You might ask — why is the ascension important?

I believe it is important because it reminds us of Christs’ power — rule — and ultimate victory. The Psalms assigned for Ascension Day (Psalms 47, 68) celebrate the power of God. When we lose touch with the ascension, we lose touch with our concepts of the deity of Christ and the sovereign majesty of God.

Also — Ascension Day gets us ready for the coming of the Spirit on The Day Of Pentecost — just 2 Sundays away!

Wikipedia does it’s typically wonderful job on Ascension Day. Go to here to read it.

While I learned many things about what evangelism is and will post my thoughts about the conference in the next few weeks, I learned one thing evangelism is not. It is not this:

(Love that video– it’s so funny!)

Pentecost is the third most important day in the Christian year — only lacking in importance to Christmas and Easter. It is the day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples as the story in Acts 2 tells us.

I offer a prayer for Pentecost from the Book of Common Worship of the Presbyterian Church (USA):

Christ has gathered the church in unity through the Spirit.
With sure hope, let us pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
Maker of all things,
in the beginning, you created heaven and earth.
In the fullness of time, you restored all things in Christ.
Renew our world, in this day, with your grace and mercy.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Life of the world,
you breathed life into the flesh you created.
Now, by your Spirit, breathe new life into the children of earth.
Turn hatred into love, sorrow into joy, and war into peace.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Lover of concord,
you desire the unity of all Christians.
Set aflame the whole church with the fire of your Spirit.
Unite us to stand in the world as a sign of your love.

Lord, hear our prayer.

God of compassion,
through your Spirit you supply every human need.
Heal the sick, and comfort the distressed.
Befriend the friendless, and help the helpless.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Source of peace,
your Spirit restores our anxious spirits.
In our labor, give us rest;
in our temptation, strength;
in our sadness, consolation.

Lord, hear our prayer.

Amen!

The Lord has risen!

and for the congregation to respond:

He has risen indeed!

So — let’s try a bit of online blog liturgy!

The Lord has risen!

(Post your response as a comment!)

On Friday of Holy Week — Good Friday — Jesus was crucified for our sins (Matthew 27:1-66, Mark 15:1-47, Luke 23:1-56, John 19:1-42.)

Take some time today to reflect on what Christ did for you.
Take time today to thank God for the salvation you have through Christ.

As a prayer for Good Friday, I offer the following — A
Responsive Prayer On Christ’s Passion — from The Book Of Common Worship of the Presbyterian Church, USA

Our Redeemer suffered death,
Was buried and rose again for our sake.
With love let us adore him, aware of our needs.

Christ our teacher,
for us you were obedient, even unto death:

Teach us to obey God’s will in all things.

Christ our life,
by dying on the cross
you destroyed the power of evil and death:

Enable us to die with you, and rise with you in glory.
Christ our strength, you were despised,
And humiliated as a common criminal:

Teach us the humility by which you saved the world.

Christ our salvation,
you gave your life out of love for us:

Help us to love one another.

Christ our savior,
on the cross you embraced all time
with your outstretched arms:

Gather all the scattered children of God into your realm

Jesus, Lamb of God,

have mercy on us.

Jesus, bearer of our sins,

have mercy on us.

Jesus, redeemer of the world,

grant us peace.

Jesus prayed that He would not have to die on the cross — and yet at the end He accepted God’s will. (Matthew 26:31-46, Mark 14:32-42, Luke 22:39-46).

If you have ever seen the movie “The Passion Of The Christ“, you will remember the first scenes at Gethsemane and the Devil trying to persuade Jesus to abandon God’s plan — but Jesus resisting. It’s a very powerful rendition of this powerful event.

Jesus accepted and followed God’s will for Him — even though it meant suffering and death.

O God — Strengthen me when I am tempted to abandon Your will for my life, so that I may follow You. Amen.

Thursday of Holy Week is the day Jesus instituted the Sacrament of Communion

As He gathered with His disciples the night before His crucifixion, Jesus took the bread and the cup from the Jewish Seder Meal they were celebrating and gave the bread and cup new meaning (Matthew 26:26-30, Mark 14:22-26, Luke 22:14-20).

This is my body — broken for you
This is my blood — shed for you

It does not matter how many times I say these words or celebrate the Sacrament — these words still give me goose bumps.

Lord — Help me to always remember what You have done for me — and always reach out to others with Your love. Amen.

One thing that occurred on Thursday of Holy Week — also known as Holy Thursday or Maundy Thursday was that Jesus gave the disciples the “new commandment” — to love one another (John 13:34). (The Latin word for “commandment” is mandatum — thus the English word “maundy”).

Jesus gave this new commandment while washing the disciples feet (John 13:1-17, John 13:31-38). This action of washing the feet of the disciples shows the humility and servant nature of Christ — an attitude that does not come naturally for me, and that I need strength to work on.

I will post about several other events that occurred on Thursday, but for now think about your attitude of service and commitment to Christ.

Lord — on this day when you showed Your humility and attitude of service, strengthen me so I may serve You and others better, and be better obedient to Your mandate to love one another. Amen.

One event that may have occurred on Wednesday of Holy Week is the discussion of whether to pay taxes to the emperor or not (Matthew 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:20-26).

The religious leaders were wanting to trap Jesus — trying to see if they could catch Him saying something that would either offend the Romans or that would make the Jews mad. His response showed a great truth that cuts to the heart of where our allegiance lies.

“Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s,
and to God the things that are God’s.”

In other words, give to the earthly powers that things that are theirs — but to God the things that are His.

What things belong to an earthly power?
Our allegiance — our love — taxes — what we owe for the things we are provided.

What things belong to God?
Well — everything!
Our ultimate love — allegiance — what we owe God for what He has provided us.

Lord — Help me to give to my country what is it’s due — but to give to You my ultimate devotion and love. Amen.

One event that may have occurred on Tuesday of Holy Week is the Greeks coming to see Jesus (John 12:20-36).

It is good that Gentiles came to see Jesus — and that Jesus welcomed them. I say “it is good” that Jesus welcomed Gentiles because I am one — as are so many people. In the mindset of the community John was addressing anyone who was not of Jewish lineage was a Gentile.

When I see how Jesus welcomed folks others may not have welcomed, I wonder how willing I am to take Jesus to all people — regardless of who they are?

Lord — I praise You for Your love for me. Help me to follow You — to hear Your call and Your voice in my life — and to take Your love to all people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.