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

Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/19/16

The Cocktail of Worship and Doubt

But on the mountain in Galilee, where we encounter a very different side of God, doubts overtake us. Why?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/17/16

A High Feast Day for Failures and Fools

If you want to find God, he’s hiding in plain sight. Christ is in the very things that we would never select as a vessel befitting divinity.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/28/16

Pastors Don't Always Want to Go to Church Either

For many, there are days when they’re as excited about going to work on Sunday morning as you are about going to work on Monday morning.
Rod Rosenbladt
Rod Rosenbladt
01/12/16

How To Choose Your Church

All other subjects—even Biblical subjects—were subservient to an accurate view of the Person and work of Jesus Christ for sinners.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/05/16

The River of Life and Death

The manna God provides is never tasty enough. God never lives up to your expectations. So silently or audibly you wish for an easier way.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/16/15

Rusting Chariots Found at the Bottom of Baptismal Fonts

He has Israel right where he wants them: a body of water in front of them, their enemies behind them, and God above them, ready to save. Our Lord is always undoing us that he might redo us, killing us that he might enliven us.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/29/15

Preaching from a Wheelchair: Dan Chambers and the Unhandicapped Gospel

Dan reminded me—in his words, in his patient suffering, through his unwavering faith in Christ, by his confidence in his baptism—that Jesus Christ does not abandon his own. No matter where they are, no matter what they’re going through, He is there.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/27/15

Six Words to Inscribe onto Your Heart

There has only been one baptism in the history of the world: the baptism of Jesus. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/25/15

The Best Time for a Pastor to Yawn During Worship

What if, while we were admitting all these serious infractions of the divine law, our pastor simply yawned?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/18/15

A Sinning Church with a Preaching Problem

We are a sinning church with a preaching problem.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/13/15

The Door No One Can Walk Through

The water and blood that streamed forth from Christ, streams us back into him as we are buoyed up by the waves of baptism, through the wound, and into the body of God incarnate.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/05/15

How Do I Know My Name Is Written in the Book of Life?

Our Father does not bid us to turn inward, but outward, to the Son who is himself our unending Sabbath rest.
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