Question: How do normally say “Good-bye” to someone?
Call to Worship (Psalm 47:1 & Luke 24:50-53)
Come into God’s presence,
clapping and singing praises to the risen Christ.
Christ is alive and living with us!
Christ is blessing and saving us!
Christ is healing and sending us!
Let us worship together, celebrating and praising the living Christ!
Prayers of Adoration and Confession
Ever present God, we come to you longing to feel your presence.
As you reminded your disciples long ago,
help us to remember that we are not alone on our journey of discipleship.
Guide us to see the risen Christ in our everyday lives,
and especially in the eyes of each other,
that we may bring healing and new life into the broken and dead places of our world.
Living Christ,
why are we so afraid to see you,
to feel you,
to hear you,
and to listen to you?
Why do we want to go back to times where we feel comfortable rather than embrace what you are doing in our present?
Is it because when we turn to you,
you call us to a ministry of salvation and healing?
Is it because when we are called,
we must choose to follow you and share our God-given blessings with others?
Are we afraid to be your instruments of healing and wholeness?
Are we afraid to learn, grow, and expand our understanding of you are and who we are?
Risen Christ, forgive our hardness of heart.
Help us to open ourselves completely to you,
that we might continue the incredible mission and ministry
you began through your disciples on that Ascension Day.
In Christ we pray. Amen.
Assurance of Forgiveness
Friends hear the good news!
Jesus Christ is our High Priest and Advocate, interceding before God the Father on our behalf.
Know that his love for us is undying.
Trust that you are forgiven through his grace, and with his courage, forgive one another.
Hymn: “Rejoice the Lord is King”
Words: Charles Wesley. Music: DARWALLS 148th
Prayer for Understanding
Loving God, as we prepare to hear the words of Scripture, open ourselves to your Holy Spirit to give us attentive minds and open hearts, so that we may hear your Word more clearly and love you more fully, through Christ, your Living Word. Amen.
Scripture Readings
Luke 24:44-53 Jesus appears to his disciples for the last time.
Acts 1:1-11 Jesus ascends to heaven, leaving his disciples with the promise to send the Holy Spirit and with a mission to fulfill.
Ephesians 1:15-23 Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians.
Sermon: “The End and a Beginning”
When it comes to the story of Jesus, many Christians would list the resurrection as the final chapter or event in Jesus’ ministry. But according to Luke, Jesus’ resurrection is not the final chapter of his life. It is certainly the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but it is not the final chapter or the final event. There is one more event that we would classify as the final chapter of his ministry. And that is the Ascension of Jesus.
According to the Gospel of Luke and other New Testament books, Jesus spends 40 days after his resurrection appearing to his 11 disciples and to over 500 other people. These appearances assure Jesus’ first followers that he come back to life in bodily form. (Luke 24:44-47, Acts 1:1-3)
Jesus also spends time instructing his disciples about the Old Testament passages from the Law or the Books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms, which represent books like Job and Ecclesiastes. He connects the Scriptural dots for his disciples and helps his disciples to understand the significance of those passages so that they can move forward and be confident witnesses for Christ in the future. There are around 353 passage from the Old Testament that can be linked to the person and work of Christ.
The church from its very inception, from the disciples who first left their nets to be learners and followers of Christ until now , the church has emphasized we be informed followers of Jesus. Jesus knew that his first disciples, as well as the church in every age (including our own), needed to be able to connect the mission, stories, values, and moral teachings of Scripture with their specific times they faced. Jesus knew the church needed to be grounded in the visions, desires, and priorities that God has revealed to us to fulfill God’s mission. Simply put a mission of connecting all people to God through Christ, and a mission of demonstrating God’s love for our world through the words and actions of God’s people. All empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit.
What this means for us is that our struggle to find our way forward in these times is something every generation has faced. The question that we struggle with together as God’s people is what parts of Scripture, history and tradition is the Holy Spirit pushing us to embrace for our times?
Surely, the parts of Scripture that assure us that God is ever present with us is greatly needed today as we feel out of control. The guidance of Scripture that helps us to remain spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and relationally healthy and connected to God and others are needed today as we feel isolated, overwhelmed, and disconnected. And the push of God to keep moving forward to fulfil God’s mission rather than simply to survive is one we need to hear and embrace to stay focused in a time when we are so distracted . We have been forced by our times to confess and see our need for a deeper connection with God and with one another as we try to make sense and seek to fulfill the mission God has given to us to fulfill. God is doing something amazing through these times that requires us to keep learning and growing as the first disciples did when the Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost.
The need to keep growing and expanding our horizons for what God is doing and what is possible is seen in the disciples’ question of Jesus and Jesus’ response to it, (Acts 1:6-7)
“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.”
The question the disciples ask is if Jesus is going to fulfill their expectations or to restore the version of the kingdom of God as they understood and had experienced it.
Jesus reply is essentially “No, I am not nor do I know God’s times table when God will fulfil the kind of Kingdom that I have shared with you from day one.”
We always bring to God our hopes and desires as the first disciples did. Each of us has our own thoughts of how we want what is now called “new normal” to look like. Normal, whether it is old or new, is what we have become accustomed to and like. The idea of what is “Normal” is a temporary concept for a specific time and place.
In the movie, 2011 “Midnight in Paris” a nostalgic screenwriter, while on trip to Paris finds himself mysteriously going back to the 1920s every day at midnight to mingle with the artists and writers that he loves and admires. One night he meets a Frenchwoman who longs for the Paris of the 1890’s and after spending an evening with her favorites of that time, she wants the screen writer to join her forever. Both individuals are so focused on “the perfect time” they want to live in and lose sight of how amazing their own time is.
Do we long for our favorite normal of the church, be it the golden age of the Kingdom of King David’s time as the first disciples did or a time when Christianity was influential in recent times or to the “normal” of a pre Covid-19 world.
During times of transition like ours there is always a temptation to flee to the previous time for comfort and for a break from the changes occurring in the present. And one of the great difficulties we have spiritually, mentally, and emotionally is adjusting to and moving forward in a new reality in our part of the world.
Jesus tells his first disciples and us, that we do not need to understand or appreciate the times that we live in or the significance of the period of time we live, but we do have to trust that God has his own concealed reasons what is happening. The Preacher of Ecclesiastes reminds us that “God has made everything suitable (proper or right) for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)
God is God and we are not. We leave the question of “why” to God and we focus on how to live as God guides and directs us in the present. That is our responsibility and this is what Jesus requires of his disciples in every age including our own.
The great task of the church is stay focused on the mission of the church that Luke records in Acts 1:8,
“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.”
The upside to the Covid-19 pandemic is the church is witnessing to, reaching out to, and connecting to more people than ever before through various kinds of media and through the efforts of disciples wanting to help and love those in their circles of friendships. How can you not, but praise God for that?
When we figure out how to safely return to worshiping together and safely meeting others in our community, things will look different but will be similar. And I am OK with that. I think we have been forced to be a different kind of people informed by our past, but more dependent than ever on the power that God gives to us through the Holy Spirit in the present. When we are able to return to worshiping God together, of being together, singing together and sharing meals together in the same shared space, won’t we more grateful to God for those simple things we have not been able to do for the past 10 weeks. I am grateful that God is teaching us things we have forgotten or not appreciated and new skills to reach people in new ways.
Luke records in his description of the Ascension in Luke 24:50-52, that Jesus blessed his disciples as He ascended to heaven. Jesus final act of giving us his blessing, giving us a divine thumbs up, a reminder of God’s eternal love for us, acts as a continued reminder that the mission of the church is an act by which God’s blesses the world.
In ascending to heaven, we are reminded that Jesus returns to heaven to his role as King, Provider of the Church, and our Advocate before the Father taking a part of our humanity with him. I love this quote from the Rev. Professor John Rabbi Duncan of the Church of Scotland in the 19th century who wrote of the Ascension…
“The dust of the earth is on the throne of the majesty on High.”
The One who joined us on our earthly pilgrimage continues to guide and direct us and His mission through the Holy Spirit living and active in our lives and through the larger church.
The question remains for us is whether we will stand looking up to heaven for God to act in the ways we want God to act or whether we will respond faithfully to God in our current times as the informed, empowered, and Spirit guided people of God.
Now to the One
who by the power at work within us
is able to accomplish abundantly
far more than all we can ask or imagine,
to God be glory in the church
and in Christ Jesus,
to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20, 21)
Hymn: “In the bulb there is a flower” Words and Music: Natalie Sleeth
Sharing our Concerns and Thanksgivings
Please feel free to pass on your prayer requests to me through email, text, or phone. You can reach me at stpaulsbanff@telus.net
Prayers of the People
Lord Jesus,
We thank you that you became human
in order that we might experience your goodness firsthand,
in order that we might pursue and seek to live faithfully for God as you did.
We thank you Lord came into our world
in order to provide us a lasting peace with you
and in order help us be at peace with one another.
Amid the confusion of our time
where your goodness is not always perceived in our world
nor experienced as a reality in our lives,
we ask that you draw us once again into the circle of your tender care.
We pray for church in its witness during these challenging times.
We are grateful for the tools of technology at our disposal
to reach out and love those in neighborhood both near and far.
We thankful for your compassion that leads us to reach out and connect with family and friends in familiar and new ways.
We are grateful for who we are reaching on your behalf and pray that our listening, compassion love, and encouragement may points them to you.
Grant us the wisdom and the courage to see what you are doing in our midst,
and to continue to look forward to what you will do in the future.
Guide and help the leaders of your church to know the right and safe way to gather your people once again for worship. Guide and direct businesses, schools, service groups, and other organizations as they seek to reopen safely as well. Help us all to be patient, while continuing to care for each other.
Continue to keep safe all who working for the common good, for public safety, and who make decisions regarding health and public safety
We lay before God, the concerns of our hearts with thanksgiving,
Thank you for this time of prayer. We pray that we may be blessed to the answer to someone’s prayer this coming week.
Together, we pray the words Jesus, our ascended Lord, has taught us
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.
Offering of our Time, Talent, Treasure to God
This Sunday brings the season of Easter to a close. Yet we will continue to receive the blessings God pours out for us in Christ and in creation, for God is so good to us. We offer to God our thanks for such goodness in our tithes and offering. We thank all who contributed financially to the ongoing mission of St. Paul’s during this time.
Donations for St. Paul’s can be sent by mail to St. Paul’s, Box 1264, Banff, AB T1L 1B3. If you want to make an e-transfer, then please contact the church (stpaulsbanff@telus.net) for instructions as to how to do this.
Hymn: “I, the Lord of sea and sky” Words and Music: Daniel Schutte
Traditional Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgLwH5RdtPk&t=88s
Contemporary Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZTQF_9D3-Y
Pastoral Charge and Blessing (Romans 15:13)
The risen Christ is with us.
Let us give thanks for God’s eternal presence with us.
Let us go forth, witnessing to the good news of God’s blessing and healing.
And may the God of hope
fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you may abound in hope
by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayer Partnership
Sunday, May 24 (Healing and Reconciliation Sunday) We pray that hearts and minds will be opened to continue learning the truth about the harm of colonization and the Indian Residential School system. We pray that all Canadians will work for the healing and well-being of Indigenous communities.
Monday, May 25 Give thanks for church communities that are caring for creation and taking steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Pray that we will reflect God’s love of creation every day.
Tuesday, May 26 (National Accessibility Week) We pray for a more inclusive and accessible church community. Help us create a community that is free of barriers.
Wednesday, May 27 We pray for the Moderator of The Presbyterian Church in Canada, the Rev. Amanda Currie. Pray that she may be guided and directed by the Holy Spirit during these difficult times.
Thursday, May 28 We pray for grace, understanding and forgiveness in our relationships with one another.
Friday, May 29 Please pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth labourers.
Saturday, May 30 We pray for the millions of Canadians on the margins of our society. May God open the hearts of those in the centre to create room for all.