Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church
Worship Focus for May 24
“ Ascension: Full-Strength Jesus! ”
Rev. Steve Whitney, preaching
Greetings!

This Sunday, we’ll look at the Ascension of Jesus (Luke 1:6-11). I admit that I’ve wondered why it’s a big deal. After the cross and resurrection, Jesus ascending into the clouds didn’t strike a chord with me.

Since then, I’ve come to understand the Ascension as a disclosure of who Jesus is. Only God had the power to control nature. The cloud is a recurring symbol of the presence of God. Then the angelic witnesses promise that he will return as he came—the clouds—which would fulfill a prophecy by Daniel. This Jesus calls to us!

To Jews of Jesus’ day, these would be obvious. We may need to dig deeper and look closer to understand this declaration of who Jesus is, what he calls us to do, and how he empowers us. Meeting Jesus again in the ascension could change the way we understand him! I look forward to worshiping online with you at 2 p.m. this Sunday!

Blessings,
Steve


Join us immediately following worship this Sunday for Coffee Hour

After the service is over, log on to our Zoom coffee time at:


Image: Ascension, from Art in the Christian Tradition, Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.
Theme for Sunday
“We need to recapture the gospel glow of the early Christians who were nonconformists in the truest sense of the word. Their powerful gospel put an end to such barbaric evils as infanticide and bloody gladiatorial contests. Finally, they captured the Roman Empire for Jesus Christ”
—The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Questions for Reflection
  • Has Jesus ever seemed distant—more of a moral philosopher and ethical model than a companion? (If not, how would you explain who he is to someone who did feel that way?)
  • What does it feel like to think of Jesus alongside us, guiding us—with the power to get us through difficult situations? 
  • How do you think the mission Jesus gave his disciples (“you will be my witnesses”) applies to us today?
Acts 1:6-14
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.
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