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.

Jesus Prayer for Our Success (Threatened with Resurrection)

7th Sunday of Easter – Ascension John 17:1-11 May 21, 2023 Jesus Prayer for our success Year A Prelude Welcome Introit Call to Worship L: Today is Ascension Sunday when we celebrate Christ’s return to God. P: We look up in wonder as he is lifted from us into heaven! L: But this is not a time to gaze upward. There is work to be done. P: Jesus has entrusted the ministry of God’s love to us. L: Let’s get to work! P: Let’s make our hearts ready for the task ahead with prayer and praise! L: Amen P: AMEN! (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Opening Prayer God of incredible surprises, as we gaze into the clouds, remind us that we are standing on holy ground. Place our feet on the pathways of peace and hope. Draw our attention from the vision of the Lord rising to the heavens to be with you and help us to focus on the ministries that you would have us do. Keep us ready and willing always to serve you all our days. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Song All Hail the Power of Jesus Name UMH 155 Children’s Sermon Good morning! Today we are going to talk about a very special event that took place in the Bible. First, though, I want to show you a little trick. Have you ever seen a raisin dance?? It might sound strange, but let me show you what I mean. Here are my raisins, ready to party (show a handful of raisins). Now, do you know what a raisin used to be? That’s right, a grape! You’d think the grapes might want to dance, so maybe we’ll try it out with them too… Okay, here’s my dancing juice (pour enough fizzy soda to fill about half a glass or jar). Let’s see, do the grapes want to dance? (Drop in a grape or two…nothing happens). Well, the raisins look a little shriveled up here, but watch what happens when I drop them in the bubbles… (wait a few moments, and observe the raisins float up to the top of the glass). Wow, those raisins got excited about being in that glass, didn’t they? They might have seemed like all the juicy grape life was drained away, but they got new power and rose back up! So, the reason we watched raisins is because today we are looking at what happened when Jesus ascended into Heaven. Have you ever heard the word “ascend”? It means something goes up, like an elevator or a person going upstairs. In our lesson today, we are looking at the last time Jesus was on earth. We’ve been talking about how He showed up to His disciples a few times after His resurrection, and spoke with them about things or gave them encouraging words. Well, He had one final special meeting with them…Jesus took His disciples out of the town a little ways, and He reminded them again of who He was, and how He suffered and died to fulfill the prophecies. He told His friends that He was going to send them an exciting present, and that they should wait for that present to get an amazing sort of power…then He gave them a blessing, and then do you know what happened? Well, have you ever had a balloon, the kind with helium, and let it go? What happens? It just floats all the way up into the sky, right? That’s what happened to Jesus! He floated up, ascending into the sky just like those raisins. But He didn’t come back down. (At this point, you may use your stuffed animal to demonstrate the “lift off”; or for extra effect, hoist one of the kids—safely—and lift them up for the others to see). The disciples were left open-mouthed, starting into the sky and wondering when He would return…an angel let them know that Jesus would be coming back, though they didn’t realize it would take such a long time. In the meantime, the disciples were excited about what Jesus had said. They went to Jerusalem and hung out in the church, giving praise to God and telling people about what they had seen. They were all stirred up with energy and excitement, just like those raisins were stirred up and started dancing! How do you think you might have felt if you saw Jesus go up into the clouds like that?? It might have been shocking or confusing or exciting. One thing we can know is that we should be eager to share God’s love and good news with one another. And do you want to know something else? This story about ascending has a sequel! Jesus told the disciples to wait for a special power that would be sent, remember? Do you want to know how that power came? You’ll have to stay tuned, because in our next lesson we will get to hear all about it! For now, let’s say a prayer and ask God for patient hope, and for enthusiasm to share His news with others: Prayer: (Have kids repeat each line, if desired) Dear God, Thank you for who you are Thank you for resurrection joy Help us to be excited about your story So we can share the good news with others Thank you for your love Thank you for Jesus! (Ministry to children, Kristin Schmidt) Affirmation of Faith UMH 888 Anthem Scripture John 17:1-11 Sermon Jesus’ Prayer for our Success This is the last Sunday of the Easter season. Next Sunday is Pentecost, and the Sunday after that is the beginning of ordinary time. Ordinary time is the longest and the most boring season of the church year. The first six months of the Christian year, which starts in December is dictated by the holidays and festivals- advent, Christmas, epiphany, lent Easter. The last six months of the year the church is silent. That silence is intended to challenge us to take the lessons that we have learned and become better Christians, delve deeper in our faith, get closer to God, have a clearer understanding of our purpose, to become more determined to fulfill our mission. Our mission is to fulfill Jesus mission, Jesus mission is to fulfill God’s mission of love for all people. On the last Sunday of Easter, we remember the culmination of Jesus ministry on earth. The culmination is not Easter. After Easter, Jesus hangs around a little bit and encourages the disciples. Until one day he returns to heaven and leaves the mission in their hands. All week I have been seeing a Facebook meme which says that Ascension is the day Jesus decided to work from home. Ascension happens in the middle of the week – and has its own scriptures to talk about it. Our scripture for today is john 17. Our songs are Ascension songs, but I chose the gospel for the last Sunday of Easter. I felt that it was a nice combination of both thoughts. John 17 is Jesus final prayer for his mission, for the mission of the disciples and for the mission of all future Christians who will read and hear these words. Now to give you a little background on this prayer. In Matthew, Mark and Luke – Jesus gives a final prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. He is alone, and his is very worried and concerned and he prays the God will take this cup away from him, so that he doesn’t have to go through even more pain and passion. John always tells things a little differently. For John – Jesus is at the last supper with his disciples. He is not upset, he just accepts what is to happen next as a part of the plan. So he prays this his disciples will have strength, solidarity and steadfast hope. He prays that all who fulfill his mission will have eternal life. In this prayer, eternal life is not something in the sweet by and by. Eternal life is always there for us to use – when we know the power of Jesus in life and we know that power comes from God and is available to us – we are living eternally her today. John’s point in his gospel is to teach us that heaven and earth are always connected, Jesus is always fully human and fully divine. We always have access to God through Jesus. When we follow Jesus, we follow God. Heaven is not a place up in the sky – heaven is a place in our hearts. Heaven is how we live, how we treat people, how we pray, how we fulfill God’s mission for love and unity for all people. If God can resurrect Jesus from the dead, then the challenges that we face are no match for God. On this last Sunday of Easter, I want to share with you a poem that we studied in seminary – 30 years ago. This poem has stuck with me all of these years because it reminds me of the power of resurrection. The poem is called “They have Threatened us with Resurrection” It was written in the 80’s by Julia Esquivel. She is a survivor of a massacre of indigenous people in Guatemala by the military. Whole villages were destroyed and people felt helpless to defend themselves and their families against their own government. And yet rather than give up on life, they chose to stand on their faith. They knew that evil had the power to destroy their body, but not their spirit. For them, tough times had threatened them with resurrection. It made their faith stronger and they were more determined to survive. The quetzal is Guatemala’s official bird. Legend has it that if caged the bird will die of sadness. But when it is on freedom, it has the power to overcome any circumstance. Even in deadly circumstances, it will always come back to life and thrive. The poem says that it is the internal cyclone of struggle that heals the wounds of the quetzal. The power within is the earthquake soon to come that will shake the world and put everything in its place. Jesus is the earthquake that puts everything back in its place. I wont share with you the whole poem, as a matter of fact her book is a series of poems. But I will share some of the important parts It isn’t the noise in the streets that keeps us from resting, my friend, nor is it the shouts of the young people It is something within us that doesn’t let us sleep, that doesn’t let us rest, that won’t stop pounding deep inside, it is the silent, warm weeping of Indian women without their husbands, it is the sad gaze of the children fixed somewhere beyond memory, precious in our eyes which during sleep, though closed, keep watch, What keeps us from sleeping is that they have threatened us with Resurrection! Because every evening though weary of killings, an endless inventory since 1954,** yet we go on loving life and do not accept their death! They have threatened us with Resurrection because they are more alive than ever before, because they transform our agonies and fertilize our struggle, because they pick us up when we fall, because they loom like giants before the crazed gorillas’ fear. This poem has stuck with me all of these years because I think that at some point we have all been threatened with resurrection. Out faith has been tested. We have become discouraged, we have felt that it was no use, we have not seen results, we have seen evil prevail, we have lived in darkness, we have felt that there is nothing that we can do, we have stared death in the eye. It is in that moment that we cannot hold onto the things going on around us – we have to look inside and hold onto our faith. We have to realize that it was at that moment in the life of our saviour that he did not cry – but he prayed. He prayed for us as we face our darkest moment. John 17 says I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those you gave me, because they are yours. I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, even as I am coming to you. Holy Father, watch over them in your name, the name you gave me that they will be one just as we are one. It is the moment that we see resurrection as life in the midst of death, light in the midst of darkness, and eternity as the power of God right now in this situation that we learn the power of our faith. The poem, Threatened with Resurrection ends by saying… Join us in this vigil and you will know what it is to dream! Then you will know how marvelous it is to live threatened with Resurrection! To dream awake, to keep watch asleep, to live while dying, and to know ourselves already resurrected! When we are able to see resurrection clearly- the mission of Jesus has been fulfilled and God has been glorified. God’s mission is in our hands now, we just have to keep the faith. Amen. Song I’ll Fly Away TFWS 2282 Pastoral Prayer Lord, we sometimes wonder why you bother with us. Throughout history, you have called to humankind to be your witnesses. You have given to each a special blessing. But the historical record reveals the stubborn, selfish responses of your people. We think that we deserve your blessing and don’t have to do your will. We have acted in wicked ways far too often. Today you have called us together to hear the words of Jesus as he prayed for his disciples, telling you that his love for them is complete and that he believes in them. We would like to think that we are included in that number, that Jesus prays for us and loves us. And, indeed, he does. He has given his life for us. Now we are called to give our lives for him, to offer to all the good news that God’s love is real and powerful. God’s healing mercy is for all people. We offer our prayers for our families and our friends who are in situations of need, asking God’s blessings upon them. We raise our voices in choruses of pleading for you to be present to all your people, creating pathways of peace. Be with us, gracious Lord. Help us to witness to the world, not only by our words and our thoughts, but by our actions that your peace may be known. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN. (United Methodist Ministry Matters, Nancy Townley) Stewardship Moment Offertory Prayer Our kind Heavenly Father, we rejoice in your faithfulness! As you promised, your glorious Spirit inspires a new way of life through the church of Jesus Christ. We trust that as we continue to devote ourselves to prayer, you will strengthen our congregation in mission outreach. Direct all our gifts and offerings for the purposes of your kingdom, O God. We pray through Christ, who ascended on high to your eternal throne in the heavens. Amen. (Acts 1:6-14) Announcements Closing Prayer for Facebook Easter people, God has done great things for you! Go, now, carrying the story of God’s work in your lives that in all things, good and difficult, you can ask with confidence, “How will God show up now?” knowing all the while that God will, indeed, take all our caring and point us toward joy. Amen.( Dr. Lisa Hancock, Discipleship Ministries, October 2022.) Joys and Concerns Benediction The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace, in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Amen! (Aaronic Blessing) Additional Illustrations

Which Way is Up?

May 24, 2020 Ascension Sunday Year A Which Way is Up? Acts 1:1-11 Children’s Time Object: Any size battery. Lesson: A battery supplies the power and energy to many things, in much the same way that the Holy Spirit supplies power and energy to Christians. (Display battery.) Do you know what this is? It's a battery. What do batteries do? (Children respond.) Batteries "run" things. They give power and energy to many items we use every day. My watch has a battery in it and so does my camera. What sorts of things do you have that use batteries? (Video game, remote control, cassette player, cars, trucks, radios, dolls, etc.) Wow, we use batteries in a lot of places, don't we? They give our belongings the power they need to work. What happens when the batteries run down? (Children respond.) If the batteries run down our toy or game just stops. It will not work anymore because it does not have any power. It just sits there, doing nothing. My watch and my camera are not much good if they don't have any power. We can fix our things and give them new power by putting in new batteries. Wouldn't it be great if we had batteries that would never wear out? Did you know that the Holy Spirit is like a battery for us? The Holy Spirit is a special part of God that helps us. He is like a battery that never wears out. He gives us power, energy, and strength. He keeps us going. When we think we can't do something, the Holy Spirit helps us get it done. When we have to deal with sad things that happen in our lives, he is there to give us strength. When people make fun of us and treat us badly, he gives us the power to deal with them. When we are too tired to keep going, the Holy Spirit is our energy. When something terrific happens to us, he is there to celebrate with us. He gives us the ability to tell other people about Jesus. No matter what we need, he is there for us. Through the Holy Spirit working in our lives we receive the power and strength we need to make it through every day. He is like a battery that never wears out and he never gets tired of helping us. Ask God to give you the power or strength you need this week. God bless you. CSS Publishing Company, A TIME TO PLANT, by Teresa L. Major Opening Prayer Call to Worship #2: L: We await God’s instructions for our lives. P: We eagerly look forward to learning more about ways to serve God. L: The time is coming when our service will be needed here. P: Let God’s love flood through our service to others L: Wait! Listen! The time is near! P: Open our hearts and spirits, O Lord, to hear your word for us today. AMEN. Announcements at the end – the sun is shining beautifully this morning, pray that the God’s of the internet are happy this morning and will let me get through service with very few interuptions. – all pray together! Stewardship Moment Today is Ascension Sunday – the time to look to Jesus. It is a difficult time. When we look to Jesus, looks to us- give what we have – and know that Jesus spread love to others, help church, help community, spread Jesus message of love and know that we are included in that message. What we give to others, will come back to us in unexpected ways. Give, many ways to give our offering. Contactless way…is time to turn back to the one who is “chosen and precious,” except, as you’ll see, he turns it back to us. Even when talking about himself, his own glory, he turns back to us. It’s amazing, really. in this moment, you’d think he would be focused on himself. But even in the final moments on this earth, we’re the objects of his attention and his prayer. It is time to turn back to the one who is “chosen and precious,” except, as you’ll see, he turns it back to us. Even when talking about himself, his own glory, he turns back to us. It’s amazing, really. in this moment, you’d think he would be focused on himself. But even in the final moments on this earth, we’re the objects of his attention and his prayer.God of Glory and Majesty, we have seen your glory in Christ, for it shines in our lives through the faithful who have walked with us on this journey. In seeing Christ’s glory in them, we have seen you. As we bring our gifts to you, remind us that the world will not see you and your glory unless they see it in each of us. Remind us as we move through each day that all around us are your children who are desperately searching for a glimpse of your holy presence and love. May they see it in us today. In the holy name of Christ, our Savior. Amen. (John 17:1-11) Scripture Acts 1:1-11 Common English Bible (CEB) The risen Jesus with his disciples 1 Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, 2 right up to the day when he was taken up into heaven. Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom. 4 While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: 5 John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 As a result, those who had gathered together asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?” 7 Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going away and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood next to them. 11 They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Sermon It was my eighth grade science teacher who asked the class – which way is up. Most of us looked up at the sky – up is that way. He remained quiet in order to encourage us to discuss the topic more – as we thought more some of us said that up is that way – like up the street, but depending on where you are standing , up could be that way. And someone else pointed out that for people on the other side of the world – Up is that way. The teacher then explained that on first thought, we think that up is one direction, but when we explore more we discover that up is a relative term – up can be any direction. I don’t know if my eighth grade science teacher went to church or not, but that is the exact lesson for us today – to expand our horizons, and our outlook on life. More importantly, Jesus encourages us to expand our minds when we are looking for his presence. We also tend to think of heaven as up there somewhere. That has been what we have been told for ages, until man landed on the moon and discovered that the heavens is a vast expanse of stars, and planets. So one again, we have to ask ourselves, where is heaven? Where did Jesus go when we went up in the sky? All throughtout the resurrection Jesus has been appearing to his disciples. And today – we hear a different story. Jesus brings his disciples to a high mountain, and they watch him literally descend up and disappear into the clouds. This is the story of the Ascension, when Jesus goes up into heaven and leaves his disciples to carry on his mission. This story was designed to answer the question, if Jesus was bought back to life, how come we can’t see him today. What happened to him? Did he die again like Lazurus? Is he living in seclusion? The disciples had to see with their own eyes, that Jesus was taken back to heaven. This is the day that Jesus decided that it was easier for him to work from home in heaven – than to stay on earth. Luke is the only person who tells this story. It is not found in any other gospel. Luke is the author of both the gospel of Luke and the book of Acts. Interestingly, each of those books tells a very different version of the story. But the point is that the story is told. It is designed to mark a special time in the life of the disciples, and those who hear that story today. Up until this day – the disciples hung on every word that Jesus said. They were students, who depended on Jesus. They lost their teacher, and then celebrated that he was still with them, and now here he was leaving again. But Jesus was very clear that the mission must continue, that the lessons that he taught were still in existence. He had taught them everything that they needed to know to continue on the journey. In his fine book, On a Wild and Windy Mountain, William H. Willimon tells of being in New Haven, Connecticut as a student at Yale in l970 during the famous Black Panther Trial. Those of you who remember that turbulent era recall the strife, discord and agony that tormented our society in those days. During the week that the crisis at New Haven reached its peak, Willimon attended a choral mass at a nearby Catholic Parish. A boy’s choir was singing, “Deus Ascendit-- “God Has Gone Up.” “Just as I thought,” Willimon thought to himself somewhat sarcastically, “God Has Gone Up. And isn’t that typical? Gone up, up away from New Haven and the angry shouts of the mob and the gunfire of the cops and the revolutionaries.” In other words, Willimon was saying to himself, “God has abandoned us.” As he continued to listen, however, the idea struck him that the choir did not sing, “Deus Abscondit,” God has abandoned us. The boys were shouting “Deus Ascendit.” God has gone up. “God has begun in heaven what is yet to be accomplished on earth,” Willimon reflected. “Christ is gone, not to forsake us, but to continue to redeem us. He has gone to take charge, to rule, to put all things under his feet.” Deus Ascendit. God has ascended. When we go through tough times in life, we can identity with Willemon’s thoughts that God has abandoned us. When we cant go to our church building and connect to the spirit of God – can ask where is God? Why would a God who loves us do that to us? I don’t know about you, but I think there are a lot of times in life when I feel that divine absence. That feeling that God is just not with me, and his not helping me and not giving me the answers that I need. I am sure the disciples must have felt that way as they watched Jesus go up into heaven. What are we supposed to do now that he is gone. How are we supposed to go on with our lives? Jesus knew that they would have these questions. So as he was departing he gave them specific instructions. First he told them to wait – to be patient. Even today we don’t want to be told to wait. Second he promised that a special spirit was coming that would give them peace, understanding and power to move on. And third – in the Luke story he tells them to worship, but in act he tells them to pray. In the Acts story, after the disciples watched Jesus ascend to heaven they went to the upper room – their safe space in order to pray. As his disciples, we are instructed to pray in order for us to get a clearer understanding of what God intends for our lives. Where do you go during those times of questioning life. As people of faith, we all need to have a time in our daily live set aside for prayer, a place to pray in solitude, a list of concerns to pray about, and goals to attain through prayer. As Jesus walks away, Jesus gives the disciples instructions, words of comfort – but Jesus does not give them any real answers about the future. I know that a lot of times I come to God in prayer, with my concerns, looking for answers, and no answers come. Once again there is that divine absence – that feeling that God is not listening. In the present day – we all have a lot of questions about the future. We are all looking for clear answers about what it going on, how to deal with it. And we want a promise that one day all of this will end and that life will go back to a time when everything made sense. The reality of the situation is that we are never going back to the way things were. The only way to go is forward, forward to a new reality. A reality where we will do the best to recreate what we are familiar with, but life only goes in one direction – that is forward. Forward to a future that we are not prepared for. It is said that the wife of Albert Einstein was once asked if she understood her husband’s theory of relativity. She replied, “No, but I know my husband and I know he can be trusted.” The disciples knew that Christ was with the Father and that Christ could be trusted. They believed that he was in charge and that made all the difference. If we look at the lessons that Luke tells us, we notice that Luke has a fascination with these two men dressed in white. As Luke tells the story of the resurrection he notes that there are two men standing at the tomb – who tell the disciples to go on with their life. As Luke tells the story of the walk to Emmaus, after Jesus has been crucified, there are two men walking with the disciples, and they tell them to keep moving on the journey and to wait for the spirit. In both of Luke’s stories of the ascension – once again we meet these two mysterious men who are dressed in white. The disciples are staring up in the sky looking for Jesus,and once again these two mysterious men asks why are they looking for Jesus in the sky – when Jesus is not there? Once again I ask you – which way is up? Is heaven up there somewhere – or in here somewhere? The mysterious men dressed in white tell the disciples that if they want to see Jesus, they need to go on with their lives, remember the lessons he gave, pray, wait for the presence of the spirit, and continue in the mission. – keep serving and being faithful and as we move forward, everything else will fall into place. Now that I have told you this whole story about the ascension – I will confess that many biblical scholars ask if this story really happen. Did Jesus literally ascend into heaven right in front of the disciples. Some believe that this was just a vision – it did not really happen. Which way is up? Where is heaven, If Jesus is still alive – where is he now? All questions that we still asks today. The point of the ascension story is for us to think about where Jesus is in our lives. Usually when we say that someone is moving up – things are getting better for them. We have a higher view of them. We look up to them for advice and understanding. It is important for us in the midst of our grief and sadness to look up to Jesus. We have to lift our eyes in prayer, lift up our head to Christ, and lift up our hearts in praise. In other words – let Christ ascend in our spirits in order to lift up our life. 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 We are coming to a shift in our lives, in many ways. As we move forward into the future, the focus is not on us sitting and watching Jesus, as it is about us getting involved in the story. The story of God’s love for us is a never ending story. It goes on beyond our present circumstances. Now that Jesus was been elevated, the story is about us. Luke wrote about the life of Jesus, the book of Acts is about how the disciples continued the story, and the present circumstances about God’s love in action now. It is our turn to be the star of the story. Let us pray…… Prayer Time Pastoral Prayer Go back to Jerusalem and wait, Jesus said to his disciples. Lord, we are not good at waiting for anything. We want to know what to do right now, right here. We want the plan all laid out for us so that we can project the end results. We have some real control issues to overcome, Lord. Take our spirits and release the need for control for them. Help us place our total trust in your abiding love and presence. Give us patience and persistence in our ministries and mission. As we bring to you the names of dear ones whose lives are in need of your healing mercy and comfort, remind us that we also stand in need of those same mercies. Give us courage to accept your love and strength to witness to your love in all that we do. In Jesus’ Name, we pray. AMEN. Announcements When will be opening – it is still a step by step process Pentecost – scripture will be from Acts 2:1-21 Congratulations to our graduates Thank you to Debbie for keeping us connected Can put your name in the comments Benediction Ascension: An Irresistible Confidence Our culture is tired of politicians who promise but do not deliver; tired of entertainment all around us which does not satisfy; tired of trouble between neighbors; tired of religion that promises bread but gives a stone. In the Ascension, God can put into our hearts an irresistible confidence that all is not as it seems, that love, truth and integrity are never defeated, that the kingdoms of this world will indeed become the Kingdom of our God and of his Christ. John Davies, After Ascension - Transformation tanding 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 There is a humorous little story that came out of Hollywood many years ago. A famous and handsome movie star checked into a hospital. As might be expected, every nurse in the hospital was very attentive to his needs. One particularly attractive nurse was at his side nearly every time he moved. When he finally indicated that he would like to be alone for a little while she said, “Now if you want anything at all you need only to pull this cord.” The movie star gave his irresistible smile and said, “Thank you, my dear, but what is the cord attached to?” She smiled back and answered, “Me.” In The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the Prince becomes close friends with a fox. On one occasion they are trying to set a time for their next visit. It is very important to the fox to know the time of that meeting. They finally agree to meet at 4:00 o’clock. But the little prince cannot understand why it is so important to the fox to know the exact time. Finally the fox replies, “Oh, if you will come at 4:00 then I will begin to be happy at 3:00.” It is time we start “beginning to be happy.” We have a friend who has gone up and now sits at the right hand of the Father. Deus Ascendit. God has gone up.

Why are You looking up?

June 2, 2019 Acts 1:1-11 Ascension Sunday Year C Why are you looking up? Scripture Focus: Luke 24:44-53 (note: this is the Gospel text for Thursday, May 17, Ascension of Our Lord. Many churches read the ascension texts on the Seventh Sunday of Easter. There will also be a Children’s Sermon posted using the texts appointed for Sunday, May 20.) Preparation: Make a “to-do” list with the items: 1) Receive power from God. 2) Go to the temple and pray. 3) Go tell what you have seen. Faith+Open: As the children gather ask them, “Have you ever been left with a list of things to do?” Maybe you get a list at home like, first you need to finish your dinner, then you need to clean up your room, then you can go play with your friends. Guess what, the disciples got a list like that, too! Faith+Share: Today we are celebrating the Ascension of Our Lord. That’s a big word, don’t you think? Does anyone know what it means? Wait for a few answers. You guys are pretty smart! Ascension means to go up. It can also describe when someone gets more power or more responsibility. Kings and queens ascend to the thrown when they become a kind or queen. In the story of Jesus’ ascension he really does go up – up into the sky to be with God, but before he goes he leaves a “To-Do” list. Right before he ascends, Jesus tells the disciples that they are the ones who know what happened in Jerusalem (what we know as the Easter story) and that they need to tell the story to other people. Get out your list. First, though, they have a few other things to do. Jesus tells them to wait in the city until they have been “clothed with power from on high.” That always makes me think of a super hero suit from God! Like the disciples become super storytellers for God! Storytellers who can baptize people, and heal the sick and injured, who can travel amazing distances and tell the story over and over. Pretty cool, huh? Then they go to the temple and bless God for the amazing gifts that God has given them. Then they head out into the world to share the good news! That story starts next week when we celebrate Pentecost. So, this is our last chance this year to say this, Happy Easter! Faith+Prayer: Powerful God, we thank you for the gifts you give us. Help us to use our gifts like the disciples did, by going out into the world and sharing the good news of Christ. Amen Faith+Blessing: Remember what Jesus says to his disciples: Do not be afraid and peace be with you. + ~GB Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply. Acts 1:1-11 Common English Bible (CEB) The risen Jesus with his disciples 1 Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, 2 right up to the day when he was taken up into heaven. Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom. 4 While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: 5 John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 6 As a result, those who had gathered together asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?” 7 Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 While he was going away and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood next to them. 11 They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.” Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible Have you ever wondered why birds chirp like to sing the first thing in the morning? I just love to hear the birds in the morning, chirping away signaling that a new day is coming, and it is time to get up. When I was a small girl, there was a rooster the lived in the back of my grandmother’s apartment. His crowing in the morning was such an important way to wake up in the morning. It seems that the birds around the parsonage are not city birds – they are on a different time table. They start chirping at 3am in the morning. Usually, just as I am about the go to bed – the birds outside my window start to sing. I read somewhere recently that birds sing in the morning as a way to signal to their partners that they are still here. They have survived through the night- and they want to celebrate life and the beginning of a new day – of adventure and love. In many ways it is like us and our faith. We too come to church to signal to the community that we are here for another day. We have survived and are well enough to come together in church to sing, and to pray. It is also interesting that as you follow along the Easter story – it seems that every week we read a story – where the disciples are gathering to sing and to celebrate. They sing when they re happy, they sing when they are confused, they sing when they understand what is going on, they celebrate when they don’t. They are not celebrating their life, but the life of Jesus. It has been 40 days since Jesus was cruficied and they found an empty tomb. Actually it was 40 days last Thursday - that is ascension Sunday. The day that Jesus supposedly ascended into heaven. I say supposedly – because this story is only found in the book of Acts and in the book of Luke. The disciples are enjoying their second chance time with Jesus. Jesus has come back, so that must mean that He is going to stay – and like Lori Lightfoot – he is going to clean up the government and make this world a better place to live. Jesus is still teaching them, and then Luke reports that Jesus takes them to a beach, starts to pray and then just lifts up in the sky. And they are standing there looking at his feet. Did that really happen? No one is for sure. But it is always the most dramatic part of a passion play – in every passion play Jesus is hoisted up into the air and he flys away and the story ends. Being that the other gospels don’t say anything about how jesus left the earth, we really don’t know if this happen, or if Luke was being dramatic. The point of the story however – is that Jesus no longer walks amongst us. We can no longer just ask Jesus every time we have a faith struggle, we have to find the answer ourselves. Christianity is not the religion of Jesus, it is the religion of the disciples. And the moment they realized that Jesus has left them all alone stays etched in their mind as if they watched him float away. It is sort of like a story of a faithful dog. There is a monument to a faithful collie at the train station in Fort Benton, Montana. The collies’s master died in 1936. The collie was there at the train station when his coffin was shipped back east to be buried. The collie followed the train as it pulled off, but of course could not keep up. So he came back to the train station and waited. Every time a train pulled up to the station, the collie was there waiting for his master to return. He never left the station. One summer day in 1942, the dog ran in front of a train and was killed. The conductors buried him on a hill and marked his grace. The monument still stands to his faithfulness to his master. No doubt the dog was faithful and loyal and honorable. But he also wasted six year of his life doing nothing. He was never able to move past the moment of his masters death. If his master had ever stepped off one of those trains, would he be impressed that he was still waiting, or would he has wanted him to go on with his life, carrying the memory of their time together and yet still living.

The point if waiting
Jesus has been constantly telling us to be patient, to wait for the holy spirit – but he is not asking us for a passive waiting, but an active waiting. A waiting where we go on with our normal lives, filled with the knowledge that life gets better. We are called to move forward, even in times when we don’t understand, knowing that it will eventually make sense. Even in times when times are hard, with the knowledge that in time things will get better. Even in times when we believe that jesus is coming back – but have no idea of what that even means Unfortunately, the dog did not have the guidance of the two angels, the same two angels that sat at the grave – to tell the disciples to stop staring at the sky – and to move on with life. they don’t have to look for Jesus – Jesus will look for them. Losing a mentor can be devastating and disorienting. I can imagine how broken the disciples must have been. They had put so much faith in this man, and now he was gone. What did that mean for his trust? What did that mean for them, for the world and all that they had hoped for? They must have been so discouraged, when Jesus told them to wait for the presence of the comforter – the holy spirit. The spirit would come and give them strength and power. We get that next week when we celebrate Pentecost. I recently read an article about spiritual awakenings. It caught my attention, because it reminded me that spiritual awakenings can be tricky and confusing. Sort of like the birds starting to sing at 3 in the morning. Truthfully, I sometimes have a hard time falling asleep at night. Hearing the birds at 3 in the morning is my spiritual trigger, that the night is over and it is the dawn of a new day – so my mind can relax enough to fall asleep in peace. Spiritual awakening have a way of taking who we are and who we should be and shaking them up together. They take our bad side and our good side and make use of both of them. Spiritual awakening are never simple, or straightforward, or easy to go through. They are like driving through a storm. We are not in control and things are not pretty. But the good news for us is that when we come through them, we are stronger, and more confident and able to face things that would have bought fear before. The disciples faced the death and resurrection with fear. Today, they were still alone, but they understood what Jesus was trying to tell them. They did not have to wonder what Jesus would do, because it was written in their hearts, they would face an uncertain future and not be afraid. >Story of the chief’s successor
A tribal chief lay dying. He summoned three of his most loyal subjects and told them that it was time for him to choose a successor. He told them to climb the holy mountain and to return with the most precious gift you can find. The first brought back a huge gold nugget, the second brought back a priceless gem. The third returned empty handed, saying “when I reached the mountaintop, I was on the other side a beautiful land, where people could go for a better life. The chief said, you shall succeed me. You have brought back the most precious gift of all: a vision of a better tomorrow. That is why Ascension is so important to us. it was the day that the story was no longer about Jesus life, but about the faith of his followers. Recently purchased a lifesized cut out of Jesus and he is in my office now. It is interesting how many people on facebook commenting on the color of Jesus complexion. Many of my African American friends complained that he was much too light. I purchased him because it looks like a middle eastern man. But the point of the ascencion is that it does not matter what color Jesus is – or what ethinic group he came from. If he ascended into heaven, to get beyond race, culture and human definitions. Jesus of Nazareth is now Jesus the Christ. Jesus of Nazareth lived a life in Isreal – Jesus Christ belongs to the world to whole world. Jesus is Christ of all people, no matter what. He came to earth to save all people, no just some. His disciples went from men who had never went more than 30 miles from home, to men who were not afraid to travel the world – to spread to the good news a universal good news. It is interesting, that we can read how the book of acts begins – but we don’t know how it ends. We can follow Jesus life on earth, but if we stare at the sky waiting for him to come down. We will be waisting our time. We don’t know how the book of acts ends, because we don’t know what is going to happen in our lives tomorrow. The book starts with Jesus – but it ends with us, with our faith. I know I have told this story before – but it tells such an important point. I have told this story before, but it works here too… NO OTHER PLAN An old legend imagines Jesus arriving in heaven right after the Ascension, welcomed by all the angels. Then the angel Gabriel asks Jesus, "You suffered much, dying for the sins of mankind. Does everyone down on earth know it?" "Oh, no," replied the Savior, "just a handful of folks in Jerusalem and Galilee know about it." "Well, Master," continued Gabriel, "what is your plan for everyone to know of your great love?" The Master replies, "I asked all my apostles to carry the message into all the world. I told them to tell others, who will in turn tell others until the last person in the farthest corner has heard the story." Gabriel’s face clouds, for he spots a flaw in the plan. "What if after awhile Peter forgets, and goes back to his fishing on Galilee, also James and John and Andrew? Suppose Matthew returns to his tax booth in Capernaum, and all the others lose their zeal and just don’t tell others. What then?" After a pause comes the calm voice of the Lord Jesus, "Gabriel, I have no other plan." You are not just a part of the plan – you are the plan. The next chapter is waiting to be written by how we live our faith. Let us pray…..

Letter to the Angel of the Church

May 6, 2018 Revelation 1:12-20,2:1 A Letter to the Angel of the Church Acsension Sunday Non-lectionary Children’s Sermon: What do angels do? Some are spiritiual, some are real, all are messengers of God. Revelation 1:12-20 Common English Bible (CEB) 12 I turned to see who was speaking to me, and when I turned, I saw seven oil lamps burning on top of seven gold stands. 13 In the middle of the lampstands I saw someone who looked like the Human One.[a] He wore a robe that stretched down to his feet, and he had a gold sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white as white wool—like snow—and his eyes were like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine brass that has been purified in a furnace, and his voice sounded like rushing water. 16 He held seven stars in his right hand, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword. His appearance was like the sun shining with all its power. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. But he put his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid. I’m the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I was dead, but look! Now I’m alive forever and always. I have the keys of Death and the Grave. 19 So write down what you have seen, both the scene now before you and the things that are about to unfold after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands, here is what they mean: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Footnotes: a. Revelation 1:13 Or Son of Man Common English Bible (CEB) Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible The apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation while on the Greek Island of Patmos. He had a dream that he saw heaven, and while there Jesus gave him a vision. Jesus told him to give the vision to the new churches in Asia. It was a message of hope in times of a big struggle. Chapters 1-3 in Revelation are a series of messages that John gives to the 7 churches in Asia. He has a letter for each church. But what is interesting, John does not address the letter to the people of the church – he addresses it to the angel of the church. HMM what does that mean? Who is the angel of the church. Many people don’t like the book of Revelation, because it is written in symbolism. And a lot of that symbolism has very undefined meanings. Some believe that the angel is considered the pastor of the church, but early churches were not run by pastors, but by church councils. So some say that John is talking about the general leadership of the church. But John uses the word angel or messenger 60 times in the book of revelation, and he is always talking about a heavenly being. So the common understanding is that every congregation has a guardian angel, whose job is to watch over the congregation and the work it does for the Lord. Jesus told John to write a level to all seven angels, each angel being a separate being, with a separate personality, and each church dealing with different issues. The book of Daniel in the old testament actually speaks of this concept of every area having an angel that overseas the work of God. A pastor gave a sermon speaking about the angel of the church, and he asked the congregation if they believed that they had an angel. Someone shouted out no, we don’t have an angel, but we do have a lot of demons in the church. Actually as a United Methodist Elder, who takes a vow to ititerate, and to spread the gospel in different communities, we learn that is not true. Every church has an angel that watches over it, that protects it , that guides it , and that maintains the personality of the church. Being the new person in town, you get to know the angel of the church pretty quickly. Most of the time by accident, when you suggest something new to the congregation and you get a response. If you make a suggestion and people resist a little and say – we have never done it that way before –then you know that is just a deeply ingrained habit. If you do something different and someone bites your head off and tells you not to ever do that again, you know that you have stepped on the angels toes. I have had my head bitten off quite a few times in the last 10 months. The angel of Wilmington is alive and well, and doing her job. Angels are mentioned all throughout the bible. the greek word means messenger. Wherever there is holy work to be done, an angel always oversees that work. In the bible, God sends angels to take care of God’s children in times of trouble, to oversee the work that the church is doing, to provide when resources are lacking, to protect from danger, to reveal God’s intentions. It is interesting that when John writes to the angels of the seven churches, first he chastises the angel and tells them what they must do differently, then he gives a message of encouragement. The biblical writers learned a long time ago, that it does no good to speak directly to people and to tell them what to do, the people are not listening. Rather than giving direct orders, Jesus told parables. Stories, in hopes that as people listened to the story- they would see themselves in the story, and realize the truth for themselves. What you might hear in a story is not the same as what I hear, because we have different experiences, we are asking God different questions, and God has different intentions for us. So when God speaks, the story has to be big enough for the whole congregation to reflect and think about. That is why the book of revelation is intentionally written in symbols, and you have to spend time thinking about what those symbols mean to us. John was writing for a specific crises, but his words are timeless to apply to any situation 2000 years later. So that we could all hear the message, and to look for the angel. And to know that when we are doing God’s work, angels are with us. "Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?" Hebrews 1:14 As told by Pastor Glenn Gunderson of First Baptist Church of Pomona, California: A missionary who was serving in a remote area of Africa made a monthly journey to a city two days bike ride away to pick up supplies and medicine. On one of his many journeys he came across two men who were fighting, one of whom was severely injured. The missionary stopped to help the injured man. After treating him, he continued on his way. Sometime later in the village a man came to him and said, "You probably don't remember me but I was one of the men who was fighting when you stopped to help." The missionary said he remembered the incident and the man told him. "We were going to rob you on one of your trips. We knew you always carried cash and medicine and were unarmed. When we came to rob you, I had three friends with me. We saw where you camped and put your bike down, but you had 26 armed guard all around you so we weren't able to rob you." The missionary said, "That's impossible. I always travel alone and have no armed guards of any kind." The man said, "Oh yes, my friends and I each counted 26 men, heavily armed standing around you while you slept." When the missionary visited his home church back in Michigan, he related this story to the church family. A man in the congregation stood up and asked, "What time and what day did this happen?" The missionary told him the date and that it was a Saturday night. The man said, "It was night there but it was Saturday morning here. I was loading my golf clubs in my car. I was on my way to the golf course and the Holy Spirit impressed on me so heavily that I needed to pray for you that I took my clubs out of my car and called men from church and we came together and earnestly prayed for you. He then said, "I would like to ask each one of these men who prayed with me that Saturday morning to stand up. As they stood, each one in the church counted 26 men standing! Dick Innes To the angel of Wilmington, God is at work , God is leading us forward and God has plans for us – it says so in scripture. Let us pray….

Let Jesus Lift us Up

June 1, 2014 Let Jesus Lift us Up Luke 24:44-53 Ascension Sunday Year A Apostle’s Creed This morning at want us to start at the end of the sermon. I keep forgetting to have us read the Apostle’s Creed. So to make sure that I get it in, I want us to read it first….. And I want us to think especially about the phrase – he ascended to heaven and sits at the right hand of the father. That actually comes from Psalm 110 where God invites Jesus to sit at his right hand while he destroys enemies. This is a message to us that the devil is alive and well. There are some things that God still has to work out for us. We are still living in the mean time – before God finally directs all of the affairs of the world. The importance of Ascension This is an important day in Easter season. It is Ascension Sunday, the day we remember that Jesus did ascend into heaven. This is the last day that his original disciples saw him. If you watch any passion play – it always ends with Jesus ascending into heaven. For us, Easter is not over, Easter begins today in a new way. Talking about the ascension answers the question of why Jesus is not with us today. If life is eternal, and the resurrection bought Jesus back to life, why is he not still with us today? Can you imagine what the church would be like if Jesus was still around? If you look in the bible, when the organization outgrows it leader what did they do? Moses was an influential leader. But the bible says that when Moses got to old to function that he went out into the desert and was buried by God. If often wonder if Moses went by himself, or did someone conveniently take him and just leave him and come up with a clever story to tell the people about what happened to him. I think the ascension story of Jesus way of saying I am not going out like that. He knew when it was time to make his exit and let his disciples do the work, and he made sure he was not in the desert alone. He bought a group of disciples to witness exactly when God took him up to heaven. There are actually 2 stories of the Ascencion, and interestingly enough there are only 2. The only gospel writer to talk about the ascension is Luke. He gives 2 different versions in Acts and in Luke. Acts 1 happened 40 days after the resurrection. Jesus is on the beach and he ascends into heaven. 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? Text Illustration: The Spirit of Power that we receive is not like the human power that we recognize as strong. It’s a power unlike anything we can do on our own. A young man growing up in the wrong part of Houston became a bully. He would get in fights in school, in the neighborhood, and began mugging people to get spending money. He even beat up people just for the sake of doing it. He learned to box, and became pretty good at it. He began to make a lot of money and could have almost anything he wanted. One day, during his training session for an upcoming bout, he heard his mom talking to his sister on the telephone about his favorite nephew. The young boy had had a seizure and now lay in a coma in the hospital. Doctors said he would probably die, but that if he came out of the coma he wouldn’t be able to move his limbs, or speak, or do any of the human functions we consider part of living. He ran into the room where his mom was on the phone and shouted, “Momma, call the hospital and tell those doctors to give him the best of everything. Tell them I’ll take care of all the bills, to fly in the best doctors from wherever they have to. Tell them who I am, and that I’ll take care of everything — whatever it costs.” His mom spoke to the doctors, and then told him, “Son, you’re just going to have to pray.” He realized then how grave the situation was. When someone tells you the only thing you can do is pray, things are looking pretty bad. Then it hit him. All of his money, his fame, his influence, his friends — none of that could solve this problem. It was out of his hands, out of the doctor’s hands, out of everyone’s hands. For the first time, he was totally powerless. And for the first time, George Foreman dropped to his knees and prayed. He wasn’t sure God existed, but he knew that when all else failed, people prayed. He asked God, if he really existed, to help his nephew. Then he got back in bed. A few seconds later, he got back on his knees and offered to give up all his wealth if God would heal his nephew. Then he got back in bed again. A few seconds later he got back on his knees a third time and got angry at God for letting this happen to his nephew, a child who hadn’t experienced life yet. George told God to take his life instead. Let the boy live and take George’s life instead. The next morning George’s sister called from the hospital. His nephew had woken up and could move his eyes, but the doctors said he wouldn’t ever walk again. She called later that day, and the boy had begun moving his toes. The next day the boy was talking, and a week later he was on his way home, “walking, talking, and back to normal.” The doctors had no logical explanation. But George Foreman knew God had just given him a miracle. Three months later in March 1977, George Foreman died in his locker room after fighting Jimmy Young. He collapsed in a heap, and entered what he describes as “a deep, dark void, like a bottomless pit.” In his book, God in My Corner — A Spiritual Memoir, George wrote “I knew I was dead, and that this wasn’t heaven. I was terrified, knowing I had no way out. Sorrow beyond description engulfed my soul, more than anyone could ever imagine. If you multiplied every disturbing and frightening thought that you’ve ever had during your entire life, that wouldn’t come close to the panic I felt. … “ I screamed with every ounce of strength in me, ‘I don’t care if this is death. I still believe in God.’ “Instantly, what seemed to be like a giant hand reached down and snatched me out of the terrifying place. Immediately, I was back inside my body in the dressing room.” George accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior, and devoted himself to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. He realized his human power, his money, his prestige, were worthless in the next life, and meant to be used as tools to lead others to Jesus during this one. He went on to win the Heavyweight Championship of the World twice. He was ordained as an evangelist in the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and became pastor of a small church. He also became involved in prison and hospital ministries. You probably know him best for the George Foreman Grills that continue to sell around the world. And he recently baptized his own 23-year-old daughter who finally decided to dedicated her own life to Jesus. That’s God’s idea of power. We need the power to witness to Christ and what Christ can do for the world. Everything must change 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. Children’s Sermon Clothed With Power by Brett Blair Passage: Luke 24:36-49 • Lectionary: Ascension of our Lord Item 2 of 9 | Back to Results Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate the need in our lives to have God's power at all times in our life. Prop: A heavy winter coat you can wear. Lesson: [If you can wear the coat over your robe put it on and act as though it's cold.] Burr, I'm glad I have this coat. (response) Its so cold I think its going to snow! (response) What?(response) What are you laughing about? (response) It's hot? (response) It is? (response) You mean I don't need this coat? (response) Take the coat off hold and hold it in your hands. Your right it's not really cold outside. What time of year do I need a coat like this? (winter) That's right. I don't need it in the summer because it's not the right time of year. We have winter clothes and we have summer clothes don't we? (response) There are some clothes that we wear all year round. Can you name some? (response) If the kids don't name "socks" then you name it (For the women who are not wearing socks use your shoes). Application: I guess I need to put away this coat until fall when it starts to get cold again.Showing the kids your socks Should I put away my socks too? (response) Well, the Holy Spirit is kind of like these socks. When it's summer and hot outside we don't put away our socks until next winter do we? (response) No, we need our socks all year round. And, we need the Holy Spirit all year round. Jesus told his disciples they were going to be "clothed with power from on high." They were going to be clothed with the power of Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind of like a heavy coat. When we need strength and power in our lives we can put it around us and God will give us comfort. But the Holy Spirit is also like my socks. We always need the Holy Spirit. We always need the power God gives us to live. Brett Blair, ChristianGlobe, 2000 Extra illustration 4264 Life’s Waiting Stages Life is composed of waiting periods. The child must wait until he is old enough to have a bicycle, the young man until he is old enough to drive a car, the medical student must wait for his diploma, the husband for his promotion, the young couple for savings to buy a new home. The art of waiting is not learned at once. —Howard Whitman