Jim Frech

One of the beautiful and frustrating things about biblical Christianity—about following Jesus—is the tension that we face between seemingly incompatible things. I say incompatible in the sense that we try to make sense of the ways of God while applying worldly wisdom and habits. It doesn’t work well and leaves us scratching our heads. Only […]

“Golden bars of sunlight come sneaking through the shutters laying stripes on my back like a zebra Sweaty fingers turning pages, and clinging to the bed like it’s a bride and I never want to leave her Paul calls me a ‘saint,’ and the mattress shakes with laughter and the sheets let out a chuckle […]

You’ve heard the old joke: My wife told me I have two main faults. One is I’m not a good listener, and I don’t remember what the other one is. Then there was the guy who was convinced that his wife needed hearing aids. So he devised a plan to test her. From the kitchen, […]

Taking the Lord’s Supper is a central component of our spiritual lives and our worship services. Here are some reminders I give to people as they prepare to lead our church in preparing for communion (what many churches call “communion meditations”). Keep it biblical. A Lord’s Supper meditation is always about Jesus. It’s about his […]

A little perspective: Sitting at the coffee shop doing some studying and sermon writing is sometimes a mixed bag. It’s great coffee, and away from some of the distractions of my office, but it’s also a public place with other customers. And sometimes it’s a place where young mothers congregate with their two-year-old children. Did […]

I am convinced that, to grow up, every young adult needs to spend some time volunteering with, tutoring, or coaching young kids. I recommend this whether the young adult is married with kids or single. No matter your athletic or artistic ability, no matter your income level or family background, every college kid or 20-something […]

How do we take the Lord’s name in vain? A common way to see this third of the Ten Commandments as prohibiting speech about God which misuses his name (e.g., using his name in an oath that you break). It is also possible to “take up” God’s name in a way that represents him poorly. […]

Look around social media over the last few days and you’ll likely see all kinds of photos of smiling children headed off to their first day of school. Some little ones are holding cute little chalkboards that state the school year, age of the child, etc. Perfect not only for social media, but for scrapbooks […]