faith

OT Encounters: Job 38:1-11 – Unanswered Questions

By Jeff Pulse –

Our text is from the book of Job. The text is Job 38:1-11 and begins the section in Job frequently called Yahweh’s first speech. In truth, this is the moment that Job and even his friends have been waiting for. They have been hoping that the LORD will break His silence and set things straight, answer the questions, and reveal the “why” of what is going on in Job’s miserable life. However, it is important to note that the LORD does NOT answer the questions that Job and his friends have been wrestling with. He ignores Job’s complaints and claims of innocence and refuses to support the accusations of Job’s friend—He just does not go there! This disappoints the readers of Job even today.

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The Swedish Theory of Love

By Tim Winterstein –

What would happen if an entire country took independence and individualism to their logical and extreme ends? We don’t have to wonder. We have Sweden. For the last 40+ years, Sweden has been engaged in a social experiment which now has borne its desiccated fruit. The Swedish Theory of Love is the documentary telling that story. (You can find it online here. If you don’t want to subscribe, you can simply share the movie—I shared it to be visible only to me on Facebook—and you can watch it for free.) 

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What Men Can’t Say

By Cindy Koch –

It was only the beginning of a fight. She said. He said. But it turned ugly when she said too much. His anger flared, and his voice got louder. She stood her ground and said so much more. They felt the pulse of the evening race out of control as their words fueled a fire. Anger prickled his neck. Tears choked in her throat. Panic and pain washed over their hearts deep in the middle of their broken conversation.

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Liturgy in the Dark

By Bob Hiller –

This past Sunday, the power went out in our church while I was preaching. Perhaps it was an act of God trying to save His dear flock from my sermon or the devil trying to silence the Word. Or most likely, it was a problem with the power lines. Regardless, our congregation was left in the dark. We have screens in our sanctuary to guide the service, but they were gone. It was not easy to read the bulletins for the few who actually had them. Further, our recently purchased hymnals have not yet been stocked in the pews, so we couldn’t reference them. We had no music to sing with as both the organ and piano flows through the sound system. What were we to do? Just quit and go home? After all, it is tough to carry on in the dark.

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Holy Ghost Hypocrisy

By Tim Winterstein –

There are more prominent hucksters in American religion, but perhaps none as honest as Marjoe Gortner. “Charlatan” is a word custom made for him. I’m not sure why I hadn’t come across the 1972 Academy Award-winning documentary Marjoe before I found it on Sundance Now (you can also see the full film on YouTube here). After watching it, I was all the more surprised I hadn’t seen it—until I found this fascinating interview with the director, Sarah Kernochan, who says it was all but lost until 2002, when she came across an original negative of the film. (Another essay by her is here [although her misspelling of “Pentecostal” and her facile connections make me grimace].) Even so, maybe because he was before my time, I’d never even heard of Hugh Marjoe Ross Gortner.

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A Time for Every Matter in Star Wars

By Paul Koch –

“Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.” Ecclesiastes 1:2

On Christmas Day, I took my family to see the latest installment of the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi. And while there is much to be critiqued about this film, and much that has been critiqued, that’s not what this post is. For me, perhaps the greatest insight gained by watching the movie was a desire to re-read King Solomon’s masterful and wise work of Ecclesiastes. I’m not sure if this bodes well for Star Wars or not, but it was the first thought that came to my mind after all the lasers, explosions, and lightsabers.

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What About Mary?

By Graham Glover –

Today is the 10th day of Christmas, and like many of you, I have spent much of the past month meditating on the Nativity and Second Advent of Christ. The Church’s lectionary readings, hymnody, and propers are rich with references to the life of our Lord during this season, all preparing one to celebrate this glorious Feast. This focused meditation will continue for the next several days, culminating on Epiphany, which sets the stage for the celebrations of the Baptism and Transfiguration of Our Lord.

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OT Encounters: 1 Kings 3:4-15 – The Gift of Wisdom

By Jeff Pulse –

The Old Testament text for this Sunday, January 7, 2018, is from the first book of Kings. The text is I Kings 3:4-15, which brings us the familiar story of young King Solomon and his request for wisdom from the LORD God. There are a few things of note which should be mentioned before we begin with the grammar of these verses. First, this account takes place before the building of the Jerusalem Temple (vs. 2; see also chapter 6), so it is not a violation of the Law for Solomon to offer sacrifices at the great high place in Gibeon. Second, it is important to note that the reason the Hebrews offered sacrifices on the high places (or under large trees) was directly connected to their cosmology of the world—heaven was up, Sheol was down, and the earth was between them. So, by going up to the high places they were coming closer to God.

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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.

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Preaching and the Pentatonix Disease

By Bob Hiller –

I don’t know about you other preachers out there, but I find myself stressing out more than usual this time of year. I’m not just talking about the shopping and wrapping and the extra work we have. I’m talking about the stress the comes from preparing the Christmas Eve sermon. We all know that Christmas Eve is not just one of the “high holy days” on the liturgical calendar. It is also one of those rare days when it is culturally acceptable, perhaps even expected, for folks to be in church. This Sunday, will see a larger number of church attendees than almost any other day of the year. This Sunday will present a wonderful opportunity for us as the church to give true hope and mercy to folks who don’t typically hear it. We have a chance to play the angels and sing Jesus into the ears of those lost in this world. I mean, it’s the most wonderful time of the year!

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Reaching for Immortality

By Tim Winterstein –

[SPOILERS!]

Movies and shows made for children always seem to include sub-themes that resonate with adults. Maybe it’s just marketing so that parents will take their children to the theater (only $7,800 for a family of six!), but I can remember it in television shows as well. Animaniacs was my generation’s Phineas and Ferb. Both have adult jokes running throughout that barely registered with the children who primarily watched those shows. More recently, Disney and Pixar have made sophisticated animated films that appeal to both children and adults. Of course, “children’s” authors have probably always included subtexts that only become clear as one ages (see the Grimms, Roald Dahl, or The Chronicles of Narnia). That’s part of the joy of having certain books read to you as a child and then re-reading them for yourself at older ages.

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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.

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Museum Quality Faith

By Paul Koch –

I have never been a collector. It’s not that there aren’t things that I enjoy. In fact, there are times when I think I might try and collect this or that particular thing, but it just never really stuck. Perhaps, I don’t have the attention span. I get started on a collection of something but soon lose interest only to be enticed by something totally different. Part of collecting something means that you must pull whatever it is out of its normal use. If you collect pens, it will mean you will have a large display of fine pens, but you will not actually write with any of them. A collector of antique motorcycles will eventually create a place to store and even show the collection, but will no longer be able to actually ride them. The sound of the motor, the feel of the breeze as you fly down the highway, the way it handles a corner at speed; all of that will fade to an observance from the outside.

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Wonder

By Bryan R. Salminen –

A friend of mine took the GRE  5 times. The GRE stands for the Graduate record examination and is a necessary evil requirement for most graduate schools. Each time he took it, he came out thinking how dumb he really was. He took it 5 different times because he kept graduating and going to a new university and each time he was hoping that maybe this time, this year, he would shine and prove to the world he was smart. Although the exam is not graded on a pass/fail system, he knew he had failed miserably. I met him after one attempt and outside it had been raining and there was this huge rainbow “Look,” I said, and I meant it, “I just want you to know that whatever exam results you get I think you’re a really kind and lovely person and to me that is far more important than any exam results. And I know this too, being the kind and the caring person you are is actually far more important in your life than any grades in an exam.”  “Thank you,” he said, but without sounding at all convinced. But it is true – my friend is an incredibly kind person – he notices the person sitting on their own in a gathering and goes over to talk to them, he notices if someone is upset, he is attentive if there is work to be done or a meal to be prepared, or washing up that needs helping with, he has nursed his guinea pig through cancer, he is brilliant with a mom who has dementia; he is incredibly kind. But you don’t get grades in kindness or generosity or thoughtfulness or awareness of others. You don’t get GRE’s in compassion or attentiveness. And yet those qualities too are the essence of the formation of our lives.

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