Salvation

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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Here’s to Hoping!

By Bob Hiller –

Football is back! Hallelujah! The dog days of summer are over! Joy has returned! Saturdays have purpose again! My Sunday post-church ritual is lined up. Though I am sure to see less of my Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos as I am now living in San Diego Charger territory, they will certainly be getting plenty of time in the national spotlight. In fact, you will be reading this blog the morning after Thursday’s season opener between the Carolina Panthers and the champs. Have I mentioned Denver beat up on Carolina in the Super Bowl? Anyhow, I hope that this blog finds you celebrating another Bronco victory.

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Jesus Got Pwned

By Jaime Nava –

God made husband and wife. The devil tempted the wife. She went outside her programming. Her work (and her husband not doing crap to stop her and also going out of his programming) caused a virus to enter into the program of creation. Now there’s lag. Now there are crashes. Now there are blue screens of death upon humanity. The Scripter could have wiped the drive and started over. He didn’t.

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Where Do You Come From?

By Paul Koch –

The Olympic games are an amazing spectacle. To be able to watch the best in the world compete on that grand stage is awesome. The speed, accuracy, dedication and strength on display often leave us in a state of shock. But every time the Olympic Games come around we are reminded that just as much as we love watching the athletes compete so we also love the background stories of these athletes. We love to learn about individuals who’ve overcome incredible obstacles to make it to the Games. This year perhaps more than any other individuals the world learned about the Refugee Olympic Team. A group of athletes from the Sudan, Ethiopia, the Congo and Syria who came not just from poverty or single parent homes but they came from countries torn apart by war and unimaginable violence.

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“Love your Spouse” Challenged

By Cindy Koch –

It’s sometimes funny to me the debates I entertain in my own mind. And this week I debate with myself over the infamous #loveyourspouse challenge that is plastered all over Facebook and other such imaginary places. Seven days of pictures, seven days of lovely sayings, seven days of carefully selected moments, seven days to incur the jealousy and disgust of the not-as-happy virtual world. I put the question to myself – could I, should I, #lovemyspouse?

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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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The Idol of Conservatism

By Bob Hiller –

I’m not one to talk much about politics. Though, truth be told, I consider myself a pretty conservative guy. I like my government small and my morals traditional. A number of my friends are further left of center from where I stand, but we have great conversations about our views and go our way more edified for the chat. Our talks are respectful and actually pretty entertaining. I am always learning from the perspective of other people, even when I think they are off base. But, at the end of the day (and at its beginning), I think a more conservative attitude towards life is a better way to go. You see, I’m a pretty conservative guy.

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What Must I Do?

By Paul Koch –

We all know that our Lord used stories to teach the faith. He told parables to reveal how the Kingdom of God functions in this world, how we are to live in that kingdom, and what we can expect from our God in the final days of this dying age. Of all the parables that he told, two stand out as giants among all the others. Two parables, the parable of the Prodigal Son and the parable of the Good Samaritan tower above all others. These have a life beyond the pages of Scripture and the confines of Christian congregations.

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Drive Time

By Ross Engel –

Growing up in the greater Chicagoland area, one didn’t measure distance by miles. Distance was always measured in the amount of time it took to get somewhere. For example, when my wife and I were dating, I never would have said, “We live about 70 miles away from each other.” Instead, I would’ve said something like, “We live an hour away from each other.” Traffic and road types were always factored into the amount of time it took to get somewhere, since ten miles on one road might go by faster than five miles on another.

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Red Piano

By Cindy Koch –

Stepping into another chapter of life, we may pause after the page turn and ask a very important question. Who am I? I remember what I did last week. I recall the conversations I had. I can think of the people, places, and even the feelings of yesterday. But today, I sit and stare at the fresh page and ask that same question once again: who am I?

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Don’t Bore Me With Your Glory Days

By Joel A. Hess –

Last week, I was blasting Bruce Springsteen as I drove to a hospital in a nearby town to visit a sister in the hospital. He was singing “Glory Days.” Do you know the song? If you don’t, I’ll bet you know the feeling

I had a friend was a big baseball player 

back in high school 

He could throw that speedball by you 

Make you look like a fool boy 

Saw him the other night at this roadside bar 

I was walking in, he was walking out 

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Before Abraham Was…

By Paul Koch –

Today the church calendar calls for us to focus our attention on the teaching of the Holy Trinity. Now of all the days that this ancient calendar brings into focus, this one is quite unique. After all, every other day has to do with an event. Christmas, Easter, The Baptism of our Lord, Pentecost, Palm Sunday, these are all events that we then examine and learn from. But today is not an event at all. Today is the one time that we focus specifically on a doctrine. Today we focus upon the church’s teaching that we have one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is the name into which we are baptized, the name that begins our worship together, the name that marks us as Christians.

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The Law and The Heir

 

By Caleb Keith –

Galatians 3:23-29 and Galatians 4:1-7 are two pieces of the same story. While separated by a chapter division, these verses are not divided in their message. The theme of this section could be labeled “The Law and The Heir.” Throughout these verses, the Apostle Paul tells the story of prisoners who were slaves, set free, and adopted as sons made to be heirs, who now receive a full inheritance. The letter to the Churches in Galatia omits the Apostle Paul’s typical greeting.

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The Names I’ve Forgotten

By Scott Keith –

“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels.” – Revelation 3:5

The other night, during one of our final dinners in England, we somehow wandered to the topic of old friends. We were discussing friends we had in common and those with whom we had lost touch. At one point in our conversation, the name of my friend Justin came up, and I was again, almost inexplicably, brought to tears.

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Making an ASS out of U and ME

By Paul Koch –

Many years ago, I experienced a sort of enlightenment of self-awareness. It was one of those moments when you find yourself in a position to be able to step back and examine yourself and make new assessments that will impact your life. It happened in our basic hermeneutics class at the seminary, where I struggled with our primary text, What Does This Mean? by Dr. Jim Voelz. Voelz asserts right out of the gate that it is impossible to achieve a truly neutral reading of a text.

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