By Joel A. Hess –
Time and time again, I have had the privilege of advising my beautiful flock on determining God’s will in their lives. With great sincerity, they ask me how to decipher which college God wants them to attend, which career or job they should pursue, and even which person God wants them to marry!
By Jaime Nava –
Life is changing for me. I am moving states to begin a new position in St. Louis. I just had a second daughter born over a couple weeks ago. We’re selling the house and getting ready to move. It’s exciting but also sad. You see, I had to decide whether or not to stay at the congregation I served or to serve in St. Louis. I do not envy anyone with a call. It is hard.
By Scott Keith –
Grammar, logic, and rhetoric encompass the first three rules-based focuses of the seven liberal arts. As these disciplines are absorbed and accomplished together, they form the all-encompassing system for determining clarity and consistency of personal thought called the Trivium.
By Paul Koch –
St. Paul writes to the young preacher Timothy with words of encouragement and guidance. His words have been a blessing to countless pastors throughout the years even as they have been a comfort to the whole church of God as we struggle to receive and rejoice in the blessings of our life together. For while the church can be a place of immense joy and love and support, at times it can also be a place of division and separation and unrelenting judgment.
“Further, we say, we do not put the main emphasis on whether the person baptized believes or not, for in the latter case baptism does not become invalid. Everything depends on the Word and commandment of God. This is a rather subtle point, perhaps, but it is based upon what I have said, that baptism is simply water and God’s Word in and with each other; that is, when the Word accompanies the water, baptism is valid, even though faith is lacking. For my faith does not make baptism; rather, it receives baptism. Baptism does not become invalid if it is not properly received or used, as I have said, for it is not bound to our faith but to the Word.”
By Paul Nelson –
I was helping a group of colleagues host a happy hour at an annual collegial event earlier this week. They asked me to bartend and left the choice of libations up to me. Remembering the same event two years earlier, I knew that the most popular alcohol of choice by far had been rye and bourbon whiskey, so I decided to limit the menu to drinks with those as the main base. One option that I added to the list is one I’ve made before but have never been terribly impressed with – the mint julep.
By Bob Hiller –
What if your church had it all figured out? What if you had a perfectly dynamic pastor who preached challenging and inspirational sermons? What if those sermons were entirely orthodox and beautifully balanced Law and Gospel? What if your Bible studies were more engaging and thrilling? What if everyone in your small group ministry bought in perfectly to the model and you had record involvement? What if your music was liturgically sound and emotionally satisfying? What if you had tithing across the board? What if you had the perfect outreach plan and a superb assimilation program? What if your youth group perfectly equipped students for the world ahead with good theology and apologetics? What if the vast majority of churches across the country did this? What if…?
By Ross Engel –
Well, I managed to survive another successful week at the Concordia Seminary Symposium in St. Louis last week! In the midst of continuing education and a topic that was focused on life-long catechesis, the authors of The Jagged Word managed to enjoy some time for fellowship and deep conversation with each other. We hosted the fourth-year class at a local Irish pub, and it was great! We bought them a few rounds, hired an Irish band, and conversed with these young seminarians who are just a few months away from receiving their first calls into the Office of the Holy Ministry. It was a tremendous time of brotherly dialogue and even a few laughs!
By Paul Koch –
The dull drumming of yet another speaker talking about what the church ought to be doing, how it ought to reach out, or how it might better restructure itself bounces off my stubborn ears as I sip my second cup of coffee. I’ve endured morning devotions with songs I don’t know and longed for a Gospel proclamation that seems to be in short supply.
By Caleb Keith –
As many regular readers of The Jagged Word might know, I produce the Thinking Fellows podcast, featuring Drs. Rosenbladt, Keith, and Francisco. Typically, the show launches once a week on Friday mornings, but every once in a blue moon, I post a special mid-week episode featuring incredible guests. Two weeks ago, Dr. Keith and I traveled to Germany for the one-of-a-kind opportunity to record two shows with the highly esteemed Dr. Robert Kolb.
By Graham Glover –
I love to debate. I mean, I love to really debate. I’m not talking about simple, quaint discussions concerning issues without much disagreement. I have in mind those passionate arguments and heated conversations in which tempers just might get a little out of control as each side tries to make their point.
By Cindy Koch –
We hear it all the time: to really forgive is to forget it ever happened. If you don’t forget, then you must have a problem with your forgiveness. If you still remember the pain someone caused you, then you had better repent; you are not forgiving.
By Joel A. Hess –
This past week, Mark Zuckerberg boldly put down three billion dollars with the brash goal of eradicating all illness by 2100. Why not, right? I admire his ambition. It is probably what got him to where he is today. Actually, his goal and dream has been pursued for some time now. It is quite a modernist pursuit for such a postmodern age; we can and will make everything better.
By Jaime Nava –
I had the crazy awesome privilege to baptize my daughter recently. I love baptisms in general. When it is my own kid, I’m over the moon. We had a number of visitors from both sides of the family to witness. It was awesome. Some of the members of the family come from different denominational backgrounds. Some are Roman Catholic. Others are Non-Denominational. I think there may be a Pentecostal in there somewhere.
By Scott Keith –
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” Okay, easy enough. So, long story short, I am not supposed to outwardly tell lies about my neighbor. I can do that, I think. Then Luther does what Jesus tended to do. That is, Luther takes something in the Law that seems easy to accomplish and exposes its real difficulty.
By Paul Koch –
Being a pastor affords me with some pretty unique experiences. I’ve been invited into the midst of people’s most tender moments. From the bedside of a dying father to the joy of a wedding day or the baptism of a newborn baby, I have found myself graciously allowed to share in such experiences. These moments have certainly impacted me over the years; teaching me humility, kindness, and gentleness. But there are other experiences that come as part of this vocation. For instance, I spend a lot of time in a church building. Far more time than most people.
By Paul Nelson –
Last week we enjoyed the classy Manhattan. This week we’ll move to something with less of a pedigree, but still a perennial crowd pleaser. Most folks peg the genesis of the Alabama Slammer to sometime in the early to mid 1970’s. It’s refreshing, tasty, and for folks who don’t appreciate the taste of straight alcohol, this drink is smooth and easy to drink.
By Bob Hiller –
Somewhere along the way, I was taught that sermons should always be about Jesus. Further into my training, I learned that this doesn’t just mean that we should talk about what Jesus did a long time ago, but that what Jesus did a long time ago is for you here and now. The proclamation of the Good News (that is, the Gospel) is not simply an explanation of sacred events, but the delivering of sacred gifts, which in itself is a sacred event. Preaching is delivering Jesus to sinners and attacking those things that try to get in His way. At least it should be. At least, that is what I was taught.
By Ross Engel –
My wife commented recently that my sermons have been overflowing with forgiveness. But before I could thank her for such a great compliment, she asked me, “Have you been needing more forgiveness lately?”
Gee, thanks…
The truth of the matter is that I always need forgiveness. Lots of it! We all do. Sinners, to the very core, are always in need of forgiveness.
By Paul Koch –
Do you remember drinking from the garden hose as a child? I do. In fact when I’m working in the yard these days I will still get a quick drink from time to time from the hose. I like it. I like the taste; compared to the water that comes from the dispenser on the door of my fridge you would almost think they were from a different source. The water in the house passes through our water softener system, then through a filtration system in the fridge while it is chilled down a bit before it reaches my glass. In my front yard the water takes a more direct route off the main water line through a tired old hose with a slightly corroded metal spigot and directly into my mouth. It may not be as healthy or safe as the filtered option inside, but there is something simple and enjoyable about it.
