Holy Trinity Ankeny
287 episodes - English - Latest episode: 5 days ago - ★★★★ - 5 ratingsHoly Trinity Lutheran Church
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GRIEVING, AFRAID, FULL OF DOUBT
April 17, 2023 13:56 - 18 minutes - 12.9 MBSome might be surprised that a preacher feels the weight of grief, wrestles with fear, and sits in the dreary confines of doubt. You shouldn’t be. Preachers are all too human. Sometimes all a preacher can offer is a path into God’s Word where we find those who grieve, like Mary Magdalene; those who fear like the disciples; those who can’t believe like Thomas. Then together we can see what Jesus has to say to us.
RAISED WITH CHRIST
April 09, 2023 22:31 - 21 minutes - 15.4 MBPaul asserts that we “have been raised with Christ.” (Colossians 3:1). He does not say, “You shall be raised,” or “You might be raised.” Resurrection is a present reality for us today. What does that look like?
Good Friday Sermon
April 08, 2023 01:31 - 12 minutes - 9.15 MBThe Good Friday sermon given by Pastor Travis Segar.
Maundy Thursday Sermon
April 08, 2023 01:23 - 15 minutes - 10.8 MBThe Maundy Thursday sermon given by Pastor Tim Olson.
PARADES
April 03, 2023 14:25 - 16 minutes - 12.1 MBWe all love a good parade. Today, we hear about Jesus’ parade into Jerusalem. At the same time as Jesus’ parade, there is another one occurring on the other side of the city. The Romans are marching in to ensure law and order are maintained during Passover. And just as then, we are faced with the choice of which parade to attend. Which parade do we join? Jesus’ or Pilate’s?
CAN THESE BONES LIVE?
March 27, 2023 13:48 - 17 minutes - 12.2 MBThe prophet, Ezekiel, sees a valley of dry bones and God asks, “Can these bones live?” We may respond, “No. Life is hard and then you die.” Death seems to get the final word. Yet, God has something else in mind as dry bones become Spirit-filled people. Jesus raises Lazarus from death. In baptism, we die to sin, evil, and death to live as resurrection people.
IN THE DARK
March 20, 2023 13:49 - 17 minutes - 13 MBIt takes little imagination to see that the world we inhabit is a pretty dark place. Hunger, violence, hate, war, failed banks, hungry people… all these things and more rob our souls of light and place a heavy burden on our shoulders. The gospel, however, tells us that “we are children of the light.” We need not solve the darkness of the world, we need only reflect the light of Christ given as we gather, listen, receive Christ, and are sent into the world to imitate the one who banished the ...
LIVING WATER
March 12, 2023 18:28 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBThe woman at the well in today’s Gospel brings an empty jar to a well and has an encounter with Jesus. The woman brought a jar to fill up with water. We all have jars that we carry around hoping to fill up with something. Most times it is with things that are not life giving. Jesus offers us another way.
THE LIVING WORD
March 06, 2023 14:43 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBOur lives are filled with words – billions of them each week. Our conversations, our media, social media, and mail are full of words that try to tell us what to think, how to act, and who we are. These are generally dead words – they can’t give us life, love, grace, or mercy. Each week the church gathers around the Living Word Jesus Christ. Through scripture, hymns sung, sermons preached, prayers prayed, and creeds confessed Christ becomes a Living Word that grants new life.
GATHERED AND FORGIVEN
February 27, 2023 14:30 - 19 minutes - 14.4 MBIt is not just by the effort of those in attendance to roll out of bed that the people of God gather for worship. It is an act of the Holy Spirit to create a desire to come into God’s presence, to draw us to the grace and mercy of God that brings us together. So, how do people who have fallen and failed, who have struggled to have faith prepare to come into God’s presence? We don’t. Through confession and forgiveness, God says, “You are my child. Come. Gather.”
CHOSEN
February 20, 2023 14:22 - 15 minutes - 11.6 MBWe live in a culture where there are winners and losers. It seems like it doesn’t matter what we do, we are always in competition with someone. We compete for jobs and promotions, who has the best children, and who has the most stuff. And if we aren’t careful, we can think that we are loved because we are winners and we can feel unloved because we are not the winners. Living through the trials and tribulations of this world is a lot easier when we know we are loved; when we know we are chose...
THE LEAST WE COULD DO
February 13, 2023 14:57 - 17 minutes - 12.5 MBJesus says. “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder.’” (Matthew 5:21) That sounds reasonable. I think I can manage not to murder anyone so I can live in God’s reign of peace, justice, joy, and grace. It is the least I can do. Jesus, however, wishes for us to live in a way that is more than “the least we can do.” Jesus wishes for us the abundance of the reign of God.
SALT & LIGHT
February 06, 2023 15:35 - 16 minutes - 11.9 MBSalt in our day is cheap and plentiful. We even spread it on our streets. It was different in Jesus' day and culture. Salt was precious. Sometimes it is easy to forget that when Jesus calls us salt that he is calling us precious. Today we are reminded that we are precious.
BLESSED
January 30, 2023 14:32 - 17 minutes - 12.4 MBGod does not wish for us a world where peace officers beat a man to death, nor does God imagine a creation where shootings happen every day. In fact, God weeps over the ways of the world. In Christ, God has revealed the ways of God – justice, peace, mourning, and meekness. Christ’s way was rejected but in the resurrection, God said “yes” to our no.” We know what God desires. We know what will save us from the mess we’ve made. “To seek justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” ac...
JESUS CHOOSES US
January 23, 2023 15:18 - 22 minutes - 16.2 MBI love the Choose Your Own Adventure books. They give you options as to what happens next as you read, and there is always the ability for a do-over if you don’t like how the story ends. In today’s Gospel lesson, Simon, Andrew, James, and John have a choice. Jesus gives them the choice to follow him. It is the same choice we get to make in our own lives. Whether we chose to follow or not, Jesus chooses us. Time and time again, Jesus chooses us. So, when we choose Jesus, we choose the one who...
GOOD SOIL
January 16, 2023 14:19 - 52 minutes - 36.3 MBPlants need good soil to grow. We all know this. Jesus tells a parable that affirms this basic bit of science as he teaches that we are the soil that receives the seed of the gospel. Sometimes the world can dry out the soil of our lives, our hearts. The waters of baptism and the call of the Spirit refresh us to be the light of Christ in the world.
BAPTISM OF JESUS
January 09, 2023 15:42 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBThe baptism of Jesus becomes his gift to all who follow him into the water. More than just repentance or forgiveness, baptism establishes our identity and purpose.
It’s Not About That…
January 03, 2023 15:26 - 16 minutes - 12.5 MBToday’s Gospel details the journey of the magi to find the Christ Child. The story of the magi is interesting and full of things that catch our attention. And if we’re not careful, we can focus on all the wrong things about the story. The journey of the magi is a journey we all take in some form or another. Let’s focus on what is important in today’s Gospel: Christ is with us.
A MESSY CHRISTMAS
December 28, 2022 14:38 - 15 minutes - 11.1 MBJohn's Gospel account tells of creation. It tells of a God who created and who comes to us in the messiness of this world. Who isn't afraid of the messiness, and in that mess called life, claims us as children.
NOBODY GOD
December 28, 2022 14:17 - 19 minutes - 13.4 MBThe story of the nativity in Luke’s Gospel is a story of somebodies and nobodies. Augustus and the governor of Syria are somebodies. Joseph, Mary, Jesus, and the shepherds are nobodies. We should note where God shows up in the world. We should note the people to who God is revealed. Love is revealed in places where no one would go to people who don’t matter. That should be terribly good news to each of us.
God With Us - Emmanuel
December 19, 2022 17:48 - 16 minutes - 11.7 MBIn today's gospel reading we hear about Joseph's reaction to hearing the news his future wife is now pregnant. His world was turned upside down. It's at times like this God can feel far away. Matthew tells us that God is doing a new thing. That God will send a Savior. That this child that Mary is carrying will save us all.
AWAKEN PEACE
December 05, 2022 15:09 - 16 minutes - 11.5 MBThe prophet Isaiah announces that a descendant of David will inaugurate a day when the “wolf will lie down with the lamb.” This incredible vision of peace that extends to the depths of creation is hard to fathom. How can we hope for such a thing to happen? According to Paul, Jesus Christ is that descendant, that “shoot from the stump of Jesse” and the peace he brings begins with the reconciliation of Jew and Gentile, black and white, slave and free, male and female. The peace begins when we,...
AWAKE TO HOPE
November 28, 2022 14:49 - 22 minutes - 15.9 MBHoliday preparations are afoot, and they bring us some cheer. Advent, however, is about more than cheer, it is about hope. We hope for a world at peace. We hope that the violence and shootings will end. We hope the hungry will be fed. All these things can seem like wishful thinking, naïve longing for something that shall never be. So, how do we find hope in this season of hope?
IF...
November 21, 2022 14:37 - 21 minutes - 18.7 MBThis Sunday is Christ the King Sunday. Today’s Gospel text from Luke sure doesn’t seem like it should be read on Christ the King Sunday. There is one word that can trip us up. “If” is a word that can cause us a lot of problems in our lives. Cause us to doubt ourselves. And it can cause us to doubt God’s goodness. On this day and every day, Christ is King and there are no if’s about that.
ALL THINGS MADE NEW
November 14, 2022 15:20 - 17 minutes - 16.5 MBWhen Jesus and the disciples leave the Temple today, they comment on how grand it is. And Jesus, never one to forego an opportunity to teach, tells them that this temple will one day no longer be standing. I am sure that they heard this news as bad news. After all, the temple was the center of Jewish religious life. But this isn’t bad news. It is actually good news, especially to those on the margins of life.
WE ARE BOUND AND WE ARE BOUND
November 07, 2022 15:57 - 20 minutes - 16.9 MBThe Festival of All Saints is a day to remember the beloved dead who have gone before us. More than that, it is a day to ponder how the faithful people of God face the evil, suffering, and darkness of the world as the “communion of saints.” As people connected to Christ across time and space, we are bound together in love and bound for the promise of the kingdom of God. We are bound by love and bound for hope.
What is Faith?
August 08, 2022 15:48 - 16 minutes - 11.6 MBIs faith “believing the unbelievable?” Is it choosing to believe in religion or science? Is it accepting a certain set of teachings? Is it even possible in a world where many can’t believe in God when there is still suffering in the world? The writer of Hebrews says, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the conviction of things unseen.” The faith that sustains stands in the face of suffering, disappointment, grief, and pain and endured the journey. This is the faith of Abraham and Sa...
JESUS AND WEALTH
August 01, 2022 14:19We live in a world driven by money and possessions. Our financial desires and accumulations can do harm to our relationships with God, loved ones, neighbors, and creation. Jesus tells three stories about this phenomenon in Luke’s gospel. Each tells us that money and possessions cannot raise us from the dead. Each call us to cling to that which is eternal. His name is Jesus.
JESUS AND WEALTH
August 01, 2022 14:19We live in a world driven by money and possessions. Our financial desires and accumulations can do harm to our relationships with God, loved ones, neighbors, and creation. Jesus tells three stories about this phenomenon in Luke’s gospel. Each tells us that money and possessions cannot raise us from the dead. Each call us to cling to that which is eternal. His name is Jesus.
JESUS AND WEALTH
August 01, 2022 14:19We live in a world driven by money and possessions. Our financial desires and accumulations can do harm to our relationships with God, loved ones, neighbors, and creation. Jesus tells three stories about this phenomenon in Luke’s gospel. Each tells us that money and possessions cannot raise us from the dead. Each call us to cling to that which is eternal. His name is Jesus.
LORD, HAVE MERCY
July 25, 2022 13:29 - 16 minutes - 12.2 MBThe story of Sodom and Gomorrah is well known but little understood. Where Abraham grants lavish welcome to strangers and so, loves the neighbor, the messengers are threatened by the people of the city. The violence and cruelty to others is the evil (not homosexuality). We can ask, “How could God destroy whole cities?” God tells Abraham that if there are but ten righteous people in the cities they will be spared. Well, there are not ten, and so the question is also, “How can God not send jud...
MARTHA, MARY, ABRAHAM & JESUS
July 17, 2022 22:40 - 16 minutes - 12 MBDoing things is how many of us define ourselves. What we do determines who we are. The trouble is that when the doing gets interrupted or doesn’t go as planned, we become angry or hurt. The truth is that who we are determines what we do. Martha was “busy with many things,” like all of us. Being busy defined her and she thought it should define her sister Mary. Jesus, however, commended Mary not for what she did but for the identity she claimed as a disciple. Being a child of God, born of the...
THE MAN IN THE DITCH
July 11, 2022 01:42 - 10 minutes - 8.15 MBThe parable Jesus tells about loving our neighbor is often called, “The Good Samaritan.” Yet, the main character seems to really be the man broken, beaten, and left for dead in the ditch. Two people pass him by offering no help. Maybe too busy. Then a despised person comes and helps. For the man in the ditch, the character of the three who came along the road mattered not. His neighbor, the one who loved, was the one who helped. We may pass by the suffering people of the world for many reaso...
GOOD NEWS THAT SOUNDS BAD
July 05, 2022 13:54The good news is that we are born of the Spirit and children of God. By God’s grace alone we are beloved and nothing can change that. The bad news is that we are born of the Spirit and children of God and so sent into the world as lambs among wolves to share God’s love with the world. That can be frightening. Yet, God never intended us to passively wait for Jesus to return to bring love, peace, justice, and joy. We are to be participants in the process of resurrection. How do we do that? Jes...
GOOD NEWS THAT SOUNDS BAD
July 05, 2022 13:54The good news is that we are born of the Spirit and children of God. By God’s grace alone we are beloved and nothing can change that. The bad news is that we are born of the Spirit and children of God and so sent into the world as lambs among wolves to share God’s love with the world. That can be frightening. Yet, God never intended us to passively wait for Jesus to return to bring love, peace, justice, and joy. We are to be participants in the process of resurrection. How do we do that? Jes...
FREE TO BE
June 27, 2022 14:11Have you ever noticed how easy it is to do the wrong thing, the bad thing, the hurtful thing? It is easy to get angry, ignore someone in need, or yell at your child or spouse. Paul would say it is easy because we are enslaved by our desires and the expectations of the world. We have been set free in Christ from these slave masters. Through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and through the Spirit’s call, we are free to be the people God made us to be. It all just takes some practice…
FREE TO BE
June 27, 2022 14:11Have you ever noticed how easy it is to do the wrong thing, the bad thing, the hurtful thing? It is easy to get angry, ignore someone in need, or yell at your child or spouse. Paul would say it is easy because we are enslaved by our desires and the expectations of the world. We have been set free in Christ from these slave masters. Through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and through the Spirit’s call, we are free to be the people God made us to be. It all just takes some practice…
Labels
June 20, 2022 13:53 - 18 minutes - 13.7 MBSo many times we overlook others due to the labels placed on them. Too many times we notice others but do not see them. In laying down the labels and seeing others, we change not only them, but ourselves and this world. This is our calling.
OUR GOD’S NAME IS TRINITY
June 13, 2022 13:27 - 16 minutes - 12.5 MBTheologians from Augustine to Bonhoeffer have said that a god who can be explained is not a god at all. The Trinity is ultimately a mystery that keeps us from ever being able to define or confine God. God must be so transcendent that the bounds of space and time can contain God. Yet, God must also be present in our time and place. God must be wholly other than us and yet somehow be in us. The Holy Trinity is the announcement of God revealed in the cross and resurrection. A boundless love bet...
ABBA. FATHER.
June 06, 2022 13:36 - 10 minutes - 7.97 MBOn the Day of Pentecost, we remember the mighty rush of wind and the tongues “as of flame” that signified the coming of the Holy Spirit to the first followers of Jesus. We gather not really expecting the same kind of show. So, is the Holy Spirit a reality in our lives? According to Paul, whenever we cry out, “Abba, Father!” it is a sign of the Spirit. When we see the violence and suffering all around us, we cannot help but cry out to the one who has claimed us as “children of God” and “heirs...
TRUE FREEDOM
May 31, 2022 14:19 - 17 minutes - 12.3 MBPaul and Silas are in prison after a life-threatening beating. By all normal standards, they are not free. Yet, as the story in Acts unfolds, we find that the prisoners in jail are freer than the folks who put them there. The people of Philippi have become outraged that Paul healed a demon possessed young girl who was making money for her captors. Enslaved by greed they cannot see the cruelty and evil of enslaving a child for gain. The gospel of Jesus Christ has a way of redefining things. I...
NEW JERUSALEM
May 23, 2022 13:30 - 19 minutes - 14.5 MBThe Book of Revelation is full of frightening images and suffering which seem to fascinate many. Dragons and six-headed beasts rising from the sea certainly terrify. And yet, according to the news, the world we live in is just as terrifying. Shootings, war, pandemic. The goodness of God’s creation seems to be worked away by the evil around us. Into that, The Book of Revelation speaks of a New Jerusalem that promises hope, peace, and healing. In fact, the New Jerusalem is already under constr...
THE LIMITS OF LOVE
May 16, 2022 14:01 - 14 minutes - 10.6 MBJesus commands us to love others “just a I loved you.” (John 13:34) We usually love with limits. There are certain people who are beyond love’s reach: the unrepentant, those who do not believe as we believe, and those who commit grievous sins that are beyond forgiveness. And yet, that is not how Jesus loves. His love is limitless. He loves even you.
WHO IS WORTHY?
May 09, 2022 13:47 - 23 minutes - 17.1 MBThe Book of Revelation is a terribly misunderstood book. The images of death, destruction, and chaos are frightening – especially when used by preachers to frighten the faithful into more church attendance, giving, or volunteering. The question the terrifying images raises is not, “How can I avoid the struggle and suffering of the world?” Rather it is, “Who is worthy to lead us through the trials and usher in a new creation where our tears will be wiped away?”
A TERRORIST, COWARD, AND FAILED DISCIPLE
May 02, 2022 13:22 - 14 minutes - 10.8 MBSaul (Paul) was a terrorist. Ananais was a coward. Simon Peter denied Jesus three times. Yet, all three are subjected to the power of the resurrection and are changed. What does the resurrection do, not just to Jesus a long time ago, but to us in this place and time? That is the question…
THE ONE WHO IS
April 25, 2022 13:45 - 17 minutes - 12.6 MBIn the opening passages of the Book of Revelation, God is proclaimed as “the one who is, who was, and the one coming.” It is a play on the divine name, given to Moses – I AM. It seems like we are pretty good about thinking of the God who was – safely tucked away in history. We also like to think of God as a future in some far-off heaven. The struggle is to see and hear God right in front of our faces; to apprehend that God is, right this moment, in this place. So was the struggle for the dis...
Forsaken No More
April 17, 2022 19:31 - 14 minutes - 10.3 MBSuffering is part of the human condition. It is unavoidable. That knowledge does not help us face it. Most of us search for answers – especially from God – for the reason we suffer. Most answers are unsatisfactory – just ask Job. The cross is God’s answer to suffering. No words or theological formulations. On the cross, Christ utters, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” In that moment we see a God who answers the suffering of the world by sharing it and making us forsaken no more.
Is It I?
April 17, 2022 19:27 - 17 minutes - 12.5 MBTonight Jesus gathers with his disciples for a meal. Jesus knows his time has come to leave this world and return to the Father, so on this night Jesus gives his love to his friends. I invite you to settle in, feel the emotion of the evening, put yourself at the table with Jesus, and use all your senses this evening as Jesus comes to you tonight.