TAKE UP YOUR CROSS: August 30, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Jesus' invitation to “take up your cross and follow him” is the essence of the call to discipleship. What does it look like to take up the cross? Are we to be martyrs? Tortured? Imprisoned for our faith? That has happened to many, as the history of the church bears witness. For most of us, the cross comes as we choose the way of Jesus instead of the ways of the world and find friction. If you follow Jesus, the cross will find you.
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THE SENTENCE YOU DIDN'T WRITE: August 23, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
We have been finishing that sentence our whole lives. I am… and somebody else usually filled in the blank first. But there is an older word about who we are, spoken before anyone else got a vote. And it turns out, Jesus is still speaking it. Matthew 16:13-20 | Isaiah 51:1-6 | Romans 12:1-8
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CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE: August 16, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
When a Canaanite woman asks Jesus to heal her daughter his response seems, to us, rude. Rude Jesus? Not really. The story shows us that the promise of God in Isaiah 56 has come true – all nations will be drawn to God. The story also shows us that crumbs from the table of grace are more than enough.
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THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID: August 9, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
The women we encounter in scripture provide a powerful witness to God’s love and mercy. From Miriam to Mary, Hannah to Ruth, the women are empowered by God to preach, teach, proclaim, and praise. Pastor Paul Witmer, Lead Pastor of Women at the Well, a congregation in the Mitchellville Women’s Correction Center, is our guest preacher and mission partner.
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ALL YOU CAN. ALL YOU HAVE. - August 2, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
When Jesus sees the thousands waiting for him, he has compassion on them. The disciples see a problem. The people need to go home to eat. Jesus tells the twelve, “You give them something to eat.” All they have is five loaves and two fish. It ends up being more than enough. Twelve baskets of leftovers remain after all are full. Perhaps Jesus gives us the same command when we see the overwhelming problems of the world and all the suffering. “You give them what they need.” We are called to do all we can with all we have, in this place at this time.
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NOTHING SEPARATES: July 26, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Something in you has been asking whether this, whatever this is for you right now, might finally be too much. Too far gone. Beyond reach. Paul already asked that question, on our behalf, and searched the whole universe for an answer. Romans 8:26-39 | Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 | 1 Kings 3:5-12
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WHEAT AND WEEDS: July 19, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
What shall we do about the presence of evil in the world? Jesus’ parable of the “wheat and weeds” gives us an answer. We can’t really tell the difference between the two, so good and evil must grow up alongside each other. God will sort out the two in God’s good time. That is hard news for us when we want to judge others. It is good news when we are being judged.
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ALREADY HOME: July 12, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
We keep asking the same question, just in fancier clothes: Am I enough? We measure. We compare. We keep score against the person in the next pew. But Paul isn't answering that question. He's ending it. Romans 8:1-11 | Isaiah 55:10-13 | Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
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A NATION OF PEACE AND HUMILITY: July 5, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
As the nation observes the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence we are called to give thanks and to tell the truth. We are called to live into a vision established not by our own patriotism, but the vision of the reign of God revealed in Christ.
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THE YOKE: June 28, 2026
Holy Trinity Ankeny
There is a kind of hope that makes everything worse. We have all offered it. Most of us have needed it. There is another kind. It doesn't promise the weight will lift. But it will not leave you alone in it. Jeremiah 28:5–9 | Matthew 10:40–42
info_outlineThe vision of the “Sheep and Goats” in Matthew’s gospel is a perplexing bit of scripture. On the surface, it reduces inclusion in the reign of God to those who do good works—no room for grace. On the surface, it condemns the unrighteous to eternal damnation and the fires of hell. Neither notion jibes with the story of Jesus very well. So, what is Jesus trying to teach in this last teaching of Matthew’s gospel? It is about grace and mercy, of course.