forgiveness

A Good Soldier

By Paul Koch –

What a great day to be here in our Lord house! What a great cause for celebration and rejoicing! For today we welcomed into our midst little Kayley Lynn as she was added to the household of the faithful. Now we’ve been on quite a roll here, three baptisms in the last 4 weeks is something to celebrate. It is this promise of life that makes it fun to come here. Because let’s be honest, there are plenty of times that we don’t really want to come here. It isn’t all that fun; we aren’t looking forward to it. It’s okay, you can admit it. Look I don’t always want to come here either.

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Unsafe Theology

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.

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Eating Our Own

By Scott Keith –

President Ronald Reagan is often credited with coining the so-called eleventh commandment: “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” Reagan used the term many times to discourage infighting within the GOP. I think that there is something to be learned from Reagan’s insistence on knowing when and with whom to pick a fight. A quick scan of the good ole Interweb––even (perhaps especially) when scrolling through “churchy” sites––will indicate we are all obsessed with eating our own.

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Lost and Found

By Paul Koch –

As many of you know, this past 4th of July my grandmother passed away. Once all the arraignments were made for the memorial service we all travelled out to Arizona to give thanks to God for the many blessings we had received through her life. We would tell stories and eat tacos just the way she would have wanted it. Now I had only been to her home in Arizona a few times, and those visits were never very long. No, the home I knew as grandma’s house was the home where my father grew up – their home in Hacienda Heights. I can still remember the smell of the place and how the wood floor creaked as you walked down the hall.

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The Church Needs Preachers, Not Leaders

By Graham Glover –

Sometimes I feel as if I should be having a vocational identity crisis.

I’m pretty sure that I was taught by the church, guided by the Holy Scriptures, that my primary responsibility as a pastor is to preach the Word of God. This preaching takes many forms: sermons, teaching, counseling, and presiding. But no matter the form, my vocation is first and foremost about proclaiming Christ and Him crucified. He is the source, the subject, and the object of everything I do as one who holds the Office of the Holy Ministry.

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The Glory of God

By Paul Koch –

“It is the glory of the Lord to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” – Proverbs 25:2

About 8 years ago I first tried my hand at gardening. In the sandy soil of our home in southeast Georgia I built a small bed and planted a few seeds. That first year’s harvest was by all accounts a failure. I learned a lot about soil nutrients and proper water. But the second year was a little better, and the year after that, a little better. Each year I expanded my garden beds as well as my knowledge and understanding and I envisioned a backyard that would be more garden beds than lawn. I truly learned to love all that was involved in a garden,

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Bad Moms Exposed

By Cindy Koch –

She put down the glasses for just a moment. The door swung open and a wave of voices rushed in.  Hugs, hair, purses perfume, swirled around the bar as a fresh group of women performed the ritualistic welcome dance at the “meet you there” spot. Wine glasses lined up and ready, the bartender began her pours in a steady liquid rhythm: white, red, white.

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Go Out

By Cindy Koch –

Many good advice-givers tell me that marriage is hard work. I even want to believe them in these times of kids, activities, commitments, meetings, bills, stress, and the endless search for rest. My husband of 18 years, now, is a familiar face in the blur of everyday routine. And sometimes, I find myself missing the friend I knew in my youth.

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God Mode

By Jaime Nava –

Growing up playing games on a PC, you learn certain tricks. Some games have console commands you usually access by hitting the “~” key (called a tilde, if you didn’t know). If you’re savvy enough, you can use these console commands in single-player games to give yourself all kinds of goodies. You can add millions of gold to your stash. You can give yourself that item you needed to get past the hurdle in the game. One thing I recall doing in my younger days is playing in god mode. What does this mean? It means that you never get hurt and never run out of resources. You are invincible. You become godlike.

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Borrowed Without Attribution

By Ross Engel –

Something I recently wrote was “borrowed without attribution.” (I have reached out to the author, apologies and forgiveness were exchanged, edits were made, and a round of drinks promised. The guy is a pretty talented writer and clearly he has good taste!) When I first read the article (before the edits), it seemed odd to read my words coming from someone else, though with minor adjustments here and there for personal differences (though, it appears we both root for the Redwings, so that did soften the blow some). Now that he has quoted me appropriately, I’ll admit that it seems just as odd to see myself being quoted!

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Disinterested Gospel

By Paul Koch –

For many years, I have been in the habit of reading in bed. Every night, I read a few pages of whatever book I’m currently working through before I can fall asleep. Sometimes it is literally just a few pages, and sometimes I can make it through a chapter or two, but it is a practice I can’t seem to do without. Now, I don’t usually read theology or philosophy books at night. Rather, I set aside that time for reading a good novel. Lately, I’ve been re-reading Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities. Last night while reading the exchange between

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The Lord is My Shepherd

By Paul Koch –

We just finished up an incredible week of Vacation Bible School. For the past week Grace Lutheran Church was transformed into a barnyard of sorts as our children and children from our community gathered together to learn and rejoice in the gifts of our Lord. Together we had a lot of fun: sang a lot of songs, did crafts, played games and learned about the incredible working of our Lord who never ceases to gather his children together and bless them over and over again. The key verse from Scripture that stood as the center point for all the other stories we studied through the week was Psalm 23. Psalm 23, arguably the most famous of all the Psalms or at least the most famous opening line of any of the Psalms, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”

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Poor Hillary Clinton

By Cindy Koch –

The Democratic convention is in session this week, ready to announce the first woman to run for president of the United States. And it looks like the day will come sooner than later when we must consider a female leading our country. While we all knew this would happen sooner or later, there is still much to talk about, much to hope in, and much more to mourn. I have only begun to grieve for our sons and daughters of independence.

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