Ascension Sunday

Giotto di Bondone (1266–1337), “The Ascension”

Often, we in the church glide over Ascension Sunday as we move into Pentecost––but we do this at our own loss. As you will read, the ascension came 40 days after the resurrection of Christ and just ten days before Pentecost. It is significant that Jesus spent 40 days in this in-between time revealing himself as alive, and presenting the Early Church with a vision for moving the Gospel beyond Israel. It is also important that Jesus had to then leave the church physically, so that the Holy Spirit could enter into the church and, in real practical terms, move his earthly ministry out, eventually to the ends of the earth. 

As you reflect on the ascension this week, either on your own or in your Faith Formation Group, we encourage you to spend time in Scripture by reading Acts 1:1-11 (printed below) and then work through the questions below.

Acts 1:1-11

Acts 1:1    In my first book I told you, Theophilus, about everything Jesus began to do and teach ² until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving his chosen apostles further instructions through the Holy Spirit. ³ During the forty days after he suffered and died, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.

Acts 1:4    Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. ⁵ John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Acts 1:6    So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, “Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom?”

Acts 1:7    He replied, “The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:9    After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. ¹⁰ As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. ¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Questions for Consideration:

1. What did Jesus focus on during the 40 days that he was with the disciples between his resurrection and his ascension (you can also read Luke 24 for more information on this)? 
2. What does Jesus command the disciples to do in verse 4? Did they do this? Why do you think Jesus asked them to do this?
3. What did Jesus share about their mission/ministry after they waited in Jerusalem (in verse 8)? Are we still living within this command?
4. What is the last promise of this passage of scripture? What are the implications of this promise on the church (and you) today?

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following: How do I see the Holy Spirit working within (or not working) my life right now?  



Here is take one with the help of Lexie...
See if you can identify why we didn't use it.

Following God into Mission

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Acts 11:1-18 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Acts 11:1-18

Acts 11:1    Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. ² But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. ³ “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said.

Acts 11:4    Then Peter told them exactly what had happened. ⁵ “I was in the town of Joppa,” he said, “and while I was praying, I went into a trance and saw a vision. Something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners from the sky. And it came right down to me. ⁶ When I looked inside the sheet, I saw all sorts of tame and wild animals, reptiles, and birds. ⁷ And I heard a voice say, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.’

Acts 11:8    “‘No, Lord,’ I replied. ‘I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure or unclean.^a’

Acts 11:9    “But the voice from heaven spoke again: ‘Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times before the sheet and all it contained was pulled back up to heaven.

Acts 11:11    “Just then three men who had been sent from Caesarea arrived at the house where we were staying. ¹² The Holy Spirit told me to go with them and not to worry that they were Gentiles. These six brothers here accompanied me, and we soon entered the home of the man who had sent for us. ¹³ He told us how an angel had appeared to him in his home and had told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. ¹⁴ He will tell you how you and everyone in your household can be saved!’

Acts 11:15    “As I began to speak,” Peter continued, “the Holy Spirit fell on them, just as he fell on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I thought of the Lord’s words when he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?”

Acts 11:18    When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”

Questions for Consideration:

Acts 11 is one of the first watershed moments within the early church. The leaders of the church had to decide if they were going to keep this new movement of Christ locked up within the traditions and assumptions of the historic “inherited” Church or whether they would have the faith to follow the outward missional calling of the Holy Spirit to allow the Gospel to speak to new people in different context then their own. 

1. What was the response of the leaders of the church when they found out that Peter had given the Gospel to Gentiles?  Have you ever experienced this type of response because of doing something out of the leading of the Lord? Have you ever responded like the leaders to something someone has done within your church that you don’t find consistent with your beliefs?
2. How did Peter respond to the criticism of the leaders?
3. What was the end result of the meeting?
4. How can we apply this message to our church today?

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: How do I spend my spare time?  (Pages 79-83 in The Wesley Challenge)

Listening to the Voice of the Shepherd

This week, while you meet with your Faith Formation Group you may want to reflect on our Scripture passage by reading Psalm 23 and John 10:22-30 (printed below) and discuss the questions from the Scripture and Sermon as a way to begin a conversation. 

Psalm 23

Psa. 23:1    The LORD is my shepherd;

I have all that I need.

²  He lets me rest in green meadows;

he leads me beside peaceful streams.

³  He renews my strength.

He guides me along right paths,

bringing honor to his name.

⁴  Even when I walk

through the darkest valley,

I will not be afraid,

for you are close beside me.

Your rod and your staff

protect and comfort me.

⁵  You prepare a feast for me

in the presence of my enemies.

You honor me by anointing my head with oil.

My cup overflows with blessings.

⁶  Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will live in the house of the LORD

forever.

John 10:22-30

John 10:22    It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. ²³ He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. ²⁴ The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

John 10:25    Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. ²⁶ But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. ²⁷ My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, ²⁹ for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”

Questions for Consideration:

Both Psalm 23 and John 10 give us the image of Jesus as a shepherd and us as sheep. There is also the idea that sheep know the voice of their shepherd and thus follow their shepherd. In Psalm 23 there are several promises for those who know and follow the voice of the shepherd. 

1. Spend time to write down all that is promised for those who follow the Shepherd in Psalm 23. What does it mean to not have want?
2. What does Jesus promise his “sheep” in John 10:28-29?
3. Does everyone get the benefit of these promises? 
4. What does it take to make Jesus the shepherd of your life today? 

As you meet this week, we encourage you to also take time to open yourselves up as a group and dialog on the following Wesley Challenge question: Is Jesus real to me?  (Pages 19-22 in The Wesley Challenge)