Ascension Lutheran Church Podcast

My daily Bible reading began with the book of Hosea. And the first chapter is a wild ride!

An Uber ride can lead to an interesting conversation.

I would like to second what Pastor Mike said about the conference that we attended last week. There was a permeating Joy that went throughout the conference. There were lots of hugs, laugher and a noticeable absence of concerned conversations about the state of things in the church.

I was asked that question numerous times Sunday morning after Pastor Goltl, Cyndy, and I returned from the Best Practices in Ministry conference in Phoenix, AZ. I settled on one answer. The happiness of the people at the conference.

The Ascension Grade school has passed the fire marshal’s inspection and has received the certificate of occupancy from the city.

I know that lots of people gamble and perhaps they are just fine and can take it or leave it. But I can also see how easily I could slip down this slippery slope. This isn’t an anti-gambling video but just an observation that I made about myself.

“American Airlines paging Tyrel Williams. If you want to go to Key West with us, you need to be at gate C29. Now.”

Over the past 65 years of Ascension’s history the congregation has had the typical practice of offering Holy communion on the first and third Sundays of the month. And as we look forward to the coming years of our life together as a congregation, I would like you to consider changing this pattern to every week. We could still use the fifth Sundays of the month for our non-communion Matins service,...

We want affirmation for a job well done. Recognition for when we had to carry more than our fair share. Thanks in various forms. A trophy when we sacrifice for the sake of the team. A public deposit into our emotional well-being bank.   We yearn for praise.   The Bible bursts our bubble.

I can remember as a kid that shopping with adults was not one of my favorite activities. They took far too long, and I know that I was not always the fun kid to have on a shopping trip.

The tooth ache wouldn’t leave, and I was out of town.   You know that pain. Like a great-uncle on the 100th re-telling of the African safari where he almost got gored. That pain. Only everyone’s left the room.

I can’t be bored for even a moment, so I pick up my phone and begin to scroll. So what's the big problem?

This picture used to hang in my dad’s barber shop. Not out where customers would wait for their turn to sit in his barber chair, but in the backroom. As a young child I looked at this picture and found it to be heartwarming and endearing.

“These are my fancy shoes. My mom told me to be careful.”

As we turn to the new year of 2026 there is so much to give thanks to God for the past 365 days and much to look forward to in the coming year.

This will be my last video devotion for the year. Next week I will be focused on planning the Christmas Eve worship at Ascension and the following week we will have grandchildren here so I’m taking a little time off.

I have reached that point in my life where I don’t need Christmas gifts.

The front arrived on schedule. More windy than icy. More blustery than wet.   Front porch wreath blown off the wall. Welcome rug covered with leaves blown off the river birch.

There’s a problem with giving just a little information in that it is not the whole story. Yes, the 5 love languages book is helpful, but it’s just a little bit of the whole story. Helpful and in the right direction but it is far from complete.

In all of my years I’ve never seen a turkey get the axe at the Rose Garden.

There is an article in Psychology Today this week entitled, “8 Ways to Be an Adult” and I think that most of us could benefit from its suggestions.

Fifty years ago, I bought my first vinyl album. I still have it. Any guess who the band was and the name of the album? Too many to choose from, right?

Working for wages leads to burn out. Jesus offers a very different motivation for work.

No matter where we are, in a rocky place or a comfy bed, in a lounge chair on the beach or an adjustable hospital bed, God is with us, connected through Jesus.

I woke up grumpy. Actually, I woke up a couple of hours earlier than what I had set my alarm for and my mind began to race with a particular problem that has been ongoing for some time. Here's how everything changed for the better.