Furnished with heavenly Power

May 17, 2026 Ascension Sunday Luke 24:44-53 Furnished with heavenly power Year A Prelude Greeting Call to Worship (based on Psalm 47) Clap your hands, all you peoples; shout to God with loud songs of joy! For God has ascended with shouts of triumph, and trumpet fanfare! Our God is exalted on high, Sovereign over all the nations, and Lord of our lives. Let’s worship together. (re-Worship.com) Song Crown him with many Crowns UMH 327 A Sermon for all Ages Have the children stand on the floor in front of you. If possible, place a small step stool or a couple of safe steps nearby. “Good morning, friends! Today we heard about something very important called the Ascension. That is a big word that means Jesus went up to heaven. After Jesus rose from the dead, he spent time teaching the disciples. Then one day, Jesus blessed them and was lifted up into heaven.” Point upward. “Can everyone point up? Jesus went up to heaven!” Now invite a child to step onto the stool or step. “Look! When you step up higher, you can see a little farther, can’t you? You can look around better. Today I want us to think about how Jesus calls us to keep moving up—not just with our feet, but with our hearts and lives.” “What are some ways we can move up in life?” Allow answers like helping, praying, sharing, being kind. “Yes! Every time we choose kindness instead of meanness, we move up. Every time we tell the truth, help someone, pray, forgive, or love another person, we move up closer to the kind of life Jesus wants for us.” “In the story, the disciples did not just stand around staring into heaven. They went back to Jerusalem filled with joy and praise. Jesus lifted them up with hope.” “Sometimes people try to move up by being more important than others, getting more stuff, or winning all the time. But Jesus teaches us a different way to move up. Jesus says we move up by loving God and loving people.” Have everyone slowly rise up on their tiptoes. “Everybody stand on your tiptoes as high as you can! Stretch up high! Every day we can keep reaching higher in kindness, faith, love, and joy.” “And one day, because of Jesus, we will be lifted up into God’s eternal love too.” Prayer: “Dear Jesus, thank you for ascending to heaven. Help us move up in kindness, love, faith, and joy every day. Lift our hearts closer to you. Amen.” (ChatGPT) Responsive Reading Psalm 47 UMH 781 Scripture Luke 24:44-53 Sermon Furnished with Heavenly Power So I have been asking you to look up at the ceiling for some weeks now. I am not going to ask you to look up today. I want to ask you another question – which way is up? If I were to ask you to point up – where would you point. You could point up to the ceiling. But you can also point up, or up or even up. Even if you point down, you are still pointing up for the people ono the other side of the world. Your definition of up – has more to do with the your perspective. Sometimes when you us the word up – you are not talking about directions at all. Here are some of the sayings that use the word up – back up, set up, screw up, upset, move up, put up, shut up. I am sure that you can think of even more phrases that use the word up. When we say that someone is moving up – usually we mean that life is getting better for them, they are getting a promotion or that their efforts have been successful. We are celebrating Ascension today. This is the day that everyone witnessed Jesus literally moving up to heaven. So not only did he move up to heaven. But this was also a big step up for him. He rose to become God’s right hand man. New Testament scripture says that he sits at the right hand of the father. In Hebrew scripture – Psalm 110 sit at my right hand while I make your enemies your footstool. One of the lessons of Lue 24 is that Jesus came to earth in order to fulfill the scriptures. Apparently, when the mission on earth is complete it is time for him return to heaven. He is not leaving us alone, but he is moving out of the way so that we can spread the love of God to everyone. Looking at Footprints Not long ago I saw a wonderful picture of Jesus' ascension. It was a black and white woodcut print finely etched. In the picture Jesus is rising up as the disciples watch him disappear into the clouds. If you look closely at the picture, not in the clouds, but on the ground, you can see footprints on the earth. The artist has carefully etched Jesus' footprints down on the level where the disciples are standing with their mouths open. Perhaps the artist was simply imagining a homey detail that isn't in the text. Or, perhaps, the artist is pressing us with the old question, "Why do you stand looking up into heaven? Look at these footprints here on the earth." Jesus' muddy footprints are all over the pages of the gospels. Can you see Jesus' footprints in the wilderness? Each time he was tempted to claim earthly power and glory, he reached up and touched the words of Torah. One does not live by bread alone. Worship the Lord your God and serve only God. Can you see Jesus walking on the wrong side of the street with the wrong people? Can you see Jesus walking up to a sycamore tree, then looking up at Zachaeus, the tax collector, perched in the branches? "Come down, Zachaeus," Jesus said, "let's walk over to your house for dinner." Can you see Jesus walking, then riding, into Jerusalem? Can you see him stumbling toward Golgotha, loving us to the very end? Barbara K. Lundblad, Footprints on the Earth ________________________________ Perhaps the footsteps in the painting remind us not to spend do much time looking up at Jesus feet, but to focus on the footprints here on the ground. We should remember the lessons he taught, the lives that he touched, the mission here on earth that still needs to be handled. Most importantly we can remember the spirit that he gave to work on earth The Spirit of Christ is upon us. Our job is to take that spirit inside and let it guide us. It is not so much about looking up, but looking in. Every day that Christ lives in us – is a party. When we know that we are truly blessed by God – we have an abundance of joy. That does not mean that we will not have sorrow, pain, loneliness, or sadness. It means that we have joy in our hearts and souls to get us through. We are never alone, and we can act in courage, we can witness to our hearts content. Jesus is not above us – Jesus is in us. We live in Christ and Christ lives in us. The promise of Ascension is joy. Christ moved up in heaven, so that we can move up in life. Keep Climbing A Canadian by the name of Ashleigh Brilliant drew cartoons to go with pithy sayings called "Pot Shots." There is one I really like. Two people with walking sticks in hand are climbing a mountain in knee-deep snow. The caption reads: "Keep Climbing Upwards! You may never reach the top, but it's definitely in that direction." We have to continue to work toward unity and understanding - between each other, between the races, between cultures and between denominations. We may never reach it, but by working toward it, at least we'll be going in the right direction. Billy D. Strayhorn, So That We May Be One In Christ The Ascension is celebrated 40 days after Easter. The Joy of Living New Life Is Beginning The feast of the Ascension reminds us of two facts: one is the resurrection means we are deprived of the physical presence of Jesus as he was known in history to his disciples; the other fact is the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of Christ, is able to make him known and present to far greater numbers at the same time than would be possible in human form. So the disciples are being told, we are being told, while this is the end of one significant experience, it is the beginning of another one. The historical Jesus is no longer present; the cosmic Christ has received all authority and will be with us until the close of time. (Matthew 28: 18-20) Our Easter celebration is coming to an end; the joy of living the new life in Christ is still just beginning. Kendall K McCabe and Michael L. Sherer, Path of the Phoenix, CSS Publishing Company Today we have the joy of a new beginning, next week at Pentecost we have the power to begin that new life. Jesus promised the coming of a spirit that would bring about transformation, What's Your Superpower? - Luke 24:44-53 What’s your superpower? That’s a question you hear often in today’s pop culture. You’ll find jokes about it on Facebook or the internet, such as “I can make coffee disappear. What’s your superpower?” Or quips such as, “I’m a librarian. What’s your superpower?” In fact, maybe cracking jokes or the ability to make clever quips IS your superpower! But this is in fact a pressing question for today’s young people. “What’s your superpower?” It’s a question asked not just in social media, but in an interview, in a workplace, or maybe even in your church! Traditionally we’ve associated superpowers with superhuman abilities. But in today’s world, it doesn’t mean what you think. It’s not a pretend game of whether you identify with superman or spider man or iron man or wonder woman. In today’s culture, your superpower represents something unique to you, a unique gift or ability within you that enables you to do something that others can’t or don’t. For some, it may mean succeeding at business or being a great cook. For others, it may mean, winning at a certain video game or playing the piano well. Knowing your “superpower” doesn’t really mean others don’t have that gift too. But it means that this particularly unique ability sets you apart and, well, makes you, you. It’s a way in common 21st century slang to say, “This is my particular strength that supersedes all others.” Understanding your “superpower” can help you make healthy career choices, can help you choose a life partner, make good decisions, or simply give you an advantage in daily life. So, I’ll ask again, “What’s your superpower?” Like people, churches too need to ask, “What’s unique to us?” “What’s our superpower?” But there’s something else that’s important in asking that question within the church, something that we can’t find anywhere else in culture, because a church’s “superpower” always starts with Jesus, always begins with the supernatural touch of Holy Spirit power. Because you see, your superpower in culture may not be anything other than your natural ability. But within Christ’s holy church, we have a much bigger definition of “superpower”…. ____________________________________ May Christ move up give you the power to move up and bring the world with you. Let us pray. Song Thine Be the Glory UMH 308 Pastoral Prayer Almighty God, We come today celebrating your greatness, sovereign power, and the eternal purpose expressed in Jesus Christ, our Risen and Ascended Lord. We thank you for the wonder of this day—the assurance that Jesus, having completed his earthly ministry, is now set free to be Lord of all, no longer bound by place or time, but present with us always. As we stand in awe of your ascension, we confess that we often live with small vision, failing to grasp the power of your reign. Forgive us for living as though you are distant, and for not relying on the authority you have given us. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. We pray for your Church. Empower us, Lord, by your Holy Spirit. Just as the apostles were empowered to move from gazing heavenward to witnessing on earth, ignite our hearts with a passion for your Kingdom. Make us truly your body, carrying your light into our neighbourhoods and to the ends of the earth. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. We bring before you the needs of our world. As our High Priest intercedes for us in heaven, we lift up those suffering in body, mind, or spirit. We pray for the sick, the mourning, and those who feel alienated. Bring peace to nations broken by conflict, and bring your justice to those who thirst for it. Lord, in your mercy, Hear our prayer. Lord Jesus, we lift our hearts to you in the heavenly places, yet we ask that you make us faithful servants on earth until you come again. Fill us with the joy and peace of your presence. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. AMEN. ________________________________________ Lord’s Prayer Stewardship Moment Offertory Prayer Blessing God of Presence, even as Christ ascended, you did not leave us alone. While he was blessing them, you were preparing us to carry the story forward, to be your witnesses, to live in hope and power. In this sacred act of giving, we return a portion of what you have entrusted to us. May these gifts be a blessing to others, as Christ has been to us. Clothe us with courage. Remind us that your Spirit goes with us. And send us, renewed and ready, to be your church in the world. Amen. (Luke 24:44-53) Announcements Closing Prayer for YouTube O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven. Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone before, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen. (Desparatepreacher.com) Community Time - Joys and Concerns Benediction May God bless you with the understanding, wisdom, and grace to follow the way of Christ, that in all things, your life may be a blessing of praise to God. Amen. Written by Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2025. Additional Ilustrations Humor: Giving While We Are Alive I'm sure you've heard the old story of the conversation between a pig and a cow. The pig is complaining to the cow that nobody ever has a kind word for him. "Look at the way I give of myself," he says. "I produce bacon, ham, and pork chops. The bristles of my skin are used for brushes, my hide for luggage. Why, some people even pickle my feet and consider them a delicacy. Why is it then that everyone speaks more kindly of you, the cow, than of me?" To which the cow replied, "My friend, perhaps it is that I give of myself while I am still alive." Lee Griess, Return to The Lord, Your God, CSS Publishing Company ___________________________ For All Peoples Down at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Steve Jacobs, the rabbi of Temple Emanu-El was always a big hit with the students.I listened one day after class as he chatted with students. One bright young lady asked shyly, "Rabbi Jacobs, I really have been interested in the things you say, would I be allowed to come to your synagogue for services?" Steve turned to the young woman and smiled."At the top of our building," he said, "it is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.'" "Uh, yes," she said, "I understand, but I'm a Christian, you see, and I didn't know, I mean, is it okay, can I come to your synagogue?" Steve grinned and explained very carefully:"The synagogue is on South Highland Street. At the top of the building it is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples,' it's from the prophet Isaiah." The young woman stood very still. Everyone was quiet for a moment. You could tell from the confused look on her face that she hadn't a clue to what Steve was saying. Here she was, asking an honest, polite question and he wouldn't give her a straight answer. Then it sank in and you could see her imagination rearranging the furniture of her faith. Great, ancient walls were crumbling inside her. "Oh," she whispered, "and Jesus said that too, didn't he?'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people.'" She smiled, nodded her head and walked away, and as she went, I heard her say once more, just to herself, "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all people." Author unknown ___________________________ A Different World The world young men and women are stepping into now is quite different from the world that I graduated in. In the 60’s we lived under the "cold war." No one ever thought of terrorism. We didn’t have cell phones, VCR’s or DVD’s. Instead of the Internet we contacted our friends with a rotary telephone. Gas cost about 30 cents a gallon and it wasn’t difficult to find a job. Even paying for a college education in those days was relatively easy. But, that has all changed. This is a different world. The job market is tight. The world is much smaller and we can communicate anywhere in the world instantaneously. It is very challenging to venture out on your own, since things like utilities, rent and health insurance are very expensive. The world travels in the fast lane and the majority of folks are doing whatever necessary to survive, even if it means stepping on people in the way. Our culture has changed too. Our society is much more diverse. For example, your doctor will most likely be from another country. It is very possible that your next door neighbor might be from Japan or Mexico or Vietnam. The company that you work for may be owned by someone overseas. It is a very different world. Hopefully, parents, teachers, the church and community has prepared our young adults for this new and different world. But, will they survive? In our text Jesus is preparing his disciples for their life in the world. He prays for them and assures them that they will be protected. He will be leaving the world soon, and he wants them to know they will not be abandoned. Keith Wagner, In a Different World _______________________ Hold Hands and Stick Together Robert Fulghum was a feature writer for The Kansas City Times. I'm not sure he's still there, because he has written a runaway best seller entitled All I Really Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten. That book is an expansion of an article he wrote for The Kansas City Times a few years ago. It was this article that launched his writing career. Listen to a part of it: "Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. "These are the things I learned: Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody... "Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup. The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that... "Think of what a better world it would be if we all -- the whole world -- had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together." Maxie Dunnam, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com Standing on a Cloud In my grandmother's bedroom hung a very old-fashioned plaque. It depicted Jesus standing on a cloud, arms outstretched, beckoning the viewer to come to him. The inscription proclaimed, "Jesus Shall Come In Like Manner." Grandma died at the age of 94. She was perfectly prepared to meet her Lord coming to receive her in the clouds. She lived through Indian raids to man's walk on the moon. Sharp as a tack to the very end. Still, in her mind's eye, this was the way her Lord would come to her. Walking on the clouds. Who's to say it isn't so? She took quite literally the word of the two in white robes who said to the disciples, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." Charles L. Koester, Mission Accomplished, CSS Publishing Co., Inc. ____________________________ Ascension Day: Power Unleashed on Earth Ascension Day is not really about the power of Jesus vanishing into heaven. It's about having that power unleashed into all the earth. While on earth, Jesus affected those right around him. After he ascended, this powerful presence was unleashed on the whole globe, the whole cosmos. One theologian (Walter Wink) once noted that killing Jesus was like trying to destroy a dandelion seed-head by blowing on it (Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, 226). Christ was the light of the world all right, but "now that light, as if hitting a prism, would fracture and shoot out in a human spectrum of waves and colors" (Yancey, 228). There is "no place that we can go to flee from his presence" (Psalm 139), nowhere we can go to separate ourselves from God's love (Rom. 8). John D. Witvliet, Beyond the Blank Blue Sky _________________________ Heavenly Orientation When men were still traveling to the moon there was an astronaut, named David Scott, who looked up into the heavens at the planet he was from. As he stepped outside his spacecraft, on to the moon's surface, he said, "I can look straight up and see the earth." At the same time, millions of Americans heard these words on their radios and TV's and could look straight up to see the moon. From the moon above, you could look "up" and see the earth below. And from the earth below, you could look "up" and see the moon above. We look up to heaven from wherever we are. On the Ascension of Christ, the disciples looked as they saw their Savior being lifted up. They looked up. In fact, all of creation looked up. Brent Porterfield, www.eSermons.com The Glory of God "The Glory of God is the human being fully alive;" writes the 2nd Century Saint Irenaeus, "the life of a human being is the vision of God." Ascension marks the next to last moment in the Jesus narrative which begins each year in Advent with a pregnancy and grows into the story of a ministry that shows the glory of being fully human. Jesus’ life encompasses wholeness and healing, suffering and death. It addresses our delight in earth’s gifts and wonders and our very real and daily fear of "being limited by time and by the body." Jesus lives in the world without the complication of complaint. He has nothing to prove but the reality that God is love. So Jesus lives and Jesus dies and Jesus’ body descends into the dead, is reborn as bread and wine in the Eucharist, and as a full and nourished body in the resurrection. Easter teaches us again and again (for it takes many tellings for us to learn this) that what we call death is in fact a transformation, is in fact a birth. But even that is not the full story. Carol Luther You are blessed by God The most important message of the gospel lesson comes at the end. It says that Jesus walked with them as far as Bethany, and then he realized that he must depart. As he left, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And they were so happy to receive his blessing, that he went praising God forever in the temple. The word in the old testament for bless most often is baruk – but that word is used for a blessing for God. How do we bless God? Through praise and worship. The new testament adds a new element of spirituality to the meaning of blessing. The Greek use the word marakus – which means to be as happy and well as the gods in heaven. The one thing I can say about the Greek gods – they were very well indulged – they had everything. And the one thing they loved to do – was party and have a good time. Pentecost – next Sunday is the day we receive our power – today Ascension is the day we receive our joy, our confidence, our blessing. Let us pray. In Luke 24, this happens on Easter night, where Jesus immediately leaves. Today I am going to talk about Luke 24. I think that this verse contains an important lesson for us as we go into the summer and we work at what we must do as a church in order to move forward. In order to grow – must outgrow leadership Attending the institute for congregational development gets old having to take off from work two days a month. But I did learn one important lesson concerning church growth. If the pastor can hold the church in one hand, the church will never grow. If you are always depending on the pastor to be at every meeting, to make every decision, to do the work of every committee, you guarantee that you will have a very small church. The pastor is only one person, and can only do so much. Which in the mission of an organization, that is not very much. If Jesus was still here on earth – there would be only one church, not millions around the world. And everytime we were trying to do something, we would ask Jesus. We would always need to know that Jesus thinks. We would need jesus to approve all of our projects, the building of god’s kingdom would be a very small movement. The whole point of the book of acts is how the church grew, how it grew so large, that no one man could control it. And it was not dependent on one man. That is the whole point of the Ascension story – in order to let the church grow and to allow the disciples to do their work – Jesus knew that he has to step out of the way. Jesus was preparing them all along to do the work of God without him. If Jesus was still here the church would have no power – we would give our power to Jesus. And we would be codependent on jesus. THE VACUUM SALESMAN A vacuum salesman down in rural Tennessee. He had a his vacuum cleaner and all of this tools and everything, and he went out there and he told a lady, "I’ve got the most exciting vacuum cleaner you have ever seen. It will clean your house from top to bottom...you only have to pay so much down." And the lady said, "It sounds real good." He said, "You see that big pile of dirt right there on the floor with all those fur balls and bugs and things." He said, "My vacuum cleaner will just pick up all those things up just like that and if they don’t, I’ll eat it." She said, "Well, you might as well get your knife and fork, because we do not have any electricity out here!" Power is the one thing nations, politicians and businessman covet. But the power that we need is not an earthly power. God has promised believers Spiritual power. Vance Havner once rightly said,"We are not going to move this world by criticism of it nor conformity to it, but by combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God." (From a sermon by Donnie De Loney, Pentecostal Power, 5/22/2012) The church with no power to spread the gospel would be eating a pile of dirt and trash – and accomplishing nothing. In order to be the church we need power, but power to do what? But I think that there is an even bigger lesson for us to learn in this story. In the book of acts, the disciples are there staring wide eyed when Jesus leaves. And it takes two angels to step in and to ask them why are they staring up at the sky looking for someone who is not there. The point of the story is not so much that jesus ascended up to heaven, the point is that he was here on earth to begin with. And when he came to earth everything changed. Everything changed. In life everything changes, evolves, transforms. In Asia there is a religion called Iching. It is a whole religion based on the concept of change. Everything in life changes, nothing stays the same. God is a god of change. It would make sense that Jesus is the master of change. The ascension was Jesus way of saying it is time for things to change. He was hear, and now it is time for him to leave. There are some changes in our lives that are for the better and some are not. And yet Jesus is teaching us how to deal with that change. In order to master change you have to have the power to respond, to act. If you are standing there looking for Jesus – life will change and you will not. Jesus tells his disciples to go out into the world and to be a witness to what they saw and heard from Christ. When Jesus says witness to what you have seen and heard – he is talking to you. Be a witness for Christ. Tell the world how you have had an encounter with Christ, and how it has changed your life. We were not there when Jesus ascended into heaven. But one of Luke’s main points, and Jesus says this. If you can read and understand scripture, you have all that you need. You know Jesus as well as anybody. You need scripture and the holy spirit. We reflect on the power of the holy spirit next week at Pentecost. But the lesson for us today – is that life is about to change. What is expected of us is about to change. In order for us to get through that change, we will need a power from above. Jesus Christ has given us that power – to grow, to change to transform. And to transform others. In Christ, you have to energy, courage, imagination and the resources – to make a difference. Amen.