Ascension Lutheran Church and School
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Matthew 21:9 ESV
Join us
Sundays
8:00 and 10:45 a.m. — Worship Service
9:30 a.m. — Adult Discipleship Class, Children's Sunday School
Holy Communion is offered at both Sunday services.
Wednesdays in Lent and Advent
6:30 p.m. Vespers
Learn by Heart Family Devotions
Online giving continues to be an easy way for many to give. The giving link is located just above this message. You also can use the mobile app, “VANCO MOBILE.”
Welcome to Ascension!
Pastor James Gier
And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. ~ The Nicene Creed
In the Gospel of St. John (14:6) Jesus said "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jesus is our way back to our Father in heaven. He is the Gospel (Good News) of God to the world. As Evangelical Lutherans, we are loyal to the Gospel of Christ, "for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
This Gospel ministry and mission of the Christian Church is to seek, make, and mature disciples for God's eternal kingdom through preaching, baptizing, teaching and communing. This work of the Holy Spirit of God among mankind is centered in the Divine Service in which the Word of God is first proclaimed and administered through sermons and sacraments. Through this Word and these means God saves us from our captivity to sin, death, and the devil, and so works in us a new and everlasting life.
... just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns
to all eternity! ~ Luther's Small Catechism
At Ascension, this new life finds its expression in a three-fold fellowship and ministry of Church, Family, and School. Here, you will encounter and know the Lord Jesus Christ for your forgiveness, life, and salvation!
First Sunday in Advent
The Lord Comes in Meekness and Humility to Save Us Now
Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:(8-10) 11-14; Matthew 21:1-11 or Matthew 24:36-44
The Lord Jesus enters Jerusalem “humble, and mounted on a donkey,” riding on “a beast of burden” (Matthew 21:5), as He Himself bears the sins of the world in His body.
Now He comes by the ministry of the Gospel to save us from sin, death, the devil and hell. Therefore, we sing, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Matthew 21:9). For we are called “to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob,” His Holy Church, “that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths” (Isaiah 2:3).
By His Word, we “walk in the light of the LORD” (Isaiah 2:5). That is to live in love, which “does no wrong to a neighbor” (Romans 13:10). We “cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light,” for “salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11, 12). Hence, the entire Christian life is a time to wake and watch, “for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42).
What is Advent?
Pastor Gary Zieroth
The church divides the year into different seasons that emphasize the life of Christ and the life of the church. Beginning on Sunday, November 27, 2022, we will enter the season of the church year called Advent. Advent is the season of preparation and anticipation leading up to Christmas, and continuing to Epiphany January 6, 2023.
The focus of Advent is two-fold. On the one hand, we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world as both God and Man so that our sins might be forgiven. On the other hand, we anticipate the day when Jesus will return to Earth and bring an end to this world. Those will be scary days, but we can look forward to the end of the world with hope because through faith in Jesus, the end of this world will mean the beginning of a new life with Christ for eternity.
Advent, then, is a time for us to repent and believe. Knowing that Jesus was born to forgive our sins, we repent (admit our failures to God) and believe that we are forgiven because of the death and resurrection of Jesus on our behalf. Also, knowing that Jesus is coming back, we repent and believe that when He returns, He will give us eternal life.
Our midweek services on Wednesdays at 6:30 will follow the theme: "Our Lord's Three Comings."
November 30 - Our Lord's First Advent
December 7 - Our Lord's Continuous Coming in Word and Sacrament
December 14 - Our Lord's Coming at the End of Time
Website updated: November 26, 2022