Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: 2 Timothy 3:14–4:5 Service Summary: How shall we pray? That question is the focus of today’s Readings. With Jacob as a model, our prayer might seem to be a struggle with God’s will. And Jesus’ parable teaches that prayer is a long-term effort. But prayer is more than a monologue; the Epistle reminds us th…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 17:11-19 Service Summary: We know a lot about some of the people in today’s Readings. We could write a typical biography of Ruth, for example, because we know her family’s names and even that she was an ancestor of Jesus. Last week we learned that Timothy, the addressee of today’s Epistle, had a Chri…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Proverbs 3:1-10, Galatians 6:2-10, & Matthew 16:24-26 Service Summary: Our theme for this year reflects our response to who God is and what He has done for us. Generous giving is comprised of three components, all required to be fully realized. The third side of this triangle is “Giving In.” Giving in, as…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 24:17-22, Colossians 3:2-6, & Luke 19:1-10 Service Summary: Our theme for this year reflects our response to who God is and what He has done for us. Generous giving is comprised of three components, all required to be fully realized. The second side of this triangle is “Giving Out.” As a recip…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Luke 7:36-50 Service Summary: Our theme for this year reflects our response to who God is and what He has done for us. Generous giving is comprised of three components, all required to be fully realized. The first side of this triangle is “Giving Up” not in the sense of resignation, but a lifestyle of dee…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Luke 15:1-10 Service Summary: Many people attend to the tasks associated with the beginning of the service, looking at the order of worship they have received or checking out what the opening hymn will be. There is blessing to be found also in looking around us and acknowledging those gathered with us. Ea…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Luke 14:25–35 Service Summary: The first issue that naturally comes to mind to many Christians when hearing the phrase “Choose life!” is that of abortion, which chooses death, not life. And indeed, never should our witness to God’s gift of life be silenced! Beyond that, however, are all the other choices …

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Hebrews 12:28-13:17 Service Summary: Christians do good works most of the time without even thinking about it. That’s because faith is an active, living, real thing. God’s Word for this day is all about how God-given faith shows itself in a Christian’s life—in one’s attitude, relationships, words, and dee…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Revelation 22:1-20 Service Summary: We have come to the end of our “Tree of Life” series. We began with the account of creation in Genesis and today we finish with the last book of the Bible, Revelation. What does all this mean? Is this the end – the end of everything? What happens after we die? These are…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: John 20:1-18 Service Summary: After His death on the cross, Jesus was sealed in a tomb with a large stone. But He didn’t stay dead. In lesson nine, we talk about His empty tomb and what His resurrection means for our lives today and in the future. In Jesus’ death, death itself, which has stalked God’s cre…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Luke 23:26, 32-46 Service Summary: Today we follow Jesus from His entry into Jerusalem to the judgment hall of Pontius Pilate and to the tree of death, the cross, which He has made into our tree of life.

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Matthew 9:14-26 Service Summary: Today we encounter Jesus as he is teaching and then heals Jairus’ daughter and an unnamed but faithful woman. Jesus did many miracles throughout His ministry on earth. Does God still do miracles today? What did His miracles mean back then?…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Luke 3:1-22 Service Summary: In our Gospel lesson today, John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, is doing the work he was called to do. He is proclaiming that Jesus is coming and that the people should prepare for that. How should we prepare? We repent, we turn from our sinful ways, and look to Jesus for our for…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Daniel 6:1-28 Service Summary: Today, we see Daniel, a powerful and noble Jew, falsely accused, sentenced to death, and sealed in a tomb with a large stone. We will examine how closely Daniel’s trials and judgment and “death and resurrection” matched those of Jesus Christ.…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: 1 Samuel 17:40-51 Service Summary: Today, we look at the familiar story of the shepherd boy David fighting against the Philistine giant, Goliath. David’s seemingly impossible victory shines a new light on Good Friday and the seeming impossibility of Jesus defeating our greatest enemies, armed with nothing…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Exodus 12:1-13 Service Summary: Today, we see God deliver Abraham’s descendants from slavery in Egypt through ten plagues. The final plague, the death of the firstborn sons, and the salvation of God’s people through the Passover lamb teach us something very important about the death of God’s only-begotten…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Genesis 12:1-9 & Genesis 15:1-6 Service Summary: Today, we see God choose an aged couple, Abraham and Sarah, from whom He would raise up a new nation through a child of promise. We will watch God call on Abraham to offer his beloved son as an offering, through which He will teach us many important things …

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Genesis 3:1-21 Service Summary: Today, we ask how God’s beautiful, perfect creation came to be the shattered, messy world we are living in today. We will see the tragic moment when everything fell apart—when humanity was barred from the tree of life and how God stepped forward with a plan, giving His very…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 2:14a, Acts 2:22-36, John 8:48–59, Proverbs 8:1–4, & Proverbs 8:22-31 Service Summary: Holy Trinity, a time we commemorate and celebrate, is different than any other recognized time in the Church Year. Unlike Christmas, Easter, or last week’s Pentecost, where we rejoice in and reflect upon an action …

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Acts 1:12-26, John 17:20–26, & Revelation 21:1-20 Service Summary: All the Church does is based on our oneness with our Lord. In today’s Gospel, part of His High Priestly Prayer and the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus prays that we would be one, even as He and the Father are one. There is no other, …

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 1:12-26, Revelation 21:1-20, & John 17:20–26 Service Summary: All the Church does is based on our oneness with our Lord. In today’s Gospel, part of His High Priestly Prayer and the night in which He was betrayed, Jesus prays that we would be one, even as He and the Father are one. There is no other, …

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 1:1–11, Ephesians 1:15–23, & Luke 24:44–53 Service Summary: We gather in celebration of our ascended Savior, Jesus Christ, acknowledging that we are to be witnesses of the Gospel!

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 16:9–15, Revelation 21:9–14, Revelation 21:21-27, & John 16:23–33 Service Summary: The disciples thought they knew what Jesus was saying, but it was before Easter, and they could not understand. They would, “in that day,” that is, after Jesus’ victory and the Spirit’s gift of faith. Now we with them …

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 11:1–18, Revelation 21:1–7, & John 13:31–35 Service Summary: Now we know the end of the story. In John’s vision in the Epistle, heaven will be like an eternal wedding feast. All of us in the Church have been made presentable by Christ, the Bridegroom. Unlike the disciples, who in today’s Gospel still…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 20:17–35, Revelation 7:9–17, & John 10:22–30 Service Summary: It is Good Shepherd Sunday, and the familiar twenty-third Psalm is echoed throughout our worship. Our Lord went through the valley of the shadow of death in our place, leading from death to eternal life. There is work to do before we get t…

Speaker: Rev. Mark Mueller Scripture Focus: Acts 9:1–22, Revelation 5: 8–14, & John 21:1–19 Service Summary: In light of Christ’s eternal victory, we should expect change in our daily living. For example, although they were called to be fishers of men, in today’s Gospel, the disciples learned that they needed to listen to their Lord even when fishi…

Speaker: Rev. Greg Walton Service Summary: The installation of Rev. Mark A. Mueller as Senior Pastor of Ascension Lutheran Church.

Speaker: Rev. Murray Brindle Scripture Focus: Acts 5:12–20, Acts 5:21-32, Revelation 1:4–18, & John 20:19–31 Service Summary: Thomas had missed out. He wasn’t there with the other disciples when the risen Jesus appeared that first Easter night to show them His hands and side. Thomas was absent when Jesus breathed on them with His Spirit and sent th…

Speaker: Rev. Tom Zehnder Scripture Focus: Isaiah 65:17–25, 1 Corinthians 15:19–26, & Luke 24:1–12 Service Summary: “He is risen!” shouts our true hope. “He is risen indeed!” reverberates our confident belief. The high point of our Christian life is celebrated this morning as we gather with all of God’s children to rejoice in the resurrection of ou…

Speaker: Rev. Tom Zehnder Scripture Focus: Job 19:23–27, 1 Corinthians 15:51–57, & John 20:1–18 Service Summary: We have gathered outside of the nave, following the ancient custom of the Church, which for two thousand years has gathered at the entrance of Christ’s tomb at Easter sunrise to celebrate His resurrection. When we join in our opening hym…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 10:15-25, and Luke 22:7-20 Service Summary: One of the enduring legends from medieval times relates to the cup used by our Lord at the supper He shared with His disciples in the Upper Room on this evening. Known as the Holy Grail, the cup was said to have been passed into the sa…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 32:36-39, Philippians 2:8b, & John 12:20-43 Service Summary: The words of the prophet Zechariah echo throughout this special day: “Behold your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). On this day, we remember how Jesus Christ…

Speaker: Rev. Murray Brindle Scripture Focus: Micah 6:7-8, Hebrews 6:9-12, & John 13:12-17 Service Summary: In this service, we see that we are called to serve in mercy the needs of those around us by Christ’s example.

Speaker: Rev. Murray Brindle Scripture Focus: Philippians 3:8–14 Sermon Takeaway: We all have a race to run in our Christian lives, and each one of us will run it differently. But we need to remember the goal that we have, and that goal is heaven. Begin with the end in mind and press on toward the prize.…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Genesis 45:1-15, Ephesians 4:25-32, & John 13:34-35 Service Summary: In this service, we come to understand that within the communities God has placed us, we are given the grace to treat one another as Christ has cared for us in his love and mercy.

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Isaiah 12:1–6, 2 Corinthians 5:16–21, & Luke 15:1–3, 11b-32 Service Summary: No parable more fully describes the profound character of God’s mercy than the prodigal son and the waiting father. We are the rebels who begin to think we deserve our heavenly Father’s kindness and who demand from Him what is no…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Matthew 26:47-50 Service Summary: In this service, we ponder the truth that though we may turn away from our God again and again, our Lord continues to call us back into his merciful arms for Jesus’ sake.

Speaker: Rev. Thomas Zehnder Scripture Focus: Ezekiel 33:7–20, 1 Corinthians 10:1–13, & Luke 13:1–9 Service Summary: How then shall we live? What a profound question for Christians to consider midway through Lent! The Lord has shown His mercy to us, forgiven our sins, and delivered us from death. Then what? What is the focus of our lives? The call …

Speaker: Rev. Murray Brindle Scripture Focus: Jeremiah 26:8–15, Philippians 3:17-21, Philippians 4:1, & Luke 13:31–35 Service Summary: Throughout biblical history, God used prophets to call His people to repentance with the promise of mercy. God’s mercy should encourage us to return to Him, but too often, the people of God have refused His care. Th…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 6:4-6, 1 Corinthians 10:6-13, & Matthew 4:1-11 Service Summary: In this service for Week 1 of Lent in our In View of God’s Mercy series, we look at our lives through the lens of God’s love toward us in the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. In this service, we recall that in the midst of temptation,…

Speaker: Rev. Thomas R. Zehnder Scripture Focus: Deuteronomy 26:1–11, Romans 10:8b–13, & Luke 4:1–13 Service Summary: The First Sunday in Lent begins with the temptation of Jesus. Alone in the wilderness, Jesus faces the temptations of the devil, who tries to use God’s own Word to entrap Jesus. The collect reminds us that we are also walking throug…

Speaker: Rev. Raleigh Sims Scripture Focus: Joel 2:12-18, 1 John 1:8-9, & Matthew 6:16-18. Service Summary: In this service, we look at our lives through the lens of God’s love toward us in the sacrifice of his Son, Jesus. We also consider the ashes placed on our foreheads as a sign of our sins and remember that God lifts us from our ashes to new l…

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 Epis…

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 …

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 ca…

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 hol…

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 cros…

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 a…

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 …

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 dep…