"Being 'pastoral'" by Daniel McLain Hixon
Saint Gregory the Great. Image: Wikimedia Commons
When I was in seminary, people often used the world "pastoral" when they meant "comforting." People would say "I'm not doing systematic theology right now, I am doing pastoral theology" which roughly translated as: "What I'm saying may not fit with our church's theology, or correspond with what the Bible actually says, but it is comforting to those who hear."
When I was preparing to transition to my second appointment— to pastor my first conventional church (my first appointment was as a college campus pastor) — I read St. Gregory the Great'sBook of Pastoral Rule. I wanted to learn more how to be a pastor from the Early Church Fathers, and Gregory is known as "the Great" for a reason — he was a potent leader and pastor in the ancient church.
One of the things that most resonated with me about this book is Gregory's basic approach: the role of the pastor is to be a shepherd of souls. Our job is to help people grow closer to Christ, to help them turn away from sin, to help them walk on the Way, embrace the Truth, and cling to that "Life which really is life."
Another thing that Gregory did well was to emphasize moderation: that a pastor should neither be too severe nor too indulgent in addressing the spiritual needs or spiritual brokenness of the church members (this section reminded me of the "Golden Mean" of Aristotle in his Ethics). A pastor should remember his own failings in dealing with others (and so, live according to the Golden Rule in Matthew 7:12).
What people sometimes need from a pastor is a word of comfort. But sometimes what is truly needed for the health of the soul is a word of challenge, a word of confrontation with the truth. As most of us pastors by nature like people and want to "get on well" with others, I suspect our temptation will often be to offer soft comfort and cheap grace when piercing truth and transforming grace is needed (though I've heard some pastors who seem to delight in shocking and upsetting others, and they may need to learn from Gregory to moderate in the other direction, or simply to love their flock).
I was thinking of this tendency to reduce "being pastoral" to "tickling men's ears" when I read these words from 19th-Century Scottish pastor (and author) George MacDonald:
"To make a man happy as a lark might be to do him grievous wrong; to make a man wake, rise, look up, and turn, is worth the life and death of the Son of the Eternal." - From Consuming Fire,April 9.
This post first appeared at Gloria Deo.
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"Should Christians support a minimum wage increase?" by Rebekah Jordan Gienapp
Bigstock / Gustavo Frazao
Historic minimum wage increases
In April, the governors of both California and New York signed legislation that will eventually increase their states’ minimum wage rates to $15 per hour. In California, the current minimum wage is $10 per hour. Under the new law, it will increase to $10.50 in 2017, then to $11 in 2018, and increase by $1 annually until it reaches $15 per hour in 2022. Businesses that have less than 26 employees will have an additional year to raise their wages. The law allows the governor to delay increases by one year in case of economic changes. If there are no pauses in implementation, the minimum wage would increase each year based on the rate of inflation beginning in 2024.
In New York State, the minimum wage will increase to $15 per hour by 2018 in New York City. Increases in other areas of the state (including in wealthy suburbs of New York City) will be implemented more slowly.
Proponents of the increases have stated there’s a moral imperative to raise wages for the lowest-paid workers, particularly in the face of high housing costs and large economic disparities between the wealthy and poor. The Reverend Art Gramaje of St. Anthony Mary Claret Catholic Church in Fresno, California, supports the increase because of his belief that “the economy should serve the people — not the other way around. If wages are low and people are exploited, it serves the economy but not the people.”
Some business associations have predicted that employers affected by the increase will reduce the number of jobs or move to other states with lower minimum wages. “A raise of this magnitude this quickly represents a devastating blow to California’s businesses and employers,” said Nathan Ahle, president of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce.
Workers affected by the increases
At first glance, $15 per hour may sound like a high wage; however, it’s important to note that California’s mandated wage will not reach $15 until 2022. The cost of living in some California cities is among the highest in the nation. For example, the cost of living in Los Angeles is about 40 percent higher than the average for our country. According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s living wage calculator, an adult with one child living in Stanislaus County, California (where the cost of living is close to the national average), would need to earn $22.52 to cover basic needs such as housing, food, transportation, medical and child care. Holly Dias, a cashier at a Burger King in Sacramento, California, says that on her current $10 an hour wage, “there are days where I have to choose between buying formula or diapers, paying rent or buying monthly bus passes — these are choices mothers shouldn’t have to make.”
Who are the workers who will be affected by minimum wage increases? Most aren’t teenagers, research shows. Analysis by the Economic Policy Institute of workers who earn less than $10.10 per hour nationwide finds that only 12.5 percent of these workers are younger than 20 years old, and more than one third of them are between ages 30–54. We often think of minimum wage jobs as ones that are held temporarily. According to Ben Casselman of the website FiveThirtyEight, in the mid-1990’s “only 1 in 5 minimum wage workers was still earning minimum wage a year later. Today, that number is nearly 1 in 3.”
Economists have estimated that California’s new law alone will increase the pay of 5.6 million workers, nearly one in three across the state. Economists’ predictions about the impact of the raises have been mixed. David Neumark, economics professor at the University of California, Irvine, estimates that the raise will reduce employment among the lowest skilled workers by 5–10 percent. He states though that “there’s no question that a minimum wage increase will help more people than it hurts. But it takes a lot of people getting a $300 raise to offset someone losing their job.” Economics professor Michael Reich of the University of California, Berkeley believes that the increase will have minimal effect on jobs, and this “would be more than offset by increases in consumer purchasing power.”
Workers in other states
Groups who advocate for low-wage workers think that California and New York’s actions will prompt other states to take up more substantial minimum wage increases than have occurred in the past. Legislatures in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Washington, DC are all considering a raise to a $15 minimum wage.
How was the figure of $15 per hour first proposed? In 2012, the Fight for $15 campaign was launched by fast-food workers in New York City. Strikes by workers and rallies with supporters from their communities spread to other cities; and eventually Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Pasadena all passed ordinances to raise their city’s minimum wage to $15, creating momentum that led to the statewide laws in California and New York.
What about workers who don’t live in these areas? 29 states have a minimum wage that’s higher than the federal standard of $7.25 per hour. The current political climate in most of the state legislatures of the remaining 21 states makes it unlikely that state minimum wage increases would be passed. In 2014, President Obama announced in his State of the Union address that he wanted to see the federal minimum wage raised to $10.10 per hour, but Congressional Democrats were unable to get the measure passed. Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. Hillary Clinton supports a raise to $12 per hour and encourages states that want to raise their minimums to $15 to do so. Candidates Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have said in debates that they do not favor raising the minimum wage.
Faith and fair wages
In the late 1980’s, theology professor and United Methodist pastor Douglas Meeks wrote a book whose title some might find odd: God the Economist: The Doctrine of God and Political Economy. Meeks wrote that though an economist today is considered someone who is a scientist in his or her approach, the word economy is actually an ancient one that’s derived from two Greek words that mean “household” and “management.” An economist is one who manages the affairs of the household. Meeks writes that modern economics is rooted in the assumption that goods are scarce, that there will never be enough because humans will always want more. God as economist, he writes, “constructs the household with a radically different assumption: If the righteousness of God is present, there is always enough to go around.” Scripture shows us that God’s abundance can be shared over and over through stories such as the appearance of the manna in the desert and the meal of a few loaves and fishes that Jesus used to feed more than 5,000 people.
Faithful economics asks us to measure the health of our society — and our world — by how the most vulnerable are faring. An economy that requires workers to toil long hours while not earning enough to pay for basic necessities is one in need of healing. Prophets such as Malachi deliver God’s judgment not only on sorcerers and adulterers, but also on “those who cheat the day laborers out of their wages as well as oppress the widow and the orphan, and against those who brush aside the foreigner” (Malachi 3:5).
As we discuss the minimum wage, practical matters must of course be considered. It’s necessary, though, for people of faith to begin with the question, What does God’s righteousness ask of us?
Be sure to check out FaithLink, a weekly downloadable discussion guide for classes and small groups.
"Blest Be the Tie that Binds" by Scott J. Jones
Photo courtesy of United Methodist Communications / Kathleen Barry
During the last four months, I have had multiple invitations to break my vows. Many people have suggested that, in the name of protesting against perceived injustice, I should disobey the discipline of The United Methodist Church and violate the sacred promises I have made at two key points in my life — ordination as an elder and consecration as a bishop.
I decline those invitations.
I will keep my promises.
I will be faithful to God’s calling on my life as a leader in our church.
Because American culture so little values obedience and discipline today, and because too many persons in the UMC are following the culture in this direction, it is important that I explain why such a refusal to participate in disobedience is the right course of action.
When we sing “Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love” we express two aspects of our life in Christ. First, it is a life of love for God and neighbor. The love of Christ shapes our minds and hearts. This leads to love for sisters and brothers in the Lord. I deeply respect and love many people who disagree about key issues in the life of our church. They are friends and colleagues.
The second aspect is the binding nature of our unity in the body of Christ. It is Christ’s prayer that followers of Jesus should be one. While the body of Christ is fractured into multiple denominations, it is important to maintain as much visible, organic unity as possible. We believe as United Methodists that we are “united by doctrine, discipline, and mission through our connectional covenant” (¶101, Book of Discipline, 2012).
The gravest threat to our mission and our unity today arises from leaders who deliberately violate our discipline. Some are elders. Some are bishops. Some are annual conference boards of ordained ministry. Violations of the covenant by leaders have consequences and result in broken relationships.
Years ago a located United Methodist elder who was also the teacher of an adult Sunday School class and chair of the evangelism committee began an affair with a woman. He wished to continue the affair, remain married to his wife, and live with her and his children while continuing as a leader in the congregation. My conversation with him was bizarre. He did not understand that violating one’s covenantal promises carries consequences and results inevitably in broken relationships. He was removed from all church leadership positions. Eventually his wife realized the damage his behavior was doing and she divorced him. She did not want the divorce, but it was the least bad thing she could do when he refused to change his ways.
Some violators of our church’s laws will argue they are justified by allegiance to higher principles such as their view of justice. But it is the General Conference that determines our United Methodist definition of justice. Once a leader is permitted to substitute a private or even an annual-conference-wide definition for our connectional covenant, all sorts of violations of the covenant become possible. If individual leaders are allowed to violate the discipline of the church as a matter of policy, our common work as a denomination will be weakened if not destroyed. If such disobedience becomes the norm, what is to prevent the following:
- Annual Conferences from withholding contributions to the seven general church funds as a matter of principle?
- Annual Conferences from ordaining as elders whoever they find acceptable, regardless of which seminary they attended?
- Local churches from hiring whoever they wish as their pastor?
- Local churches from withholding apportionments as a matter of principle, not inability to pay?
- Bishops refusing to appoint elders who are in full connection?
The General Conference and the Judicial Council have no enforcement mechanism other than bishops and boards of ordained ministry. It is our covenant along with our doctrine and mission that bind us together. Almost all of us would prefer that some section of the Book of Discipline were different. But our covenantal commitment to the mission of The United Methodist Church requires that all elders and especially all bishops uphold the key aspects of our discipline for the sake of our mission.
When people justify their actions as “civil disobedience,” they are misusing language. It is not disobedience against the government. It is ecclesial disobedience. They are violating the rules of a church they have freely joined when other, similar churches offer acceptable ways of pursuing their calling. If I ever get to the point where I cannot in good conscience obey the key aspects of our discipline — and I pray such a day never happens — it will be time to surrender my credentials as a United Methodist bishop and elder and find some other way to follow Christ.
Bishop Scott Jones serves the United Methodist Church Great Plains Conference, which comprises all of Kansas and Nebraska.
"Trump, the golden calf and leadership pitfalls"
By Rebekah Simon-PeterPresidential candidate Donald Trump. Photo credit: Bigstock/andykatz
As the Republican convention draws near it’s clear that Trump is a force to be reckoned with. But what sort of leader is he? A bully, yes. An egomaniac, yes. An outsider, yes. One who seems to speak for a certain segment of American society, yes.
But at the risk of being tagged #loser, I’d like to mention another kind of leadership he represents. One that we persons of faith can learn from. Trump is a Moses knockoff. An Aaron. A fabricator of a 21st century golden calf.
You remember Aaron, brother of Moses. He’s the designated communicator for Moses — who has some sort of speech impediment. A leader in his own right, Aaron holds down the fort while Moses meets with the LORD for 40 days and 40 nights atop Mount Sinai. Meanwhile, the Hebrew people, newly freed from slavery, await at the base of the mountain. They have fasted, purified themselves, even abstained from sexual relations to be ready for whatever message Moses might bring back to them.
But Moses is gone a long time, “shamefully long” and his absence is keenly felt by the newly freed slaves. The people, fearful and anxious, “assemble against Aaron” and demand that he make them “a god who will go before us” because Moses, “the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron tells the men to collect gold from their wives, sons and daughters. They do and he forms it into a molten calf, a common symbol of the deity in the Ancient Near East. Upon seeing it, the once fearful people are psyched! “This is your God, O Israel who brought you up out from the land of Egypt.”
Meanwhile, Moses, two covenant stones in hand — including the injunction against worshipping graven images — descends the mountain with bad news ringing in his ears. God has clued him in about what’s happening at the base of the mountain. A party with a golden calf, an idol, at the center of it. He’s already talked God out of destroying these people and starting over with Moses-clones. “You want everyone to think you’ve brought us out of Egypt just to destroy us?” He argues for their safety and wins. He’s a uniter with a calm head.
Bigstock/jgroup
But by the time he arrives at camp he’s angry too. And here I paraphrase: “What were you thinking? What happened here, Aaron?” Moses asks. “I told you I’d be back. You were supposed to help the people wait for me and stay in a purified state.” “Sorry, bro,” Aaron says. “They wanted it. And I gave them what they wanted.”
This sort of “give the people what they want” leadership approach was a chief concern of the British when it came to American self-rule. They worried people wouldn’t have the decency or civility or good sense to self-govern. Trump’s success seems to prove them right.
On the other hand, Trump’s supporters, like the fearful Hebrews, have some legitimate beefs. The Hebrews were fearful and seemingly leaderless and they demanded certainty. Trump supporters, meanwhile, have found that the economic recovery has passed them over. The world is changing faster than they are used to. Even though Moses didn’t abandon his people, Trump’s primary supporters — blue-collar, white Americans without college degrees — feel as if they have been abandoned. Fueled by their fears and anxieties and anger — plus over the top media coverage — Trump has given these people what they seem to want: unadulterated anger toward Muslims, immigrants, women and those who dare to disagree with him. Abandoning “political correctness,” he has become the mouthpiece for a toxic stew of racism, xenophobia and sexism.
Even so, there are still things we can learn from him. Namely, what not to do. Here are five leadership pitfalls we can learn about from Trump, Aaron and other Moses knock-offs.
1. Don’t be fooled by glib communication. Just as Aaron was the dedicated communicator for Team Moses, Trump’s talking points have dominated and shaped the Republican campaign. He speaks at a fourth grade level with words and mottos that are catchy, easy to repeat. What’s missing is truth.
2. Lies are not leadership. The 2015 Lie of the Year award was bestowed upon Trump. Not for one whopper mind you. There were too many to choose from. They lumped all of Trump’s prevarications together. Together, the bunch is staggering. And award-winning. Likewise, Aaron told Moses upon his return — The calf simply emerged from the fire! He left out his role in shaping and creating it.
3. Weak leadership preys on people’s vulnerabilities. Notice it wasn’t Aaron who was to free the slaves. He was just supposed to say what Moses told him to say. But left alone to fill the leadership gap, his limited capacity for leadership was illuminated. Likewise, Trump is preying on the vulnerabilities of the economically passed over. And those who fear change.
4. The best leadership doesn’t just give people what they want. Like Moses, they balance needs and wants with the greater good. Leaders are responsible to a higher calling, a higher vision, a higher authority. They have a responsibility to do what’s best and not necessarily what’s easy. Aaron had let fearful people in camp run wild and get out of control. His “give them what they want” approach actually kept people from dealing productively with their questions and fearful anxiety. Similarly, Trump’s approach puts a stamp of approval on people’s desire to scapegoat instead of work for real change.
5. People-pleasers like Aaron don’t make great leaders. Bullies, the flip side of people-pleasing, don’t either.
America has some real economic and racial problems. But funneling that into “fear of the other” is not going to solve our problems. Any more than killing off Jews in Europe solved German financial woes. It’s not clear if there is a Republican Moses at this time. But one thing is clear. It ain’t Trump. At the very least, he’s a Moses knockoff. At worst, he might be the golden calf itself.
Rebekah Simon-Peter blogs at rebekahsimonpeter.com. She is the author of The Jew Named Jesus and Green Church.
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"The race that is set before us"
By Kira SchlesingerBigstock/Ammentorp
On Patriot’s Day in 1966, fifty years ago, Roberta “Bobbi” Gibb jumped out of the forsythia bushes and ran 26.2 miles to become the first female finisher of the Boston Marathon. When she had sent in her application to run the race, it had been denied on the grounds of her gender; so she took matters into her own hands. Once on the course, she found that the men who surrounded her were very encouraging and supportive. After witnessing her feat, more women ran the Boston Marathon, despite being unsanctioned until the 1972 race. And it wasn’t until 1996 that the Boston Athletic Association recognized the women winners of these races. In a moving moment this year, the winner of the 2016 Boston Marathon, Ethiopia’s Atsede Baysa, presented Bobbi Gibb with her champion’s trophy.
At that time, no one thought women were physically capable of running long distances, and the longest sanctioned race topped out at a mile and a half. Bobbi Gibb knew she had something to prove, and that kept her going despite the painful blisters that developed on her feet in the latter miles, despite running in a swimsuit and her brother’s Bermuda shorts. Once they saw her success — that she had managed to run a long distance without her uterus falling out or being any worse for the wear than any of the male competitors — other women wanted a go at it, though it would be 1984 when the Olympic marathon added a women’s race.
In Bobbi Gibb’s story and in the other stories of early women distance runners, I see parallels to the other barriers that women have overcome since that time, namely ordination in many Christian traditions. Many of my sister clergy were told that they couldn’t or shouldn’t be in the pulpit or by the hospital bedside. Many in traditions who still don’t ordain women continue to do the work of ministry, even preaching, without official recognition.
While listening to Bobbi Gibb tell her story on the Runner’s World podcast, I was struck by the male runners who cheered her throughout the race, and it brought to mind the men who have supported and encouraged me on my path to ordination. Without men speaking up, taking chances, identifying, promoting and hiring talented and called women clergy, many of us would not be where we are. In a patriarchal system, sometimes it takes men using their privilege to lift up those without their same benefits.
Like other women seeing Bobbi Gibb cross that finish line and thinking, “I could do that too,” nurturing the next generation of gifted clergywomen partially relies on them seeing women clergy in action — preaching, teaching and administering the sacraments. However, we often feel the same pressure of having something to prove as Ms. Gibb: that if we are not successful, people will think women make bad pastors.
In the women’s race at the 2016 Boston Marathon, Atsede Baysa won with a gutsy, come-from-behind victory that was thrilling to watch. At the US Olympic Marathon Trials in Los Angeles, the women ran a similarly exciting race as teammates Shalane Flanagan and Amy Cragg exemplified a particular blend of camaraderie and competition, matching stride for stride in the lead until the last few miles. Watching these races, I cannot imagine a world in which I was not able to see women run marathons. I feel the same way when I hear a clergywoman deliver a powerful, grace-filled sermon or I hear a story of a clergywoman ministering to a person in need. That world in which women were not allowed or officially sanctioned to exercise these gifts was not long ago and still exists in many denominations.
While doors that were once closed have been opened, we are nowhere close to equality. We still live in a world where a company like PayPal can hold a panel on gender equality in the workplace and not have a single woman speaker, where the US women’s soccer team is threatening to boycott the Olympicsover pay inequality, and where the highest ranks of the church are overwhelmingly populated by men. There’s a long road ahead, but I give thanks to God for the pioneers, women and men, who first started the race.
"The Bible, homosexuality and the UMC — Part one"
By Adam HamiltonPhoto by Mike DuBose, UMNS
Next month in Portland, Oregon, 800 United Methodists, delegates from around the world, will gather for the United Methodist Church’s General Conference. At this ten-day meeting, held once every four years, the United Methodist Church will set policy, priorities and denominational budgets for the ensuing four years. Delegates will consider reams of proposed changes to the church’s Book of Discipline. No issue will be more closely watched than the debate and decisions of the Conference regarding gay and lesbian people. Will the denomination continue to hold that “the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”? Will it continue to prohibit pastors from officiating in same-gender weddings and United Methodist church property from being used for same-gender weddings? And will the United Methodist Church continue to require celibacy of gay and lesbian clergy?
The deeper question, one which will largely be ignored, is what United Methodists believe about the Bible. Our beliefs, or more often our assumptions, about the Bible shape how we view the question of the Bible and same-gender relationships.
Conservatives on this issue (by the way, one can be progressive on a host of issues, yet conservative on this issue, and likewise one can be conservative on a host of issues yet progressive on same-gender marriage) base their views of the incompatibility of same-gender relationships on a particular way of reading the Bible, which in turn is based upon a particular, but often inconsistently held, way of understanding what the Bible is and how God speaks through it.
Progressives on this issue, likewise, base their willingness to embrace same-gender relationships as acceptable to God on a certain way of reading the Bible, one that is also based upon a particular, but not always clearly articulated, way of understanding what the Bible is and how God speaks through it.
I’d like to use as an example a letter I recently received, signed by 12 members of a United Methodist Church in Nebraska. They wrote asking me as a delegate to General Conference to please vote against any changes to the Book of Discipline’s policies regarding gay and lesbian people. It began,
Dear Delegate to General Conference:
As members of the United Methodist Church, we are alarmed at the possibility of changes being made at General Conference in our church Discipline regarding same sex marriages. We believe that the Holy Bible is God’s Word, and that His Word is unchanging. …
The letter goes on to cite the standard passages from the Bible that condemn some form of same-gender sexual acts.
I have no doubt that the folks who sent this letter are good people who love Jesus, seek to serve their neighbor and care about the United Methodist Church. I visited their website to learn more about them. The headline of their website states, “Welcoming everyone with Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors.”
These fellow United Methodists seem to be stating that everything written in the Bible is God’s Word, and that it should be applied without question today because “His Word is unchanging.” But I don’t believe this is actually how they approach Scripture. Nor is it the way Christians have generally approached Scripture across the last two millennia.
Had the early church held these assumptions consistently, they would never have reached the decisions that circumcision was no longer required of Christians, or that Christians were no longer bound by much that is found in the Law of Moses. We would still be worshipping on Saturdays, eating only what was kosher, offering animal sacrifices, and administering capital punishment for everything from working on the Sabbath to rebelliousness on the part of children (Jesus never explicitly taught that these portions of the Scripture were no longer binding upon his followers; this call was made by the apostles at the urging of Paul).
Further if we consistently applied these same assumptions to what Paul teaches about women in the New Testament, the female members of the United Methodist Church would pray with their heads covered; they would remain silent in the church; and they would not be permitted to teach in any church gathering where men were present. This is, in fact, how many conservative Christian bodies still read the Scriptures, hence I recently received a note from a member of a fundamentalist Baptist church who stated unequivocally that United Methodists are "unscriptural Christians because you ordain women."
There are more than 200 verses in the Bible that allow slavery as an acceptable practice, even permitting the beating of slaves with rods. The New Testament authors, as with their forebears, could not imagine a world without slavery. If Methodist Christians consistently held that everything in the Bible is God’s Word and that it is unchanging — and by this they meant that what the Bible allows we must allow, and that what the Bible forbids we must forbid — we’d still support the practice of slavery today.
While the words of Scripture don’t change, how we interpret those words does change over time. Interpretation is important because when we read Scripture we recognize that, while God speaks to us through the Bible, the Bible’s human authors wrote in particular historical circumstances, addressing specific situations, and in the light of their own historical and scientific knowledge. What they wrote was shaped by their own cultural and theological convictions.
On the issue of same gender acts, they wrote based upon their understanding of human sexuality, in the light of the prevailing same-gender practices of their time. And though we believe that they were inspired, the precise nature and extent of that inspiration remains a mystery. We do know that this inspiration was not some kind of divine dictation, but it was through the impulse of the Spirit at work in very human authors who were addressing the people and circumstances in which they lived. This inspiration did not prevent historical or scientific errors. It did not prohibit the recording of differing accounts of the same story in the Gospels. It did not keep the Bible's authors from allowing slavery and genocide; and it did not transform the biblical authors' patriarchal perspectives on women.
Some time ago I was speaking on this question and a young pastor said to me, “It sounds like you are ‘picking and choosing.’” I asked the young man if he had an account in the United Methodist Pension Fund. He indicated that he did. I then asked, “What part of Jesus’ words, ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth’ did you not understand?” We often don't see that we all recognize Scripture is contextual. In the case of Jesus' words about wealth we're meant to take him seriously, but not literally. No pastor I know advocates eliminating savings accounts and planning for retirement.
A.J. Jacobs wrote a book called A Year of Living Biblically, in which Jacobs, a nominally religious Jew, described his year-long attempt to fulfill every part of the Law. When he got to the end of the year, he concluded that it was impossible to fulfill the entire Law, and some of it made no sense today. Then he said something to the effect of “Everyone picks and chooses; the important thing is to choose the right things.”
But in truth, I don’t believe that we are picking and choosing. I think we’re appropriately interpreting; we’re asking the question, “What was the historical and cultural setting of these words, and do they appropriately express the heart of God for us today?” And how do Christians make that determination? We consider the words and actions of Jesus, we think of what he described as the great commandments, and we consider the major themes of Scripture. Then we bring our intellect and experience of the Spirit to bear on our reading of Scripture. This is precisely how the apostles came to set aside the clear teaching of Scripture (their only Scripture was the Old Testament) regarding circumcision and portions of the Law. This is how, centuries later, Christians came to oppose slavery despite Scripture’s allowance and regulation of it. This is how 20th century Christians came to set aside Paul’s teaching regarding women.
Methodist seminaries train their pastors in critical methodologies for studying the Scripture. Those methodologies teach that the Bible’s inspiration is not undermined by acknowledging the biblical authors’ historical context, the ways in which the biblical text developed, and the process of its canonization. But it does teach us that the Bible is far more complex than the common dictum, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it” allows.
At the Church of the Resurrection, of our 20,000 members, there are hundreds that are gay and lesbian and hundreds more whose children are gay and lesbian. Many are married. Some of these have children. Some are among the most committed members of our congregation. They attend worship every weekend, serve in mission, are in small groups, and witness to their friends about Jesus. They seek to love him with all their heart and to love their neighbors as they love themselves. I love these people; they are part of my flock. Most knew from the time they were children that they were “different.” They were drawn to love the same gender in the same way I was drawn to my wife. Do Moses’ words commanding that men who lie with men should be put to death express the heart of God towards them? When Paul spoke of those who “gave themselves up to degrading passions” was he speaking of these couples in my church who love one another selflessly? Or was he speaking about temple prostitution, older men molesting younger boys, and sexual exploitation, as well as unrestrained sexual acts divorced from love and commitment, that were the common expressions of same-gender acts in his time and at times, in ours?
This last Sunday I had lunch with a group of senior adults at one of the largest senior living complexes in Kansas City. We were talking about this very issue. They wanted to know if the United Methodist Church was going to split over this issue. I asked them their thoughts. These were lifelong United Methodists now in their seventies and eighties. They pointed to two same-gender couples living in their community and said, “God loves them, and so do we.” They had lived long enough to see how our understanding of Scripture changes over time. Their great, great grandparents lived when white Christians owned slaves and felt justified in doing so by the Bible. Their grandmothers couldn’t vote in America, a practice rooted in the patriarchy found in Scripture. Their mothers couldn’t have served as pastors in the Methodist Church because "the Word of God was clear and unchanging.” But thankfully things did change. They couldn’t imagine the church splitting over this issue.
It is not only these senior adults who see things this way. A vast majority of young adults across all churches also see things this way. If the United Methodist Church can hold together for another ten years, this becomes a non-issue, as even most evangelical young adults in the United Methodist Church see this issue differently from their 40- and 50- and 60-year-old parents and grandparents.
Thoughtful United Methodists understand that the nature of Scripture leaves room for us to ask the question, “Do these passages on same-sex acts in Paul and Moses actually reflect the heart of God for gay and lesbian people today?” We may disagree about the answer, but we can at least ask the question. And, I believe, United Methodists may disagree about the answer and remain one church; we’ve been doing so for decades.
In my next post I’ll offer my hopes for what will happen at General Conference.
This post was first published at AdamHamilton.org.
"Art of the Sermon: Learning as you go"
By Dan WunderlichThanks for checking out this episode of Art of the Sermon! Be sure to subscribe through iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast app. If you enjoy this episode, leave a review on our podcast’s page in the iTunes store. This will help others discover the show!
Guest: Derrick Scott III – Executive Director at CCW (Campus to City Wesley Foundation)
General Topic: The Blessings and Challenges of New Ministry Forms [Show notes]
DEFINING GRACE
Art of the Sermon Episode 14: Learning As You Go – More with Derrick Scott III
Thanks for checking out this episode of Art of the Sermon! Be sure to subscribe through iTunes, Google Play Music, or your favorite podcast app. If you enjoy this episode, leave a review on our podcast’s page in the iTunes store. This will help others discover the show!
Guest: Derrick Scott III – Executive Director at CCW (Campus to City Wesley Foundation)
General Topic: The Blessings and Challenges of New Ministry Forms
Ministry Matters and Google Play Music (0:15)
Announcement: NC Preaching Festival (1:13)
Listener Email: Abby (2:21)
Listener Feedback: Haley (4:27)
When Things Don’t Come Out Right with Rick (5:28)
Congratulations to Father Jonathan and family (7:01)
Derrick Scott III on mobile ministry (7:48)
Derrick on the challenges of new ministry (13:00)
Links to things mentioned in the episode
CCW (Campus to City Wesley)Urban SoulIntuition Ale WorksJustin McRoberts
Reaching out to our guest
@Dluruth3 (Twitter)
Derrick(dot)Luruth(at)gmail(dot)com
Next Episode arrives May 5, 2016!
An interview with Dr. Brian Russell – Professor of Biblical studies and Dean of the School of Urban Ministries at Asbury Theological Seminary, Writer, and Speaker
Connect with the Show
I would love to hear what you think about the show—especially this episode. You can connect with the show and send me your feedback through the following channels:
Facebook – Facebook.com/ArtOfTheSermonTwitter- Twitter.com/ArtOfTheSermonInstagram- Instagram.com/ArtOfTheSermonYou can also comment on the the post below!
Art of the Sermon is a project by Dan Wunderlich of Defining Grace. Learn more at DefiningGrace.com
Derrick Scott III
Subscribe: iTunes / Google Play Music / Stitcher / RSS
"Praying for General Conference"
By Mike Slaughter
Delegates study legislation at the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida. UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
Every four years, the United Methodist Church convenes at General Conference. On May 10-20, 864 global delegates — half of them clergy and half laity — will gather in Portland, Oregon for the latest conference. Delegates will consider more than 1,000 petitions that will order the work of United Methodist churches, pastors and agencies and set official positions on a variety of subjects.
One of the key tenets of the United Methodist movement from its founder John Wesley is that you cannot have personal holiness apart from social holiness. Social justice is a key emphasis within our denomination. It's why caucus groups surrounding General Conference focus on concerns like immigration rights, pension plan divestment from for-profit prisons, issues surrounding homosexuality and sacred unions, as well as others.
All of these issues can be very contentious. By no means is there consensus, and the concerns are hotly debated. But what I appreciate about the United Methodist Church is that it clearly recognizes Christ's mandate from Micah 6:8 - "And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
Pastor Chris Heckaman, future lead pastor of Ginghamsburg Church, and I will both be serving as delegates from the West Ohio Conference. Please be praying for health and safe travel for us and for all delegates from across the globe. Let’s also pray for a prevailing spirit of love and grace during difficult conversations and for continued unity within the United Methodist Church around our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Mike Slaughter is the almost four-decade chief dreamer and lead pastor of Ginghamsburg Church and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. Mike’s call to "afflict the comfortable" challenges Christians to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. His newest books are The Passionate Church: Ignite Your Church and Change the World(Abingdon Press; 2016) and The Christian Wallet: Spending, Giving, and Living with a Conscience (Westminster John Knox Press; 2016).
"Productive Pastor: Managing your week with Evernote"
By Chad Brooks
Did you know you can use Evernote to order and organize your week? I use Evernote for nearly everything and the two tasks that I can’t imagine not using it for are ordering my week and ordering my contact list. [Show notes]
Subscribe: iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS
This Sunday, May 8, 2016
Ascension Sunday: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
"Praying for General Conference"
By Mike SlaughterDelegates study legislation at the 2012 United Methodist General Conference in Tampa, Florida. UMNS photo by Mike DuBose.
Every four years, the United Methodist Church convenes at General Conference. On May 10-20, 864 global delegates — half of them clergy and half laity — will gather in Portland, Oregon for the latest conference. Delegates will consider more than 1,000 petitions that will order the work of United Methodist churches, pastors and agencies and set official positions on a variety of subjects.
One of the key tenets of the United Methodist movement from its founder John Wesley is that you cannot have personal holiness apart from social holiness. Social justice is a key emphasis within our denomination. It's why caucus groups surrounding General Conference focus on concerns like immigration rights, pension plan divestment from for-profit prisons, issues surrounding homosexuality and sacred unions, as well as others.
All of these issues can be very contentious. By no means is there consensus, and the concerns are hotly debated. But what I appreciate about the United Methodist Church is that it clearly recognizes Christ's mandate from Micah 6:8 - "And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."
Pastor Chris Heckaman, future lead pastor of Ginghamsburg Church, and I will both be serving as delegates from the West Ohio Conference. Please be praying for health and safe travel for us and for all delegates from across the globe. Let’s also pray for a prevailing spirit of love and grace during difficult conversations and for continued unity within the United Methodist Church around our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Mike Slaughter is the almost four-decade chief dreamer and lead pastor of Ginghamsburg Church and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. Mike’s call to "afflict the comfortable" challenges Christians to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. His newest books are The Passionate Church: Ignite Your Church and Change the World(Abingdon Press; 2016) and The Christian Wallet: Spending, Giving, and Living with a Conscience (Westminster John Knox Press; 2016).
"Productive Pastor: Managing your week with Evernote"
By Chad BrooksDid you know you can use Evernote to order and organize your week? I use Evernote for nearly everything and the two tasks that I can’t imagine not using it for are ordering my week and ordering my contact list. [Show notes]
Subscribe: iTunes / Google Play / Stitcher / RSS
This Sunday, May 8, 2016
Ascension Sunday: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
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Lectionary Readings:
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sunday, 8 May 2916
Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17:20-26
Lectionary Readings:
(Courtesy of Vanderbilt Divinity Library)
Sunday, 8 May 2916
Acts 16:16-34
Psalm 97
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
John 17:20-26
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Scripture Texts:Acts 16:16 Once, when we were going to the place where the minyan gathered, we were met by a slave girl who had in her a snake-spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17 This girl followed behind Sha’ul and the rest of us and kept screaming, “These men are servants of God Ha‘Elyon! They’re telling you how to be saved!” 18 She kept this up day after day, until Sha’ul, greatly disturbed, turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, I order you to come out of her!” And the spirit did come out, at that very moment.
19 But when her owners saw that what had come out was any further prospect of profit for them, they seized Sha’ul and Sila and dragged them to the market square to face the authorities. 20 Bringing them to the judges, they said, “These men are causing a lot of trouble in our city, since they are Jews. 21 What they are doing is advocating customs that are against the law for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.” 22 The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. 23 After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.
25 Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. 26 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Sha’ul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”
29 Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha’ul and Sila. 30 Then, leading them outside, he said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved — you and your household!” 32 Whereupon they told him and everyone in his household the message about the Lord.
33 Then, even at that late hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed off their wounds; and without delay, he and all his people were immersed. 34 After that, he brought them up to his house and set food in front of them; and he and his entire household celebrated their having come to trust in God.
Psalm 97:1 Adonai is king, let the earth rejoice,
let the many coasts and islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
setting ablaze his foes on every side.
4 His flashes of lightning light up the world;
the earth sees it and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Adonai,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images will be put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols.
Bow down to him, all you gods!
8 Tziyon hears and is glad, Adonai;
the daughters of Y’hudah rejoice at your rulings.
9 For you, Adonai, most high over all the earth,
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love Adonai, hate evil!
He keeps his faithful servants safe.
He rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in Adonai, you righteous;
and give thanks on recalling his holiness.
Revelation 22:12 “Pay attention!” [says Yeshua,] “I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done. 13 I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
14 How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city!
16 “I, Yeshua, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the Messianic communities. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone who is thirsty come — let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.”
20 “The one who is testifying to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’”
Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua!
21 May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all!
John 17:20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in me because of their word, 21 that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you, I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one — 23 I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am; so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these people have known that you sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them.”
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John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Acts 16:16-34
Verse 17
[17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
These men are — A great truth: but St. Paul did not need, nor would accept, of such testimony.
Verse 19
[19] And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
The magistrates — The supreme magistrates of the city. In the next verse they are called by a title which often signifies pretors. These officers exercised both the military and civil authority.
Verse 20
[20] And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
Being Jews — A nation peculiarly despised by the Romans.
Verse 21
[21] And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
And teach customs which it is not lawful for us to receive — The world has received all the rules and doctrines of all the philosophers that ever were. But this is a property of Gospel truth: it has something in it peculiarly intolerable to the world.
Verse 23
[23] And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
They laid many stripes upon them — Either they did not immediately say they were Romans, or in the tumult it was not regarded.
Charging the jailer — Perhaps rather to quiet the people than because they thought them criminal.
Verse 24
[24] Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Secured their feet in the stocks — These were probably those large pieces of wood, in use among the Romans, which not only loaded the legs of the prisoner, but also kept them extended in a very painful manner.
Verse 25
[25] And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Paul and Silas sung a hymn to God — Notwithstanding weariness, hunger stripes, and blood.
And the prisoners heard — A song to which they were not accustomed.
Verse 28
[28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
But Paul cried — As they were all then in the dark, it is not easy to say, how Paul knew of the jailer's purpose; unless it were by some immediate notice from God, which is by no means incredible.
With a loud voice — Through earnestness, and because he was at some distance.
Do thyself no harm — Although the Christian faith opens the prospect into another life, yet it absolutely forbids and effectually prevents a man's discharging himself from this.
Verse 30
[30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Sirs — He did not style them so the day before.
What must I do to be saved? — From the guilt I feel and the vengeance I fear? Undoubtedly God then set his sins in array before him, and convinced him in the clearest and strongest manner that the wrath of God abode upon him.
Verse 31
[31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Thou shalt be saved and thy household — If ye believe. They did so, and were saved.
Verse 33
[33] And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
He washed their stripes — It should not be forgot, that the apostles had not the power of working miraculous cures when they pleased, either on themselves, or their dearest friends. Nor was it expedient they should, since it would have frustrated many wise designs of God, which were answered by their sufferings.
Verse 34
[34] And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
He set a table before them and rejoiced — Faith makes a man joyful, prudent, liberal.
Psalm 97
Scripture Texts:Acts 16:16 Once, when we were going to the place where the minyan gathered, we were met by a slave girl who had in her a snake-spirit that enabled her to predict the future. She earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17 This girl followed behind Sha’ul and the rest of us and kept screaming, “These men are servants of God Ha‘Elyon! They’re telling you how to be saved!” 18 She kept this up day after day, until Sha’ul, greatly disturbed, turned and said to the spirit, “In the name of Yeshua the Messiah, I order you to come out of her!” And the spirit did come out, at that very moment.
19 But when her owners saw that what had come out was any further prospect of profit for them, they seized Sha’ul and Sila and dragged them to the market square to face the authorities. 20 Bringing them to the judges, they said, “These men are causing a lot of trouble in our city, since they are Jews. 21 What they are doing is advocating customs that are against the law for us to accept or practice, since we are Romans.” 22 The mob joined in the attack against them, and the judges tore their clothes off them and ordered that they be flogged. 23 After giving them a severe beating, they threw them in prison, charging the jailer to guard them securely. 24 Upon receiving such an order, he threw them into the inner cell and clamped their feet securely between heavy blocks of wood.
25 Around midnight, Sha’ul and Sila were praying and singing hymns to God, while the other prisoners listened attentively. 26 Suddenly there was a violent earthquake which shook the prison to its foundations. All the doors flew open and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 The jailer awoke, and when he saw the doors open he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, for he assumed that the prisoners had escaped. 28 But Sha’ul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We’re all here!”
29 Calling for lights, the jailer ran in, began to tremble and fell down in front of Sha’ul and Sila. 30 Then, leading them outside, he said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They said, “Trust in the Lord Yeshua, and you will be saved — you and your household!” 32 Whereupon they told him and everyone in his household the message about the Lord.
33 Then, even at that late hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed off their wounds; and without delay, he and all his people were immersed. 34 After that, he brought them up to his house and set food in front of them; and he and his entire household celebrated their having come to trust in God.
Psalm 97:1 Adonai is king, let the earth rejoice,
let the many coasts and islands be glad.
2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3 Fire goes before him,
setting ablaze his foes on every side.
4 His flashes of lightning light up the world;
the earth sees it and trembles.
5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of Adonai,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
6 The heavens declare his righteousness,
and all the peoples see his glory.
7 All who worship images will be put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols.
Bow down to him, all you gods!
8 Tziyon hears and is glad, Adonai;
the daughters of Y’hudah rejoice at your rulings.
9 For you, Adonai, most high over all the earth,
you are exalted far above all gods.
10 You who love Adonai, hate evil!
He keeps his faithful servants safe.
He rescues them from the power of the wicked.
11 Light is sown for the righteous
and joy for the upright in heart.
12 Rejoice in Adonai, you righteous;
and give thanks on recalling his holiness.
Revelation 22:12 “Pay attention!” [says Yeshua,] “I am coming soon, and my rewards are with me to give to each person according to what he has done. 13 I am the ‘A’ and the ‘Z,’ the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
14 How blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they have the right to eat from the Tree of Life and go through the gates into the city!
16 “I, Yeshua, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the Messianic communities. I am the Root and Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star. 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ Let anyone who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let anyone who is thirsty come — let anyone who wishes, take the water of life free of charge.”
20 “The one who is testifying to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon!’”
Amen! Come, Lord Yeshua!
21 May the grace of the Lord Yeshua be with all!
John 17:20 “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will trust in me because of their word, 21 that they may all be one. Just as you, Father, are united with me and I with you, I pray that they may be united with us, so that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 The glory which you have given to me, I have given to them; so that they may be one, just as we are one — 23 I united with them and you with me, so that they may be completely one, and the world thus realize that you sent me, and that you have loved them just as you have loved me.
24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am; so that they may see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these people have known that you sent me. 26 I made your name known to them, and I will continue to make it known; so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I myself may be united with them.”
-------
John Wesley's Notes-Commentary for Acts 16:16-34
Verse 17
[17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
These men are — A great truth: but St. Paul did not need, nor would accept, of such testimony.
Verse 19
[19] And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,
The magistrates — The supreme magistrates of the city. In the next verse they are called by a title which often signifies pretors. These officers exercised both the military and civil authority.
Verse 20
[20] And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,
Being Jews — A nation peculiarly despised by the Romans.
Verse 21
[21] And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
And teach customs which it is not lawful for us to receive — The world has received all the rules and doctrines of all the philosophers that ever were. But this is a property of Gospel truth: it has something in it peculiarly intolerable to the world.
Verse 23
[23] And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely:
They laid many stripes upon them — Either they did not immediately say they were Romans, or in the tumult it was not regarded.
Charging the jailer — Perhaps rather to quiet the people than because they thought them criminal.
Verse 24
[24] Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
Secured their feet in the stocks — These were probably those large pieces of wood, in use among the Romans, which not only loaded the legs of the prisoner, but also kept them extended in a very painful manner.
Verse 25
[25] And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.
Paul and Silas sung a hymn to God — Notwithstanding weariness, hunger stripes, and blood.
And the prisoners heard — A song to which they were not accustomed.
Verse 28
[28] But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.
But Paul cried — As they were all then in the dark, it is not easy to say, how Paul knew of the jailer's purpose; unless it were by some immediate notice from God, which is by no means incredible.
With a loud voice — Through earnestness, and because he was at some distance.
Do thyself no harm — Although the Christian faith opens the prospect into another life, yet it absolutely forbids and effectually prevents a man's discharging himself from this.
Verse 30
[30] And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
Sirs — He did not style them so the day before.
What must I do to be saved? — From the guilt I feel and the vengeance I fear? Undoubtedly God then set his sins in array before him, and convinced him in the clearest and strongest manner that the wrath of God abode upon him.
Verse 31
[31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.
Thou shalt be saved and thy household — If ye believe. They did so, and were saved.
Verse 33
[33] And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
He washed their stripes — It should not be forgot, that the apostles had not the power of working miraculous cures when they pleased, either on themselves, or their dearest friends. Nor was it expedient they should, since it would have frustrated many wise designs of God, which were answered by their sufferings.
Verse 34
[34] And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
He set a table before them and rejoiced — Faith makes a man joyful, prudent, liberal.
Psalm 97
Verse 1
[1] The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof.
Isles — The Gentile nations, as this word, used Isaiah 42:4, is expounded, Matthew 12:21.
Verse 2
[2] Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.
Darkness — A dark cloud doth encompass him.
Verse 6
[6] The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the people see his glory.
Heavens — The angels, yea God himself from heaven.
Verse 7
[7] Confounded be all they that serve graven images, that boast themselves of idols: worship him, all ye gods.
Confounded — Let them be ashamed of their folly.
Gods — All you whom the Gentiles have made the objects of their worship.
Verse 8
[8] Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O LORD.
Zion — Thy people dwelling in Zion or Jerusalem, to whom Christ came.
Heard — The fame of thy judgments, and the setting up the kingdom of the Messiah.
Verse 11
[11] Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart.
Light — Joy and happiness.
Sown — Is laid up for them.
Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21
Verse 12
[12] And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
I — Jesus Christ.
Come quickly — To judge the world.
And my reward is with me — The rewards which I assign both to the righteous and the wicked are given at my coming.
To give to every man according as his work — His whole inward and outward behaviour shall be.
Verse 13
[13] I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last — Who exist from everlasting to everlasting. How clear, incontestable a proof, does our Lord here give of his divine glory!
Verse 14
[14] Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
Happy are they that do his commandments — His, who saith, I come - He speaks of himself.
That they may have right — Through his gracious covenant.
To the tree of life — To all the blessings signified by it. When Adam broke his commandment, he was driven from the tree of life. They who keep his commandments" shall eat thereof.
Verse 16
[16] I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and morning star.
I Jesus have sent my angel to testify these things — Primarily.
To you — The seven angels of the churches; then to those churches - and afterwards to all other churches in succeeding ages.
I — as God.
Am the root — And source of David's family and kingdom; as man, an descended from his loins. "I am the star out of Jacob," Numbers 24:17; like the bright morning star, who put an end to the night of ignorance, sin, and sorrow, and usher in an eternal day of light, purity, and joy.
Verse 17
[17] And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
The Spirit and the bride — The Spirit of adoption in the bride, in the heart of every true believer.
Say — With earnest desire and expectation.
Come — And accomplish all the words of this prophecy.
And let him that thirsteth, come — Here they also who are farther off are invited.
And whosoever will, let him take the water of life — He may partake of my spiritual and unspeakable blessings, as freely as he makes use of the most common refreshments; as freely as he drinks of the running stream.
Verse 20
[20] He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
He that testifieth these things — Even all that is contained in this book.
Saith — For the encouragement of the church in all her afflictions.
Yea — Answering the call of the Spirit and the bride.
I come quickly — To destroy all her enemies, and establish her in a state of perfect and everlasting happiness. The apostle expresses his earnest desire and hope of this, by answering, Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
Verse 21
[21] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
The grace — The free love.
Of the Lord Jesus — And all its fruits.
Be with all — Who thus long for his appearing!
John 17:20-26
Verse 20
[20] Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
For them who will believe — In all ages.
Verse 21
[21] That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
As thou art in me — This also is to be understood in a way of similitude, and not of sameness or equality.
That the world may believe — Here Christ prays for the world. Observe the sum of his whole prayer, 1. Receive me into thy own and my glory; 2. Let my apostles share therein; 3. And all other believers: 4. And let all the world believe.
Verse 22
[22] And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
The glory which thou hast given me, I have given them — The glory of the only begotten shines in all the sons of God. How great is the majesty of Christians.
Verse 24
[24] Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
Here he returns to the apostles.
I will — He asks, as having a right to be heard, and prays, not as a servant, but a Son: that they may behold my glory - Herein Is the happiness of heaven, 1 John 3:2.
Verse 25
[25] O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.
Righteous Father — The admission of believers to God through Christ, flows even from the justice of God.
Verse 26
[26] And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.
I have declared to them thy name — Thy new, best name of love; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me - That thou and thy love, and I and my love, may be in them - That they may love me with that love.
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The Upper Room Ministries
PO Box 340004
Nashville, Tennessee 37203-0004, United States
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"ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN" by Carl L. Schenck
Acts 1:1-11
Today is one of those relatively obscure Christian holidays of which many are unaware: Ascension Sunday. This is the day in the church calendar when we celebrate the ascension of Jesus Christ into heaven. In all honesty, the ascension is a rather difficult idea for the modern mind to handle. It’s the story of how Jesus went to the Mount of Olives after his resurrection from the dead. There, according to the book of Acts, Jesus literally flew off into heaven. “He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight” (Acts 1:9).
In the first century, the understanding of the cosmos was very different from ours. People understood heaven to be a place that was literally, geographically, “up” from the earth. They could visualize Jesus leaving them and going “up” into heaven. With our scientific view of the cosmos, we know there is no up or down in the universe. Even our notion of heaven is not of a geographical location or direction. When contemporary people think of the ascension, it is a little hard to imagine the Lord Jesus Christ flying off like a one-person space shuttle into the skies.
Yet, despite our scientific reservations, the story of the ascension is spiritually important to us. The ascension was the church’s way of dealing with a fundamental fact. The earliest disciples had experienced the bodily presence of the risen Lord, the one who was no longer under the claim of death. After a passage of time, this experience of the risen Lord as bodily present with them seemed to pass. He didn’t appear again. They accounted for his absence by saying that the risen Lord was now in heaven. They had to go forward without his physical presence. He had ascended into heaven.
Christians today have the same circumstance. We believe in a risen Lord who is no longer physically present. The body of Jesus is not here any longer, except in the church as the body of Christ. So on Ascension Sunday, we do well to think about what Jesus’ physical absence means for Christians today.
First, the absence of the physical Jesus calls us to take seriously the church as the body of Christ. This is a concept with which we all are very familiar. We say that the church is the body of Christ without thinking about what that might actually mean. If the church is the body of Christ, then we are called to give to the church the devotion and respect that Christ deserves.
Think about it. How precious to you is the church? How central to your life is the mission of the church? It is easy for us to think that we would respond to the physical presence of Jesus with all the love and devotion we could humanly summon. Yet we often treat the church as just one more volunteer community organization. Now civic clubs do good work; health-related charities appeal to us, especially if we have lost a loved one to the disease the charity seeks to overcome; organizations that support our schools do important work. But none of these organizations are the body of Christ. Only the church is Jesus among us. Its mission is to be consistent with Jesus’ mission. The love we have for it is the love we have for Jesus.
The church is the closest we will ever come on earth to having Jesus to care for and to love. On Ascension Sunday, we are called to reassess our devotion to the church as the physical body of Christ still among us. The risen Lord is not here; he has ascended. The body of Christ is very much here, and the way we treat the church is the way we treat the risen Lord.
Second, Ascension Sunday reminds us that we are each, individually, a part of Christ’s body. To honor the church as we honor Christ is also to remember that in a powerful way, we are each a part of this body of Christ. When we neglect our part in the mission of the church, we disable the body of Christ. As Paul said, each of us is a physical part of the body of Christ. We are the arms and legs, the eyes and ears; we are limbs and organs of Christ’s present body. When we fail to do our part, the body becomes disabled. Christ becomes disabled without the limb or organ that each of us is called and gifted to be. (See 1 Corinthians 12.)
The absence of the physical body of Jesus places a claim upon us to relate to the church as we would relate to Christ. It also reminds us that without our individual faithfulness to our role in the church, the body of Christ is weakened and disabled.
Last, Ascension Sunday reminds us that if Christ’s work is to continue, it is up to us to do it. Now that is not to say we receive no godly help. Next Sunday is Pentecost, and we will celebrate our empowerment by the Holy Spirit. But this divine help comes to empower us in doing the work of Christ. Jesus is no longer here to heal the sick. He is no longer here to touch the outcast. He is no longer here to feed the hungry. It is up to us, the body of Christ, to continue this work. If the church fails to be the body of Christ, Jesus is absent. If the church fails to be the body of Christ, Jesus is nowhere to be seen.
Yes, this is an obscure Christian holiday. It celebrates an event that is difficult for the modern scientific mind to take literally. At the same time, this is a critical day in our personal and collective self-understanding. It is significant that the risen Lord ascended into heaven. His ascension invites us to relate to the church as we would to Christ. It reminds each of us of the critical nature of our role in the body of Christ. It calls us to take up Jesus’ work on earth. This is a most important obscure day.1
"ASCENSION OF THE LORD" by Wesley King
Readings:
Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47 or Psalm 93; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
Prayer:
35 Let us gather as they gathered on the Mount of Olivet
Marilyn E. Thorton
© 2008 Marilyn E. Thorton
Song Suggestions:
Praise God for This Holy Ground (Acts)
"Praise God who through Christ makes know all are loved and called God's own. Hallelujah!"
Worship & Song # 3009
How Great Is Our God (Psalm)
Because the Lord Most High is awesome, he is the great king of the whole world. Common English Bible
Worship & Song # 3003
YouTube
Open the Eyes of My Heart (Ephesians)
I pray that the eyes of your heart will have enough light to see what is the hope of God's call, what is the richness of God's glorious inheritance among believers. Common English Bible
Worship & Song # 3008
YouTube
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (Luke)
"Lift up your heads, ye mighty gates; behold, the King of glory waits!"
Music and Lyrics
United Methodist Hymnal - 213
Ascension Sunday
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
THEME IDEAS
Power is a dominant theme in today’s readings: the power of the risen Christ who is glorified and the promised power of the Holy Spirit. These texts invite us to reflect upon how these two powers work together in our life of faith. They also anticipate the conclusion of the Easter season next Sunday on Pentecost. Today we celebrate the power of Jesus Christ, while also yearning for the gift of power in the Holy Spirit.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Luke 24)
Come gather ’round; Jesus is here.
We wait for the coming Spirit.
Come gather ’round; see the power of Christ before you.
With joy, we praise God.
Opening Prayer (Ephesians 1)
Almighty God,
through Jesus Christ,
you revealed to us a power
that has no parallel.
May the eyes of our heart
be enlightened to this power
and all it has done in our lives.
Pour out your Spirit of power upon us,
that we may proclaim your glory
and your grace. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession
Lord Jesus Christ, in you we see awesome power.
You triumph over death and bring forth new life.
You stand over all earthly powers.
You are the head of the church.
Yet, we often fail to acknowledge this power in our lives.
We see violence in the world.
We see injustice in our communities.
We see hunger and need among our neighbors.
We see longing for something more.
We see failures and faults in our lives.
In all these things, we feel powerless.
Forgive our hesitance to call upon you.
Forgive our propensity to rely upon ourselves.
Forgive our reluctance to acknowledge your power.
Speak your words of power again.
May your will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Amen.
Words of Assurance (Ephesians 1)
May God give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation,
that the power of Jesus Christ may be visible in your life.
By the grace of Jesus Christ we are forgiven
and empowered to serve.
Passing the Peace of Christ
God’s power is a glorious inheritance among the saints.
It is a power manifested in love, forgiveness, and peace.
May the power of peace be with you today.
And also with you.
Let us pass the peace of Christ.
Response to the Word (Ephesians 1, Luke 24)
In these words, we hear of the power of Christ
and the promise of a Spirit of power.
We hear the ancient story come alive in our lives.
We seek a spirit of wisdom and revelation in Christ.
We await a spirit of power from God.
Come, Lord Jesus. Come, Holy Spirit.
Come into our lives.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering or Invitation to Communion
Come to the table of peace.
Come to the table of love.
Come to the table of joy.
Come to the table of power.
Come to the table of Christ.
Great Thanksgiving
(The following prayer may replace the preface and conclusion
of the Great Thanksgiving, or it may be used by itself at an appropriate
time in the service.)
You are worthy of all our praise, O God,
for you are the source of all good power.
By your power,
heaven and earth were formed.
By your power,
you created us and gave us life.
By your power,
we are guided and protected.
By your power,
Jesus Christ triumphed over the grave.
By your power,
the Holy Spirit comes to sustain and care for us.
And so, in praise and gratitude, we join the generations
of the faithful in singing your praise.
(If desired, continue with the traditional Great Thanksgiving,
beginning with the Sanctus)
When Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised
his followers a baptism with the Holy Spirit,
a power from on high. Clothe us in this Spirit,
that we might share a common ministry
of service to the world.
By your power,
fill our voices with stories of your grace.
By your power,
strengthen our hands for the work of your mercy.
By your power,
transform us into your representatives of your love.
In great joy and anticipation, empowered by your Spirit,
we await the return of Christ, as we offer praise to you,
Almighty God, in whom we live and move
and have our being.
Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction
In the presence of Christ, we have gathered.
In the grace of Christ, we depart.
May God clothe you with power on high.
May God put this power to work in each of us.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Contemporary Gathering Words
Power!
Power!
Power on high is given to you.
Power that enlightens.
Power that sustains.
Power to give praise to God.
Power!
Praise Sentences (Psalm 47)
Clap your hands.
Shout for joy.
Sing out praise.
Exalt the God of power!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2009,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2008 by Abingdon Press. “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2016” is now available.
"WORSHIP CONNECTION: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016 (OPTION 1)" by Nancy C. Townley
Ascension Sunday
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
CALLS TO WORSHIP
[Note: Churches may be celebrating Easter 7 or Ascension Sunday. The Gospel Lessons for May 8 differ somewhat. Calls to worship #1 and #2 focus on John 17: 6-19; Calls to Worship #3 and #4 focus on Luke 24:44-53 and Acts 1: 1-11]
Call to Worship #1:
L: Jesus prayed for his disciples, giving them into God’s eternal care.
P: Jesus prays for us, giving us into God’s care.
L: Know that you have been blessed with the love of the Savior.
P: We live in that love and seek to serve God.
L: Open your hearts and spirits now to hear God’s word.
P: May our lives be open to God’s Spirit and reflect God’s love. AMEN.
Call to Worship #2:
L: Come, quench your thirst in the love of God.
P: We come, hungering for a place in which we can be gently nourished.
L: Be like trees planted by the streams of living water, ready to receive God’s nourishment.
P: Strengthen us, O God, to receive your blessed peace.
L: Hallelujah!
P: Hallelujah! AMEN.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2028 "Clap Your Hands", offer the call to worship as follows: Have the choir begin the song (as an entrance song if possible), and continue to sing the song through three times before the Worship Leader’s opening line. Make the invitation to the congregation exciting and have the musicians play through an introduction. The congregation will have already heard the music several times, so it should not be difficult for them to follow]
Choir (singing): Clap your hands! Clap your hands! Sing a new song in celebration! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! Sing a new song in celebration! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! God is great we praise our God with song! God is great! We praise our God with Song!
L: Shout to the rooftops! Our Lord Jesus Christ is seated at God’s right hand!
P: The same Christ who was given by God to help us learn how to live together and love each other is now seated with God!
Choir (singing): Clap your hands! Clap your hands! Sing a new song in celebration! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! Sing a new song in celebration! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! God is great! We praise our God with song! God is great! We praise our God with song!
L: Don’t stand staring into the heavens! Christ’s spirit is with us, in us, and through us!
P: Rejoice and dance happily! It is not time to mourn!
L: Come, join us in song, praising God with our whole lives and spirits!
All (singing): Clap your hands! Clap your hands! Sing a new song in celebration! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! Sing a new song in celebration! Clap your hands! Clap your hands! God is great! We praise our God with song! God is great! We praise our God with song!
L: And all the people shouted
P: AMEN!!!
Call to Worship #4:
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!
PRAYERS, LITANY, BENEDICTION
[Note: prayers will be designated as to whether their focus is Easter 7 or Ascension Sunday]
OPENING PRAYER:
O Lord, Easter had such an impact on our lives. We walked the by-ways with Jesus, ate with him and wept at the Crucifixion. Easter morn dawned brightly in our lives at the news of the Resurrection and we sang songs of great joy. Watch over us, gentle God, as we pray and work to do your will. Keep our hearts open to your loving word and ways. AMEN.
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.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Forgiving and gracious God, you have called us to be the church, to live out our Resurrection faith. You have asked us to place our trust in you and to bring to all the good news of your saving love. But we have failed to do this. We have given our faith a back seat to the troubles of the world and to the stresses in our own life. We look for the quick and easy answers. Forgive us for the smallness of our faith. You, who raised Christ from the dead, have promised to raise our spirits and bring us to new life. You have done this and yet, we remain static in our response to you. Clear our spirits of the clutter of everyday living. Help us to be open always to your word and your love. Challenge us to move in directions of peace and hope for all people. These things we pray in the name of our risen Lord. AMEN.
PRAYER OF CONFESSION:
Lord, we are impatient! We want everything right now, instantly! We don’t want to wait for anything. We rush our holidays, our celebrations, our very lives and then wonder why our spirits are exhausted and depressed. Slow us down, Lord. Help us to enjoy the process of waiting for the wondrous things you offer us. Let us feel the power and beauty of praising you and singing your praises. Clear away our "high gear" mentality and place us on paths of peace and hope. Forgive our arrogance and impatience. Help us to overcome those traits which pull us away from you and from appreciating all that you have done for us. As we listen to the scriptures this day in which the disciples witnessed Jesus’ ascension to you, let our hearts be at peace knowing that you have taught us what we need to know to serve God joyfully in this world. Inspire us and give us delight for what is to come. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
God loves and forgives us. We are no longer numbered with the wicked, but rather are placed with those whom God has blessed. Be a blessing to all whom you meet, in God’s name. AMEN.
WORDS OF ASSURANCE:
Forgiveness and love have been poured out upon you, to offer hope to all nations. You are called and blessed to be messengers of God’s good news to all people. AMEN.
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.
PASTORAL PRAYER
With mouths gaping open and eyes looking heavenward, we trace the ascension of our beloved Savior Jesus Christ back to you. We would like to stand here, looking heavenward and thinking about how much Jesus means to us, but we are called to lower our eyes and get moving to serve you in this world, Lord. We can hold the image of his ascension in our hearts, but our hands and spirits must be ready to do the work that you have set before us. You have asked us to live out our Resurrection faith in service, offering peace and justice, hope and healing to all whom we meet. It is easy for us to lift the names of those near and dear to us in prayer in our worship service. We want your healing mercies for all who are ill, who mourn, who are lost and alone. We want to rejoice in prayer with those who have received special joys during this week. All these things are important to us and we know they are important to you. Help us to live the prayers we ask. Help us to be agents of healing and mercy, of peace and hope. We offer our lives and prayers to you in the name of our ascended Lord, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
LITANY:
L: For those who bring the words of scripture to us
P: We give you thanks, O Lord.
L: For those who teach us the great truths of your Scripture,
P: We give you thanks, O Lord.
L: For those who raise their voices in songs of praise,
P: We give you thanks, O Lord.
L: For those who serve you in ministries of healing,
P: We give you thanks, O Lord
L: For those who work with children and youth
P: We give you thanks, O Lord
L: For those who offer their time and loving presence to people who are lost, alone, feel shut-in our shut-out
P: We give you thanks, O Lord
L: For those who participate in ministries of justice and hope,
P: We give you thanks, O Lord.
L: For those who offer prayer, seeking your healing love,
P: We give you thanks, O Lord.
L: For all those who have witnessed to your love by the way in which they lead their lives, by their compassion to others, by their understanding
P: We give you thanks, O Lord. For all anywhere who love you and praise your holy name, who are willing to be the Resurrection Church, we are grateful. AMEN.
LITANY:
L: Clap your hands! Let your spirits rejoice!
P: God has done wondrous things for us!
L: Praise God to the highest heavens!
P: Christ has blessed our lives with his presence and his teachings!
L: We have joyous work to do for our God.
P: God is with us in all that we say and do!
L: We can do this work with confidence!
P: Christ is with us in all that we say and do!
L: We don’t have to be afraid to proclaim the good news!
P: The Holy Spirit is with us in all that we say and do!
L: Sing, rejoice! God loves us!
P: Let all the people shout "AMEN!"
All: "AMEN!"
BENEDICTION:
As Christ has loved you and prayed for you, go now in peace, bringing Christ’s loving words to all you meet. Know that Christ is with you in all that you do. AMEN.
BENEDICTION:
The power and love of Jesus Christ is with you. You are sent forth to be his witnesses in the world, bringing the good news, healing, establishing ministries of justice and peace. Go in confidence and the power and love of God goes with you. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
Note: Some churches choose to celebrate this day as Easter 7; others as Ascension Sunday. Below are listed two visual arts displays: one for Easter 7 and one for Ascension Sunday]
The traditional color for this day is WHITE.
EASTER 7: Visual Arts Display for Worship
SURFACE: Place 3 risers on the main worship table. The tallest of the risers, about 6" in height, place in the center back of the worship center. Place the other two risers, about 3" in height, on either side of the 6" riser, slightly forward of the center riser.
FABRIC: Cover the worship center with white cloth, making sure that all risers are covered. The fabric may drape down over the worship center and puddle on the floor to the right or left side.
CANDLES: Place a white pillar candle, about 10" high in front of the tallest riser; Place two pillar candles, about 3" high on the two side risers. You may place votive candles elsewhere in the setting as you choose (these will represent the prayers and hopes of all the people)
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: Leafy foliage plants may be used in this setting. Ferns are particularly attractive, placed on either side of the tallest riser. Smaller plants may be placed near the other risers on the worship center. Larger, leafy plants may be placed on the floor in front of the worship center, to soften the lines.
ROCKS/WOOD Not recommended for this setting
OTHER: If you have a picture of Jesus praying or the praying hands, place it on the top of the tallest riser. Sunday School curriculum might have such pictures available.
Ascension Sunday - visual arts display:
SURFACE: Place five risers on the worship center. Place the tallest riser, about 8" in height, to the left rear of the worship center. The remaining risers, two of them being 4" in height; and two of them being 2" in height, should be placed creatively on the worship center. Place two risers in front of the worship center, as follows: one riser about 1 ½ feet high near the right side of the worship center; the other riser about 1 foot high in the center, but slightly in front of the one on the right.
FABRIC: Cover the whole worship center with white fabric, making sure that it covers all risers and puddles down over the risers in front of the worship center onto the floor. With streamers of gold ribbons, run the ribbon from the tallest riser across the table and trailing down the front onto the risers. If you have white netting, you may bunch it at the back of the tallest riser and across the back of the worship center, particularly on the right side and then trailing it over the side of the center. This represents the clouds.
CANDLES: Place a 10" white pillar candle in front of the highest riser on the worship center. Place as many white votive candles as you desire on all other risers. These represent the witness of all the disciples for whom Jesus prayed and for all of us for whom he continues to pray.
FLOWERS/FOLIAGE: The ferns or leafy plants may be placed on the right side of the worship center, behind the white netting. Some larger leafy plants may be placed on the floor around the base of the worship center to soften the lines. Place other plants as you desire.
ROCKS/WOOD Not recommended for this setting.
OTHER If you can get a picture of Jesus ascending (often found in Sunday School Curriculum), place it on the top of the highest riser and make sure that some of the netting is bunched under it and around the sides of the picture. If no picture is available, use a brass cross with the netting around it, again placing it on the highest riser.
"WORSHIP ELEMENTS: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016 (OPTION 2)" by Leigh Anne Taylor
Ascension Sunday
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
THEME IDEAS
Christians confess that Jesus fulfilled the promises of God as written in the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. God raised Jesus Christ from the dead, and Jesus Christ ascended to God where he has ultimate authority with God. From this place of authority, Jesus Christ is the head of the church, whose purpose is to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins to the entire earth by the power of the Holy Spirit. In today’s readings, Jesus blesses his followers, telling them to proclaim repentance and forgiveness in his name. But first they must wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit. His followers return to the temple to worship God where one can imagine that they sang Psalm 47, which celebrates God’s ultimate authority over all.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 47)
Clap your hands, all you people!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our sovereign Lord!
God is sovereign over all the earth!
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Let everything that has breath sing praises.
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
Opening Prayer (Ephesians 1, Acts 1)
God of all glory,
as we come to know your Son
through the living word of scripture,
enlighten our hearts
with the spirit of wisdom and revelation.
Remind us again of Christ’s authority over the church
at all times and in all places.
Renew in us again our purpose as Christ’s followers:
to proclaim repentance and forgiveness of sins
in the name of Jesus Christ
to all people in all places.
All glory and honor be to you, Christ Jesus. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Psalm 47, Ephesians 1)
Our Savior Jesus,
even while we extol you as Divine Sovereign
whose authority is above all earthly power,
we have failed to give you authority
over even the smallest matters of our lives.
We confess our arrogant,
self-centered exercise of power
over matters in our lives (pause),
in our church (pause),
and in our world. (pause)
We desperately cling to our own power,
failing to yield to your divine authority,
wisdom, guidance, and love.
Forgive us, we pray,
for the harm we have done to others
and to ourselves.
In your mercy, save us, Lord. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Luke 24)
Jesus said to his disciples before he ascended to God,
“Repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed
in my name to all nations.”
Repent then, followers of Christ,
and allow Christ to transform your lives.
Receive forgiveness in the name of the risen savior. Amen.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Ephesians 1)
Paul writes to the Christian community at Ephesus, “I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” Near you now are people whose courageous expressions and acts of selfless love have profoundly influenced your lives. With thankfulness, let us greet one another in the
name of the risen Christ.
Response to the Word (Ephesians 1)
Holy Lord,
the gift of your hope and the power of your Spirit
are given to all who believe,
even to us who worship here today.
Help us grasp the enormity of your gifts,
that we may receive these gifts with open hearts
and celebrate them joyfully
as we serve you in every aspect of our lives. Amen.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Acts 1)
If Jesus was giving directions to his disciples today, they might sound something like this: “You will be my witnesses to (your home town), to all of (your county), to (your state), and to the ends of the earth.“One way we become Christ’s witnesses is through our giving today. Some of our gifts will help people in Jesus’ name locally through (mention a local ministry). Some funds will reach into our state through (mention a conference or regional ministry). Some gifts will reach far into our world in the name of Jesus through our support of (mention an international ministry that you support). I invite you to give generously and joyfully as you fulfill Christ’s call to be his witnesses to (your town, your county, your state), and to all the world.
Offering Prayer (Luke 24)
Bless these gifts, O Lord of all,
that we might worship you with great joy
and serve your people with great love.
In Christ’s name, Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Acts 1)
People of God, receive the blessing of Jesus Christ
and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Go now to live in Christian love
and witness to the power of forgiveness
in your homes, in your community,
even to the ends of the earth,
until that day when Christ returns in glory. Amen.
CONTEMPORARY OPTIONS
Gathering Words (Psalm 47)
Everybody here, clap your hands!
God is in the house!
Everybody here, shout your praise to God!
God is in the house!
Everybody here, sing praise to God!
God is in the house!
Praise Sentences (Psalm 47, Ephesians 1)
Jesus Christ is the Ruler of all rulers.
Exalt the name of Jesus!
Jesus Christ is the Lord of all lords.
Exalt the name of Jesus!
Jesus Christ is the Name above all names.
Exalt the name of Jesus!
From “The Abingdon Worship Annual 2011,” edited by Mary J. Scifres and B.J. Beu, Copyright © 2010 by Abingdon Press.
"WORSHIP CONNECTION: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016 (OPTION 2)" by Nancy C. Townley
Ascension Sunday
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
CALLS TO WORSHIP
Call to Worship #1:
L: Shout to God with songs of great joy!
P: Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised!
L: God has made us whole.
P: God has called us to a ministry of hope and love.
L: Come, let us celebrate the love of God!
P: Let us praise God’s name and serve God joyfully. AMEN.
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.
Call to Worship #3:
[Using THE FAITH WE SING, p. 2115, “Christ Has Risen,” offer the following call to worship as directed.]
L: Our hearts are filled with Jesus’ love. He teaches us so much.
P: Yet we have so much to learn to prepare us for mission in this world.
L: Christ has risen! Even though we thought love and hope had died!
P: God is here with us right now, lifting and healing our lives.
Choir: singing verse 1 of “Christ Has Risen”
L: Now let us rejoice and boldly proclaim our love for God.
P: Hallelujah!
Congregation and Choir: singing verse 4 of “Christ Has Risen”
Call to Worship #4:
L: What a glorious vision!
P: Jesus gave the glorious promise of an Advocate!
L: Then he ascended to God!
P: What joy there must have been in the hearts of the disciples.
L: May God find such joy in our hearts and spirits!
P: Prepare us, Lord, for the mighty works you place before us. AMEN.
PRAYERS, READING, BENEDICTION
Opening Prayer
Lord of amazing visions, prepare our hearts and our spirits this day to receive your glad tidings of an Advocate. Help make us ready to be your disciples in all that we do, say, and think. For we ask this in the name of our beloved Savior Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Prayer of Confession
We have to confess, O Lord, that we are people who want to have everything proven for us. We hear the message in the scripture of Jesus’ ascension, and we smile smugly, not truly believing the vision. Forgive us for our arrogant doubts and attitudes of smugness. Help us remember that everything Jesus taught us was to prepare us to help build God’s realm here on earth. We are called to be people of faith, not of absolute proof, as we understand it. Let us place our trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Let us look with eyes of faith as he ascends to the Father. We pray in his Name, AMEN.
Words of Assurance
Although you have not stood on the mountaintop to see his ascension to God, yet believe in the love and power of Christ who taught you how to be faithful and joyful disciples. Rejoice, and believe in him who came that you may have abundant life. AMEN.
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.
Reading
[This reading may be made specific to your local situation. The person identified as the Apostle Paul may be seated at a desk and appear to be writing. The readers may be slightly “offstage” but visible to the congregation. Think of the many ways in which your church has faithfully witnessed to others in the name of Jesus Christ. Some of the things I have identified here might also apply to your specific congregation. The material for the Apostle Paul are direct quotes from Ephesians 1:15-23, NRSV.]
Reader 1:
We are so grateful, O Lord, for the ways in which you have encouraged us in our ministries in this church. You have strengthened us to serve in this community, to help others in need, to be in constant prayer for our faith family and all others whose names come before us.
Apostle Paul:
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.
Reader 2:
Each time we hear the words of Jesus to his disciples, it gives us courage to work for him in this world. [Our food pantry, our thrift shop, the ministry to children and youth, work with our senior citizens, the work with the homeless in the soup kitchen,] have been sources of great joy to each one of us. God has empowered us to serve and has given us strength to do what must be done with great joy.
Apostle Paul:
God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Reader 3:
We do not boast in our own accomplishments. All these things that we do are done in the name and spirit of Jesus Christ to the glory of God. It is our joy to be of service. It is our inheritance to reach out in love as we ourselves have truly been loved by God.
Benediction
Lord of love and light, you have called us to this place and have fed us with your loving spirit. You have feasted us on bread and wine, the symbols of our covenant with you. Now send us on our way in joyful service and peace in your world. AMEN.
ARTISTIC ELEMENTS
The traditional Color for today is: WHITE
[Note: There are several ways to approach this setting. One is to elevate a large picture of Jesus above the worship center, placing several layers of netting or tulle over the picture, so that it is slightly obscured--a vision of the ascension.]
SURFACE:
Place a 12” riser on the main worship center.
FABRIC:
Cover the entire worship center in white fabric so that it puddles on the floor in front of the worship center. With a frame of PVC pipe around the picture of Jesus, place about 3 to 4 layers of tulle over the picture so that these layers puddle on the floor in front of the worship center.
CANDLES:
You may place an altar/worship center candle in a holder on either side of the painting, or you may use two 10” white pillar candles on either side of the picture.
FLOWERS/PLANTS:
No plants are suggested for this setting.
ROCKS/WOOD: No rocks and wood are suggested for this setting.
OTHER:
Find a large picture of Jesus so that it can be easily identified from the back of the sanctuary. Place it on an easel or in a PVC frame, so that it appears to be suspended. This will be covered with layers of tulle to create an ethereal effect. You may place a brass altar cross on the floor in front of the worship center, if you choose.
"WORSHIP ELEMENTS: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016 (OPTION 3)" by Ciona Rouse
Ascension Sunday
COLOR: White
SCRIPTURE READINGS: Acts 1:1-11; Psalm 47; Ephesians 1:15-23; Luke 24:44-53
THEME IDEAS
Ascension Sunday is a time to recognize God’s glory and rule over the earth. Jesus has been given power and dominion over all things. This Sunday, we can highlight this regal Jesus, our humble King of kings. The music and atmosphere of worship this day should reflect the reign of the ascended Christ over all things. It should also draw us to a place where we recognize that our calling comes
from the most high: we must search for the hope to which God has called us.
INVITATION AND GATHERING
Call to Worship (Psalm 47)
Clap your hands! Shout for joy!
Our Lord reigns on the throne of glory!
We open our hearts to the ascended Lord,
who sits on the throne of glory!
Opening Prayer (Ephesians 1)
Lord of Lords,
illumine our hearts this day,
that we may feel your glory
and live into the hope
to which you have called us. Amen.
PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE
Prayer of Confession (Luke 24)
O Lord,
we have not lived our lives
as kingdom people.
We place our crowns
on hopelessness, fear,
and selfishness.
We are ruled by our schedules
and our need for control.
We make kings of the things we acquire
and queens of our immediate desires.
We forget that your kingdom
draws near to us on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Forgive us, we pray.
Come, Lord,
and open in us
the gates of your kingdom. Amen.
Words of Assurance (Luke 24)
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ
blesses us and calls us “kingdom people.”
In the name of the reigning Christ,
we are forgiven.
In the name of the reigning Christ,
we are forgiven. Glory to God! Amen.
Passing the Peace of Christ (Acts 1)
The glory of God reigns in each of us! Let the peace of Christ within you greet the peace of Christ in your neighbor.
Response to the Word (Ephesians 1)
The word of God speaks to our hearts.
(Silent reflection)
The word of God speaks to our community.
(Silent reflection)
The word of God speaks to our nation.
(Silent reflection)
The word of God speaks to our world.
(Silent reflection)
May God give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation
as we come to know Christ.
Lord, help us know the glorious hope
to which you have called us
through your word.
THANKSGIVING AND COMMUNION
Invitation to the Offering (Luke 24)
Gifted with the grace of God, and clothed with power from on high, let us now offer ourselves to the building of God’s kingdom.
Offering Prayer (Luke 24)
Bless these gifts, O Lord of all,
that we might worship you with great joy
and serve your people with great love.
In Christ’s name, amen.
Invitation to Communion
Come to the table. It’s an open feast.
Christ invites us all—
the rich and the poor,
the outcast and the honored.
Come to the gathering of sinners and saints.
Come to this blessed table where Christ reigns.
Come and taste the kingdom of God,
where all are welcome.
Prayer following Communion
Lord, you have given us peace
and blessed us with a taste
of your heavenly banquet.
As we leave your table,
usher us into your kingdom,
now and forever. Amen.
SENDING FORTH
Benediction (Psalm 47)
Clap your hands all you people!
Sing to God with songs of joy!
Go forth praising God, who reigns on high!
"SERMON OPTIONS: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016 (OPTION 1)"
FOUNDATIONS OF PENTECOST
ACTS 1:1-11
If, as some legends have it, Theophilus was a lawyer and the book of Acts is Luke's defense brief concerning the value of the apostles, then surely Theophilus noted the changes in these men. And no doubt he had more facts in that first half century of faith than we know. So he contrasted Peter's denials with the boldness of Pentecost; the scattering of the eleven from the cross and their gathering at Pentecost; the doubting of Thomas with the legends of his martyr's death in India; the craven attitude of Peter with his desire to be crucified upside down.
We, too, see the changes in these men and we are inclined to say it happened because of Pentecost. But Pentecost has foundations. All of us want the power and the surety and presence of Pentecost in our own lives, but we cannot have Pentecost unless we have its foundations. The foundations of Pentecost are seen in the account of the days between the resurrection and Pentecost. And what happened in those days can still happen in these days in our lives.
I. They Became Convinced of His Continued Presence
They were assured in their own minds and hearts that Jesus had overcome death. He appeared to groups of his followers—upon one occasion to more than five hundred at one time—at least ten times following his death and burial. They were convinced that Jesus lived, that Jesus was in their midst. Luke, in closing his Gospel, says that after the ascension of Jesus the disciples returned to Jerusalem filled with an abiding joy. These disciples would never understand our concrete signs saying that Jesus is coming soon—he never left them! Our witness to how Jesus was here and is to return soon may be a skewed emphasis; surely we need to sandwich in between these emphases the truth that he is presently in our midst. For this is one key to their boldness.
II. They Became Convinced That Jesus Was Not Through with Them
In the interim between the resurrection and Pentecost the disciples assumed a stance of growth. There was a green edge to their life as they immersed their fellowship in prayer, in thinking through the priority of their experience of having walked with Jesus and having been witnesses to his conquest of death. He had promised power upon them, and they realized that they were only at the beginning of this adventure with Jesus.
III. They Were Strengthened by One Another
Jesus commanded the gathered band of disciples (v. 4) to wait together for what God was about to do. The circle of fellowship formed by human companionship in the three years of their following Jesus was nothing compared to the bond forged by the Spirit as they waited in Jerusalem and prayed and pondered the events of these days. They felt led to replace Judas, to choose another to "occupy his place." And so the core of the church to come was being formed.
IV. They Were Willing to Wait
Ours is not a waiting society; we put the emphasis on busyness and activity. But the Bible is insistent that it is in waiting that we will most clearly understand who we are and what God can do with us. Waiting time is not wasted time. Jesus waited for thirty years before beginning his ministry. And remember, the disciples were not waiting for God to get ready; they were waiting for God to get them ready! And as they waited, they spent time in prayer and study and fellowship.
V. Be Open for Pentecost to Happen to You
If Pentecostal power is to rock my church and my life, I must lay the foundations for such an event. I must be open to the Holy Spirit in a greater way than ever before. I must realize that, like the disciples, I may not have all my spiritual questions answered, for what I need is not more knowledge but more commitment to whatever Jesus wants to do in my life. If Pentecost is to happen in my life, I must realize that regardless of how checkered my past has been, God is not yet through with me as one of his disciples. If Pentecost is to happen in my life, I must be committed to the circle of believers where God has placed me. (Earl C. Davis)
LET THE CHIPS FLY—I WANT TO SUCCEED
EPHESIANS 1:15-23
John Maxwell relates a story in his book, Be All You Can Be, about a Stanford University psychologist who did an experiment on productive attitudes. His thesis was that we live for productive results or fruit. The researcher hired a professional logger from a logging camp. The psychologist informed him that he would pay double what he got in the logging camp if he would take the blunt end of an ax and just beat a log all day. The logger was told he would never have to cut one piece of wood.
The man thought it sounded like easy money and accepted the offer. For half a day the man swung the blunt end of the ax, doing nothing to the wood. He then quit. The psychologist quizzed him as to why he quit early. The logger replied, "Because every time I move an ax, I have to see the chips fly. If I don't see the chips fly, it's no fun."
Maxwell commented, "I'm convinced that there are many Christians who are using the wrong ends of the axes, and there are no chips flying. In other words, they are producing no fruit, and their joy is gone. Joy has been replaced by a sense of futility, uselessness, immobility" (Victory Books, 1987, p. 21).
Successful people like to see the chips fly! But how do people let the chips fly to live a successful life?
I. By Living a Life of Faith in a Dynamic God (v. 15)
Successful living must start and end living in faith with an all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing, all-wise God. When we grasp for God to serve, we don't have to waiver in our living. God doesn't move—we do. As long as we keep close to God, our faith will keep warm.
In a previous pastorate I had an office by the front entrance to the church. The front wall of the office was glass. During Chicago's harsh winters, whenever the front door opened, I would get cold! The designer of the church put the boiler room at the opposite end of the building. Monday through Friday my secretary and I would shiver from the cold. Often we found our way down to the end of the building where the heat was high.
One of the keys to spiritual success is keeping close to the heater—Jesus. Our faith in him must not be moved!
II. By Living a Life in the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation (v. 17)
A spiritually successful life results from comprehending and applying to life all God's grace through the awesome power of the Holy Spirit. Paul wanted the Ephesians to experience all dimensions of God. When they did they were sustained during all phases of life's circumstances—the good and the bad. For the disciple to be successful means a deeper, keener, and stronger experience with the living God as he reveals himself daily through his Spirit. As the Spirit takes control the things of God become more evident and keen.
III. By Living in Hope of a Real Inheritance (v. 18)
A small town in Maine was destined to become a large lake for which the Corps of Engineers had built a sizable dam. A man who was being interviewed said that the most painful part of that experience besides the relocation process was observing his hometown die. All improvements and repairs stopped. Why worry about building repair when it would soon be covered by water? Why fix the potholes? Why pick up the garbage? Why paint over the graffiti on the walls? He said for weeks the whole town was in a state of depression prior to the flooding.
He made this insightful comment, "When there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present."
I am convinced that for the Christian whose hope is in the resurrection and eternal inheritance, his or her feet will be on the ground with a power for the present! We must not be so heavenly minded that we are of no earthly value. Let the chips fly and live life to its fullest—now! (Derl G. Keefer)
THE ONE WHO FULFILLS
LUKE 24:44-53
The disciples, like almost all of their countrymen, had grown up with great expectations of the coming Messiah. Then, as adults, they had staked their hopes on Jesus, the young prophet from Nazareth. In the beginning everything seemed so right—then everything had gone so wrong. The crucifixion definitely did not fit their plans. They were devastated. But then he was alive again! And here he was saying, "Touch me . . . talk to me . . . eat with me." "Why?" they wondered, "Why had it all turned out this way?"
"Everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44 b). Must? Jesus' theology is showing. Events had unfolded as they had because they had been fore-written, and they had been fore-written because there is a God who "calls things that are not as though they were" (Rom. 4:17 b NIV). "Heaven rules," Daniel teaches (Dan. 4:26) . God planned his plan long ago (usually, in the New Testament, "before the world began"). Now, in time, his plan is being unrolled on the table of human events. God will not be thwarted. History will arrive at God's milestones. It cannot be otherwise.
I. Christ Is the Fulfillment of Prophecy
Fulfilled? It has been in vogue for some time now to downplay or deny altogether the possibility of predictive prophecy. As long as the Scriptures are passed through a filter of skepticism it will never be possible that human beings could actually and accurately foretell the future. To be sure, predictive prophecy was quantitatively rare in comparison to the volume of teaching or exhortational preaching of the prophets. But how else shall we hear Jesus who said of Moses, "he wrote about me" ( John 5:46 b)? Predictive prophecy calls Christians to suspend unbelief and believe. Imagine that!
Jesus speaks of the Hebrew scriptures as a threefold canon: the Law, the Prophets, the Psalms. Because the Psalms are the largest component of the Writings (Kethub段m), by metonymy Jesus names the part for the whole. This ancient classification is still reflected in the modern Jewish Bible, which is called Tanakh, being a vocalization of the initial consonants of Torah, Nebi段m and Kethub段m.
In the Law, Deuteronomy 18:18 was understood as prophetic of the Messiah even before Jesus began his ministry. "Are you the prophet?" the people questioned John the Baptist, their query driven by this passage ( John 1:21) . In the Prophets, Isaiah 53 was the text from which Philip began as he preached Jesus to the eunuch (Acts 8:32-35). From the Psalms, Paul was bold to declare, "What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled . . . by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father' " (Acts 13:32-33 NIV).
"He opened their minds to understand the scriptures" (Luke 24:45 a). There are two ways the "opening" has been understood. One is that Jesus directly by divine intervention removed, as it were, scales from their eyes (Acts 9:18) and veils from their hearts (2 Cor. 3:14-16). The other is that the "opening" was effected by the explanations and expositions Jesus went on to give. Perhaps it was their zealous expectations that so tinted their vision and muffled their ears that "though seeing, they saw not; though hearing, they heard not." They thought they had seen an imperial Messiah sketched in Scripture; somehow the Suffering Servant never registered.
Seeing Christ as we want him to be, rather than as he is, has been a problem for more than first-century disciples. Artists have long painted Jesus in their own image. We should pray, with the theme song to Godspell, "to see Thee more clearly."
II. Christ Is the Prophet of Fulfillment
Between verses 46 and 47 is a subtle transition from that which had been prophesied and already fulfilled, to that which Jesus now prophesies and will be fulfilled. It is a transition from past to future events. It represents the transition between volume 1 and volume 2 of Luke's two-part opus, "Luke-Acts" (as we call them). In the Gospel, the evangelist has told the story of the passion and resurrection. In Acts, he will narrate the spread of the faith from Jerusalem to "all nations."
Luke structures the conclusion of his Gospel as a sort of chiasm with his beginning of Acts. Here in Luke (C) the prediction of the preaching of repentance and forgiveness of sins beginning at Jerusalem and then to all nations; (B) the promise of Holy Spirit sent with power; and (A) the ascension narrative, correspond in Acts to (A) the ascension narrative; (B) the advent of the Holy Spirit with power; and (C) the preaching of repentance and the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) beginning at Jerusalem and then to all nations.
Jesus could thus accurately call the future because he is The Prophet. As he sits upon the throne of his ascension, heaven still rules. May he reign in the heart of each of us as well. (Barry K. Sanford)
"SERMON OPTIONS: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016 (OPTION 2)"
Taking Care of Last Minute Matters
Acts 1:1-11
Whenever we plan a trip, we have to take care of a lot of details. Plans have to be made for someone to take care of the pets, flowers, mail, and other matters. Hours before leaving on the trip, last minute details have to be done.
Jesus had been on earth thirty-three years. He had completed his earthly ministry with his death and resurrection. For forty days he felt he needed to take care of last minute details. We need to know some of what Jesus said and did in the days prior to his ascension.
I. Christ Assures the Reality of His Resurrection (vv. 1-3)
Jesus took time during the forty days prior to his ascension to prove to his disciples the reality of his resurrection. They had seen him die, and they needed to know that he was alive.
Modern disciples need to hear Christ’s assurance about his resurrection. They would know that Jesus has the power over life and death. And, they would know that Christ is present with them today.
II. Christ Teaches About the Priority of His Kingdom (vv. 6-7)
Jesus taught constantly about the meaning of his kingdom. The disciples continued to misunderstand. Jesus wanted his followers to know that the kingdom meant a spiritual rule.
Christians need to keep kingdom priorities constantly before them. What are these priorities? Win the lost, edify the saved, gather in worship, minister to human needs, and live like kingdom people are the priorities of the kingdom.
III. Christ Predicts the Power of God in Individual Lives (vv. 4-5, 8)
As soon as Jesus ascended, his ministry would be given to his disciples. Whatever Jesus had done, they would do; Jesus promised his followers that they would not do his ministry in human strength. They would receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are called to serve God, and we have the power. We are called to holy living, and we have the power.
IV. Christ Attests to His Completed Ministry (v. 9)
Jesus would have never left earth if his mission had not been completed. The fact that he ascended back to the Father testified that everything necessary for the human race’s reconciliation was completed.
Believers do not have to work to complete their salvation. They yield to Christ’s completed and continuing work.
V. Christ Promises His Future Return (vv. 10-11)
Soon after Jesus ascended, some messengers came to some watching, stunned, lonely disciples. They told them that Jesus would come again. Who told the messengers? Jesus, of course. He promises his future return.
Christians live in hope for the Lord’s return. No promise of Christ has ever been futile. This promise is not futile. It is certain he will come again.
Jesus thirty-three years on earth were crucial. His three-year public ministry needs pondering. Also, don’t forget to study his last-minute instruction before and after his ascension. (Harold T. Bryson)
Living Between D Day and V Day
Ephesians 1:15-23
The Second World War gave to everyone who went through that era some indelible images. One of those was a word picture that has become a model of the Christian life. It is the distinction in the European conflict between D Day and V Day. When the Allies landed on the beaches of Normandy on D Day the war was not over but its outcome had been basically determined. The ultimate victory and the conclusion of the war in Europe was on the horizon. V Day would soon come.
As one thinks of the coming of Jesus in the flesh (incarnation) and his return in victory (parousia), a similar pattern can be visualized. When we as Christians celebrate Ascension Sunday, we stand between two important events and can look both backward and forward.
On the one hand, we are reminded that the Lord Jesus came to earth and, on the cross, won the “decisive” battle for our salvation. On the other hand, we know that our struggle against sin and evil is not yet complete. The ultimate victory celebration awaits our joining the Lord in his glorious victory procession at the end of time. The text from Ephesians under consideration here reminds us that while we live in this world between D Day and V Day, we can join with the apostle in his great prayer and sense our calling to live with both genuine understanding and vivid expectation.
I. We Live with Understanding
Because the world is not an ideal place, it takes a life of faith and commitment to succeed as a Christian. In this text the apostle clearly recognized the commitment of the early Asian believers (v. 15). But he prayed that in addition to their faith, the God who displayed his power in the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ would give these Christians a divinely inspired (spiritual) sense of wisdom and of a God-manifested (revelation) knowledge as they lived in the world for Christ (v. 17). A knowledge of who Christ is and what he has done for us is absolutely essential for living the Christian life.
II. We Live with Hope
Beyond such understanding, however, the Christian also needs to live with a sense of destiny! The world is not just an endless cycle of ages as the Greeks thought. For those who know Christ there is both purpose and expectation in the world. Faithful believers (saints) can glimpse with expectant eyes the future hope in their Christian calling. Moreover, they can gain a vision of the wonderful inheritance that will be theirs in Christ (v. 18).
Yet even now they can experience a foretaste of the power of God in their lives—that same power that was evident in the resurrection and ascension of Christ (vv. 19-21). The supreme God has made Christ the Lord of the church so that the Body of Christ (the church) might experience the powerful presence (fullness) of God in their midst.
What Christian, therefore, can not fail to sing, “To God be the glory, great things he has done!” (Gerald L. Borchert)
Listening with an Open Mind
Luke 24:44-53
An open mind can be like a garbage can with the lid off —anything in the world may be tossed in! The Scriptures are replete with numerous warnings and admonitions regarding the mind. We are encouraged to “gird up the loins” to avoid “vain philosophy” and to be “continually transformed by the renewing of” our minds. Yet when it comes to appropriation of biblical truth, we must have an open mind.
I. It Is Not Enough to Simply Hear the Word of God
Paul reminds us that “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” ( Rom. 10:17 NKJV). But not everyone who hears the sound of a gospel word listens to the voice of the Spirit. In many ways our culture has become gospel-hardened. We have been innoculated with a sufficient dose of the good news to make us immune to authentic Christianity. John 3:16 printed on end-zone placards and bumper stickers is the modern equivalent of carelessly casting away the pearl of gospel truth.
II. The Resurrection Was Not Enough to Open the Disciples Minds
The disciples had been with Jesus from the beginning of his public ministry. They had witnessed the many miracles. Now the resurrected Lord had appeared to them, but that alone could not generate faith. We cannot be argued into faith. We cannot be cajoled into listening to the Spirit.
III. Only the Lord Can Enable Us to Listen with an Open Mind
Luke tells us that the resurrected Lord opened the minds of the disciples as he reminded them of the Hebrew Scriptures that testified about him. How did he do this? We want a method, an approach, a program, or a formula to follow. We are not told. Surely the disciples had heard Jesus expound the Hebrew Scriptures before. Perhaps the difference was in themselves—for once, they appear ready to listen. What Jesus shared with them was not new; they had heard about the Messiah before. It is in the mystery of their encounter with the risen Christ that their minds were opened.
IV. We Have Been Entrusted with a Treasure to Be Both Lived and Shared
Soren Kierkegaard reminds us that a “witness for the truth” is one who is willing to be a martyr for Christ. It is not a title to be claimed glibly. There is more to being a witness than simply mouthing truths. Jesus did not rewind a mental tape player with a canned sales pitch every time he encountered someone seeking the kingdom. He modeled and shared a witness to truth that was personal and appropriate for a variety of situations. No two people are treated in exactly the same way. We must incarnate the truth and share an appropriate word of witness as we are empowered by the Spirit.
Barclay says that this passage stresses the reality of the Resurrection, the urgency of the task, and the secret to their power. Indeed, it does this and more. An open mind to the truth of the gospel is a gift that comes only through an encounter with the risen Christ. (L. Joseph Rosas)
"WORSHIP FOR KIDS: ASCENSION SUNDAY 2016" by Carolyn C. Brown
ASCENSION OF THE LORD
From a Child's Point of View
Acts 1:1-11. The Ascension story is of interest to children for two reasons. First, it answers the literal-minded questions, "What did Jesus do after Easter?" and "Where is Jesus now?" The answer is that for forty days Jesus helped his disciples understand what had happened on Good Friday and Easter. Then he returned to God. Second, the Ascension is the story of Jesus passing the baton of responsibility to his disciples. As he returned to God, Jesus instructed the disciples to pick up and continue his work. They were to be Jesus' witneses, and they were to expect God to send the Holy Spirit to help them with the task. The "two men in white" emphasize this change when they ask why the disciples are staring into the sky. There is work to be done. So on Ascension Day, we complete our celebration of what Jesus did and get ready to go to work as his witnesses today.
Older children are especially receptive to the challenge to be witnesses. Their parallel of the phrase "in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" is "at home, at school, in [your town], and to all the world."
These eleven verses are packed with a summary of the forty days after Easter, the promise of the Holy Spirit, a discussion between Jesus and the disciples about the messianic kingdom, and the Ascension story. The Good News Bible is by far the easiest translation with which to keep up with all this action. Even so, you may need to reread verses 8-11 in order that children focus attention on the Ascension.
Gospel: Luke 24:44-53. This is the easier of today's Ascension accounts for children. Reading it just before or after the Acts account will help children clarify what happened. The message is the same. The disciples (and we) are to take up Jesus' work after receiving the Holy Spirit.
Psalm: Psalm 47 or 93. The inclusion of these psalms with the Ascension texts is hard to explain to children. The psalms are all pomp-and-circumstance for the triumphant "king of the world." The Ascension accounts focus on the "servant king" who calls on his followers to take up his ministry. Adults can see the significance of this pairing of servant King and triumphant King, but few children can.
On its own, however, either psalm is a great reminder that God/Jesus is King of the universe, the greatest power that ever was or ever will be.
Epistle: Ephesians 1:15-23. This passage is for grown-ups. The sentence structure is too complex and the words too abstract for children. Children will hear Paul's basic message about Christ in the more concrete story of the Ascension.
Watch Words
Ascension and ascend are not children's words. Use them today to describe only this event.
Beware of using vocabulary about the triumphant king. Words such as dominion, exalted, and subdued people are foreign to children. Otherwise familiar words like triumphant, victorious, conquering, and glorious become meaningless when combined in long lists of adjectives or when used repetitively in varying combinations.
Take time to give the legal definition of witness so that children know what Jesus is asking his disciples to do.
Let the Children Sing
Most of the hymns designated for Ascension Day are filled with triumphal language and theological jargon which are beyond children's understanding. The children will be more readily celebrate Jesus' Ascension by singing "Come, Christians, Join to Sing," or even "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today." Sing the latter hymn one more time to conclude the entire Easter season.
"Open My Eyes That I May See" is a good hymn with which to accept Christ's call to become his witnesses.
The Liturgical Child
1. Conclude your celebration of Easter by retracing the forty days of Easter. Reread several of the Easter lessons, matching them with different movements within your worship. Example:
John 20:1-10 (empty tomb)
Hymn: "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today"
John 20:24-29 (Thomas's encounter with the Risen Christ)
Prayers of Confession and Assurance of Pardon: Pray about ways we fail to live the Easter faith. If you used the Easter tokens, pray a one-sentence prayer about our failures, as highlighted by each use of the tokens. Jesus' response to Thomas becomes our Assurance of Pardon.
John 20:15-19 (Christ calls Peter to "feed my sheep")
Prayers of Petition
Acts 1:1-11 (the Ascension)
Sermon
Psalm 47 or hymn of praise to Christ
2. Create an Ascension litany celebrating Christ's work and committing yourselves to take up that work as his witnesses. The congregation responds after each statement:
Christ, we will be your witnesses and carry on your work at home, in (your town), and in all the world.
Leader: Jesus, though you were God and Lord of the universe, you were not ashamed to live among us and love us. You even died for us.
Leader: Jesus, you kept an eye out for people who needed healing. You touched lepers, put healing clay on blind eyes, told the lame to stand up and walk, and went looking for the woman who touched your robe, believing you could heal her.
Leader: You made friends with people whom everyone else avoided. You invited yourself to dinner with Zaccheus, the tax-collecting cheat. You included rough fishermen and political troublemakers among your disciples.
Leader: You taught us to forgive and love even our enemies. And you showed us how to do it as you forgave the people who betrayed you, denied you, and killed you.
Leader: When we remember what you said and did, we know you were showing us how good the world could be. Give us the courage and wisdom to follow you.
3. Be aware of end-of-school events, such as special parties or trips, and concerns, such as grades, and the relief that summer is coming. Talk with children about their summer hopes (fun trips and release from homework) and summer fears (new camps, unwelcome baby-sitters or day-care set-ups; or tough kids on the loose in their neighborhoods). Pray about all these events and concerns on the appropriate Sundays.
4. Begin the benediction with a paraphrase of the question asked by the two men in white, "Why are you standing here?" Then send the congregation out to be Christ's witnesses and promise the presence of the Holy Spirit.
Sermon Resources
1. Tell stories about Christian witnesses. Include stories about people or groups in your church. In telling what was done, help the listeners understand these efforts as responses to Christ's Ascension request that we become witnesses.-------
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