Ascension Lutheran Church Pgh

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

The first of our three discussions on Gene Veith's book, "The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals." It covers the introduction and first chapter.

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

I this episode we conclude our discussion of the Service of the Word and focus on the history of its development starting in the Jewish synagogues of the Diaspora. We look at where the structure of readings comes from and why it is organized the way it is.

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Barry Keurulainen Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Barry Keurulainen, Ascension Lutheran Church

Read by Elder Kurt Dolph/ Written by Pastor Barry Keurulainen, Ascension Lutheran Church

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

In this session we discuss and learn about the Service of the Word. It is one of the two key components to our Theology of Divine Service that has been present since the beginning of the church and even before that. In this session we focus on the place of the Word of God in the Divine Service and the place it occupies in the life of the Christian. It will show how central this is to the creation...

Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church

Text: John 11:1-45 Summary: Jesus gives his disciples a taste of the victory of the kingdom of God in Jesus through the resurrection of Lazarus. In doing this he brings back the peace between God and man that has been absent from the world since the Fall into sin in the Garden of Eden. So that now we begin to see that the dominion and finality of death is being destroyed. This point to the greater...

In this episode we discuss the history and basis for the development of the Entrance Rite. This contains the Kyrie, Hymn of Praise and the Collect prayer.

Text: John 9:1-41 Summary: Someone can either be blind physically or metaphorically blind. In the case of our text today, the man born blind is both physically blind and spiritually blind. Jesus demonstrates the mighty works of God is showing that he has authority to heal and restore the sight of the blind. He cures both kinds of blindness. For us this means, that Jesus can and does search us out...

In this episode we discuss the next part of the service of preparation, Confession and Absolution. We have not yet even entered into worship, because we have one last thing to address in our preparation, our sin. As Christians, we know that God knows our sin and so when we are coming into his presence in the Divine Service, we confess it. God has given us a great gift in the church in the Office o...

In this episode we discuss the term liturgy. It is a term that has come to mean many different things to different people; in this session, we get on the same page about it. We also begin to discuss the first part of our worship service and the Sacrament that is tied to it--the gift of Holy Baptism. 

Text: John 3:1-17 Summary: Any promise you make is a gift. Most promises also bring the person who receives the promise to it’s fulfillment in ways that don’t expect. God’s promise of salvation brought us all to a baptism of water and spirit. Nicodemus has a hard time understanding this fulfillment, but it is true! God’s has made you a promise of new life in water and spirit and it is a free gift!...

What is worship? An important question for each Christian to ask. By looking at the Scriptures and the history of the Church we will see how there are two main perspectives to Christian Worship. There is the view from below-our view-and the view from above-God's view. As Lutherans, the Word of God is the guide for the norm and practice of the Christian life; that includes our worship. So the real...

Text: Matthew 4:1-11 Summary: Jesus endures the temptation that OT Israel (which is us) failed to endure in their wilderness wanderings. Jesus endures it perfectly. He endures it perfectly in our place and overcomes all the adversaries of God for us. Pastor Adam Thompson, Ascension Lutheran Church