Ascension on Air

About Ascension on Air

Weekly messages where Christ meets everyday people - and the profound change he brings.

Publisher

Pastor Ben Berger

Category

religion & spirituality

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

7 Feb 2023

Latest episode

28 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

66 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   28 Oct 2026

   Pass It On Equipped in Faith

   Growing in faith can feel like a solo project, but Jesus grows his people as one body, connected to him and to each other. In Ephesians 4:7–16, the apostle Paul describes the church as the body of Christ, whose life and growth flow entirely from its connection to Christ as the head, and in which Christ gives every member grace and gifts to build up the others. This is part three of the Pass It On series on handing the Christian faith to the next generation, following parents in the home (Deuteronomy 11) and mentors in the church family (Philippians 3), and it shows that Christ builds his body through all of them, so no Christian is on the sidelines. For anyone who feels unprepared for that work, the passage offers a hopeful answer: Christ is faithful, and he supplies the forgiveness, peace, and gifts that his people need. Key Takeaways Scripture pictures Christians as the body of Christ in Ephesians 4:7–16, and Christ is the head from whom the whole body receives its life and its growth. Ephesians 4 teaches that growing from spiritual infancy to maturity cannot be done alone, because growth flows from Christ and is shared among the members of his body. God’s grace in Jesus does more than forgive sins, because that same grace also gifts and equips every believer to serve others so that the body of Christ is built up. The Pass It On series began with parents in the home (Deuteronomy 11), who pass on Christ by first receiving his mercy for themselves, and continued with mentors and models in the church family (Philippians 3), whom God gives as a gift to help the next generation keep their eyes on Christ; Ephesians 4 shows that Christ himself is at work through both. Because Christ builds his body through the members of his body, no Christian is on the sidelines when it comes to passing the faith on to the next generation. Christ himself is at work in passing on the faith, sharing his own life with believers and giving the gifts they need, including the pastors and teachers he gave to equip his people for works of service. Christ is faithful, giving forgiveness through his wounds, peace through his blood, and grace through his life, death, and resurrection, and this is the mercy that parents and mentors receive first and then pass on to the next generation. This episode is part three of the Pass It On series from Ascension Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where the church is working to help parents and Christian mentors carry what is taught on Sunday into everyday family life, with daily rhythms rooted in Christ and guidance for the challenges young people face to their faith. If you missed parts one and two, look for them in the Ascension on Air feed. If this episode was meaningful to you, please subscribe to Ascension on Air, leave a review to help others find the show, and share this episode with a friend or family member. Ephesians 4:7-16 ascensionharrisburg.com

2. 

   1 Oct 2026

   Pass It On in the Family of Faith

   When everything around you pulls you off course, Christ has called you toward a goal and given you people who show you how to reach it. In Philippians 3:12–21, the apostle Paul describes pressing on toward the prize God has set before him in Jesus, even while many around him live as enemies of the cross, meaning they treat earthly things as their ultimate concern. Paul then tells the church to follow the example of Christians who hold to Christ with persistence rather than perfection. That pattern is one of God's gifts for passing the Christian faith to the next generation, beginning in the home and reaching into the whole church. Key Takeaways Paul says he presses on toward the goal "to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus," which shows that the Christian life begins with what God has already done for us in Christ and then moves us in a new direction. Scripture describes a real tension: God's upward call in Christ pulls our hearts toward heaven, while both our own fallen nature and the surrounding culture pull them toward earthly things. Paul guides the Philippians to follow his example and to watch those who live as he does. The gospel, the good news that Jesus lived, died, and rose again for sinners, is what defines a Christian's identity, and it is what mentors are showing when they persist in following him imperfectly. The home is the starting point for passing on the faith, and Scripture and recent research on healthy households both point to the wider church family as a needed partner in modeling life with Christ for the next generation. Christ works through ordinary, shared rhythms such as worship, Bible study, and close friendships across generations, and each of these shows younger believers what it looks like to keep holding to him. Paul closes by pointing to the destination: Christ, the Savior Christians await, "will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body," and this promise is what Christians hand on to the next generation. Ascension on Air comes from Ascension Lutheran Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. If this episode was meaningful to you, subscribe to Ascension on Air, leave a review to help others find the show, and share this episode with someone who would benefit from hearing it. Philippians 3:12-21 ascensionharrisburg.com

3. 

   25 Sept 2026

   Pass It on in the Family

   When parents reflect on their own struggles to pass on the faith, Deuteronomy 11 insists that the answer is not to try harder, but to first receive God's mercy in Christ for themselves. This episode opens a new series called Pass It On by naming a hard reality that many Christian parents feel: that they have fallen short in handing down what matters most to their children. Moses' charge in Deuteronomy 11 to teach the faith to the next generation comes only after a prior command to fix God's word in their hearts, because what gets passed down is never a parent's perfection, but the mercy of Christ that meets even their failure. That mercy takes shape not in flawless execution but in the ordinary, unscripted moments of family life: honest conversations, imperfect prayers, and forgiveness offered again and again. Key Takeaways Recent research shows a steep decline in how each generation passes on Christian faith to the next, but Scripture places the responsibility, and the hope, for that transmission within the family rather than the wider culture alone. Deuteronomy 11 grounds the command to teach the faith to your children in something that comes first: God's people had to fix his revealed mercy in their own hearts before they could hand it to anyone else. Scripture consistently points to parents and grandparents as those first entrusted with a child's faith, from Paul's instruction to fathers in Ephesians, to Timothy's mother and grandmother, to Joseph and Mary's care for Jesus himself. Every parent and grandparent eventually recognizes their own failure to pass on the faith as they should have, but God's mercy in Christ is not something withheld until performance improves; it is the very thing being handed down. What each generation ultimately passes on is not a flawless example but three truths grounded in Christ: that we are sinners in need of mercy, that God's mercy is ours in him, and that our lives are built on this foundation of Christ rather than our own efforts. Moses describes faith formation happening in daily rhythms rather than formal lessons, so that ordinary conversations, prayers, and even confessed mistakes become the place where children see God's mercy in Christ at work. Whether someone is just beginning to raise children or looking back with regret over decisions already made, Christ's mercy redeems both future fears and past failures, and that mercy becomes the truest witness a family can leave behind. This episode is the first in a new series at Ascension Lutheran Church in Harrisburg called Pass It On, which explores how Christians hand down faith to the next generation. Subscribe to Ascension on Air so you do not miss the rest of the series, leave a review to help other listeners find the show, and share this episode with a parent, grandparent, or godparent who needs to hear it. Deuteronomy 11:1-7, 18-21 www.ascensionharrisburg.com

Reach and audience

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Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

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