forgiveness

Where Two or Three are Gathered

By Paul Koch –

We gather together on a day like this in a place like this in order to experience the Word of God. The divine revelation of the Creator of the universe is proclaimed in our fellowship, it is washed over our heads in baptism, placed into our mouths in the supper of our Lord, confessed upon our lips, and echoes in our ears. And within this moment that we share gathered around the Word of God, we find something surprising. As we come together in faith we find that the Word is a living thing. It hits us differently every time. There are some texts that we have heard over and again in our lives but for some reason this time we hear it: it digs a little deeper. It leaves its mark. It impacts us in our lives in a more profound way. Truly the Spirit is at work in the Word, opening hearts and minds, bringing both repentance and faith.

Continue reading →

Ladies, We are Better than That

By Cindy Koch –

I watched your face when I said that to you. Your eyes widen just a little. Your chin shifts back as the syllables sink in. You heard me, but it seems like the words must mean something else. We are better than what? What is she really saying here? You look right and left wondering if anyone else is listening. Consciously the muscles in your face try to relax. You try to take a deep breath and attempt to understand what I really said, but I can still see the exposed panic in your eyes.

Continue reading →

A Field Guide To Being a Man

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

The Jagged Word has always been a place that encourages meaningful conversation about what is happening in the Church as it intersects with, reacts to, and challenges current cultural trends. The friends that make up The Jagged Word and have written every week for the last few years have found that there are some common topics that tend to come up over and over again. While we certainly see topics of all things church reoccur, such as worship or preaching, we have also noticed that there has been an ongoing discussion about what it means to be a man.

Continue reading →

Modern Prodigals

By Tim Winterstein –

This contains spoilers (of a 2005 film), so you may want to watch first and read after.

I had to wait until the end to see if it was worth it, but the answer is an unequivocal yes to L’Enfant (The Child).

I found it on Image Journal‘s “The Arts and Faith Top 100 Films,” which also brought Ordet to my attention. This is the first film by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne I’ve watched, but the others are now on my list.

Continue reading →

Beyond Redemption

By Scott Keith –

As many of you may know, I am a zealous advocate for doing apologetics. Apologetics is defined as the defense of the Christian faith. The simplicity of this definition, however, does not help one understand the complexity of the problem of defining apologetics. There is a great diversity of approaches when approaching the task of doing apologetics. Accordingly, I have learned and practiced apologetic techniques myself, and I have spent many years teaching them to others. For the most part, I use the evidential argument, but there are other methods as well.

Continue reading →

Pastor, that’s Not Your Wife

By Bob Hiller –

She is very attractive for you, isn’t she? And you can’t seem to leave her alone. You love being the center of her attention. When she compliments you, you feel like you can conquer the world. You’ve even become an expert on wooing those compliments out of her. You know what she likes to hear. Sure, there are times when she’s not happy with you, and it drives you crazy. You grow self-defensive, yet you obsess over winning back her love. But you know exactly what you need to do to make her love you again; you just need to tell her what she wants to hear. There’s just one problem with all of this: She’s not your wife, pastor. She belongs to Jesus.

Continue reading →

The Cost of Changing a Mind

By Tim Winterstein –

How do minds change? We tend to assume that if only we can present our opinions in the right way, and if the other person would simply be reasonable, then our rational opinions would surely change their rational minds. Those assumptions lead us to the conclusion that if I present my opinion and the other person doesn’t change his or her mind, then that person must be unreasonable or something worse. Who wouldn’t be willing to change his or her mind when confronted with the excellent and reasonable arguments I present, about which I am already convinced? So, disagreement has become not a sign of a rational, contingent opinion held in good faith, but a sign of a disease or poison that must be eradicated in order for reason and justice to prevail. That’s not a good recipe for civil discussion.

Continue reading →

The Glory of Humility

By Bob Hiller –

If the NBA is good for nothing else, it sure does supply some great offseason drama. If you haven’t been keeping up with the ESPN gossip channels, then you might not know that Kyrie Irving, the second-best player for the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers, wants out. Despite the fact that his team has been to the NBA Finals three years running, it seems that Irving is tired of playing in the shadow of LeBron James. If the rumors are true, Irving wants to be a franchise player, the focal point of whatever team for which he plays. He wants center stage and a team built around him. He believes he has the talent to be the number one guy on an NBA team, and he wants to prove it, but it won’t ever happen in Cleveland so long as LeBron stands in his way. So, he wants out.

Continue reading →

Patient Discontent

By Cindy Koch –

The invisible wall of generation usually keeps me on my side of the courtyard on Sunday mornings. Right after church, however, the central coffee station is a hustled mixture of young and old. And there the coffee flows, not quite quick enough for some of us. Waiting in line, we pass friendly smiles and sweet “How do you do’s?” But as soon as the divine liquid morning blessing fills our flimsy Styrofoam cup, we part ways back to our usual conversation spot.

Continue reading →

Feed Them!

By Paul Koch –

Matthew 14:13-21 is a very familiar text for most of us. Even if you haven’t been going to church for too long, or even if you are brand new to the stories of Scripture, you’ve probably heard something along the way about the time Jesus fed over 5000 people with just a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish. In fact, it is because we are so familiar with this story that we tend to pass over some interesting and peculiar things. For instance, I think the crowd reacted strangely as it is recorded in this text. Usually after the crowd experiences a miracle of our Lord, especially one from which they physically benefitted, there was a reaction of being filled with awe or wonder. They would usually be giving thanks to God or praising our Lord, or something. But not here. In this miracle, the focus never shifted from our Lord, from His actions and words. The focus remained on one thing in particular – the compassion of our Lord.

Continue reading →

Myth of Mindfulness

By Cindy Koch –

Deep breath. What do you smell? What do you taste? What do you feel? Exhale. We slowly, calmly, intentionally explore every sensation rushing through our minds. Stop focusing on the past, look right in front of you. Stop anticipating the future, simply embrace the present – today. Mindfulness, being present, living in the now, is the popular practice of the moment in our crazy mixed up world. (In my local city, even kids are offered mindfulness periods in public school.) It’s possible I wouldn’t have ever noticed this funny little quirk in our current culture. But I’m hearing more about this trend that tries to comfort the tormented minds of our world. And I’m beginning to wonder if this is a silent assault on an ancient truth.

Continue reading →

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

By Scott Keith –

(Today, my wife, Joy Keith, has stepped up to proclaim a little Gospel to the readers of The Jagged Word. Enjoy.)

As I was growing up as a Gen-X-er on the South Side of Chicago, my parents used many a classic turn of phrase assumingly trying to teach my brothers and me life lessons. Things like, “If you eat your (insert canned green vegetable of your choice here), you’ll grow hair on your chest.” Or, “Don’t cross your eyes too long or they’ll stay like that forever,” “Don’t speak unless spoken to!” “Children are to be seen and not heard!” “Actions speak louder than words.” So, as the only daughter, I sure as shooting wasn’t going to eat green vegetables, and I didn’t want to marry a guy who did. EWWWW! Recently, as I am a grandmother (who knows better and loves her FRESH green vegetables), I am watching my own kids who are moving out, becoming adults, growing up, and being parents themselves, I’ve been reflecting on some of my life before I left my childhood home.

Continue reading →

What Do You Hear?

By Cindy Koch –

More and more, I am convinced that we are what we hear. Words have this incredible ability to shape the perception others have about us, inform the identity we have of our own self, and set a pattern for our future. Just like a wise mama once told me, the things we tell our children (good or bad) they will live up to. I learned this the hard way when I mistakenly told my children that kids don’t like broccoli – they made sure to prove my words true.

Continue reading →

Look at Me!

By Scott Keith –

Look at me! It’s cliché. In our age full of social media, selfies, and self-aggrandizement, we all want people to look at us. We want to be noticed. We want to be famous, if even for 15 seconds. We want the world to love us. It starts when we are young and just learning to do this or that, and we yell out to mom and dad, “look at me,” and it only gets worse from there.

Continue reading →

Believing Ain’t Easy

By Bob Hiller –

Have you ever heard that one can preach too much Gospel? Have you ever encountered phrases like “cheap grace” or “easy-believe-ism?” Perhaps you’ve heard a preacher wax on about how the Gospel of salvation by grace alone is true, but it is the “milk” for baby Christians. At some point, the sermon goes, we need to move past the baby food (in this case, the Gospel) and get to the solid food of Christian living. An over-emphasis on justification or grace alone waters down the faith and makes it too easy. We need, it is said, to graduate from the elementary teachings of justification and move into the more mature teachings on sanctification.

Continue reading →

Monsters in the Pews

By Bob Hiller –

Who do you think is sitting in the pews on a typical Sunday morning? Are our congregations filled with sin-conquering saints living from one victorious moment to the next, or are our pews filled with sin-bound failures who are hanging on for dear life? Maybe it’s a mix of both. Maybe it’s a mix of both in the same seat. For the folks who come to our churches on Sunday morning, what does it mean for them to live the Christian life? Perhaps asked in a better way: What do the lives of the Christians in our churches actually look like?

Continue reading →