Last weekend I competed in my first World Master Jiu-Jitsu competition. Over several days, hundreds of athletes descended on the Las Vegas Convention Center for the biggest master’s competition in the sport. The whole event was awesome. I was terrified, anxious and eager all at the same time. To stand across the mat from a person I have never met and engage in a combat sport is something I never imagined I would find myself doing, especially at the age of 44. But there I was, and it was an experience I will not soon forget.
Salvation
By Cindy Koch – It is a happy day when I taste a California Strawberry. For years, even […]
By Paul Koch – I don’t think there can be any denying that our world is full of […]
By Cindy Koch –
All extremes, except extreme devotion to the Enemy, are to be encouraged. Not always, of course, but at this period. Some ages are lukewarm and complacent, then it is our business to soothe them yet faster asleep. Other ages, of which the present is one, are unbalanced and prone to faction, and it is our business to inflame them.” – C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
Set in the turbulent time of World War II, this fictional conversation between demons enlightens the continually crafty work of the modern Satan. Demon Uncle Screwtape writes advice to his devilish nephew, Wormwood, regarding the fate of a person on earth. This man struggles with the most common of things: his friends, his mother, his faith, and what’s for lunch. But it is the task of the demon team to keep him at a far distance from their great Enemy, God.
By Paul Koch –
I have occasionally been asked about my preaching style. That is, every now and then someone will wonder why I preach the way I do. How do I choose what to focus on from a given text? Why don’t I use notes when I preach? Why won’t I just stay put in the pulpit like a good preacher? And to tell the truth, the short answer to such questions is that I am personally a terrible sermon listener. When I try to put myself in your shoes, when I actually sit in the pew and listen to a sermon, I get all fidgety, and it’s hard to keep focus and stay on track. My wife would most likely tell you it is easier to sit with all five of our children by herself than it is to be next to me. So, I have tried to make it a habit of wondering what it is like to be where you are, to be the listener rather than the speaker. I wonder what sort of questions you might be asking yourself, what sort of thoughts are going through your mind when you come to church. In fact, I wonder if you ever question what this is all about. When you get right down to it, what is church about?
By Joel A. Hess – He noted that first came the date of her birth And spoke of […]
By Paul Koch – This week our congregation hosted Vacation Bible School. It was a week of songs, […]
By Joel A. Hess – An old man and his granddaughter were marveling at the stained glass windows […]
By Paul Koch – Palm Sunday is a day of great motion and transition in the life of […]
By Paul Koch – There is this great Monty Python sketch from the movie The Meaning of Life […]
By Joel A. Hess – I still remember visiting Mary. She was in the memory ward at Samaritas […]
By Paul Koch – Today in the church year we turn our attention to the transfiguration of our […]
By Joel A. Hess – I have certainly enjoyed a good laugh or two watching so many preachers […]
By Paul Koch – Well happy St. Valentine’s Day, my friends! Today is a day for matters of […]
By Paul Koch –
There is something fascinating and beautiful, even poetic, about a well-set table. When you enter into a room and the table has more glasses, plates, and silverware than seem necessary for a single meal, you know you are getting ready for something special, something beyond the usual. It is no longer just about eating; it is about an experience, about conversation, laughter, and fellowship. There is a ritual to the whole event as well, movements that all the guests will go through as they create memories that evening. There is love, I think, encapsulated in the abundance. In the courses and the wines, the cloth napkins and the dessert forks, there is graciousness and kindness.
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 men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5)
By Paul Koch –
At its core, the Christian faith is offensive. That’s not to say it’s crass or rude, though I suppose it could be. Rather, it is decidedly at odds with the ebb and flow of the ways of the world. Though we may like to play nice, to try and act just like everyone else, the truth is, to repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ is to offend much that is held sacred by our world. We can’t just get along with everyone else, to confess that we believe one particular thing is to say the we reject those things that are in opposition to such a confession. And the things that you confess have plenty of opposition. To confess that there is no other name under heaven by which men are saved is to say that those who look to other gods for comfort and security and salvation are on a fool’s errand, it also means that those who would have you find security in your own wisdom or strength or good works are to be rejected. To confess salvation in Christ alone is a narrow and offensive thing.
By Hillary Asbury –
I love nativity scenes. I love the art of them, that they are all so unique. Whether made from a mold or hand carved, these small sculptures become interactive artwork when we set them out, recreating the scene as we like. This is liturgical art at its best: artwork which tells a story loud and clear. We always have Mary, Joseph, and the Christ child. Often we have a donkey, there to tell us what sort of conditions Jesus was born under. Almost always we have wise men, bowing and offering their gifts. Sometimes there is a shepherd, a sheep, and an angel to tell the story of the shepherds in the fields who were visited by angels heralding the birth of our Lord. Together, these pieces come together to tell a familiar Christmas story, and when most of us look at them, we know exactly what they mean.
By Joel A. Hess –
Just as the Hallmark channel and Freeform marked the holiday season with bizarre Christmas theme soap operas your friends with PhDs from the Discovery Channel have begun to distribute their dissertations about the pagan origins of Christmas. Now try not to get your self-righteous Hanes in a bunch and lose a friend. If, like watching Elf for the millionth time, you can’t help yourself, try one of the following responses.
By Paul Koch –
We all are familiar with Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken.” It is about a traveler who comes upon a fork in the road. One way is clear and beautiful and well-travelled and the other showing no sign of foot traffic at all. The point reflected in the poem is the beauty and adventure of living a life that takes the road least travelled. We like that image. Whether we see ourselves as the one taking the road least traveled or the one playing it safe and going with the flow, we like to imagine our life as one made of forks in the road, choices that you make to decide your life. And this image of choices is not contained in your temporal life only, in how your conduct yourself to advance in your career, or what physical adventure you take on. No, you like this image about your eternal life as well. You like to imagine that you must navigate carefully through the forks in the road in your quest to enter into eternal life, to come into the kingdom of God.