By Hillary Asbury –
Mary and Joseph look on as the wise men kneel before the Christ child and we are reminded that our Savior comes to us in our humanity, in our brokenness, and not by our own merit. He comes to us first, while we are still sinners, unworthy, and in need.
By Joel A. Hess –
Just as the Hallmark channel and Freeform marked the holiday season with bizarre Christmas theme soap operas your friends with PhDs from the Discovery Channel have begun to distribute their dissertations about the pagan origins of Christmas. Now try not to get your self-righteous Hanes in a bunch and lose a friend. If, like watching Elf for the millionth time, you can’t help yourself, try one of the following responses.
By Paul Koch –
“Therefore since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from and evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:19-22) This text calls us to courageously draw near, to enter with full confidence into the holy places of God. Now to champion such an idea may seem somewhat absurd these days. At the very least, to make a big deal out of it seems a bit misplaced. I mean, of course we want to draw near. Of course we want to enter into the holy places of God, but isn’t this what we have always done? Isn’t this somewhat of a foregone conclusion? You see, we’ve grown accustomed to believing that we have a right to enter into the dwelling place of God. We have managed to take a hold of his glory and might and bring Him down to a nice acceptable level that we can all manage.
By Joel A Hess –
This week, an icon of entertainment, a storytelling, character-creating genius, died: Stan Lee. If there is anyone who is larger than life, it would be this man. He gave us so many superheroes and fantastical stories that it’s hard to imagine they all came from one man.
By Paul Koch –
We have all known those people who seem to take joy in tearing down what we’ve built up. Perhaps it is the kid at the beach that just can’t help kicking over the sandcastle that you just finished building. Or it is the big sister who knocks over your stack of blocks. When we grow older, these people are still around. They call themselves realists or even pessimists. You speak of something you have accomplished or some great adventure you want to do and all they want to do is tear it down. They attack your planning or your foresight or the practicality of it all. We don’t like to be around those people. We don’t like to spend our days with those who won’t let us dream a little, those who seem intent to kill what we love. Perhaps, this is why prayer and worship are so difficult. Maybe this is why it is uncomfortable to faithfully proclaim the Word of God. Because if we are honest, no one seems more persistent to tear down the things you love than your Lord Jesus Christ.
By Hillary Asbury –
“What is it worth?” Her eyes were big as she gestured to the piece hanging on the gallery wall. “I mean, all it is… it’s just wood and canvas and paint. So how much is it really worth? How much can I actually charge for this?” I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. The woman standing in front of me was wildly successful. She owned her own gallery, enjoyed the business of high-profile clients, sold pieces for thousands and thousands of dollars. Yet here she was, questioning the worth of her work.
By Joel A Hess –
Please don’t get me wrong. The outcome of elections does matter to the poor, the middle class, the unborn, and the young ladies often put under pressure to abort. It matters to the protection of the innocent and the punishment of wrongdoers. It matters to the establishment of good order in our society. So vote, get involved in your community, and serve your neighbor.
By Cindy Koch –
Some of us are expecting the outbreak to begin any day now. A virus infecting the whole world, killing the inner mind and heart, leaving only a shell of the undead body to roam the earth. Passed from ravenous creature to creature, soon we will be constantly reminded of death and destruction in the lifeless eyes of others. Hiding, running, screaming in terror to escape the jaws of hungry zombies, we will fight to survive with those who are left alive. It is only a matter of time until every single person is captured by this horrifying outcome.
By Paul Koch –
The great Reformation of the church is, in many ways, an explosion of what was falsely imprisoned. That is, it was the result of what happens when you try to bottle up something that simply cannot be contained. In this case, what was bottled up was the simple and beautiful Good News of Jesus Christ our Lord. For this is a message that is a living and active thing, and so it presses out against the bars of its imprisonment and bows the walls that surround it. And when it finally breaks free, it comes with such force that it changes the landscape. Everyone from the peasants working the fields to the kings and emperors in their mighty palaces are touched by its power. It plays a role in the affairs of the state and brings comfort to the conscience of the downtrodden and oppressed. The Reformation was about more than some monk nailing 95 Theses for debate to the local church door. It was about more than a bunch beer drinking Germans refusing to get in line behind the Pope. This was an explosion of the Gospel. An explosion that continues to this very day.
By Joel A. Hess –
Sell all your stuff and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Seriously!
I’m not sure most people take Jesus’ response to the rich young man seriously. The guy asks a valid question. Bravo to this kid. What do I have to do to inherit eternal life? That’s the question! It’s the question behind all religions. Every single one. It’s the problem too. We are all dying. We don’t want to die, and that’s it. Or worse, we don’t want to entertain the possibility that we will literally never see our dearly loved friends and family again.
By Cindy Koch –
In a time of war it makes perfect sense. You take the resources you have available and turn them into weapons against the enemy. Fighting for survival, everything hinges on the destruction of the other. Yes, it makes perfect sense to take the good gifts of God and craft your weapon to win the war. And what war do you find yourself fighting? What weapon are you crafting to fight the enemy?
By Paul Koch –
I recall many years ago I was doing a Sunday morning Bible study at my previous congregation in Georgia. We were working our way through St. Matthew’s Gospel that happened to be the text that corresponds to our reading today of Mark 10:2-16. So, we began by talking about the harsh realities of divorce. Divorce seems to be a plague of sorts in our land, it’s no longer rare or shocking. All of us have come in contact with the realities of divorce. Either you have been divorced or your parents have, or you know someone who has gone through the hurt and struggle of divorce. And it is easy if you haven’t been divorced to speak with a certain self-righteousness about the whole thing. Then again, it is also easy to justify divorce to the point that it can seem a noble or necessary thing. During that Bible study in Georgia, I was no doubt more on the self-righteous side of things when a member brought to my attention the simple fact that most of the people sitting there had been through divorce. In Bible Study on a Sunday morning a small southern town, those who had not been divorced were certainly the minority.
By Joel A. Hess –
You can get morality anywhere
Recently our Christian day school board discussed plans for marketing our wonderful product to our community. What sets our school apart from other similar enterprises? We pursue excellence in education, but so do others. Some might say that a Christian day school offers higher expectations regarding morality. The kids will learn strong Christian values of right and wrong. They probably won’t have to deal with the riff raff of public school. They likely won’t be tempted by drugs and sex. Plenty of parents probably think the same as they drop their kids off at the door of St. So and So Lutheran School.
By Tim Winterstein –
This isn’t a great documentary. In some ways (down to the design of the credits and titles) it is simply playing on the success and popularity of The Exorcist—though there’s no pea soup, no unnaturally turning heads, and no priests die. (And my wife thinks William Friedkin sounds like Donald Trump. Narrator: he does.)
By Hillary Asbury –
“A beautiful thing never gives so much pain as failing to hear and see it.”
-Michelangelo Buonarroti
As Christian viewers, we see art history differently than the rest of the world.
When we gaze upon a masterpiece of the Renaissance, we may be awed and amazed by the time, talent, and skill the artist wielded. We may be struck by the years the art has seen and survived, possibly drawn in by some mysterious link to the past. As believers, though, there is another level of context; we are viewing a visual representation of the Word of God.
That’s right, once again The Jagged Word has gathered in St. Louis for the 29th Annual Theological Symposium […]
By Paul Koch –
Prayer is an interesting thing. It is something that most people do, to some degree or another. Every time there is a massive tragedy on the national level or personal tragedy that only a few close friends know about, people will offer you or the victims their prayers. And it’s not just your faithful church going devout grandmother who speaks of prayer. It is the long delinquent member, the willful and blatant sinner who hasn’t been to church in years. People who will never otherwise identify themselves as Christian publicly will still speak about “sending their prayers” or “having you in our prayers” or some sort of combination that makes them feel like their contributing to alleviate the suffering of another person. And I think the reason that people do this, if they actually offer up a prayer, is that they don’t really know what else to do. When faced with incredible grief they begin to plead with God because there is no other recourse available to them.
By Marc Engelhardt –
This post continues the recaps from Christ in Common, which is a discipleship discussion that takes place in my context. Christ in Common is a good example of how we purposefully approach the discipleship triad of Foundation, Worldview, and Practice. Remember, as recaps, these posts hit highlights of what the group discussed in person, so they are short and may seem to make some jumps occasionally. If you pull out the Word and study the Foundation mentioned, you should be able to fill most gaps.
By Joel A. Hess –
As I left my beautiful call in Northern Michigan to serve God’s people in Chicago, many of my brothers in Christ asked me about who their next pastor might be. I told them that the right guy won’t necessarily be just like me. Thank God! I have plenty of flaws that hopefully their new guy will improve upon. Of course, he will have his own weaknesses. Our Lord covers them all. Nevertheless, God will provide the right shepherd for their current needs.
By Paul Koch –
Do you confess the Unaltered Augsburg Confession to be a true exposition of Holy Scripture and a correct exhibition of the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church? And do you confess that the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Small and Large Catechisms of Martin Luther, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord—as these are contained in the Book of Concord—are also in agreement with this one scriptural faith?
