The Celebration of the Gospel
May 8, 2016 —8th Sunday of Easter, Ascension Sunday
He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
—Acts 1.9
________ We Gather as the Body of Christ______
GREETING
PRELUDE Preludio Giovanni Bolzoni
[As we listen to the music we quiet our minds and bodies,
listen for our hearts’ deepest desires,
and become present to the Holy One who is lovingly present for us.]
* CALL TO WORSHIP
Leader: Christ, crucified and risen, you come to us in love.
All: We welcome you with gratitude, and we give you our thanks.
Christ, eternal Word of God made flesh, you ascend to rule the universe.
We worship you with awe, and we give you our obedience.
Living Christ, you breathe your Spirit into us.
We receive you with open hearts, and we give you our love. Alleluia!
* SONG Alleluia, Alleluia Blue hymnal # 162
(10:30) CHILDREN’S TIME
[We invite you to sign and pass the red attendance pads down the row and across the aisle—
____________We Attend to the Word__________
(10:30) THE WORD IN SONG Hail the Day that Sees Him Rise
PRAYER OF THE DAY
Eternal God, you sent us Christ who lived among us, located in time and space. Give us faith to behold in every time and place Christ, whose love raises us from death, whose presence gives us life. Resurrecting God, lead us onward. Amen.
NEW TESTAMENT Ephesians 1.15-23
[Paul prays that we might come to know Christ and the power of his grace. This power is the same that raised Christ, who is seated “in the heavenly places,” meaning in power over all the world.]
I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father and Mother of glory,
who in Jesus has embodied among us
the love that creates and orders our lives
and makes them good and beautiful,
may awaken in you deep awareness
of God’s presence and love.
With the eyes of your heart enlightened
may you have the hope God has for you;
may you live in wonder and trust
of the gifts we all receive as God’s Beloved;
may you come more deeply to trust
the immeasurable power of God’s love.
It is love that raised Christ from the dead:
the power that orders the universe,
that rules over all human dominion
and all realms before and after humans,
in the visible world and the unseen.
All things are subject to the Lordship of Love.
And we, the church, are the Body of that love,
love that fills everything, and contains everything.
Everything.
Alleluia.
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PSALTER Psalm 47
[The Psalm proclaims God’s power and goodness. God has “gone up with a shout,” as if God is ascending to take a throne to rule over all Creation.]
Clap your hands, all you peoples;
shout to God with loud songs of joy.
For Yahweh, the Most High, is awesome,
the great Ruler over all the earth.
God subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
God chose our heritage for us,
the pride of Leah, Rachel and Jacob, whom God loves.
God has ascended to the throne with a shout,
with the sound of a trumpet.
Sing praises to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our Sovereign, sing praises.
For God rules over all the earth;
sing praises with a psalm.
God rules over the nations;
God sits on the throne of holiness.
Leaders of the world gather
as do the people of Sarah and Abraham’s God.
For all then powers of the earth belong to God;
God is highly exalted.
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GOSPEL Acts 1.1-11
[Jesus, who has appeared to the disciples for forty days since his resurrection, ascends into the sky— a metaphor for Christ’s cosmic sovereignty.]
In the first book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus did and taught from the beginning until the day when he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. After his suffering he presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of God. “This,” he said, “is what you have heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore sovereignty to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that God has set by God’s 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 people in white robes stood by them. They said, “People 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.”
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SERMON
SONG I Want Jesus to Walk with Me Blue hymnal # 521
* AFFIRMATION OF FAITH
We trust in God, the Source of all being, sovereign of all Creation, who in love continually creates all that is and all that is to come
We follow Jesus, God’s Anointed One, who embodied God’s love in word and deed, giving his life in love. Christ was crucified and yet raised to new life. Christ, the flesh of God’s love, walks among us, accompanying us toward God’s reign of peace and justice. Christ, the love of God, rules over our world, occupies all places and times, and leads us toward God’s New Creation.
We live by the Holy Spirit, God’s love in us, and open our hearts to her guiding. We trust in the power of forgiveness, the reality of resurrection, the unity of the Body of Christ, and the mystery of eternal life. We devote our lives to love, mercy and justice in the name and Spirit of Christ, our ruler and our companion. Amen.
* SONG Jesus, Name above All Names Black hymnal # 2071
THE PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE
[Anyone who wishes may share a prayer concern at the microphone.]
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
PASSING THE PEACE
______We Are Sent in Ministry to the World_____
OFFERING OUR GIFTS Let Us Ever Walk With Jesus Terry Ozman
* OFFERING SONG Doxology Blue hymnal #94
* PRAYER
Gracious God, we give you these gifts as symbols of our lives. Receive them with love, bless them with grace and use them according to your will. Send us into the world to embody your love, trusting that you reign in all of human history, with Christ our crucified, risen and ascended Lord, and the Holy Spirit, who live and reign forever. Amen.
THE LIFE OF THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD
* SONG How Can I Keep from Singing Black hymnal # 2212
* THE BLESSING AND SENDING FORTH
RESPONSE We stand and sing to our neighbors:
May the grace and peace of Christ be with you my friends.
Go and share the love of God, love that never ends.
POSTLUDE Ascension Day Overture J. S. Bach, arr: Andrew Moore
[During the postlude there are people ready to pray with you at the candles in the corners.]