Holy Trinity Ankeny

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

THE KINGDOM DRAWS NEAR: JANUARY 25, 2026 01/26/2026

THE KINGDOM DRAWS NEAR: JANUARY 25, 2026 The kingdom shows up in Galilee, not Jerusalem. Among fishermen, not scholars. On a cross, not a throne. We keep looking for God’s power in the wrong places and missing the God who draws near in weakness, bleeds on a cross, and rises. Readings: Matthew 4:12-23 | Isaiah 9:1-4 | 1 Corinthians 1:10-18 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39878660

COME & SEE: JANUARY 18, 2026 01/20/2026

COME & SEE: JANUARY 18, 2026 The world will tell you that “seeing is believing.” People seek “proof” before they commit to anything, especially matters of faith. Oddly enough, Jesus takes the opposite path. In John’s gospel, Jesus invites people to “Come and see.” The “seeing” (knowing, trusting, understanding) will come after we have followed. The relationship with Jesus will reveal the truth of Jesus that already is all around us. Come and see! /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39797905

HIS BAPTISM AND OURS: JANUARY 11, 2026 01/12/2026

HIS BAPTISM AND OURS: JANUARY 11, 2026 Baptism has come to mean lots of different things to different people. Maybe that is why it seems like baptism has no real impact on the world. If we really look at the Baptism of Jesus, however, we find an event that signifies a new age dawning. It is an age of peace instead of war, kindness instead of violence, order instead of chaos. We also learn that Baptism of Jesus is, in fact, our baptism too. Jesus gives it as a gift so that the world might be saved. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39697840

ANOTHER WAY HOME: JANUARY 4, 2026 01/05/2026

ANOTHER WAY HOME: JANUARY 4, 2026 What do you do when you're troubled? Herod plots. Jesus raises the dead. The magi lay down their treasures and worship. Matthew's Epiphany story reveals two kingdoms: one that protects itself through fear, and one that gives itself away in love. Matthew 2:1-12 | Isaiah 60:1-6 | Ephesians 3:1-12 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39614080

DELIVER US FROM EVIL: DECEMBER 28, 2025 12/30/2025

DELIVER US FROM EVIL: DECEMBER 28, 2025 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39569155

THE WORD AMONG WORDS: DECEMBER 25, 2025 12/30/2025

THE WORD AMONG WORDS: DECEMBER 25, 2025 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39569135

FOR YOU: DECEMBER 24, 2025 12/30/2025

FOR YOU: DECEMBER 24, 2025 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39569095

IN THE UNRAVELING: DECEMBER 21, 2025 12/22/2025

IN THE UNRAVELING: DECEMBER 21, 2025 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39494825

ARE YOU THE MESSIAH? DEC. 14, 2025 12/15/2025

ARE YOU THE MESSIAH? DEC. 14, 2025 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39411360

ADVENT OF PEACE: NOVEMBER 30, 2025 12/01/2025

ADVENT OF PEACE: NOVEMBER 30, 2025 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. /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39221350

THE REIGN OF SCARS: NOVEMBER 23, 2025 11/24/2025

THE REIGN OF SCARS: NOVEMBER 23, 2025 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 /episode/index/show/htlcankeny/id/39149815

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

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