoming the unbelieving me.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/16/14

Taking the Road More Traveled By: The Benefit of Tradition in the Church

Ultimately, however, I fell in love with traditions—and specifically, traditional worship—for a single, overarching reason: its components, to varying degrees, are all in the service of the Gospel.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/06/14

The Death of the Sons of David

Yet as we mourn, but unlike those who have no hope, so also we repent, but unlike those who have no absolution. For we though we weep, there is a hand that dries all tears.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/04/14

The Day God Wrapped Up Yom Kippur

From creator to priest, our God now moves, from forming animals to slaying them, all so that His Adam and His Eve might remain truly His.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
09/11/14

The Polygamous, Incestuous, Murderous Collection of Screw-ups God Called the Holy Family

The pains and disappointments in life are teaching you the hard truth that God has a warm place in His heart for happy families.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
08/26/14

The Radical Path to Self-Discovery: Finding Your True Self in Death

I didn’t know it, in fact I consciously rejected it, but the truth is that throughout those years, both in times of success and failure, God was up to something.
Scott Keith
Scott Keith
07/25/14

On Being Dad: A Tribute to Dr. Rod Rosenbladt

It was by listening closely to Dr. Rosenbladt's words and watching his quiet actions that one could learn many things about being a dad.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/11/14

Please Don’t Say These Six Things at My Funeral

Because I do care now, and will care even after I’m with the Lord, here are some things I hope and pray are not said at my funeral. I care about those who will be there, about what they will hear.
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