DELIVER US FROM EVIL: DECEMBER 28, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
The Holy Innocents of Bethlehem are the first martyrs. To destroy Jesus, Herod orders all the baby boys under two to be killed. What do we make of this evil? What hope can we gain from this story? Even as we pray “deliver us from evil” the evil persists.
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THE WORD AMONG WORDS: DECEMBER 25, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
There are a lot of words in the world. Many, maybe most, bear little meaning. At worst, they divide us and promote the worst in us. Jesus is proclaimed as the Word made flesh, and we might wonder if we can bear another word. This Word, however, brings life to a dying world, and light to the darkness of our existence.
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FOR YOU: DECEMBER 24, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
It is easy to lose track of Jesus as we celebrate Christmas. Buried underneath layers of tradition, Christ’s birth gets lost. We relegate the event to the distant past and remember it in ways that take faith to grasp who he is, where we find him, and why it matters to us. The truth of the story is that the savior and Lord, Jesus is found in obscure places among people who are considered nobodies. The truth is that he is born into this world for you.
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IN THE UNRAVELING: DECEMBER 21, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Joseph was righteous. He was faithful. And he was completely stuck. Every option felt like loss. Every path forward felt impossible. He couldn't sleep. He just waited, faithful, afraid, and alone. Matthew 1:18-25 | Isaiah 7:10-16
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ARE YOU THE MESSIAH? DEC. 14, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
John the Baptist has announced the coming of the Messiah and called the people to repent and prepare. Sitting in jail, awaiting his fate, he sees none of the things he expected from the Messiah’s coming. No conquering armies, no defeat of enemies, no judgment. He asks, “Are you the one, Jesus?” Maybe he got it all wrong. Jesus points to the signs of his reign – the blind see, the deaf hear, the poor receive good news. John was right about Jesus. He just had the wrong expectations.
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ADVENT OF PEACE: NOVEMBER 30, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Our theme for this season is either bold or foolish. In a world beset by violence, war, strife, and division, we declare that peace has dawned. Images of swords fashioned into plows and Paul’s declaration that salvation is ever nearer call us to faith in Christ, not faith in a world gone mad. They call us to live anticipating what is promised instead of assuming life is just more of the same.
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THE REIGN OF SCARS: NOVEMBER 23, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Jesus sat down at the right hand of God, with the scars still in his hands. What kind of king keeps his wounds? There's something about those scars that reveals who this king really is. Luke 23:33-43 | Jeremiah 23:1-6 | Colossians 1:11-20
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SIGNS OF THE TIMES: NOVEMBER 16, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
SIGNS OF THE TIMES The “signs of the times” can be frightening. Violence, division, warfare, government shutdowns, corporate layoffs leave us reeling. The “signs of the times” can leave us feeling helpless, sure that there is nothing that can be done. The “signs of the times” can make us passive, hoping someone else will deal with the problems. The “signs of the times” are passing away. People of faith are called to live and be “signs of the new age” inaugurated in Christ and his death and resurrection.
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WRONG QUESTIONS, RIGHT ANSWER: NOVEMBER 9, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
A woman marries seven brothers. They all die. The Sadducees think they've created the perfect trap: whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Checkmate, Jesus. Except Jesus isn't playing games. His answer flips everything and invites us to live as children of the resurrection, free from fear's grip. Wrong questions. Right answer. Readings: Job 19:23-27a | Luke 20:27-38
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THE HOLY ONES: NOVEMBER 2, 2025
Holy Trinity Ankeny
Christians today don’t like to think of themselves as “holy.” That is reserved for superhero Christians. Perhaps a little false humility or a desire to keep expectations low makes us shrink from claiming our divinity as ones created in the image of God and redeemed by Christ’s love. Christians today also don’t want to get anywhere near thoughts of death or sadness, even though, in Christ, death has been overcome. That makes the Feast of All Saints hard to celebrate but essentially important. In a world of darkness, the light of God, as it shines in the lives of the Holy Ones of God,...
info_outlineDavid went from heroic boy and courageous king to rapist and murderer. He was God’s chosen. Was God mistaken? Though we all assume we are “good” people, David’s story shows that we are not. What does God do with people whose hearts become stained and broken?