LET CHRIST: DEC. 29, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
As we step into the new year, Paul’s words to the Colossians remind us that the Christian life isn’t about striving to accomplish an impossible checklist. It’s about letting Christ—letting Christ’s peace, love, and word dwell in us and work through us. In a world focused on resolutions and self-improvement, Paul invites us to surrender, trust, and clothe ourselves in Christ.
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INCARNATION: DEC. 25 CHRISTMAS DAY
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Incarnation – the divine becoming flesh - is a wildly radical notion. Most religious thought in human history has firmly fixed a chasm between heaven and earth, between divinity and humanity. Yet we proclaim that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” What does this mean?
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SILENT NIGHT: DEC. 24 CHRISTMAS EVE
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Calling the night of our Savior’s birth :silent” seems an historical stretch. After all there were noisy animals, singing angels, shepherds speaking, and a crying baby. There were also many voices in the world made it seem impossible that anything or anyone important could happen in Bethlehem. Our love of this carol seems to be rooted in not the facts of the event but the longing we have to find an end to the violence, cries of suffering, and voices of injustice and despair that are all around us. Perhaps that is what this savior brings.
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THE WORLD IS ABOUT TO TURN: DEC. 22, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Mary’s Magnificat isn’t a lullaby—it’s a revolution. The world is about to turn, and everything is changing. A humble girl sings of God’s justice, lifting the lowly and scattering the proud. This isn’t just ancient history—it’s the hope we hold onto today.
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BROOD OF VIPERS: DEC. 15, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
When John the Baptist addresses his congregation as a “Brood of vipers,” it hardly seems like good news. Rather than an insult, however, John is calling out the misguided notion that we can avoid judgment because we’re the right kind of people. We shall all be shaped for life in the reign of God through judgment or repentance. Repentance invites us to live in the presence of Christ now as people dedicated to justice, love, and compassion. It is very good news, indeed.
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LESSONS & CAROLS: DEC. 8, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Worship features readings of the season and music by the Adult Choir and a small chamber ensemble.
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STEWARDING HOPE: DEC. 1, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Advent is more than waiting—it’s stewarding hope. In a world weighed down by uncertainty and injustice, how do we rise up and see signs of God's kingdom breaking in today?
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CHRIST, THE KING: NOV. 24, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
To whom will we give our lives to? That is the question on the Festival of Christ the King. Will it be the kings, presidents, rulers, and powers of this world? Wall Street or Madison Avenue? Or will we serve the only one “who was, who is, and the one coming?” as the Book of Revelation names him? Will we trust the powers and people who will pass away or the one who is eternal?
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BIRTH PANGS: NOV. 17, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Whenever the Bible speaks of suffering, war, or cataclysm of any kind we tend to assume it is speaking of God’s punishment. Jesus does not do that. Referring to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, “war and rumors of war,” he calls them “birth pangs.” This does not minimize the suffering and pain. It reminds us, however, that the birth pangs are not the baby. In these days of uncertainty and chaos, it is easy to fear the world is ending. It is in way. But these are the birth pangs, not the reign of God that will make all things new.
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MORE THAN JUST TWO COINS: NOV. 10, 2024
Holy Trinity Ankeny
What does it mean to give everything when you don’t have enough to begin with? A widow’s offering of two small coins challenges everything we know about generosity, trust, and faith. In a world that devours us, how can we respond with faith that holds nothing back? What does it truly mean to offer our all?
info_outlineHave you ever felt like life is more valley than mountaintop? Elijah did too. He stood against kings, called down fire from heaven, and yet, he found himself alone, exhausted, and ready to give up. But it was in that dark valley, not on the mountaintop, where God met him with the most tender, sustaining grace.
1 Kings 19:4-8 | Ephesians 4:25—5:2 | John 6:35, 41-51