Sermon Illustrations for Ascension of the Lord (2015)
Illustration
Object:
Acts 1:1-11
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus is still eating after he is in a risen body? I suppose it was one of the ways he proved that he was alive. It is interesting but may not be important to know what kind of bodies we will have when we go home to be with him. What will they serve in that banquet that has no end? I hope there will be ice cream! And more crudely, are there lavatories to get rid of the excess? It may be fun to speculate about such things, but it is useless and only sends us down blind alleys.
When my parents took me out someplace as a child and I didn’t know where, I sometimes complained and griped because I was having fun on the floor with my building blocks -- until I found out it was a fantastic place like Disneyland. Whatever they did for me was out of love. I had to learn to trust them. The same is true of our God. We have to learn to trust him. There is even a wonderful reward after a cross!
If we are members of our church we have all been baptized with water, but what about this mysterious baptism in the Holy Spirit? Lutherans have been told that there is only one baptism. Some denominations claim that you only have it if you have a mysterious evidence like speaking in tongues. Yes, it can happen to Lutherans and we don’t condemn those who have it, but it is only one sign and it is not a necessity to prove that we have it.
This passage is one that gives us evidence from Jesus that our message of salvation is not just for Israelites, but for all the world. It is a job that is far from completed. Now it is our job to help complete it.
As Jesus said, he will come back in the same way the disciples saw him leave -- so we should not keep staring into the sky as some did in the year 2000 (maybe 1997 might have been more accurate), but we should keep our eyes on the job that we have been given that is still not complete!
Bob O.
Acts 1:1-11
Growing up in Missouri, the name Richard Bolling was significant. Richard Bolling was a United States congressman who in 1951 proposed a dam for his district; but he saw it defeated in committee. There was another more powerful man at the time by the name of Sam Rayburn, who served in the House of Representatives starting in 1912 (and remained until 1961) and who at the time of Bolling’s proposal was Speaker of the House. They had become good friends. When Rep. Bolling rose to present his case to the entire House, Sam Rayburn (who had sat down beside Bolling) rose to stand at his side. Rayburn said nothing at all. The truth was he didn’t have to. By simply standing with Rep. Bolling, Rayburn indicated that he wanted the bill to pass... and it did pass.
As Jesus left this earthly world he gave the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the trinity (his other self), to the apostles... for instruction, confidence, and sanctification! Through the Spirit we now have the boldness of Jesus to live life through a saved and cleansed heart, meet the challenges, and be victorious in our spiritual journey.
Derl K.
Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53
Flip a coin. Does it really matter whether we use Luke 24:44-53 or Acts 1:1-11 on Ascension Day? Aren’t they both the same thing? Don’t they tell the same story? Doesn’t Jesus just ascend to heaven and we stand there open-mouthed in wonder?
Well no, actually. Even though Luke is the author of both passages there is a stark difference between the two, and good reason to read them both! The gospel passage unpacks our task as interpreters of scripture. Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:45). As he did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to the meaning of scripture, then tasked us as “witnesses to these things” (Luke 24:48).
The Acts text is more of a reminder that no one knows the hour of Christ’s return and serves as a stark reminder to stop staring up in the air slack-jawed waiting for his return. This is the Great Commission all over again, mixed with a little bit of scolding for those who keep looking for the return of Jesus to get them out of a little hard work.
Frank R.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Preaching on this lesson, John Chrysostom (said to be the golden-mouthed one) claims that Paul knits together faith and love (Nicene and Ante-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 13, p. 59). Knit together means you can’t have one without the other. In part, this is because with the ascension all human activity is surrounded by Christ in all his glory. Famed 20th-century theologian Karl Barth nicely describes this reality: “With Christ: never at all apart from him, never at all independently of him, never at all in and for itself. Man never at all exists in himself” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. II/1, p. 149).
Dutch heroine of the Holocaust Corrie ten Boom powerfully describes the outcome of the ascension, how it overcomes all our despair and so makes love possible: “No matter how deep our darkness -- he is deeper still.” No matter how low we go, Christ is there. The ascension entails that we are never alone. And where God is, there is Jesus and his guiding, unifying love.
Mark E.
Luke 24:44-53
According to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, there is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it.
The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt.
That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground. Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.
Clearly, it is the second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties.
(From So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish by Douglas Adams)
Frank R.
Luke 24:44-53
During the latter part of my ministerial career I have often traveled to many locations in the United States and abroad. Each time required that I prepare for the journey by knowing what I needed to take with me, either personally or for business. Once I knew what I needed, I began the process of packing for the trip. Suitcases packed, I would leave the house and drive to the airport, where I would board a plane and take off to my destination.
The scriptural background is the takeoff of Jesus to heaven. All the preparation for this part of the journey has been completed.
* He has preached the good news of the gospel to the people.
* He has become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world.
* He has been resurrected by the Father to give power of life to anyone accepting his offer of salvation.
* He has given his disciples the task of sharing his message of repentance to the world.
* He has promised the Holy Spirit’s coming to give universal life, power, and purity to humanity everywhere... Jew or Gentile alike.
* He blesses and commissions those standing with him to carry out the task.
We who have come to accept, believe, and confess our sins and have become his disciples in the 21st century have also been commissioned with his task. His ascension into heaven has opened up the way for the Holy Spirit to be released in full force to every modern-day believer to live life to the fullest.
Derl K.
Luke 24:44-53
Jesus reminds his disciples what they were told while he was still with them. They still hadn’t caught on! I had read in the Bible what a pastor should do for God and his church and I learned some things in seminary, but I still didn’t understand until I started in my ministry. Then one experience after another opened my eyes. God has told us many things, but it often takes an experience in life before we can make sense of them. It is God who opens our minds so that we can understand! He can do it through a Bible class, a sermon, a word from a friend, or a vision or dream. I have prayed for understanding and am always surprised when it comes, but I always feel it came from God. He has to open our minds!
Another thing that God uses is a confirmation from our church (which could be a gift from the Spirit). I was asked many questions before I was approved for my study in the seminary and many more questions before I was ordained. The people confirm who shall be in the church council, and the council and pastor confirm who shall be a Sunday school teacher or shall hold other offices in the congregation. The Spirit can work in many ways to make sure we have that power which comes from on high.
Jesus had hinted that he would not have a happy end several times, but the disciples didn’t want to believe him -- especially Judas! They didn’t understand until it happened and they could look back and see, but they still didn’t get the whole picture until God sent them the message. It still takes a lot to get God’s message through our thick skulls! I have had some who were sure God had spoken to them, but it was obvious to me and all the church that they were fooling themselves.
My children are all in their 40s, and when we get together they tell me that they are beginning to understand all the things I told them when they were kids. They find themselves telling their children the same things I told them! I think God gave us children so we would understand what he is going through to get his message to us! God will give us his message for us if we are patient and don’t give up.
One of the ways we confirm a person’s “call” is if they have great joy and if we feel God’s love in them. They will be humble enough to ask for our confirmation. It is not hard to feel God’s Spirit working in a fellow believer. Another confirmation is in the time they spend in prayer.
Bob O.
Isn’t it interesting that Jesus is still eating after he is in a risen body? I suppose it was one of the ways he proved that he was alive. It is interesting but may not be important to know what kind of bodies we will have when we go home to be with him. What will they serve in that banquet that has no end? I hope there will be ice cream! And more crudely, are there lavatories to get rid of the excess? It may be fun to speculate about such things, but it is useless and only sends us down blind alleys.
When my parents took me out someplace as a child and I didn’t know where, I sometimes complained and griped because I was having fun on the floor with my building blocks -- until I found out it was a fantastic place like Disneyland. Whatever they did for me was out of love. I had to learn to trust them. The same is true of our God. We have to learn to trust him. There is even a wonderful reward after a cross!
If we are members of our church we have all been baptized with water, but what about this mysterious baptism in the Holy Spirit? Lutherans have been told that there is only one baptism. Some denominations claim that you only have it if you have a mysterious evidence like speaking in tongues. Yes, it can happen to Lutherans and we don’t condemn those who have it, but it is only one sign and it is not a necessity to prove that we have it.
This passage is one that gives us evidence from Jesus that our message of salvation is not just for Israelites, but for all the world. It is a job that is far from completed. Now it is our job to help complete it.
As Jesus said, he will come back in the same way the disciples saw him leave -- so we should not keep staring into the sky as some did in the year 2000 (maybe 1997 might have been more accurate), but we should keep our eyes on the job that we have been given that is still not complete!
Bob O.
Acts 1:1-11
Growing up in Missouri, the name Richard Bolling was significant. Richard Bolling was a United States congressman who in 1951 proposed a dam for his district; but he saw it defeated in committee. There was another more powerful man at the time by the name of Sam Rayburn, who served in the House of Representatives starting in 1912 (and remained until 1961) and who at the time of Bolling’s proposal was Speaker of the House. They had become good friends. When Rep. Bolling rose to present his case to the entire House, Sam Rayburn (who had sat down beside Bolling) rose to stand at his side. Rayburn said nothing at all. The truth was he didn’t have to. By simply standing with Rep. Bolling, Rayburn indicated that he wanted the bill to pass... and it did pass.
As Jesus left this earthly world he gave the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the trinity (his other self), to the apostles... for instruction, confidence, and sanctification! Through the Spirit we now have the boldness of Jesus to live life through a saved and cleansed heart, meet the challenges, and be victorious in our spiritual journey.
Derl K.
Acts 1:1-11; Luke 24:44-53
Flip a coin. Does it really matter whether we use Luke 24:44-53 or Acts 1:1-11 on Ascension Day? Aren’t they both the same thing? Don’t they tell the same story? Doesn’t Jesus just ascend to heaven and we stand there open-mouthed in wonder?
Well no, actually. Even though Luke is the author of both passages there is a stark difference between the two, and good reason to read them both! The gospel passage unpacks our task as interpreters of scripture. Jesus “opened their minds to understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:45). As he did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Jesus opened the minds of the disciples to the meaning of scripture, then tasked us as “witnesses to these things” (Luke 24:48).
The Acts text is more of a reminder that no one knows the hour of Christ’s return and serves as a stark reminder to stop staring up in the air slack-jawed waiting for his return. This is the Great Commission all over again, mixed with a little bit of scolding for those who keep looking for the return of Jesus to get them out of a little hard work.
Frank R.
Ephesians 1:15-23
Preaching on this lesson, John Chrysostom (said to be the golden-mouthed one) claims that Paul knits together faith and love (Nicene and Ante-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 13, p. 59). Knit together means you can’t have one without the other. In part, this is because with the ascension all human activity is surrounded by Christ in all his glory. Famed 20th-century theologian Karl Barth nicely describes this reality: “With Christ: never at all apart from him, never at all independently of him, never at all in and for itself. Man never at all exists in himself” (Church Dogmatics, Vol. II/1, p. 149).
Dutch heroine of the Holocaust Corrie ten Boom powerfully describes the outcome of the ascension, how it overcomes all our despair and so makes love possible: “No matter how deep our darkness -- he is deeper still.” No matter how low we go, Christ is there. The ascension entails that we are never alone. And where God is, there is Jesus and his guiding, unifying love.
Mark E.
Luke 24:44-53
According to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, there is an art, it says, or rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss. Pick a nice day, it suggests, and try it.
The first part is easy. All it requires is simply the ability to throw yourself forward with all your weight, and the willingness not to mind that it’s going to hurt.
That is, it’s going to hurt if you fail to miss the ground. Most people fail to miss the ground, and if they are really trying properly, the likelihood is that they will fail to miss it fairly hard.
Clearly, it is the second part, the missing, which presents the difficulties.
(From So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish by Douglas Adams)
Frank R.
Luke 24:44-53
During the latter part of my ministerial career I have often traveled to many locations in the United States and abroad. Each time required that I prepare for the journey by knowing what I needed to take with me, either personally or for business. Once I knew what I needed, I began the process of packing for the trip. Suitcases packed, I would leave the house and drive to the airport, where I would board a plane and take off to my destination.
The scriptural background is the takeoff of Jesus to heaven. All the preparation for this part of the journey has been completed.
* He has preached the good news of the gospel to the people.
* He has become the sacrificial lamb for the sins of the world.
* He has been resurrected by the Father to give power of life to anyone accepting his offer of salvation.
* He has given his disciples the task of sharing his message of repentance to the world.
* He has promised the Holy Spirit’s coming to give universal life, power, and purity to humanity everywhere... Jew or Gentile alike.
* He blesses and commissions those standing with him to carry out the task.
We who have come to accept, believe, and confess our sins and have become his disciples in the 21st century have also been commissioned with his task. His ascension into heaven has opened up the way for the Holy Spirit to be released in full force to every modern-day believer to live life to the fullest.
Derl K.
Luke 24:44-53
Jesus reminds his disciples what they were told while he was still with them. They still hadn’t caught on! I had read in the Bible what a pastor should do for God and his church and I learned some things in seminary, but I still didn’t understand until I started in my ministry. Then one experience after another opened my eyes. God has told us many things, but it often takes an experience in life before we can make sense of them. It is God who opens our minds so that we can understand! He can do it through a Bible class, a sermon, a word from a friend, or a vision or dream. I have prayed for understanding and am always surprised when it comes, but I always feel it came from God. He has to open our minds!
Another thing that God uses is a confirmation from our church (which could be a gift from the Spirit). I was asked many questions before I was approved for my study in the seminary and many more questions before I was ordained. The people confirm who shall be in the church council, and the council and pastor confirm who shall be a Sunday school teacher or shall hold other offices in the congregation. The Spirit can work in many ways to make sure we have that power which comes from on high.
Jesus had hinted that he would not have a happy end several times, but the disciples didn’t want to believe him -- especially Judas! They didn’t understand until it happened and they could look back and see, but they still didn’t get the whole picture until God sent them the message. It still takes a lot to get God’s message through our thick skulls! I have had some who were sure God had spoken to them, but it was obvious to me and all the church that they were fooling themselves.
My children are all in their 40s, and when we get together they tell me that they are beginning to understand all the things I told them when they were kids. They find themselves telling their children the same things I told them! I think God gave us children so we would understand what he is going through to get his message to us! God will give us his message for us if we are patient and don’t give up.
One of the ways we confirm a person’s “call” is if they have great joy and if we feel God’s love in them. They will be humble enough to ask for our confirmation. It is not hard to feel God’s Spirit working in a fellow believer. Another confirmation is in the time they spend in prayer.
Bob O.
