law and gospel

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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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.

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Dear Pastors and Pastor’s Wives: Stop Whining

By Joel A. Hess –

Since seminary, I have been told by seasoned pastors and “expert” first timers that pastoring is a tough, thankless job. They encouraged me to set boundaries so I don’t get lost in the work and forget about myself and my family. They scared me stiff, perhaps hoping I would not be overwhelmed by surprise when I went out on the front lines. The dark forecast was cast with even more doom and gloom for my wife. At seminary, there were groups for pastor’s wives that met like AA, all bellowing, “Nobody knows the troubles I’ve seen…”

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More Than You Can Handle

By Paul Koch –

Deep down I have always been a fan of doing hard things. Not that I don’t thoroughly enjoy just lounging on the beach or getting in an afternoon nap. Rather, I believe if we simply default to the path of least resistance, to the easy and simple, we miss out on something important. For it is often in the strain and the hard of work of life, both work and play, that we find the greatest means to shape and build our character. I love going hiking in the mountains, having to work hard to make it just over the next pass. The tired legs and aching back make the expansive views even sweeter. I like taking my kids for little day hikes up in Arroyo Verde Park and when they begin to complain about how tired their little legs are, that’s when I tell them we have to go over just one more hill (or more likely two). It is that final press toward victory that makes the journey so rewarding, and you can see it in their faces when they smile under the shade of a tree and talk about how far they went.

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Antichrist goes to Church

By Paul Koch –

“This is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.” – 1 John 4:3

According to St. John, the spirit of the Antichrist is already among us. It roams about the world seeking to devour the saints of God. It is cunning and selective in its attacks. It doesn’t have to look evil or dangerous or ugly. In fact, it will most likely feel pleasant, look attractive and even righteous. There seems to be profound truth to Baudelaire’s verse, “The devil’s finest trick is to persuade you that he does not exist.” For then your guard is down, your senses are dulled, and the Antichrist enters the sacred and holy spaces to do his work.

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The Cost

By Paul Koch –

We’ve probably all heard the story that our Lord told about counting the cost. It’s been retold in various ways over the years, but it is still a good thing to learn. He said, “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?” Or, “What king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?” The cost of any endeavor is a real thing; it cannot be overlooked. No one wants to look like a fool having started off on some great campaign only to succumb to failure because the cost was too high, and they were unable to bear it. The unwillingness to consider the cost is problematic at best and catastrophic at worst.

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You’re Surprised?

By Jonathan Holmes –

I don’t go on Facebook very often. If I do, it is usually to find jokes and other humorous tidbits, or the occasional theological writing that a friend has posted that might be worth reading. Besides, The Jagged Word, of course. However, not everybody trolls Facebook for the same reasons I do. What, you’re surprised?

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My daughter was Dying

By Cindy Koch –

A few months ago, I had to tell my daughter she was dying. I had known for some time, but she wasn’t quite old enough to grasp the truth of what was happening. So as parents do when the children are small, I could only bring myself to give her part of the story—age appropriate tidbits as she grew in understanding. It’s very possible I did the wrong thing. Maybe I should have drowned her with the gory details from the beginning. But because of the nature of things and the pace of our life, even I periodically forgot about her sickness. Finally, the opportunity presented itself, and the truth has come out.

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Worthy

By Paul Koch –

The fact that we gather together here this morning, in a place of worship, a building designed to hear the word and receive the sacraments of our Lord, is not all that uncommon. I’m not saying that it is necessarily a popular thing, at least the way in which our world values its use of time. But most people in our lives here in this great country have some understanding of church: why people go to church, the point of church, that sort of thing. Even if they perhaps don’t want to go, they will usually respect your commitment to go to church on Sunday morning.

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Welcome to the Church of Don Draper

By Joel Hess –

Mad Men did many things well, but its brilliant dialogue lifted it from T.V. drama to a Shakespearean masterpiece. I don’t know of a show with so many great quotes, outside of Seinfeld. Yet most importantly the scripts magnified the underlying cancer that produces the rotten sores and symptoms we see in society today! Therefore, what more fitting setting for such a show than an advertising firm!

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OT Encounters: Lamentations 3:22-33 – Chesed!

By Jeff Pulse –

The Old Testament text for this Sunday, July 1, 2018, the sixth Sunday after Pentecost, is from Jeremiah’s book of Lamentations. The text is Lamentations 3:22-33 and is one of the few texts in the pericopal system from this writing. Lamentations, as the name indicates, is full of laments and woes. However, our text for this Sunday has a strong message of hope and confidence in the LORD. In the overall context of Lamentation, this text stands out as a breath of fresh air, or perhaps more accurately as words of relief after so much dismal lamenting!

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Learning to hate VBS

By Cindy Koch –

Yes, that’s right. I know it’s that time of year when we all send our kids off to a week-long adventure in loosely related Bible themes. I also know that is close to a mortal sin to not participate in at least one VBS a year, at least in my community. But every year at this time I begin to write this blog, then reconsider and delete the whole thing. It’s been building for quite a while now: I have learned to hate VBS.

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Identity in the Depths

By Hillary Asbury –

Lately I have been reflecting on the unique challenges one faces when maintaining a creative career.

It’s a little odd, building a business by manufacturing products based on one’s private thoughts and feelings. My thoughts are inspired by many things—by experiences and certainly by Scripture. Those thoughts coalesce into a vision, and that vision eventually becomes a piece of artwork, which I will likely sell. Sometimes it feels as though I am selling my heart, my mind, my soul. It’s why, as a young artist, I found it difficult to let go of my work or sell it. It’s why many artists struggle to price their paintings.

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Angry at the Gospel

By Cindy Koch –

Just when I thought everything was OK, someone comes along and says those unexpected words: “I forgive you.” Immediately, something turns in my stomach. The dread of exposure washes over me. Someone else has seen my dirty secret. Someone else has recognized that hidden path that I have been following. I didn’t even know I was doing it. And someone else just called me a sinner—right to my face.

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