Sacred Trash Pits and Holy Garbage
By Mark Duerr
09/24/26
14mins

Sacred Trash Pits and Holy Garbage

The Israelite God was different from all the other gods, thus, the worship of Yahweh differed from that of all other gods.
Psalm 15: Who Abides in God?
Steven Paulson
Steven Paulson
09/23/26

Psalm 15: Who Abides in God?

David finally found the truth that it was not his seed of kingship but the promise made to Abraham that made him holy. From that, David refused to be moved and wrote this Psalm by the necessity of the Spirit as the assurance of faith. The law never made a man holy, not even one as robust as David; yet faith did this great thing without lifting a finger.
Political Polarization and Cultural Christianity
John W. Hoyum
John W. Hoyum
09/18/26

Political Polarization and Cultural Christianity

Today, the longing for cultural Christianity on both the left and the right hearkens back to an older version of Christendom that was a mixed blessing for the church in the western world. The cultural mediation of Christian views on created order has certainly benefitted the civilization we’ve inherited. But the gospel itself isn’t something that can be reduced to cultural mediation either. Instead, the gospel as a message stands apart from all human accomplishments and achievements, no matter how beneficial they might be.

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Jessica Thompson
Jessica Thompson
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Inexhaustible Grace for Exhausted Women

Moms, your worth is not determined by what present you get on Mother’s Day. Everything that is true about you was said on the cross thousands of years ago.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
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The Night We Defeated God

His name’s Jacob. He’s not my first choice. I don’t care for Jacob. Never have. He’s got too much of me in him. He’s a liar and a cheat.
RJ Grunewald
RJ Grunewald
05/05/15

To Those Beaten Up by the Church

Bloody, bruised, and burnt out—our friends, family members, and coworkers are walking out of churches, giving up on God’s family, and at the same time giving up on the message that the Church has been entrusted with.
Scott Keith
Scott Keith
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The Lady Jesus Called a Dog

She had obviously heard about Jesus previously, maybe even from off-handed comments or even rumors. Her daughter was sick so she sought the gossiped-about Jesus as he was leaving for Tyre and Sidon.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/15/15

Married to the Cross in Divorce

In divorce God married me to the cross. I didn’t want it; indeed, I hated it. But upon my shoulders God laid it. The ring of nails. The veil of darkness. The kiss of death. When we are stripped of all the good we think we are and have, we come face to face with the evil within. We fight and wrestle and gasp and die and become nothing.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
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Who Are You? Why Are You Here?

Mark Twain would have been proud of me. He once quipped that the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you figure out why. Not only had I figured out why I came into this world; my answer defined me.
Brandon Hanson
Brandon Hanson
02/09/15

The "Matrix" Moment

Have you ever watched The Matrix? Crazy movie, right? The thing that continually keeps reminding me of that movie is the last thing you’d probably think of, even though the movie is rife with motifs, themes, and analogies of it.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
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Preachers with Soiled Resumes

Case in point: Jonah. Calling this man to be a prophet makes about as much as sense as hiring an executioner to be the CEO of a hospital.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
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The Dad Who Didn't Have to Be a Dad: Even God Needed a Father

The Son that He is sending into this world will need more than a mother; He needs a father.
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Misunderstanding Luther, St. Paul, or Both?

Martin Luther has proven to be one of the most important figures in church history in light of his teaching on justification, which resulted in the sixteenth-century Reformation. However, in our own day many are seeking to rethink Luther.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/26/14

Dumpster Diving for Good Deeds

One of the sad truths I realized about myself long ago is that I do nothing from completely spic-and-span motives. I mean nothing. When I hear someone say that they’re “utterly sincere” or they’re doing something “from pure motives,” I smell a lie.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/24/14

Everything I Needed to Know About Vocation I Learned at the Lord's Supper

We usually understand vocation in a very narrow sense; it’s your job, your “calling.” Vocation, however, is not so much what you do for a living but what Christ does through you for the living. It’s a 24/7 calling, not a 9 to 5 occupation.
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