Holy Trinity Ankeny
287 episodes - English - Latest episode: 6 days ago - ★★★★ - 5 ratingsHoly Trinity Lutheran Church
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GOOD SHEPHERD – GOOD SHEEP
April 24, 2021 22:00 - 17 minutes - 12.7 MBThe image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd is near and dear to the hearts of many. The pastoral scene of grazing sheep on green hillsides gives us a sense of peace. And with the good shepherd nearby and on watch, what could be better? Scripture, however, has more to say about sheep and shepherds. If we are the sheep of God’s pasture, what does it mean that Jesus is the Shepherd? Is this image more than a comforting ideal? That is the question for us today.
Parking Lot Worship Service on April 18, 2021
April 18, 2021 14:00 - 27 minutes - 62.4 MBListen to the full worship service broadcast for the parking lot worship gathering on April 18, 2021.
Open Your Mind to Christ
April 17, 2021 22:00 - 8 minutes - 7.84 MBAt times we are all in the dark about God’s message of salvation. Let your mind be open to the truth of the Good News!
Lighten Our Darkness
April 10, 2021 22:00 - 18 minutes - 14.3 MBEaster was a week ago and Jesus is safely risen into heaven and reset in his historical context. Like Thomas, we probably doubt there is much more to it than that. After all, is there anything real about resurrection today? Right now? According to the writer of I John, Jesus is as concrete right now as ever, and resurrection is nothing less than living in a way that allows Christ’s presence to lighten the darkness of the world.
The Shroud of Easter
April 03, 2021 22:00 - 14 minutes - 10.7 MBFor the second Easter in a row, we are shrouded in the grip of a pandemic and a world of violence and death. What does the resurrection have to do with us? The women at the tomb share our shrouded joy. It is the prophet Isaiah who point us beyond to the culmination of the work Jesus began on that “eight day” of the new creation.
Good Friday: The Truth
April 02, 2021 11:00 - 15 minutes - 11.4 MBDuring his trial, Jesus tells Pilate he has come to testify to the truth. Pilate’s response is, “What is truth?” We live in an age when the truth is a slippery thing. Jesus, on the cross, however, reveals the truth about all the people in the story and about each one of us. Further, the cross reveals the truth about God. This is why we adore the cross on Good Friday.
Maundy Thursday: Beautiful Feet
April 01, 2021 11:00 - 15 minutes - 11.6 MBOn this evening, Jesus gathers with his disciples for dinner, but they received much more. Jesus does something to his disciples. He gives them a new experience along with a new command. Jesus shows them how to love. Not any kind of love, but how to love like Jesus. He does this through his actions of washing their feet. Jesus doesn't just stop there. Jesus will continue to live love as his beautiful feet take their final steps to the cross.
The Generous Undertaking
March 27, 2021 22:00 - 15 minutes - 8.83 MBThe passion of Jesus Christ is an enactment of love. It tells us the lengths to which God will go to embrace the world and love each and all of us. The Passion of Jesus Christ is the most powerful story of the generous undertaking Jesus embraced in his death.
Parking Lot Worship Service on March 21, 2021
March 21, 2021 12:00 - 29 minutes - 66.7 MBListen to the full worship service broadcast for the parking lot worship gathering on March 21, 2021.
Sermon Podcast: Trouble in Jesus' Soul
March 20, 2021 22:00 - 8 minutes - 6.19 MBJesus says a profound line: My soul is troubled. How does Jesus deal with the trouble in his soul? How can we deal with it when something troubles our soul?
Living Our Best Life
March 06, 2021 23:30 - 14 minutes - 11.1 MBThe Ten Commandments are a generous gift to the people of Israel and to us today. God's generous undertaking did not stop there. Out of love God came as the Word made flesh who dwelt among us. This week we hear about the ultimate generous undertaking to bring life to God's people through the cross.
TAKE UP YOU CROSS AND FOLLOW – REALLY
February 27, 2021 23:00 - 19 minutes - 13.7 MBJesus told his disciples three times that he would die - a crucified messiah. They didn’t get it. Neither do we. Luther said that we much prefer a theology of glory that is all about us. The trouble is, only the opposite – the theology of the cross – can save us, not just in the end, but right this minute.
Christ in the Wilderness, Christ in the World.
February 20, 2021 23:00 - 8 minutes - 5.9 MBThe Son of God went into the dangerous wilderness for a good reason.
Turn Around
February 17, 2021 12:00 - 15 minutes - 11.5 MBThe good news of Ash Wednesday is that if we will face the hard truths about life, death, failure and our brokenness, we have a way through it all in Christ. All we need to do is turn around.
Son of God, Son of Humanity
February 13, 2021 23:00 - 14 minutes - 11.1 MBIt took the disciples quite a while to figure out Jesus' identity as the Messiah. The Gospel of Mark makes it clear who Jesus is. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. Six days before the transfiguration of Jesus, he predicted his suffering, death and resurrection to his disciples. That is important because in the short span of one week, they experience Jesus as one who must suffer and as one who shines with the glory of God. What does Jesus' identity as the Son of God and Son of Humanity...
Healing
February 06, 2021 23:00 - 17 minutes - 12.6 MBOne of the central images we have of Jesus is that he healed the sick, blind, leprous, and lame. What do we do with this image when so many are still so sick today? What of the Covid-19 victims who were apparently not healed, but died instead? Perhaps, healing means something different to Jesus? Something more?
The Authority of Jesus
January 30, 2021 23:00 - 15 minutes - 10.8 MBWe don’t recognize authority very much in our culture today. For decades the authority of government, religion, institutions and even science have been eroded away by waning trust and individualism. So, where does that leave Jesus? Does the Christ have any authority in this world? Over my life? Over evil and suffering?
Good News for Burnt-Out Workers
January 23, 2021 23:00 - 14 minutes - 10.7 MBIn the daily grind of work, we can get worn down and burnt out. Jesus invites us to a new life of joy and purpose.
The Courage to Listen
January 16, 2021 23:00 - 17 minutes - 12.9 MBToday we hear the story of the Calling of Samuel. It takes courage to listen when God is calling and to respond to the call in humility and obedience. Your story is different than Samuel's, but just as important. You are called by name through the waters of baptism to the ministry of following Jesus.
Divisions
January 09, 2021 23:00 - 12 minutes - 9.13 MBHumans cannot survive, it seems, without establishing divisions between people. As a nation we are more divided than ever. Divisions between races, genders, sexual identity, class are tearing us apart. Is there any Good News that can address our fatal flaw of raising walls that divide? The Gospel of Mark offers a vision that begins in the baptism of Jesus.
Look and Listen
January 02, 2021 23:00 - 18 minutes - 13.4 MBDarkness is all around us in the form of disaster, disease and death. The only light that can truly illuminate is of God. Our effort to make our own light produces weak reflection and bulbs that burn out. So where do we find a light in the darkness that shines eternally? What is the source of the light that can dispel the despair of life? These are the questions of Epiphany. Maybe if we can look and listen, we will see!
Salvation Sighting
December 26, 2020 23:00 - 9 minutes - 5.83 MBToday's sermon is preached by Bishop Amy Current of the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the ELCA. We meet Simeon and Anna, two righteous, devout, and prophetic elderly adults who are waiting for the salvation of the world. Their waiting is over as the Christ child is revealed to them.
Unexpected Christmas
December 24, 2020 12:30 - 20 minutes - 14.2 MBCelebrating Christmas this year is, for many, a lesson in disappointment and discouragement. The pandemic has robbed us of gatherings and traditions that bring comfort to the season. It is all very disorienting. Joseph and Mary experienced this kind of disorientation too. Caused by a census rather than a pandemic, the effect was no less jarring. Then God entered the scene and reoriented them to the new thing God was doing. Perhaps it is so with us.
Mary, the Angel, and Us
December 19, 2020 23:00 - 14 minutes - 10.7 MBHave you ever felt like a nobody? Have you felt like you just don't matter to the world? The truth is you matter to the church, you matter to the community of believers, and you matter to God.
Rejoice!
December 12, 2020 23:00 - 19 minutes - 13.6 MBPaul writes to us in this week’s lesson, “Rejoice always!” In the middle of a pandemic? In the middle of a world going mad and coming apart at the seams? Rejoice? Really? Yes. Joy is different than fun or being happy. It is an act of God. Joy is part of humanity. It is part of you!
It's About Time
December 05, 2020 23:00 - 13 minutes - 9.22 MBIt is sometimes hard to hope for God’s salvation when suffering, injustice, diseases are all up and God does not seem any closer. In Advent we hope for God’s redemption and wonder why it is taking so long. It’s about time things changed! Don’t you think?
A Time to Wait
November 28, 2020 23:00 - 14 minutes - 11.1 MBWe have done a lot of waiting this year. We can envision the joy of seeing family and friends. We look forward to worshipping together, but we are not there yet. And so, we continue our waiting for just a little longer until the vaccines are approved and ready for distribution. Waiting is so hard. Waiting has always been hard for people. We live by our clocks and calendars. But God's time is different. What is waiting all about?
Thanks Be to God
November 25, 2020 23:00 - 16 minutes - 11.9 MBThis has been a tough year, and now heading into the holiday season it's likely going to continue for a while. Today's gospel is full of good news for our weary world.
Mercy Reigns
November 21, 2020 23:00 - 20 minutes - 14.4 MBOn “Christ the King” Sunday we proclaim that at the end of time, when the redemption of creation is complete, Christ will be ruler of everything. That answers the “who” of things. We should also think about the nature of Christ’s reign because what it shall be is already dawning. The story of the “Sheep and Goats” tells us that the reign of Christ is a reign of mercy.
Abundant Talents
November 14, 2020 23:00 - 20 minutes - 14.7 MBThis week, the good news is that our loving God gives to us abundantly, but who can say they have fully used what they were given? Also... the APOCALYPSE is coming. How much do we need to worry about it?
Flowing Water
November 07, 2020 23:00 - 19 minutes - 14.2 MBA mountain seems like an immovable object, eternally rooted in place. Yet, a steady flow of water, even a trickle, can change that landscape. Injustice, despair, grief, and death all seem to be immovable too. What can God do with such things, really?
For All the Saints
October 31, 2020 22:00 - 13 minutes - 10.6 MBToday is the Festival of All Saints. We gather to remember all the faithful and lift up those in prayer who have died during the past year. This has been a burdensome year as death has been ever before us and intruded into the lives of many families bringing sickness and death. Death stings; we try to avoid it, yet we are reminded today that death is not the end. Hope lives because Jesus lives! The kingdom of God will one day come in its glory. All who mourn will be comforted and God will wi...
Reformation
October 24, 2020 22:00 - 17 minutes - 14.4 MBWe celebrate Reformation differently today than we did last year due to the pandemic. We have had to reform our thinking and our behavior during the pandemic to continue sharing God’s love in worship. Today we remember the Reformation of the church in the 16th century, particularly by Martin Luther, but remembering he was one of many reformers of the church. Reformation is a movement. It begins when a spiritual transformation happens and the Holy Spirit moves in the church and the world to b...
Parking Lot Worship on October 18
October 18, 2020 14:00 - 27 minutes - 62.8 MBListen to the full worship service broadcast for the parking lot worship gathering on Oct. 18.
The Third Option
October 17, 2020 22:00 - 12 minutes - 9.21 MBJesus is presented with a false dilemma when confronted with the religious authority in Jerusalem, to choose between the lesser of two evils. He shows us a different approach.
BE ALREADY IN A NOT YET WORLD
October 10, 2020 22:00 - 17 minutes - 12.9 MBIsaiah 25 contains one of the most beautiful, powerful images of the future God prepares for us. It is a feast with all the nations present and at peace. At the feast death is swallowed up and tears are wiped away forever. The question is, “Will this ever happen?” The world is filled with much sorrow and suffering. Will God really overcome all that? Is this a real hope or wishful thinking? If we have eyes to see, there are glimmers of the feast to come, the future of God already present. It ...
Parking Lot Worship at HTLC
October 04, 2020 14:00 - 29 minutes - 66.6 MBListen to the full worship service broadcast for the parking lot worship gathering on Oct. 4.
What More Might God have Done?
October 03, 2020 22:00 - 13 minutes - 10.9 MBYou are invited to listen to the prophet Isaiah as he sings about the unrequited love that his beloved friend is experiencing. He speaks to the people of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah. His message is from his beloved friend, God, who is steadfast in love. The people learn there are consequences from failing to produce the fruits of love - justice and righteousness. This allegory and words of judgement speak to our reality also. God desires justice for all people. God wonders what ...
UNREQUITED LOVE
September 26, 2020 22:00 - 18 minutes - 13.3 MBWhile some may think the Biblical story, especially the Old Testament, is about an angry and vengeful God, the truth is quite the opposite. Scripture tells a story of God’s love for God’s people. It is a story of unrequited love, as time and again, God’s love is not returned or accepted. How can God’s steadfast love for us become steadfast love for God?
First or Last?
September 19, 2020 22:00 - 15 minutes - 11.3 MBJesus tells us the “last” shall be “first, and the “first” shall be “last.” What does this mean? Are we among the “last,” or are we among the “first”? If we think about that enough, we might find it both comforting and unsettling. The meaning of this phrase and the love of God go deeper than that.
The Radical Nature of God's Grace
September 12, 2020 22:00 - 11 minutes - 9.05 MBFrom the time of the Early Church until today the church community has known disputes. Many are over major theological issues but others are small and petty issues. Judgements are made from one side against the other, and a divide occurs. Paul tells us there is a better way than judging others. Judgment, after all is in the realm of God, not humanity. In a world that is filled with division, intolerance, and blame, Paul tells us of a better way to respond to disunity. Through grace we can we...
OBLIGATION TO LOVE
September 05, 2020 22:00 - 17 minutes - 12.7 MBThe apostle Paul is very clear throughout 11 chapters of his letter to the Romans: God loves you. You are the beloved of God. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Living in love, however, is not about romance and warm feelings. In Romans 12-13 Paul explains about the obligation to love.
What Love Looks Like
August 29, 2020 22:00 - 16 minutes - 12.8 MBPaul commands us to love the community of faith, but he goes further and describes how to love others in the world; even our enemies. In a world where some love some people some of the time, and others not at all. What would the world look like if the followers of Jesus love all the world all of the time? It's a hard task, but Paul thinks we are up to it. It means swimming against the current. It also means living by grace freely given to each of us.
So What?
August 22, 2020 22:00 - 18 minutes - 13.1 MBPaul proclaims, for eleven chapter in the Letter to the Romans, that nothing, nada, zip can keep humanity from God’s love. It is Good news of the most abundant type. Unconditional love revealed in Christ. So what? If the new is so good, why does the world seems so bad? Read on, friends. Paul has some thoughts on the “so what” of the good news and what grace really looks like in our lives.
Promises
August 15, 2020 22:00 - 15 minutes - 11.9 MBPromise; we make them, we work hard to keep them, we break them, we change them, and we forget them. Today we hear about promises as we continue our Series: “Good News: It’s What Grace Looks Like." Paul addresses the issue of will God keep God’s promises.
Proximity of Grace
August 08, 2020 22:00 - 13 minutes - 9.01 MBIn times of chaos and trial we may wonder why God does not seem to be around. It was true for Elijah. It was true for Peter. Paul assures that God’s grace brings God much closer than we can imagine. Paul declares that salvation is as close as our lips and hearts… How is this possible?
God Acts
August 01, 2020 21:55 - 12 minutes - 8.83 MBPaul proclaims in language that soars, “Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ.” (Romans 8) Really? What if we reject God? What about sinners? What about the people of Israel? Grace and the good news are hard for us because we forget who makes us God’s people. Paul knows. Clue? It isn’t you.
Sin Chooses to Separate but That's not the End of the Story
July 25, 2020 22:00 - 20 minutes - 15.8 MBThe pandemic has caused us to physically separate from those we love. It hits the hardest when we cannot see loved ones who are in care facilities and hospitals, but the separation is for a very good reason of keeping our loved ones safe. Separation is hard; yet so much of our everyday life is surrounded with ways that we separate: language barriers, ethnic divides, educational differences, separation into red and blue states, and so much more. Paul proclaims in Romans 8 the Good News about ...
ABBA! FATHER! GIVE ME HOPE
July 18, 2020 22:00 - 15 minutes - 10.9 MBHow do you know if you are “in Christ” or really have the faith that gives hope ? Are there rules to follow? Behaviors and habits to engage? Paul says that you are in Christ when Christ is in you, and it turns out that is pretty easy to know.
In Christ Jesus
July 11, 2020 22:00 - 15 minutes - 12 MBTo be in Christ Jesus means that Christ’s death and resurrection is our death and resurrection. To be in Christ Jesus is not about having some right or privilege that makes us better than our neighbors, but rather about being empowered to live life to a higher standard. To follow Jesus Christ is to live as a different kind of human, to live in holiness, joy, and sacrificial love. The higher standard to which we are called is not unachievable perfection nor is it some impossible standard that...