Holy Trinity Ankeny

Holy Trinity Ankeny

By Pastor Timothy OlsonReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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Holy Trinity Ankeny episodes

  • That's What the Resurrection Looks Like
    In the Gospel reading today the disciples struggle to understand what resurrection looks like. Jesus appears before them with flesh and bone. They are amazed and terrified, thinking that this must be a ghost. But ghosts don’t exist, and if they did, would they have a human body? Listen to how Jesus is made known to the disciples and what the bodily resurrection of Jesus means for each of us. What does resurrection look like today? Listen and find out!
    16 min
  • When Jesus Shows Up
    The disciples' response to Jesus’ death was one of fear. Fear can too easily attach itself to us today and enters our lives in many disguises.  Listen to how Jesus responds to the disciples' fear and how they respond to the risen Christ. Hear what a difference the risen Christ can make in your life.
    17 min
  • Barrier Breaking God
    The good news in Mark is that God in Christ will do anything to reach us. This God will break down every barrier that keeps us from being loved, accepted, and renewed. There is but one barrier that God won’t destroy…
    17 min
  • Three Words

    While we often hear of the “seven” words Christ spoke from the cross, on Good Friday we read from John’s gospel. John’s story of Jesus offers three words; three challenging, convicting, life-giving words that flesh out the mystery of what happened when humanity put God to death. The three words: “Woman here is your son;” “I am thirsty;” and “It is finished” drive us to our knees in adoration of the cross.

    15 min
  • Hands and Feet

    “Maundy” Thursday is derived from Mandatum, a Latin word from which we get “mandate.” It reminds us that the last thing Jesus teaches, no, commands his followers is to “love as he has loved us.” Two actions show us what he means. In three gospels, he gives us the Lord’s Supper which is a sign of the offering he makes of himself for the life of the world. Into our grabby, fisted hands covered in blood and dirt, we receive the body and blood of Christ. In John’s gospel, Judas has used his feet to walk to arrange a betrayal; Peter’s feet are turning to clay, and the rest have feet prepared to run away. So, Jesus washes their feet, even though he knows all of this. Dirty hands and feet are loved by Jesus. Then he tells us to do likewise.

    14 min
  • John 3:16

    Martin Luther said that John 3:16 (and 17) were a summation of the whole gospel. Perhaps it is the eloquence and succinctness of the phrase that has made it one of the most cited verses in scripture. Signs at sporting events, mugs, bumper stickers, all merely share the citation. It seems a key to eternal life. But what does it really mean? Is God’s love so big it embraces everyone, the whole world? Is it reserved for only those who “believe,” and then what does that mean? One thing it is about is the light of Christ and the way it interacts with the darkness of our world and our lives. Will we choose light or darkness?

    17 min
  • Whip-Wielding, Table-Turning Messiah
    For most folks, “Gentle Jesus” is the image we carry of the Messiah. The whip-wielding, table-turning, angry Jesus who cleanses the temple seems to be an aberration. When Jesus finds that the noise of livestock and clatter of coins is louder than the prayers; when he sees that the name of God is being used for personal gain, he gets angry, righteously angry. We do the same kind of things today. So, what does “cleansing the temple” mean for us?
    21 min
  • Forsaken
    Psalm 22 begins with the words, “My God, my God; why have you forsaken me?” – the dying words of Jesus. The psalm answers this lament by pivoting to praise and the promises of God from this heart-wrenching lament. In the midst of our suffering, we don’t reject God, but embrace God all the more.
    17 min

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Holy Trinity Lutheran Church