ASLC Podcast

Join us each Wednesday at 6:00 throughout the season of Lent for Psalms of Hope! Couched within the service of Holden Evening Prayer, we will gather virtually to hear the scriptures, sing songs of praise, and let our prayers rise like incense. This year we are excited to welcome several guest preachers to share reflections on their favorite psalms. Come, let us worship!  

Scripture Readings: Psalm 42

On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved Noah’s family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world. 

Scripture Readings: Mark 1:29-39; Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10

On Ash Wednesday the church began its journey toward baptismal immersion in the death and resurrection of Christ. This year, the Sundays in Lent lead us to focus on five covenants God makes in the Hebrew Scriptures and to use them as lenses through which to view baptism. First Peter connects the way God saved Noah’s family in the flood with the way God saves us through the water of baptism. The baptismal covenant is made with us individually, but the new life we are given in baptism is for the sake of the whole world.

Scripture Readings: Genesis 9:8-17; Psalm 25:1-10; Mark 1:29-39

Ash Wednesday is a solemn day of prayer that begins the season of Lent. On this day we confess our sins in a litany of repentance. We will receive the sign of ashes, an ancient symbol that reminds us of our own mortality. We will partake in the sacrament of Holy Communion, God’s mercy and grace which come to us in bread and wine, the body and blood of Christ. Marked with the cross of Christ we make our way through Lent, longing for the baptismal waters of Easter and our spiritual rebirth, caring for our neighbor and living lives of grace centered on the cross. 

Scripture Readings:  Matthew 6:1-21; Isaiah 58:1-12

The Sundays after Epiphany began with Jesus’ baptism and end with three disciples’ vision of his transfiguration. In Mark’s story of Jesus’ baptism, apparently only Jesus sees the Spirit descending and hears the words from heaven. But now Jesus’ three closest friends hear the same words naming him God’s Beloved. As believers, Paul writes, we are enabled to see the God-light in Jesus’ face, because the same God who created light in the first place has shone in our hearts to give us that vision. The light of God’s glory in Jesus has enlightened us through baptism and shines in us also for others to see.

Scripture Readings: 2 Kings 2:1-12; Psalm 50:1-6; Mark 9:2-9

In Isaiah the one God who sits above the earth and numbers the stars also strengthens the powerless. So in Jesus’ healing work we see the hand of the creator God, lifting up the sick woman to health and service (diakonia). Like Simon’s mother-in-law, we are lifted up and healed to serve. Following Jesus, we strengthen the powerless; like Jesus, we seek to renew our own strength in quiet times of prayer.

Scripture Readings: Mark 1:29-39; Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c

In Isaiah the one God who sits above the earth and numbers the stars also strengthens the powerless. So in Jesus’ healing work we see the hand of the creator God, lifting up the sick woman to health and service (diakonia). Like Simon’s mother-in-law, we are lifted up and healed to serve. Following Jesus, we strengthen the powerless; like Jesus, we seek to renew our own strength in quiet times of prayer..

Scripture Readings: Isaiah 40:21-31; Psalm 147:1-11, 20c; Mark 1:29-39

Words carry power. For the church these are ways of pointing to the unique authority people sensed in Jesus’ actions and words. We encounter that authority in God’s word, around which we gather, the word that prevails over any lesser spirit that would claim power over us, freeing us to follow Jesus.

Scripture Readings: Mark 1:21-28; 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Psalm 111

Words carry power. For the church these are ways of pointing to the unique authority people sensed in Jesus’ actions and words. We encounter that authority in God’s word, around which we gather, the word that prevails over any lesser spirit that would claim power over us, freeing us to follow Jesus.

Scripture Readings: 1 Corinthians 8:1-13; Psalm 111; Mark 1:21-28

As we continue through the time after Epiphany, stories of the call to discipleship show us the implications of our baptismal calling to show Christ to the world. Jesus begins proclaiming the good news and calling people to repentance right after John the Baptist is arrested for preaching in a similar way. Knowing that John was later executed, we see at the very outset the cost of discipleship. Still, the two sets of brothers leave everything they have known and worked for all their lives to follow Jesus and fish for people.

Scripture Readings: Mark 1:14-20; Jonah 3:1-5,10; Psalm 62:5-12