Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church

Ascension Evangelical Lutheran Church Divine Service every Sunday at 9:00 am.

In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus teaches us about our greatest need: the forgiveness of sins. We will see this truth not...
06/06/2026

In the Gospel this Sunday, Jesus teaches us about our greatest need: the forgiveness of sins. We will see this truth not only in the account of the healing of the paralytic (Matthew 9:1-8), but also in the calling of St. Matthew (vv. 9-13), who was formerly a tax collector.

When the Pharisees criticize Jesus for sharing meals with tax collectors and sinners like St. Matthew, Jesus exposes their ignorance and unbelief by saying to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance" (vv. 12-13). It is not healthy people who need to go and see the doctor, but the sick. Likewise, it is not righteous people who need forgiveness from God, but sinners. The problem is, Scripture teaches us, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3:10). The reason tax collectors and sinners come to Jesus is that they know they are dying because of sin and believe He can heal them. As St. Paul will remind us in the Second Reading, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). Jesus is the great Physician who alone can heal sinners from sin and its deadly poison. But because the Pharisees were so full of pride and self-righteousness, they were incapable of recognizing that they, too, were sick with sin and in need of Christ's forgiveness. And so, instead of coming to Jesus for healing, they question and condemn Him.

May the Spirit of God grant you the humility to confess your sins to God and the faith to receive from Christ the healing balm of the forgiveness He freely offers to you in the gospel. Come and receive the medicine of immortality this Sunday as Christ welcomes you to sit with Him at His Table and feast on His body and blood in the bread and wine for your forgiveness.

Image: The Calling of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio (1599–1600)

06/02/2026

Feast of the Holy Trinity - St. Matthew 28:16-20/Genesis 1:1-2:3 (Rev. Alair)

05/30/2026

Feast of Pentecost - St. John 7:37-44 (Rev. Alair)

This Sunday marks the beginning of a new season in the life of the church together as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy...
05/29/2026

This Sunday marks the beginning of a new season in the life of the church together as we celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity. Whereas the first half of the church calendar year (Advent through Pentecost) centers on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the second half of the year (sometimes called "ordinary time" or "the time of the church") focuses on Jesus' teachings and how the Holy Spirit gives life and growth to the Church. Hence, the liturgical color which dominates this season is green, symbolizing the growth God gives His Church through His Word and Sacraments. As our Lord said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:5-8)

The Spirit of God, who first worked faith in our hearts and united us with Christ in Holy Baptism, continues to nourish our faith and keep us connected to Jesus and His life-giving words so that we may bear much fruit. Therefore, from now until the end of the church year (November), our worship services will focus predominantly on the teachings of Jesus and how we are to live in this world as His disciples as we await His return.

And the first teaching Jesus wants us to know is none other than the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. While this teaching is and will always remain a profound mystery, the truth that "we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity" is nevertheless foundational to our faith and absolutely necessary for our salvation. As we will confess in the Athanasian Creed together this Sunday, "Whoever does not keep this faith pure in all points will certainly perish forever." Below is a prayer you can pray as you prepare yourself to celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity:

O almighty, everlasting God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who showed your grace to us men and made Your mercy bountifully evident, first, O eternal Father, in making us as men; and eternal Son of God, in being made man for us and making atonement for our sins on the cross; and eternal Spirit, who proceed eternally from the Father and the Son, in giving us faith and sanctifying us by the Holy Gospel: we beseech You, the only, eternal, and almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to sustain us in Your grace until the end and to give us eternal salvation. Amen.

About the image: The "Three Angelic Visitors" is a classic biblical scene (Genesis 18:1-15) commonly depicted in the Hospitality of Abraham Icon. The most famous version is the early 15th-century masterpiece by Russian iconographer Andrei Rublev, which symbolizes the Holy Trinity.

05/23/2026

Seventh Sunday of Easter - St. John 17:1-10 (Rev. Alair)

Each year, on the fiftieth day after Easter, the church celebrates the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost gets its name from th...
05/23/2026

Each year, on the fiftieth day after Easter, the church celebrates the Day of Pentecost. Pentecost gets its name from the Greek word meaning “fiftieth,” and originates from a holy festival ("Feast of Weeks") established by God in Old Testament (Ex. 34:22). While this festival centered around giving thanks to God for His provision during the harvest season as the people brought the first-fruits of their wheat and grain offerings to the temple, Pentecost also commemorated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai, which took place on the fiftieth day after the Passover. The Law was God's gift to Israel and served as the foundation of their faith and identity as they journeyed through the wilderness and into the Promised Land.

But in Acts chapter two, on the fiftieth day after Jesus rose again from the dead, the LORD gathered His people together on the Day of Pentecost to celebrate a different kind of harvest. It was a harvest not of wheat or grain but of souls. Furthermore, on the Day of Pentecost, the church received from the LORD a far greater and infinitely more valuable gift than what was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. For it was on that day God poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit upon His church, just as Christ had promised (Jn. 16:7).

This Sunday, we gather together on the Day of Pentecost to give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit, who, as we confess in the Nicene Creed, is "the Lord, the Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who in unity with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified." Historically, Pentecost is one of the three high feast days of the church year, the other two being Christmas and Easter. While we may not think of Pentecost as being as special as those other two holidays, the church has always considered the events that took place on Pentecost to be on the same level as the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. Although it was the Son of God who accomplished our salvation, it is the Spirit of God who brings the benefits of Christ's salvation to us through the means of grace (i.e., the Word and Sacraments). Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, we would never be able to believe in Christ or come to Him. "But," as we learn in our catechism, "the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." And so, it is only right that we gather this Sunday to meditate upon the Word of God and give thanks to the LORD for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Image: “Pentecost”, Giotto di Bondone, 1305, Capella Scrovegni, Padua.

05/16/2026

Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord - St. Luke 24:44-53 (Rev. Michael Willitz)

Yesterday (Thursday), we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, which marks the fortieth day of Easter. It w...
05/16/2026

Yesterday (Thursday), we celebrated the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord, which marks the fortieth day of Easter. It was forty days after Jesus rose from the dead that He visibly left earth, ascended into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

When Scripture speaks of Jesus sitting at God’s right hand, it is not referring to a specific place somewhere in heaven, as if Jesus is tied down to some chair in God's throne room and can no longer be with us here on earth. For He Himself promised that He will always be with us, "even to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20). And He is. Although we do not see Jesus with our eyes, we know that He is always near to us, veiling Himself in His Word and Sacraments and dwelling within us, the church, which is His body (Eph. 1:22, 23).

And so, when Scripture speaks of Him ascending into heaven and sitting down at God's right hand, it refers to the exalted position of authority that Christ has been given by the Father. As St. Paul writes, after Christ was raised from the dead, God “seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion” (Eph. 1:20-21). And what is more, when Jesus sat down at God's right hand, He did so as our Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14; 10:12). This means that the One who rules over all things is the very One who also intercedes for us before the throne of God. Because Jesus is our Great High Priest, we always have an Advocate with the Father who forgives us when we sin and prays for us in our weaknesses in order “that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4:16).

In the Gospel reading this Sunday, we will hear the first part of a prayer Jesus prayed to the Father on the night He was betrayed while He was in the upper room with His disciples. This prayer has often been called the "High Priestly Prayer" because in it Jesus prays not only for Himself, but also on behalf of His people. And although Jesus prayed this prayer during His earthly ministry, we can be confident that He continues to pray it even now at God's right hand. Commenting on this prayer, Martin Luther said that it is “a beautiful address, a chapter and prayer the like of which Scripture contains none other, for there is no other such person and intercessor, for it is the prayer of our Savior and Head, for our comfort and the strengthening of our faith.”

Image: Full of Eyes (https://www.fullofeyes.com/john-173-2/)

Join us tomorrow (May 14) at 6:00 pm, on the fortieth day after Easter, as we celebrate with great joy the Feast of the ...
05/14/2026

Join us tomorrow (May 14) at 6:00 pm, on the fortieth day after Easter, as we celebrate with great joy the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord.

“And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen" (Luke 24:50-53).

Almighty God, as Your only-begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, ascended into the heavens, so may we also ascend in heart and mind and continually dwell there with Him, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

In the Gospel this Sunday, we will continue to hear from Jesus' upper room discourse with His disciples on the night He ...
05/09/2026

In the Gospel this Sunday, we will continue to hear from Jesus' upper room discourse with His disciples on the night He was betrayed (John 14:15-31). Last week, Jesus called His disciples to faith in Him as "the way, the truth, and the life" (v. 6). The eternal Word became flesh and dwelt among us not merely to show us the way to the Father, but to become the Way itself by sacrificing Himself for our sins on the cross. By His death, Jesus reconciled us to God and secured a place in His Father's house for all who believe in Him as "the way, the truth, and the life." Faith in Christ alone can give peace to our troubled hearts and grant us the assurance of salvation.

However, while faith in Christ alone saves us, true saving faith is never alone. Because faith unites us to Christ and brings us into communion with the God of love, faith will necessarily express itself through love. For just as fire will always produce heat, so faith will always produce love. There is no faith without love. And the kind of love that results from faith in Christ is not some kind of fleeting emotion or sentimental feeling towards God. Rather, real love for God is reflected by how we keep His commandments. Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments...He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me” (vv. 15, 21).

On Sunday, we will meditate on what it means to love Jesus and remember the promise Jesus made to send us "another Helper" to encourage us in our faith and lead us to walk in the truth of God's Word (vv. 16, 17).

Image: Full of Eyes (https://www.fullofeyes.com/psalm-119130-135/)

Address

1412 Neva Road
Antigo, WI
54409

Opening Hours

Wednesday 6pm - 7pm
Sunday 9am - 10:30am

Telephone

+17156272232

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