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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Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/22/14

Why I Don't Want to Go Back in Time Anymore

The thing is, not only is fixing our past impossible; who’s to say we wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes? In fact, who’s to say we wouldn’t make matters even worse?
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/12/14

What Would You Want for Your Last Meal?

I am lord of all I eat. I lord it over meat, potatoes, pecan pie. I make those foods serve my body, transforming them into me. But it is not so with the meal of Jesus.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
04/03/14

All Sins Are Forgiven, But Some Are More Forgiven Than Others

In this particular church, all sins are forgiven, but some sins are more forgiven than others.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/27/14

Scandalous, Damnable Divine Love: Jonah Takes God to Task

I hoped like mad they’d spit in my face and laugh me all the way out of town. I wouldn’t have even cared if a mob of them had beat me to death in a back alley. But heavens no, I couldn’t be that lucky.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
03/05/14

The Wife Who Gave Up: Mrs. Job’s Beautifully Untrue Words

Of all the words this woman ever spoke, these alone are chiseled forever into the stone of holy writ, and into the church’s memory. Mrs. Job becomes the patron saint of quick-tongued women.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
02/06/14

Punching the Vicar in the Face: One of the Best Years of His Ministry

Mr. Jones didn’t see fit to return the greeting. Or the smile. He stopped a few paces away and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “What do y’all want?”
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
01/27/14

A Tale of Two Sodoms: The Difficulty of Escaping from Our Past

It shows the extent to which an environment of iniquity can seep into the souls of believers, transforming them from the inside out, so that even when they “flee to the mountains,” like Lot and his girls, they take Sodom with them.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/19/13

"I Would Have Surrendered My Bethlehem Hotel Room to Mary and Joseph" and Other Self-Serving Fantasies

But when I let my mind go there, in truth all I’m doing is this: bellying up to the bar of sentimentality to drink my fill of falsehoods that leave me intoxicated with feelings of saintly superiority.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
12/09/13

The Uncivilized Baptist: Why John Beckons Us to the Wilderness

Why does John make you uncomfortable? You know. It’s not just the clothing; it’s not only the hair; it’s not even really the diet. John the Baptist is uncivilized—that’s the problem.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/26/13

God Doesn't Celebrate Thanksgiving: A Turkey Day Reflection

Eat, yes, but season your turkey with the ashes of repentance as it preaches just how little your faith is, just how little you trust God, just how little you believe the Father is good to you.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
11/22/13

Norman Rockwell's Nightmare: The Screwed Up Biblical Family

There is no whitewashing of evil within the biblical family. The sheer fact that it is recorded, that of all the events in these people’s lives, these were chosen to be chiseled into the stone of the church’s remembrance, tells us something.
Chad Bird
Chad Bird
10/30/13

Burying the Hatchet: Why Forgiving Others Is So Hard Yet So Liberating

I believe, however, that lurking behind every reason we don't forgive is one fundamental impulse: the desire, real or perceived, to control the offender.
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