By Scott Keith - I did not immediately love J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I was a late comer to reading them (well into my college years), and I initially found them slow and hard to finish. After all: “and they were walking, and walking, and walking, … Continue reading I Am Frodo Baggins
By Paul Koch - So here we are again. One more time I’m here to tell you things that you already know. I don’t have any secret insight, no special revelation from God, just a reading from Mark’s Gospel (7:14-23) that speaks a truth we all know full well. This text gets quite literally to … Continue reading The Heart of the Problem
By Paul Koch - I have been to more than my fair share of weddings in my life. Now, the majority of weddings I’ve attended I wasn’t invited to see the spectacle, but I went because I was the officiant. I was there because I was asked to lead the ceremony, to take the bride … Continue reading Rise Up for the Bride
By Paul Koch - Our lives are full of words. They are as constant as the air we breathe and as persistent as the steps we take. Words shape our thoughts and fashion our dreams. They enable us to engage the world in meaningful and powerful ways. Now words can be tender and comforting but … Continue reading To Whom Shall We Go?
By Paul Koch - Deep down I have always been a fan of doing hard things. Not that I don’t thoroughly enjoy just lounging on the beach or getting in an afternoon nap. Rather, I believe if we simply default to the path of least resistance, to the easy and simple, we miss out on … Continue reading More Than You Can Handle
By Paul Koch - It has been an incredible week here at our church, Grace Lutheran. Now to be honest, this week of Vacation Bible School is often a week that is stressful and exhausting and marked by a certain amount of fear and trepidation. After all if you don’t have all the volunteers, all … Continue reading A Grand Discovery
By Paul Koch - When I was growing up, my parents took me to church. Church, as we understood it as children, was a place you went on Sunday mornings. It was a place with peculiar furniture: pews and a pulpit and lectern, not to mention the altar and the communion rail. It was a … Continue reading You Also
