Christianity

Ricky Bobby Christianity

By Joel A. Hess –

Like many simple-minded fools, I love the movie Talladega Nights: the ballad of Ricky Bobby. Next to the scene when he first speaks publicly and doesn’t know what to do with his hands, I love the baby Jesus prayer he gives early in the movie. He begins the prayer, “Dear sweet baby Jesus” and continues with “tiny infant Jesus” and “use your infant powers.” His family is annoyed by his obsession with baby Jesus and tells him that Jesus is a grown man. Ricky Bobby says, “I like the Christmas Jesus best, and I’m saying grace. When you say prayers, you can say what you want…” Of course, his buddy Cal says, “I like to picture Jesus in a tuxedo t-shirt.” One of the kids adds, “I like to think of Jesus as a ninja.”

Continue reading →

Fearless Joy!

By Bob Hiller –

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

There are few verses in Scripture that captivate me as much as these words from Paul to the Galatians. These words excite, enthrall, challenge, and, quite frankly, frighten me. What would a life of freedom in the Gospel look like? Try as I may to describe it, I find it difficult to answer this question without imposing the yoke of slavery upon myself or others. Can I actually live in such freedom? Do I trust others to not abuse that freedom? Shouldn’t I return to the enslaving power of the Law to keep them in line just in case they try to abuse it?

Continue reading →

You Can’t Sleep on the Devil

By Bob Hiller –

I don’t know about you, but I am still buzzing off of that Super Bowl last Sunday, and I’m not even an Eagles fan! Far from it. I guess you can put me in the “Anyone but the Patriots” camp. So, watching the Eagles do the Pats like the Pats have done everyone else in the league for years was quite satisfying indeed. Bu, setting my disdain for the Patriots aside for a (very brief) moment, regardless of who won, that was a great game. It was intense to the finish. Especially because of the Patriots history in such situations. You can never count them out.

Continue reading →

If Your Sexual Ethics are Limited to Consent, This is What You Get

By Joel A. Hess –

This past week, I watched my alma mater’s sports program completely implode. Unless you are Stephen Hawking, exclusively spending your time contemplating the universe, you probably have heard about the USA and MSU gymnastics doctor who molested over a hundred girls over the course of his career. Everyone agrees to the immorality of the doctor. That’s easy even for our society. However, journalists looked into the failure of the MSU administration in dealing with initial complaints regarding the doctor. This revealed what is now the popular narrative that MSU has not been being up front regarding many cases of sexual assault. Especially revealing was the numerous sexual assault and rape accusations of football and basketball players. Sadly, the university and coaches’ response was simply that all of this had been reported already. So it’s all good, right?

Continue reading →

For the Sake of Laughter

By Paul Koch –

Last week, I left the temperate environs of my home and headed out to the frozen land of Fort Wayne, Indiana to attend the annual symposia held at the seminary. We gather there in the middle of January to hear theological papers on given topics by some of the leading experts in the field. It is always academically challenging and insightful. Professionally, it allows me to examine my preconceived notions. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on my understanding of the ministry and how I might better practice my vocation.

Continue reading →

Is it Better to be Married or Single?

By Cindy Koch –

What a question. It has been pondered throughout the ages, and the arguments go back and forth. God gives his man and woman companionship at the beginning of creation, but soon after, as a result of sin, both man and woman feel the pain of this union. In Scripture, St. Paul responds to the Corinthians about sexual immorality questions, personally judging that it is better to not be anxious about pleasing a wife.

Continue reading →

The Inescapable Word

By Paul Koch –

Sometimes we come together at church are we feel a bit let down by what we hear and experience. I know that we aren’t supposed to say things like that. We’re supposed to say how we are always uplifted and edified by gathering around our Lord’s Word and sacraments. But if I were to put out on the church sign that today’s sermon was going to be from the book of Jonah, why, you would have certain expectations. You would expect some story featuring a guy trying to skip out on his responsibilities, and a big storm, and the casting of lots, and the throwing of Jonah overboard, and finally a great fish that swallows him whole and carries him back to Nineveh to do the Lord’s work. You would be ready and looking forward to this powerful and dramatic story that has fueled the imaginations of God’s children for thousands of years.

Continue reading →

God Only Welcomes People from S&%hole Countries

By Joel A. Hess –

“Nazareth! Is it possible for anything good to come from there?” (John 1:43-51). Nathaniel wasn’t mocking the idea. He truly never thought of Nazareth as a place of any significance. He quickly surveyed his memorization of Messianic quotes and came up with a blank. It wasn’t the tiniest of towns. It certainly wasn’t the worst. It was like vegetable lasagna or the Dave Matthews Band. Blah. Nothing.

Continue reading →

What if You’re Wrong?

By Cindy Koch –

Some things hide deep behind all emotion. Some things dwell there that I never really had to think about. From the childhood memories, to the teenage explorations, to the adult reasoning, I have inexplicably known certain things about myself. And I’m sure everyone does. We live with ourselves—our thoughts, our reactions, our hopes and dreams—and we construct a unique identity deep within our familiar walls of own flesh and bone. I can remember the scared little girl silently terrified in the dark. I can recall the secret confusion and solitary triumphs found only in the treasury of my mind. I have tried to learn how to deal with this ugly, harsh world by trial and error, failure and tears. I have fought to find a path of beauty and comfort for my ever-tender heart, building my strength as an individual every single day.

Continue reading →

Christian Worship is no Mystery

By Joel A. Hess –

Christians routinely use the word “mystery” when explaining the faith. Often times when a believer is stuck in explaining a teaching, she is quick to conclude, “Well, it’s a mystery.” The Orthodox really love this word. It often times seems impossible to even discuss with them their understanding of things as they repeat “It’s a mystery” to every request of explanation. And of course, there is the condescending “The East isn’t concerned about systematic explanations like you westerners.” They sound like Apple users snubbing their noses to PC users. Of course, it was my “eastern” friend from Indiana who told me this.

Continue reading →

New Year’s Confession: I Hate Running

By Cindy Koch –

One foot in front of the other. Looking down at the earth, my unnaturally white shoes break loose the top layer of dust that has been pressed down by years of runners. Keep going. Looking up to the sky, a cold breeze rushes through my gasping airways, nearly suffocating every icy breath. New Year’s running programs must happen to me from time to time. But each and every new resolution I boldly commit to always starts with paying a price. Aching ankles, dizzying exhaustion, and a frustrated spirit.

Continue reading →

According to Your Word

By Paul Koch –

The sending of the Angel Gabriel to the city of Nazareth in the region of the Galilee is an incredible and shocking move by our God. This isn’t the sending of a heavenly messenger to the holy city of Jerusalem. It isn’t sending the angel into the throne room of Caesar in Rome. This is the sending of God’s emissary to a small backwater town to an unknown and unimpressive young girl who is betrothed to a carpenter named Joseph, who, up to this point, no one but his own parents probably thought all that much about. Now God usually does his mighty deeds by showing up on a mountain top in thunder and lightning, but this is different. Here God comes down, all the way down: down to the lowly and the unimpressive, to the unknown and the forgotten. It is here that He speaks an incredible word to a virgin named Mary.

Continue reading →

Christmas is wherever Jesus is

By Joel A. Hess –

In the 1980s, some well-intentioned, rich entertainers wrote the Christmas song “Do they know it’s Christmas” to raise money to help those suffering from hunger in East Africa. I was going through my 80s English phase and loved the song and the singers. I mean come on, it was written by Bob Geldolf from Boomtown Rats fame. And it was far better than its American copycat tune, “We are the world.”

Continue reading →

Comfort, Comfort My People

By Paul Koch –

What an insane week. Here in Ventura, we began the week with a certain sense of control and predictability regarding how this week was going to unfold. We had some sort of schedule in our minds about what we were going to accomplish, what tasks were going to get checked off the list, what things we wanted to make sure we had a chance to experience. And then it all changed. Fire and smoke and destruction and great sadness was all mixed in with a sense of helplessness, and all we could do was react to external forces. The fires that tore through our county changed our plans in the blink of an eye as collectively our prayers went up before our God for relief and strength and restoration.

Continue reading →

Winning with Jesus on Twitter or Our Worthless Religion

By Bob Hiller –

If there is anything we know about rhetoric on social media, it is that it is well-reasoned, thoughtful, and constructive. I’ve found Twitter, for example, to be a safe space for people to share views and exchange ideas. Slow to judge and quick to build the best possible construction, even of one’s opponents, that’s the name of the game. Social media has done nothing if it hasn’t elevated the level of discourse in our society.

Continue reading →

A Sermon on Judgment

By Bob Hiller –

What is the image that comes to mind when you think of judgment? Think of our justice system where we say that justice is blind. The idea here is that you have lady justice holding up the scale. She weighs everything to see if she needs to execute with the sword. She is blind to persons or excuses. She simply weighs the evidence on the scale, feels the weight of the law, and executes justice properly.

Continue reading →

Creations Create

By Cindy Koch –

Just like any other Sunday, the ushers marched down the center aisle halfway through the church service. Their leather dress shoes kept even time with the piano music during the offering. As they passed our pew, I noticed neither one of the gentlemen were looking at their destination. Their heads were tipped to the right and they both wore a proud, goofy smile. I scanned the rest of the congregation for a clue to their delight. In a wave of curiosity, every man woman and child also turned to focus on the grand piano on the side of the church.

Continue reading →

Santa and the Girl in the War

By Bob Hiller –

I’m not really sure if there is such a thing as a “memorable tweet” or Facebook post. But, there is one I think about a lot from a number of years back. I was really getting into singer/song writer Josh Ritter. In particular, his song, “Girl in the War,” (which you should go listen to so the blog makes sense) haunted me. Lines like “Now talking to God is Laurel beggin’ Hardy for a gun” and “The keys to the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom” were difficult conversation partners for my theology. So, I struggled with this one. Then, one day, our own Tim Winterstein posted the song on Facebook, saying something the effect: “I think this song is about the church.” And he nailed it. I think about that post every time I listen to that song.

Continue reading →