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Sermon Messages from Ascension Lutheran Church

63 Episodes

14 minutes | Feb 27, 2022
Consider Jesus
Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 34:1–12, Hebrews 3:1–6, & Luke 9:28-36 Series: The Transfiguration of Our Lord Service Summary: The reading from Deuteronomy extols Moses as the greatest prophet. He led God’s people toward the Promised Land, but the Epistle draws a contrast between him and our Lord. “Consider Jesus,” the Epistle encourages us today, not because He is a great servant with us in the “house,” or Church, the people of God, but because He is over it as the builder. When Jesus was baptized, the voice from heaven declared Him to be pleasing to His Father in heaven. The voice from the cloud on the Mount of Transfiguration adds a command not only to the three disciples, but to us as well: “Listen to Him!” From that mount to Mount Calvary, He, the Word Incarnate, tells us of God’s great love; He goes to the cross willingly so that we may graciously follow Him through death to our eternal promised land of heaven.
12 minutes | Feb 20, 2022
In Joseph's Shoes
Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Genesis 45:3–15, Ephesians 6:10-20, & Luke 6:27–38 Service Summary: “What shoes shall I wear today?” You may have asked yourself that question before heading to worship this morning. Most of us have many pairs of shoes from which to choose. But there is one kind of “shoes” each of us is to be wearing. As Paul counsels the Ephesians: “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:14–15). Choosing the right kind of shoes makes the day go better. Hearing the Gospel proclaimed throughout our worship and directing the days of our week in response to that Gospel makes our lives a blessing.
14 minutes | Feb 13, 2022
Blessed or Cursed?
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 17:5–8, 1 Corinthians 15:(1–11) 12–20, & Luke 6:17–26 Service Summary: During the middle weeks of the winter season, many homes receive catalogs in the mail from seed and nursery companies that are filled with pictures of beautiful plants and trees. It is easy to project what we see in those catalogs into our own yards and gardens. But before we do any ordering, we must consider whether we can provide settings in which those plants and trees can flourish. In both the Old Testament Reading and the Psalm of the Day, we are given images not only of plants and trees that flourish, but of people who flourish—people with faith in the Lord Jesus, who bring blessings in every season.
18 minutes | Feb 7, 2022
Holy Makes Us Holy
Speaker: Rev. Thomas R. Zehnder Scripture Focus: Isaiah 6:1-8, Isaiah 6:9-13, 1 Corinthians 14:12b–20, & Luke 5:1-11 Service Summary: God calls us to be His holy people. Through the words of the prophet Isaiah and through his experience in God’s presence, the Lord reassures us that in love He forgives our sins and makes it possible for us to be holy in His sight. In the Hebrew language, to express what we would call a comparative word, you would say the “base word” twice—so “holier” would be expressed “holy, holy,” and that which is the holiest would be spoken of in the superlative as “holy, holy, holy.” And that is what our God is! Yet He knows us and cares for us individually. How amazing is that!
12 minutes | Jan 30, 2022
Cruciform Love
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 4:31–44 Service Summary: At the beginning of the Church Year, many sang the hymn “Love Came Down at Christmas.” Indeed, the Bible says, “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16). It is only on Good Friday, however, that we discover the depth and power of God’s love in the cross of the Lord’s death. And so it was that ever since the beginning of His earthly ministry, after His Baptism, we are given clear hints about the true nature of God’s love. Initially people marveled at Jesus’ preaching and miraculous healings. Yet not only did the crowds quickly reject our Lord, but Satan also was actively opposing Him from the beginning. The love of God is the power of God to defeat Satan and free the world from the grip of sin and death. The standard of love is the cross of Christ. In today’s Epistle, Paul describes love in and through Christ. Substitute “Christ” for “love” and you get, “Christ is patient and kind; Christ does not envy or boast; . . . Christ rejoices with the truth.” This love of Christ is given to us and through us. “Faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these” is the cross of Christ!
11 minutes | Jan 9, 2022
The Baptism of Our Lord
Speaker: Pastor Tom Zehnder Scripture Focus: Luke 3:15–22 Message Summary: The “epiphany,” the showing forth or manifestation of Jesus as the Messiah, the Savior of the world, began with the coming of the Magi from the East. This “epiphany” now continues as our Lord’s active earthly ministry begins at the hands of His predecessor John the Baptist and His Baptism in the Jordan River. As the Holy Spirit comes upon His human flesh and the voice from heaven declares Him to be the Son of God, so our Baptism gives us “the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God”  (John 1:12–13). To be thus “born again” is nothing less than to have heaven opened to us with the power of God’s gifts of faith, hope, love, and the perseverance to live as God’s children now albeit as “strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13), yet as “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
10 minutes | Jan 2, 2022
The Gift of Wisdom
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 2:40-52 Service Summary: Have you tired of those Christmas gifts yet, or are you still enjoying them? God gave Solomon the gift of wisdom. God’s wisdom was a gift Solomon displayed vividly at times, but at other times, it seemed he had regifted it. In Jesus, we see the gift of God’s wisdom on full display when He is found in the temple, at age 12, asking questions and providing answers beyond His years. God continues to reveal His wisdom to us through the Bible. What is your plan for connecting with God and His wisdom this year?
12 minutes | Dec 26, 2021
Prepared for Heaven!
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Colossians 3:12-17 Service Summary: Are you prepared for heaven? Admittedly, this is an odd question when we are celebrating Jesus’ birth. Yet, Jesus was born to die to save His people from their sins. As Simeon held the Christ Child, he couldn’t help but say, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word,” while also telling Mary, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed.” That opposition eventually brought about His death on a cross. Yet, Jesus was born to die and rise to life again so that all who believe in Him might live! That is the best Christmas gift ever.
14 minutes | Dec 24, 2021
From Start to Finish
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: 1 John 4:7-16 Service Summary: God’s love was promised and fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ. Despite ongoing sin and sinfulness by His human creatures, God loved us so much that our Lord was born as one of us so that He could die for us. When He appeared on the scene of human history, it marked the start of His fulfilling the very promises He had made centuries before. But His love was not finished for us until He was born in our hearts. That took the gracious gift of faith by which we receive His great love and are enabled to share it with others. We now celebrate the start of Christ’s love at His birth in Bethlehem and His finishing it as He is born anew in our hearts in time and into eternity.
11 minutes | Dec 19, 2021
Advent Stewardship: Peace
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 1:39–56 Service Summary: Our world is filled with turmoil, strife, contention. Every time it seems that our nation or even our own lives are at peace, again something disrupts it. Peace is as elusive as a slippery eel. Today's readings will point us to the truth that the peace we seek cannot come from the powers of the world, nor can it come from anything in our own hearts or our spiritual potential. Real peace comes from what seems like the least promising place: a little town, through the young Virgin. Peace comes from Bethlehem, from where God comes to us. From God’s Word. From the Bread of Life in Holy Communion. Real peace comes to us, often beyond our understanding, through the babe of Bethlehem, Jesus Christ, through whom God made peace with us by a cross.
16 minutes | Dec 15, 2021
Family Advent Worship: Wait Upon the Lord With Rejoicing
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 1:39-45 Message Summary: Too often we get caught up in what is going to happen next or on what is to come. Be in the moment this Advent season. Don’t let another good opportunity to rejoice pass you by. Enjoy the family you have! Have fun with what you have going on right now! Rejoice and be glad in his salvation, right now!
17 minutes | Dec 12, 2021
Advent Stewardship: Joy
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 7:18–35 Service Summary: Some Advent wreaths have a pink candle for this Third Sunday in Advent. The festive, joyful pink candle reflects today’s Readings, which begin to anticipate the unbridled joy that Jesus’ birth brings. We do many joyful things during Advent. We sing Christmas carols, bake cookies, decorate our homes inside and out, and travel far and wide to visit those we love. Yet all these joyful things point to an even greater joy—the joy that comes by the Creator of the universe, the Lord almighty, who loves you, forgives you in Jesus, and cares about you beyond human measure! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”
14 minutes | Dec 8, 2021
Family Advent Worship: Wait Upon the Lord With Hope
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Psalm 130:5-6 Message Summary: The gifts we get from Jesus last forever! So when we say that we hope in Jesus, we aren’t just saying that Jesus might give us forgiveness if we are good enough. We are saying the Jesus WILL give us forgiveness, because he is good enough! Our HOPE is always in Jesus!
16 minutes | Dec 5, 2021
Advent Stewardship: What If?
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Malachi 3:1–7b Sermon Focus: What if in this Advent season, we consider Advent to be about stewardship? The possibilities of blessing others through the stewardship of the Gospel are endless. With this in mind, let us go and be those messengers, preparing the way of the Lord. There is a whole world out there that needs what we have—the blessing and stewardship of God.
14 minutes | Dec 2, 2021
Family Advent Worship: Wait Upon the Lord With Faith
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Genesis 17:1-9, Matthew 1:1-25 Message Summary: We put our faith in Jesus, because he never leaves us. He is always with us. He doesn’t go away. He always keeps his promises. The most important promise he kept was to save us. He saved us by coming to earth as a baby, living a sinless life, dying on the cross and rising to life again to give us new life in heaven with him! We are all now part of the family of God because of Jesus, and we always will be. YAY, JESUS!
16 minutes | Nov 25, 2021
Thanksgiving for All
Speaker: Pastor Tom Zehnder Scripture Focus: Luke 17:11–19 Service Summary: Thanksgiving can be a time when families come together to celebrate and give thanks to God for all that He has given us. These times of celebration can also be times of tension, stress, and conflict due to challenges in the relationships. Thanksgiving can also be a time of loss as we grieve those who are no longer with us. In all these things, we gather to give thanks to the God who has created all people and who desires all people to be saved through the knowledge of the saving truth about His Son, Jesus.
14 minutes | Nov 22, 2021
Preparing for the Return of the King
Speaker: Pastor Tom Zehnder Scripture Focus: Mark 13:24–37 Service Summary: The Last Sunday of the Church Year is here as we prepare to celebrate the return of Christ our King. When will it be? How will we know so that we are ready? There are the signs in nature, the sight of the Son of Man, and the angels. For these things, we keep an eye on the sky while we watch and wait, living our lives under God’s grace as His righteousness draws near.
13 minutes | Nov 14, 2021
He Who Endures Shall Be Saved
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Mark 13:1-13 Service Summary: Like the disciples of old, we look around us and presume that our accomplishments will endure. But even now, they are falling, brick upon brick. There is no repairing a world that must be replaced by a new heaven and a new earth. The urgent need is not to predict when these things will happen, but to endure when they do come. The world is in labor until God delivers His eternal kingdom, but you are not of the world. You belong to the Lord. Through your witness, the elect of many nations will be called by the Spirit through the preaching of the Word. The  world will reject you, but you belong to God. He who endures in this faith to the end will be saved.
12 minutes | Nov 7, 2021
Forever Blessed
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Matthew 5:1–12 Service Theme: All Saints' Day Service Summary: How blessed you are! Yes, you! Right here, right now, the Lord Jesus is ready to speak His blessings over you. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6). Jesus promises to satisfy you as you lay your sins at His feet and receive the blessing of His forgiveness this day. But not only are you blessed right here and now, you are forever blessed! “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). One day, Jesus will wonderfully bless you and all His saints by welcoming you into His presence forever. God grant you the heart to receive and share all the blessings He so freely gives.
12 minutes | Oct 31, 2021
Freedom Lived, Known, Found
Speaker: Pastor Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: John 8:31-36 Service Summary: Reformation Sunday is not just a special day to celebrate our history by remembering the story of Martin Luther; it is a perfect opportunity to rejoice in the freedom we have been given from sin and death through Jesus Christ alone. By gathering to receive His Word and to share in His Supper, we come to know yet again the eternal Gospel that is being proclaimed to all who dwell on earth. This good news not only sets us free from our captivity to sin and death, but it also enables us to live a life of freedom in Christ and boldly share with others how they, too, may be set free. The same Savior who speaks His Word to us says to all who will listen: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed”  (John 8:36).
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