BEYOND EASTER MORNING: APRIL 27, 2025
Last week was Easter — but the story isn’t over. For resurrection people, Easter never ends. After the crowds thin and the music fades, a quieter question remains: Is it still true? Is resurrection …
THE EIGHTH DAY: APRIL 20, 2025
Christians have come to worship not on the seventh day (Sabbath) but on the eighth day, a day that signifies new creation. When the women came to the tomb of Jesus, they were prepared to anoint a dea…
CLOAKS AND STONES
They laid their cloaks on the road—not just as a gesture of welcome, but as a sign of surrender. A letting go. That moment asked something of them. And it asks something of us too. So here's the ques…
ADMIRERS, ASSOCIATES OR FOLLOWERS? APRIL 6, 2025
Soren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian and philosopher, said that Christ did not come to make admirers. He came to make followers. You can admire Abraham Lincoln, but you can’t become him. You can admi…
THE FATHER'S HOUSE: MARCH 30, 2025
Joshua 5:9-12 | 2 Corinthians…
REPENT! MARCH 23, 2025
Repentance is not one of our favorite topics of discussion. In the Season of Lent, and in the Gospel of Luke, the subject is unavoidable. If we believe that we have faith and repent so that we can ea…
GOSPEL OF LUKE: MARCH 16, 2025
Pastor David Cline served as our guest preacher this week.
WHAT IF.... MARCH 9, 2025
What if Jesus had said yes? What if the story had gone differently? And what if his temptations aren’t so different from our own?
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 | Romans 10:8b-13 | Luke 4:1-13
WHO IS JESUS? MARCH 2, 2025
The season of Epiphany begins at Jesus' baptism with a heavenly announcement, “You are my son, the beloved.” The season ends with an announcement from the cloud, “This is my son, the Chosen. Listen t…
DIFFICULT WORDS: FEB. 23, 2025
Jesus says hard things a lot. Perhaps no words uttered by the Lord are more difficult than “Love your enemies.” His call to forgive those who harm us and bless those who curse us are not mainstream. …
SEEN AND KNOWN: FEB. 16, 2025
A FISH STORY: FEB 9, 2025
Holy Trinity welcomes Bishop Amy Current of the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the ELCA as our preacher. She shares a story of grace where the big story is not about the fish.
THE GOD I NEED: FEB. 2, 2025
The doctor tells me I have cancer. That can make one stop and think. To walk the path ahead, I find myself thinking about what kind of God I need. A god who planned my cancer? Maybe one who will supp…
THE JESUS AGENDA: JANUARY 26, 2025
Washington and Wall Street, magnates and millionaires all have agendas for the shaping of the world in their own image. The changes and fads come and go and most often create chaos. Jesus announced h…
THEY HAVE NO WINE: JAN. 19, 2025
THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD: JAN. 12, 2025
So, why does Jesus need to be baptized? If he is sinless, what forgiveness is needed? Why does the Son of God submit to John’s baptism when even John claims he is unworthy to “untie the thong” of Jes…
TWO KINGS, THREE GIFTS: JAN. 5, 2025
When we celebrate the Feast of Epiphany, we tell the story of astronomers from the east who bring three gifts. Christmas pageants and hymns portray these visitors as three kings. There are however, o…
LET CHRIST: DEC. 29, 2024
As we step into the new year, Paul’s words to the Colossians remind us that the Christian life isn’t about striving to accomplish an impossible checklist. It’s about letting Christ—letting Christ’s p…
INCARNATION: DEC. 25 CHRISTMAS DAY
Incarnation – the divine becoming flesh - is a wildly radical notion. Most religious thought in human history has firmly fixed a chasm between heaven and earth, between divinity and humanity. Yet we …
SILENT NIGHT: DEC. 24 CHRISTMAS EVE
Calling the night of our Savior’s birth :silent” seems an historical stretch. After all there were noisy animals, singing angels, shepherds speaking, and a crying baby. There were also many voices in…