The Joshua Victor Theory

  In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. “Why do I have to go to church?” When we hear questions like these, maybe from children, or maybe from our own heart, we might ask more similar questions. “Why do I need to eat good food? Why do I need to sleep? Why should I exercise?” If we know how to answer those questions well, then we will better answer questions like “Why do I have to go to church?” Health. Well-being. We need it in body, mind, and soul. We need healthy rhythms for a healthy, wholesome life. Not a “law” or “demand” to “burden yourself” with nutrition, sleep, and exercise, or the spiritual rest and feeding of worship—rather, it is a gospel gift! It’s God’s generous blessing and a healthy rhythm for our own good! But sometimes “rhythms” seem boring and repetitive. Get up early every morning for school. Wash your face, eat breakfast, brush your teeth, make your bed. At the end of the day shower and clean up before bed and brush again. G...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. The Olympics always feature dramatic stories of the struggle, perseverance, and the hard-fought victories of athletes, and the hardships and intense training that preceded their competition for the gold medal. The attention focused on the athletes is intense; often they are flattered with praise—but just as quickly they can bear the brunt of criticism, suspicion, or doubt, for their failures inside and outside of the game. Every athlete faces the specter of discouragement and the temptation to quit, when the road gets tough. The stakes are high, with the whole world competing, only once every four years, and with only 3 medals to be captured in each event Last week Pastor Roschke drew on the imagery of the “race” that we are running “by faith” as Christians. How “Team Emmanuel” is being cheered on by the cloud of witnesses in heaven, who are encouraging us as we run the race, with...