Sermons from Ankeny UCC

In Pastor Nathan's final sermon before his term as pastor ends, he reminds us of Christ as the invisible God, sustaining us and providing us with a model not only of hope, but of service in the church and the world.

Christmas marks the shift between the world of anticipating Christ and the world of fulfilling Christ. This year, and every year, we can keep the spirit of his birth alive by keeping Christmas well.

What happens if we put John the Baptist in conversation with Bob Iger? What lessons in leadership do we learn?

Just because something is comfortable doesn't make it good, and just because something is uncomfortable doesn't mean it should be unwelcome. John urges us to reject complacency as we prepare to change our lives.

As we think about Jesus as the eternal sovereign, we remember that this promise came about in times of distress, and that it can provide not only challenge to those in power, but comfort for those who see no future.

On All Saints, we remember the hopes we have of a future beyond our understanding, and in which the final barriers between God and ourselves are removed. And we pause to give ourselves a chance to mourn what the busyness of our lives prevented.

The protestant reformation, begun in response to exploitation of the poor, reminds us to always look for opportunities to hold ourselves accountable to the demands of justice.

Jesus lays out what it looks like to forgive as we ought to forgive. In his trying examples, he highlights all the de-escalation we can do much more easily.

The Holy Spirit empowers us all in different ways. When we are most alone, know that the Holy Spirit remembered you, too.