Jesus The Ascended One - Acts 1

1. A Prayer for the People of God
O God of glory,
your Son Jesus Christ
suffered for us
and ascended to your right hand.
Unite us with Christ and each other,
in suffering and in joy,
that all your children may be drawn
into your bountiful dwelling.
Amen.

2. The Church Calendar
May 24

3. Coronavirus Sunday #11
The COVID-19 Calendar

4. Acts 1:6-14
Jesus the ASCENDED One

5. Then they gathered around him
and asked him, “Lord, are you
at this time going to restore
the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you
to know the times or dates the
Father has set by his own authority.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit
comes on you; and you will be my witnesses
in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.”
ACTS 1:6-8

6. After he said this, he was taken up
before their very eyes, and a cloud
hid him from their sight. They were
looking intently up into the sky
as he was going, when suddenly
two men dressed in white stood beside them.
“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do
you stand here looking into the sky?
This same Jesus, who has been taken
from you into heaven, will come back in the
same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
ACTS 1:9-11

7. Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem
from the hill called the Mount of Olives,
a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. When they
arrived, they went upstairs to the room where
they were staying. Those present were Peter,
John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas,
Bartholomew and Matthew; James son
of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas
son of James. They all joined together
constantly in prayer, along with the women and
Mary
ACTS 1:12-14

8. Acts 1:6-14
Jesus the ASCENDED One

9. “Too often we seem to regard
the Ascension of Christ as a kind
of awkward explanation for the
absence of Christ.Well, after his
resurrection, Jesus lifted off for
outer space and is now hanging
out with God in heaven until
he comes back. No.The Ascension
is not about the absence of Christ,
but about (his) ascendancy…” BRIAN
ZAHND

10. “The ascension of Christ to the right
hand of God is the…promotion
of Christ to the position of all
authority in heaven and on earth.
The right hand of God is not
a cosmological location,
but a poetic way of saying that
God has now given all authority
to Christ.The ascension…
does not lead to the absence
of Christ, but to his cosmic
presence everywhere.”
BRIAN
ZAHND

11. “This is why the risen Christ says,
‘Behold, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age.’
In the AscensionChrist now
‘fills all things everywhere
with himself.’ (Ephesians 1:23)
There is now no place
where Christ is not,
and there is no domain
over which Jesus is not Lord.” BRIAN
ZAHND

12. Acts 1:6-14
Jesus the ASCENDED One

13. ASCENSION THOUGHTS…
1. Jesus has not been atomized into
the universe; he still has a body &
is present everywhere in the Trinity

14. ASCENSION THOUGHTS…
1. Jesus has not been atomized into
the universe; he still has a body &
is present everywhere in the Trinity
2. Jesus didn’t earn the right to be
King of kings and Lord of lords
through violent coercion, verbal
manipulation, or political trickery;
he did so by defeating Sin/death

15. “The only thing
in this world
safe to worship
is the power of
Self-giving Love.”
RAY
MAYHEW

16. ASCENSION THOUGHTS…
3. No Caesar, Emperor, or President
gives Jesus permission/credence
to be in charge; he alone is the
King of kings and Lord of lords

17. “When the Emperor who has
no clothes tries to put on a coat
of many colors combining the
American and Christian flags,
I am duty bound as a pastor to
speak to the situation directly.
We are to be guided by the
commands of Jesus to love God
and love our neighbor, not by the
political whims of a faux leader
trying to assuage his voting base.”
DEACON
GODSEY

18. “The President’s act of hollow
political theater this past week
did not, and will not, serve to
guide our thoughts on reopening.
Our ‘rights’ as Americans have
NADA, ZIP, ZERO, ZILCH to do
with citizenship in God’s kingdom.
The US Constitution is not a holy
document or a guiding force in
the life of a follower of Jesus, no
matter what anyone may tell you.”
DEACON
GODSEY

19. “Has the tangible experience of
our corporate worship gatherings
been sacrificed and sorely missed?
Of course. But has our ability to
worship, pray, and obey Jesus
been irrevocably hindered or
removed? Absolutely not. So we
will continue to make decisions
based on wisdom, evidence, data,
and the call to the only One who
has claim of Lordship over us.”
DEACON
GODSEY

20. “Jesus alone is Lord.
Caesar is not.
DonaldTrump is not.
Laura Kelly is not.
The US Constitution is not.
Even the Bible is not.
JESUS is Lord,
and we give our allegiance
to him and him alone,
pandemic or no pandemic.
Amen.”
DEACON
GODSEY

21. Acts 1:6-14
Jesus the ASCENDED One

22. A Benediction
Risen and ascended Christ, you surround
us with witnesses and send us the
Counselor who opens our minds
to understand your teaching.
Bless us with such grace
that our lives may become
a blessing for the world,
now and in the age to come.
Amen.