Holy Trinity Ankeny

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

INFINITE FORGIVENESS: September 13, 2026 09/13/2026

INFINITE FORGIVENESS: September 13, 2026 When Peter asks Jesus how many times we are to forgive someone, Jesus answers, “Seventy-seven – or Seven times seventy.” What he means is, “Infinitely.” Can that be right? Is there no room in the world for “enough is enough?” Are there not some things that are unforgiveable? Apparently not. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42888740

OVERCOMING DIVISION: September 6, 2026 09/06/2026

OVERCOMING DIVISION: September 6, 2026 It is not news to say that the world and its inhabitants are divided, fragmented in a way that makes us give up hope. We just can’t help ourselves from our desire for revenge, retribution, and winning the argument. Jesus called his people, his Church, to bear witness to another way of life which restores hope, to be a light in the midst of the divided darkness. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42799900

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS: August 30, 2026 08/30/2026

TAKE UP YOUR CROSS: August 30, 2026 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42609000

THE SENTENCE YOU DIDN'T WRITE: August 23, 2026 08/23/2026

THE SENTENCE YOU DIDN'T WRITE: August 23, 2026 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42524615

CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE: August 16, 2026 08/16/2026

CRUMBS FROM THE TABLE: August 16, 2026 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42452000

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID: August 9, 2026 08/09/2026

THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID: August 9, 2026 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42366780

ALL YOU CAN. ALL YOU HAVE. - August 2, 2026 08/02/2026

ALL YOU CAN. ALL YOU HAVE. - August 2, 2026 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42290710

NOTHING SEPARATES: July 26, 2026 07/26/2026

NOTHING SEPARATES: July 26, 2026 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42216185

WHEAT AND WEEDS: July 19, 2026 07/19/2026

WHEAT AND WEEDS: July 19, 2026 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42143005

ALREADY HOME: July 12, 2026 07/12/2026

ALREADY HOME: July 12, 2026 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/42047965

A NATION OF PEACE AND HUMILITY: July 5, 2026 07/05/2026

A NATION OF PEACE AND HUMILITY: July 5, 2026 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41965795

THE YOKE: June 28, 2026 06/27/2026

THE YOKE: June 28, 2026 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41849075

DEAD TO SIN. ALIVE TO GOD. June 21, 2026 06/21/2026

DEAD TO SIN. ALIVE TO GOD. June 21, 2026 A core belief of our congregation is “God's love is not earned but is a free gift to broken people.” The question is, does God’s love revealed in Christ leave us broken? Paul says, “By no means!” To be baptized, to be a disciple of Jesus, is to leave the old life, the brokenness, behind and embrace a new life, even if it is hard to change. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41714990

WHAT CHRIST FINDS: June 14, 2026 06/14/2026

WHAT CHRIST FINDS: June 14, 2026 We are remarkably committed to carrying things alone. Even when help is available. Even when the effort costs us more than accepting it. Somewhere in all that stubborn self-sufficiency, a belief settles in so quietly we don't notice it arriving: no one is coming. Matthew 9:35–10:8 | Exodus 19:2-8a | Romans 5:1-8 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41637150

ANOTHER WORD: June 7, 2026 06/07/2026

ANOTHER WORD: June 7, 2026 The world is very good at speaking final words over us. And we have been carrying some of them for a long time. But there is someone who keeps showing up, past the booth, past the crowd, past the bedside, and he is not done speaking. That word has your name on it. Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41562820

INTO THE CHAOS: May 31, 2026 05/31/2026

INTO THE CHAOS: May 31, 2026 We have been gripping for a very long time. Managing the unformed places. Performing a certainty we do not have. Because somewhere underneath everything, we believe that chaos means God has already looked away. But that is not how this story begins. Genesis 1:1-2:4a | 2 Corinthians 13:11-13 | Matthew 28:16-20 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41481020

THE RIVER ALREADY KNOWS: May 24, 2026 05/24/2026

THE RIVER ALREADY KNOWS: May 24, 2026 We have spent a long time on the bank. Watching. Admiring. Keeping ourselves dry and in control. But there is a current underneath all of it that has been moving the whole time, and it didn't ask our permission before it started. The question Pentecost keeps asking is the one we keep not answering. John 7:37-39 | Acts 2:1-21 | 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41406125

THE HALLWAY: May 17, 2026 05/17/2026

THE HALLWAY: May 17, 2026 We are waiting. We have been waiting. For the door to open, for things to resolve, for real life to finally start again. What if we've been wrong about which room we're in? John 17:1-11 | Acts 1:6-14 | 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41323160

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD: May 10, 2026 05/10/2026

TO THE UNKNOWN GOD: May 10, 2026 We are exhausted. Not tired. Exhausted. And we cannot stop. We have been building altars about it for a very long time. And none of them are working. But there is another way. Acts 17:22-31 | John 14:15-21 | 1 Peter 3:13-22 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41237745

THE STONE WE DON'T RECOGNIZE: May 3, 2026 05/03/2026

THE STONE WE DON'T RECOGNIZE: May 3, 2026 An arrest. A sermon. A challenge. A response. The stones didn’t come from the faithless ones. Just ask Caiaphas. Acts 7:55–60 |1 Peter 2:2–10 | John 14:1–14 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41131620

NOT EVERY VOICE: April 26, 2026 04/25/2026

NOT EVERY VOICE: April 26, 2026 There are a lot of voices. And most of them sound convincing. But not every voice gives life. John 10:1-10 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/41011470

ROAD TO NOWHERE: April 19, 2026 04/19/2026

ROAD TO NOWHERE: April 19, 2026 When two of the disciples who followed Jesus left town after the crucifixion, they took the road to Emmaus. It was a road to nowhere. Their hopes for the Messiah were broken; Jesus’ death brought grief and despair. The “powers that be” had one more crushed hope on the wheels of history. They could not even recognize Jesus when he began to walk with them on this dark road. Then, however, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to them and they could see him. Hope rekindled sent them scurrying back up the road to Jerusalem on the road to somewhere. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40925885

STUCK: April 12, 2026 04/12/2026

STUCK: April 12, 2026 The response to Jesus’ death in John’s gospel is grief, fear, and unbelief. His followers are stuck and unable to set themselves free. The appearance of the resurrected Jesus sets them free and puts them on a new path. We are people who know about being stuck in grief, fear, and unbelief. These are hallmarks of our world. How does the resurrection set us free? /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40817455

LIVING HOPE: April 5, 2026 04/06/2026

LIVING HOPE: April 5, 2026 Resurrection announces that we live not driven by wishful thinking of a world that somehow gets better on its own, but by a living hope rooted in God’s constant action that brings hope from despair, joy from mourning, and life from death. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40745325

THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM: GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2026 04/04/2026

THERE THEY CRUCIFIED HIM: GOOD FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2026 Four words. There they crucified him. John doesn't linger. Doesn't explain. Just moves on. We do. Because the man on that cross didn't stay there because of what he was against. He stayed because of what he was for. John 18:1—19:42 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40729825

WATER AND A TOWEL: MAUNDY THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026 04/03/2026

WATER AND A TOWEL: MAUNDY THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2026 Jesus commands us to love as he loved us. But words sometimes get bent and even a word like "love" can become vague or disputed. So, instead of just words, Jesus washes feet. That action shows us love instead of telling us about it. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40719940

GLITTERING SADNESS: MARCH 29, 2026 03/29/2026

GLITTERING SADNESS: MARCH 29, 2026 Palm Sunday is supposed to feel like triumph. Palms waving. Hosannas shouting. But Matthew says the whole city was troubled. Shaking. And nobody could quite answer the question. Who is this? That tension, the beauty and the ache mingled together, that is glittering sadness. And there is a king who rides straight into the middle of it. Matthew 21:1-11 | Philippians 2:5-11 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40657640

CAN THESE BONES LIVE? - MARCH 22, 2026 03/22/2026

CAN THESE BONES LIVE? - MARCH 22, 2026 Emilie Bouvier from ELCA World Hunger shares stories and reflections on ELCA ministries and today's readings of breath, bones, and resurrection. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40572040

BLIND: MARCH 15, 2026 03/16/2026

BLIND: MARCH 15, 2026 Jesus encounters a man born blind. He gives him his sight. That should be enough of a story to tell, enough to convince us Jesus is who he says he is – the light of the world. It is not. As the story unfolds, we find ourselves realizing that the blind can see and the sighted are blind. We see how our lack of compassion, fear, and insistence that we are right keep us from seeing the grace of God before our eyes, so the light never captures the heart. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40488360

STILL THIRSTY: MARCH 8, 2026 03/09/2026

STILL THIRSTY: MARCH 8, 2026 She came to the well with a jar. She left without it. Not because it was filled, it never was. Because somewhere in that conversation she understood something that changed everything. Water in a jar is not living water. Readings: John 4:5-42 | Romans 5:1-11 | Exodus 17:1-7 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/40365780

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