Ascension Lutheran Church

Ascension Lutheran Church Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

01/25/2026

THIRD SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY
9:00 a.m. January 25, 2026
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING FOUR: Page 203
Thoughts as we gather:
The Lord Manifests His Glory through His Office of the Holy Ministry
By His coming in the flesh and by His preaching and miracles, the Lord Jesus shines the light of His Gospel upon “the people who walked in darkness” and “who dwelt in a land of deep darkness” (Is. 9:2). He also has “multiplied the nation” and “increased its joy” (Is. 9:3) by calling disciples
to Himself from the ends of the earth. For this purpose, He calls Peter and Andrew, with James and John, to follow Him and be “fishers of men” (Matt. 4:19). As Jesus did, they also go forth “proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people” (Matt. 4:23). They preach the foolishness of the cross of Christ as the very power and wisdom of God. This word and preaching of the cross divides “those who are perishing” from “us who are being saved” (1 Cor. 1:18), but it unites the Church, the one Body of Christ, “in the same mind and the same judgment” (1 Cor. 1:10).

01/11/2026

BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
9:00 a.m. January 11 2026
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING THREE: Page 184

01/04/2026

Sermon Only -
EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD
9:00 a.m. January 4, 2026
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING ONE: Page 151
Thoughts as we gather
The Lord God Is Manifested in the Incarnate Son
The Feast of the Epiphany centers in the visit of the Magi from the East. In that respect, it is a “Thirteenth Day” of Christmas, and yet it also marks the beginning of a new liturgical season. Where Christmas has focused on the incarnation of our Lord, that is, on God becoming flesh, the Season of Epiphany emphasizes the manifestation or self-revelation of God in that same flesh
of Christ. For the Lord Himself has entered our darkness and rises upon us with the brightness of His true light (Is. 60:1–2). He does so chiefly by His Word of the Gospel, which He causes to be preached within His Church on earth, not only to the Jews but also to Gentiles (Eph. 3:8–10). As the Magi were guided by the promises of Holy Scripture to find and worship the Christ Child with His mother in the house (Matt. 2:5–11), so does He call disciples from all nations by the preaching of His Word to find and worship Him within His Church (Is. 60:3–6).

12/25/2025

CHRISTMAS DAY
9:00 a.m. December 25, 2025
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING FOUR: Page 203
Thoughts as we gather:
The Living and Life-Giving Word of God Dwells Among Us in the Flesh
The Lord sends out His ministers of the Gospel to make disciples “of all the nations,” so that “all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” The Lord has “bared His holy arm” in the incarnate Christ (Is. 52:7, 10). The child in the manger, born of the Virgin Mary, is the very Word of
God, the only begotten Son of the Father, “whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also He created the world” (Heb. 1:2). As “all things were made through Him” (John 1:3), so are all things redeemed and made new in Him. In His body of flesh and blood, we behold “the radiance of the glory of God” (Heb. 1:3), “glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). He dwells among us in peace, that we might have life and light and salvation in Him. For by His Word of the Gospel, we are born again as the children of God, bearing His name and sharing His eternal life.

12/24/2025

CHRISTMAS EVE
1:00 p.m. December 24, 2025
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING THREE: Page 184
Thoughts as we gather:
This Advent, we prepared for our Christmas celebration by considering various ways our seasonal decorations amplify the real meaning of Christmas. Though many of the reasons behind holiday decorations go unappreciated and even unnoticed, they still point us to Christ. Some of the decorations do this in a more obvious way. Even the most secular of souls sees baby Jesus in
the crèche. But even seemingly nonreligious signs of the season like evergreens and lights originated in Christendom. Now, as we have come to the Twelve Days of Christmas, we consider another Christian tradition: the exchange of Christmas presents. The giving of gifts, beautifully wrapped, reflects the gracious love of our heavenly Father, the “Father of lights,” from
whom “every good gift and every perfect gift” comes (James 1:17). Certainly, the greatest gift of all is none other than what we have come to celebrate: God’s self-offering to us through His Son for the forgiveness of our sin. It is a gift that produces abundant blessings for us and in us. These blessings know no end. They regenerate and renew us as we walk into the bright eternity God has in store for us. The gift is all wrapped up in the babe, who lies in a manger. Come, let us adore Him!

12/10/2025

ADVENT MID-WEEK TWO SERVICE
1:00 p.m. December 10, 2025
OFFICE OF PRAYER & PREACHING
Thoughts as we gather:
“Prepare!” is often the watchword of the season as the world gets ready for
another celebration of Christmas. An integral part of any preparation is deco
ration. We see decorations everywhere this time of year. The world may not
comprehend the real meaning of Christmas, but even secular preparations
use many of the same decorations beloved by Christians—an appropriation
we shouldn’t mind at all, because these decorations point us to Christ. This
year, as we look forward again to the coming of the Messiah, we take a fresh
look at how the adornments of the season draw our eyes to Jesus, that we
may more richly behold the love, peace, joy, and hope He comes to bring as
this beauty is set before us.
Today, we focus on lights. You see them everywhere this time of year. Some
neighborhoods even compete, and tourist destinations spend millions on at
tractive light displays. Like evergreens, this is something nonreligious people
do this time of year without appreciating their true significance. Yet we
know that Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12). He came to restore
righteousness to the world. This restoration continues to unfold through the
ministry He has entrusted to His church. As Zechariah sang, “In the tender
compassion of our God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us to shine
on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death and to guide our
feet into the way of peace” (LSB, Benedictus, Morning Prayer). We gather
this evening to bask in the light of Jesus that His Word would have its way
with us and so reflect His saving light into the darkness that remains in our
world.

12/07/2025

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
9:00 a.m. December 7, 2025
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING THREE: Page 184
Thoughts as we gather:
By the Preaching of Repentance, We Are Prepared for the Coming of the Lord
“John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘Repent’” (Matt. 3:1–2). His preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins prepared people for the coming of Christ into the world. St. John’s work was historically complete with the incarnate advent of Jesus, but his vital ministry continues in preaching Law and Gospel. The Son of God has come in the flesh, “a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from His roots” (Is. 11:1), and continues to bear the fruits of righteousness. His good tree of the cross is “a signal for the peoples” (Is. 11:10), by which He calls
the nations to repentance. “With the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips” (Is. 11:4), He slays the wicked and brings the dead to life, making sons of Abraham out of lifeless stones. So also the “root of Jesse” comes to us, “even He who arises to rule the Gentiles” (Rom. 15:12), that “we might have hope” and be filled “with all joy and peace in believing” (Rom. 15:4, 13).

12/03/2025

ADVENT MID-WEEK ONE SERVICE
1:00 p.m. December 3, 2025
OFFICE OF PRAYER & PREACHING
Thoughts as we gather
“Prepare!” is often the watchword of the season as the world gets ready for another celebration of Christmas. An integral part of any preparation is decoration. We see decorations everywhere this time of year. The world may not comprehend the real meaning of Christmas, but even secular preparations use many of the same decorations beloved by Christians—an appropriation we shouldn’t mind at all, because these decorations point us to Christ. This year, as we look forward again to the coming of the Messiah, we take a fresh look at how the adornments of the season draw our eyes to Jesus, that we may more richly behold the love, peace, joy, and hope He comes to bring as this beauty is set before us. Tonight, we focus on evergreens. Perhaps the most innocuous decorations in the eyes of the world, their prickles remind us of the crown of thorns, and the berries of the holly evoke the blood-stained brow of our crucified Lord. Above all, the steadfastness of their green in the midst of death symbolizes life amid death—and the life eternal Jesus won for us on the cross.

11/26/2025

THANKSGIVING EVE SERVICE
1:00 p.m. November 9, 2025
DIVINE SERVICE SETTING FOUR: Page 203
Thoughts as we gather
We Praise God for Sustaining Life in and through His Word The nation resounds with thanksgiving for the earth’s bountiful harvest, crops of wheat and grains, all beneath the canopy of God’s almighty care. But “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3). The Church is the vessel through which the Word of God penetrates the world with its Law and Gospel. It is this divine Word that proclaims Jesus as the sole source of life, health and wholeness. It is Jesus who heals lepers with His Word: “Go and
show yourselves to the priests” (Luke 17:14). Of the 10 cleansed, only one expresses thanksgiving to Jesus. But true gratitude proceeds from a heart sustained by faith. Jesus bids this one Samaritan to “rise and go your way; your faith has made you well” (Luke 17:19). So also, we are sent from the Divine Service, bolstered in our faith by baptismal and Eucharist blessing to
be thankful in our circumstances of plenty and hunger, abundance and need (Phil. 4:6–20).

Address

PO BOX 1645 22130 Ottawa Road
Apple Valley, CA
92308

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 2pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 12pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 2pm
Thursday 8:30am - 12pm
Sunday 8am - 12:30pm

Telephone

+17602477392

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