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
07/10/16

The Story of the Better-Than-Good Samaritan

Attacked by sin, robbed by Satan, lacerated by death—there we lay, unable to help ourselves. Yet He helps us who can never help ourselves.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
07/07/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 4: The Dialect of Worship)

We are continuing our summer series on a theology of worship through the lens of language. Before moving forward, let me highlight a few points by way of review.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
07/06/16

Hillary's Emails: Collective Anger and a Scandalous Kingdom

It’s a miracle anyone believes the Gospel. It goes against everything else we believe in.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/30/16

Dear Church: The World Needs a Cross Not a Pacifier

Why was Jesus crucified? Not to save victims, but to save sinners.
Scott Keith
Scott Keith
06/25/16

Celebrating the Anniversary of the Augsburg Confession

The time constrained authoring of the Augustana caused great angst, for the part of Melanchthon that was never satisfied with his own literary output.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/24/16

Bible Verses That Haunt Me

The dying words of Jesus were not, “Make it worth it,” but “It is finished.”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/14/16

God's War Animal

No, when the Lord is ready for battle, of all creatures, he commissions Mary’s little lamb.
Brian W. Thomas
Brian W. Thomas
06/14/16

What's The Big Deal About The Liturgy? (Part 3: The Syntax of Worship)

Like any language, the liturgy has syntax—a structure that provides order and intelligibly communicates meaning through all that is said.
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
06/13/16

God’s Fixed Courtroom

A crisis of faith always occurs when we begin to believe that God has betrayed us.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/10/16

We Need Less Goliath and More Bathsheba

I became like God’s child David, whom the Lord pardoned of his adultery and murder. I became like Noah, Abraham, Judah, Aaron, Gideon, and so many more wayward children.
Bruce Hillman
Bruce Hillman
06/06/16

Banjaxed

Stephen Fry, the English actor, author and game show host once disparaged the “grammar Nazis” who felt it necessary to enforce all the rules of language but who had forgotten, or just didn’t care, about the joy of language.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
06/05/16

Jesus Is Not a Life Coach

We're of little faith. Or rather, we have big faith, but it’s in something else. Our faith is in our ability to control situations, manipulate them to our advantage.
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