Holy Trinity Ankeny

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: NOVEMBER 16, 2025 11/17/2025

SIGNS OF THE TIMES: NOVEMBER 16, 2025 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39060110

WRONG QUESTIONS, RIGHT ANSWER: NOVEMBER 9, 2025 11/10/2025

WRONG QUESTIONS, RIGHT ANSWER: NOVEMBER 9, 2025 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38977535

THE HOLY ONES: NOVEMBER 2, 2025 11/03/2025

THE HOLY ONES: NOVEMBER 2, 2025 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, is our only hope. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38892350

STILL REFORMING: OCTOBER 26, 2025 10/27/2025

STILL REFORMING: OCTOBER 26, 2025 Reformation Sunday isn't a history lesson. It's a mirror. God promised to write on our hearts - and that reformation is still happening. Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Romans 3:19-28 | John 8:31-36 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38793075

HEALING: OCTOBER 19, 2026 10/22/2025

HEALING: OCTOBER 19, 2026 As we observe the Feast of St. Luke it is common to focus on stories of healing. Tradition holds that Luke, the writer of a Gospel that bears his name and the Book of Acts, was a physician. Luke’s story of Jesus and the Church, however, is far more than a collection of healing stories. More than the healing of individuals, Luke tells us of how Jesus heals the whole world and sends his followers – the church – to do the same. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38741345

THE WORD WILL NOT BE CHAINED: OCTOBER 12, 2025 10/13/2025

THE WORD WILL NOT BE CHAINED: OCTOBER 12, 2025 There is a lot of discussion and questions about “Christian Nationalism” these days. It is a not a new phenomenon. It happens whenever people mix faith and patriotism into a stew that becomes neither patriotic nor faithful. It probably first appeared when Emperor Constantine won the battle at the Milvian Bridge under a banner with a cross. From that point, using Christ as a tool for political power became part of history. Today, the American version seeks to victimize those we disfavor, call empathy and compassion, diversity, and equity evil. The Word of God, however, will not be chained to any nation or ideal. We are citizens of God’s reign, not any country. The healing of one of the enemies of Israel, a citizen of another nation, makes the point. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38563255

SMALL FAITH, BIG GOD: OCT. 5, 2025 10/06/2025

SMALL FAITH, BIG GOD: OCT. 5, 2025 Habakkuk stands on the city ramparts, watching violence rage below, crying "How long, O Lord?" Centuries later, Jesus' disciples hear impossible commands and plead, "Increase our faith!" Jesus' answer might surprise you: the faith you already have is enough. It's not about your strength — it's about God's. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38480045

RICH & POOR: THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S ABOUT: SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 09/29/2025

RICH & POOR: THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S ABOUT: SEPTEMBER 28, 2025 Today's sermon is based on the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38394175

MONEY FADES, MERCY LASTS: SEPTEMBER 21, 2025 09/23/2025

MONEY FADES, MERCY LASTS: SEPTEMBER 21, 2025 Confederate bonds seemed like solid investments in 1862 - today they're worth $20 on eBay. Jesus's parable of the dishonest steward reveals which currency will outlast them all. Luke 16:1-13 | Amos 8:4-7 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38326015

TIRED: SEPTEMBER 14, 2025 09/15/2025

TIRED: SEPTEMBER 14, 2025 I don’t think I’m alone in being tired of the state of the world. What will address the warfare, violence, hatred, and just general meanness of this world? In a world where power, winning, material success, being number one, are the way we see things and what we strive for, there seems little hope of changing things. On this Holy Cross Day we are reminded that the way of the cross seems foolish in a winner-take-all world, but that foolishness has the power to save. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38223330

THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK: SEPTEMBER 7, 2025 09/08/2025

THAT’S GONNA LEAVE A MARK: SEPTEMBER 7, 2025 Being a disciple of Jesus is more than being a member of a church. There are costs to placing Jesus at the center of life to the exclusion of other things. Being a disciple leaves marks, and it begins with the cross affixed to our foreheads in baptism. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38128050

TABLES ARE NEVER NEUTRAL: AUG. 31, 2025 08/31/2025

TABLES ARE NEVER NEUTRAL: AUG. 31, 2025 A grandfather's coffee cup, a splash of milk, and a kitchen table full of chaos. Sometimes the most profound truths about God's kingdom hide in the most ordinary moments. If you've ever felt like you're scanning the room with your plate in hand, wondering where you belong, turns out your place was never in question. Proverbs 25:6-7a | Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 | Luke 14:1, 7-14 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/38034285

SABBATH CELEBRATION: AUG 24, 2025 08/24/2025

SABBATH CELEBRATION: AUG 24, 2025 Keeping the sabbath is often seen as an obligation. In this age, a time-worn, quaint vestige of a more religious culture. For Jesus, sabbath is not an obligation. It is a celebration of the freedom we’ve been given to be the people God calls us to be instead of filling the roles others give us. To observe Sabbath is to be fully human. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37937855

FIRE: AUG. 17, 2025 08/18/2025

FIRE: AUG. 17, 2025 When Jesus announces that he has come to bring fire upon the earth and division to families it is a little off-putting, don’t you think? Is he announcing punishment or is there a message of grace and good news buried somewhere in the midst of the perceived threat? We should always be aware that baptism into Christ is a baptism that puts to death the claims of this world and ushers in a radical new way of living. We are marked with the cross of Christ! /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37861805

THE HOLY THIEF: AUG. 10, 2025 08/11/2025

THE HOLY THIEF: AUG. 10, 2025 What if Jesus isn’t guarding the locks but breaking them open—freeing us from the prisons we didn’t even know we were defending? Genesis 15:1-6 | Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 | Luke 12:32-40 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37758105

WHAT HOLDS YOU? AUGUST 3, 2025 08/04/2025

WHAT HOLDS YOU? AUGUST 3, 2025 We build, we store, we cling. But beneath all that effort—what’s actually holding you? Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23 | Colossians 3:1-11 | Luke 12:13-21 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37662245

TEACH US TO PRAY: JULY 27, 2025 07/28/2025

TEACH US TO PRAY: JULY 27, 2025 When Jesus’ disciples ask him to teach them to pray, he gives them the Lord’s Prayer (or Our Father). He then instructs them with parables that assure them of God’s attention and desire to give us what we need (not always what we want?). Prayer is about a relationship with the living God, not getting favors. Throughout scripture we can find God’s people asking for things in prayer only to have God answer with something else. God teaches us to pray by example. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37577545

THE SACRED RHYTHM: JULY 20, 2025 07/21/2025

THE SACRED RHYTHM: JULY 20, 2025 When "crazy busy" becomes your default answer to "How are you?", maybe it's time to learn a different way to breathe. What if the story of two sisters arguing is about more than just dinner prep—and what if Jesus' response changes everything about how we serve? Genesis 18:1-10 | Colossians 1:15-28 | Luke 10:38-42 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37481020

THIS JOURNEY: JULY 13, 2025 07/14/2025

THIS JOURNEY: JULY 13, 2025 What if eternal life doesn’t begin at the destination, but in the ditch? What if the most important part of the journey isn’t where you're going—but what interrupts you along the way? Deuteronomy 30:9–14 | Colossians 1:1–14 | Luke 10:25–37 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37402440

PLENTIFUL HARVEST. FEW WORKERS. JULY 6, 2025 07/07/2025

PLENTIFUL HARVEST. FEW WORKERS. JULY 6, 2025 Jesus sends 72 (or 70) workers out to proclaim the peace of the reign of God and its imminent approach. The number is a symbol – Genesis says that there are 72 (or 70) nations in the world. Jesus is sending messengers to the four corners of the earth. There are only a few workers for such an enormous harvest. Times have not changed. As churches close, seminary classes dwindle and volunteers disappear we might wonder our fate as the church. This text is Jesus’ reply. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37307920

BURN IT: JUNE 29, 2025 07/02/2025

BURN IT: JUNE 29, 2025 What if the only way forward... was to set fire to everything holding you back? 1 Kings 19:15-16, 19-21 | Galatians 5:1, 13-25 | Luke 9:51-62 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37256830

I SEE YOU! JUNE 22, 2025 06/23/2025

I SEE YOU! JUNE 22, 2025 We humans are good at applying labels to each other. Short, fat, black, white, loser, winner… We drop bombs on “enemies,” we feed (or chastise) the “hungry. We apply a label and we think we know a person. When Jesus encounters a gentile, demon-possessed, man who is as good as dead (he lives in the cemetery), Jesus sees none of the labels. Instead, he restores the man to his standing as a human, a child of God. Christ sees you for who you are, not for the labels you bear. And he sets us free. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37112930

UNBEARABLE: JUNE 15, 2025 06/16/2025

UNBEARABLE: JUNE 15, 2025 Jesus once said, “You cannot bear it now.” We usually think of the unbearable as pain—and rightly so. But what if the unbearable isn’t only sorrow? What if it’s also joy too overwhelming to carry, love too deep to explain, grace too beautiful to hold? Proverbs 8:1–4, 22–31 | Romans 5:1–5 | John 16:12–15 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/37024365

THE SPIRIT IS NO GHOST: JUNE 8, 2025 06/09/2025

THE SPIRIT IS NO GHOST: JUNE 8, 2025 Pentecost is a festival that celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. For years, English-speaking Christians referred to the third person of the Trinity as “The Holy Ghost” (some still do). This always made me think of Casper when I was a kid. The Holy Spirit is not, however, an apparition, a paranormal anomaly. The Holy Spirit is the very being of God that is given to all who call on the name of the Lord. It is the indwelling image of God poured into us by grace. It stands against the spirits of the age that tempt us to greed, violence, despair, selfishness, and division. The Holy Spirit is God making us the holy people of God. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36918260

CALLED BOTH WAYS: JUNE 1, 2025 06/02/2025

CALLED BOTH WAYS: JUNE 1, 2025 We live in the tension between ‘Come, Lord Jesus’ and ‘Come and see’ - crying out for Christ’s return while extending Christ’s invitation to a thirsty world. The church is called to be both bride calling out to Christ and wellspring offering living water to all who thirst. What does it mean to live faithfully in the in-between time, when the promise of ‘soon’ stretches across centuries and the prayer for unity meets our human divisions? Acts 16:16-34 | Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 | John 17:20-26 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36817430

LYDIA’S LEGACY: MAY 25, 2025 05/27/2025

LYDIA’S LEGACY: MAY 25, 2025 Scripture does not tell us much about Lydia, but we have enough to know that she begins the story as one who is always the outsider. A woman in a man’s world, a person of wealth and means, an immigrant, a gentile among Jews. Then she hears the gospel and is baptized, and all these identities are replaced. She becomes a child of God, “marked by the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit.” She becomes the leader of the church at Philippi. How does this transformation happen? How does it happen for us? /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36728005

NO MORE TEARS: MAY 18, 2025 05/19/2025

NO MORE TEARS: MAY 18, 2025 The Book of Revelation reveals the gift of a New Jerusalem as a symbol of the fulfillment of God’s reign of peace, justice, and love. In that gentle reign there will be no more tears. That is good news in a world where there is much to make us weep. The struggle is that God’s new Jerusalem transforms and redeems the old one. What if we like the old one, the old ways, the old ideas? The tears will continue to flow if everything stays the same; if we long for what once was. How do we imagine and allow ourselves to live in a city where there are no more tears? /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36624130

DEFIANT DOXOLOGY: MAY 11, 2025 05/12/2025

DEFIANT DOXOLOGY: MAY 11, 2025 They stood in silence and whispered a risk: “Jesus is Lord.” Not a slogan. Not a ritual. A choice that could cost everything. What kind of faith dares to speak when power says to stay quiet? This week, Revelation doesn’t give us dragons or end times charts. It gives us a vision—a multitude, a Shepherd, and a God who sees every tear. Acts 9:36–43 | Revelation 7:9–17 | John 10:22–30 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36532155

ON THE WRONG ROAD: MAY 4, 2025 05/05/2025

ON THE WRONG ROAD: MAY 4, 2025 Ever been on the wrong road, headed the wrong way? Worse yet, even been on the on the wrong road and not know it? Peter and Paul are on the wrong road in the scriptures for this day. No map, GPS, or self-help will straighten them out, turn them around or get them headed in the right direction. Only an act of resurrection can do that. Thankfully Jesus intervenes to alter their courses – as he does with us, every day. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36437480

BEYOND EASTER MORNING: APRIL 27, 2025 04/28/2025

BEYOND EASTER MORNING: APRIL 27, 2025 Last week was Easter — but the story isn’t over. For resurrection people, Easter never ends. After the crowds thin and the music fades, a quieter question remains: Is it still true? Is resurrection still real… even now? Like Thomas, we find ourselves reaching out — hoping to touch what our hearts dare to believe. Acts 5:27–32 | Revelation 1:4–8 | John 20:19–31 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/36337985

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