By Paul Koch - The moment when our Lord steps into the waters of the Jordan River to be baptized by John is of great significance for the understanding of our faith. Here the identity and purpose of our Lord’s arrival come into focus. John the Baptist is doing what his namesake calls for him … Continue reading Buried and Risen
By Paul Koch - Once a month I gather with a group of my local colleagues. These fellow pastors in the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod come together to worship and study and discuss any pressing issues that need our attention. It is a gathering that I rarely miss. Not that it is always inspiring, but it … Continue reading Reconciling Pastors
By Joel A. Hess - January is a dark month. Christmas is over. Family has gone home. Decorations are down. The days are short. The nights are long. And in the northern Midwest it is downright freezing! The Winter blues even has a name: seasonal affective disorder, or winter depression. Apparently the lack of light … Continue reading Seasonal Affective Disorder & Epiphany
By Paul Koch - Today we arrive at the twelfth day of Christmas. On the first day of Christmas, we celebrated the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ, a partridge in a pear tree, born of Mary in the little town of Bethlehem. He came with the herald of God’s angels, appearing to shepherds tending … Continue reading Unlikely Guests
By Hillary Asbury - This month’s illustration is based on Exodus 19: 1 On the first day of the third month after the Israelites left Egypt—on that very day—they came to the Desert of Sinai. 2 After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert … Continue reading Illustration of the Month: Mount Sinai
By Paul Koch - When I was a child, I disliked clothes shopping. You remember the days when mom would hold up outfit after outfit and have you try them on one after another to try to get the perfect size (which was usually just a little too big so that you had room to … Continue reading Christmas Clothes
By Cindy Koch - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of … Continue reading Heavenly Light
