May 13, 2010 Ascension Service - Pastor Paul G. Eckert
St. Jacobi Evangelical Lutheran Church
8605 W. Forest Home Ave.
Greenfield, Wisconsin 53228
www.stjacobi.org
ASCENSION SERVICE
May 13, 2010 3:30 & 7:00 P.M.
WELCOME!
"COME, LET US GO UP
TO THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD."
Opening Hymn 169:1-2
Pastor: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Congregation: Amen.
P: Prayer
C: Amen.
Song - 3:30 - Grades 5-8 ------------------ "Peace I Leave With You"
- 7:00 - Mixed Choir --"Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled"
MESSAGES FROM THE MOUNTAINS
1. Mount Sinai And God’s Law
Scripture and Comment - Exodus 19:20-25 and 20:1-20
The LORD descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up and the LORD said to him, "Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the LORD and many of them perish. Even the priests, who approach the LORD, must consecrate themselves, or the LORD will break out against them." Moses said to the LORD, "The people cannot come up Mount Sinai, because you yourself warned us, ‘Put limits around the mountain and set it apart as holy.’" The LORD replied, "Go down and bring Aaron up with you. But the priests and the people must not force their way through to come up to the LORD, or he will break out against them." So Moses went down to the people and told them. And God spoke all these words:
"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of
the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me. You
shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die."
Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning."
Comment -
1. Go directly to 285:1,11,12
2. Referring to 285:12 have confession by asking
questions and congregation responding
1) Acknowledge sinfulness and sins? (I do) 2) Acknowledge that you can’t solve this? (I do)
3) Do you flee to Christ who has solved this? (Yes)
3. Lead in to 170:4-5 by referring to "no
more can vex our spirit" and why we want to be
drawn closer to sharing in glory
Hymn 285:1, 11, 12
The Law - To Christ We Flee In Confession Of Our Sins
Hymn 170:4-5
2. The Lord’s Mount And His Promise
Scripture and Comment - Isaiah 2:2-5
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. Many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD.
Comment -
1. Here is the present and future answer to our confession
2. Pronounce absolution and what that means
3. Go to Psalm 47 - let us praise God for all of this
The Gospel - From Christ Forgiveness And The Future
Psalm 47 -------------------------------------------------------- page 85
3. Mount Gerizim And Christ’s Revelation
Scripture and Comment - John 4:19-26
"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." The woman said, "I know that Messiah" (called Christ) "is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us." Then Jesus declared, "I who speak to you am he."
Comment -
1. How terrible if there was an answer to sin, but we like
the Samaritan woman didn’t know about it
2. Here Jesus revealed Himself as He does that for us too
3. His ascension doesn’t mean He no longer cares and no
longer reveals Himself
4. Instead He still calls mankind His own and has His
blessing hand stretched over us as sing in 175:1-4
Hymn 175:1-4
4. The Transfiguration And Mount Hermon
Scripture and Comment - Matthew 17:1-5
After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah." While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"
Comment -
1. Notice how Peter wanted to be a part of Jesus’ glory, to
be with Him
2. That is what we have in mind when we sing "Draw Us
To Thee" in 170:1-3
Hymn 170:1-3
5. A Prayer Mountain In Judea
Scripture and Comment - Luke 22:39-46
Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."
Comment -
1. Jesus prayed often. Here He prayed in agony for our
salvation. He also encourages us to pray
2. Now ascended, He has not stopped praying/interceding
for us, as we sing in 175:5-6
Hymn 175:5-6
Offering ------------- Please fill in the Friendship Register at this time.
Prayer
The Lord’s Prayer
Hymn 172:1-4
6. Mount Calvary And The Crucifixion
Scripture and Comment - Luke 23:33; Matthew 27:33; Mark 15:22
When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.
They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
Comment -
1. The background for "Calvary" may be interesting
2. But what happened there, that is important
3. What we see here does not appear glorious, yet it is
4. As we now sing in 174:1-2, the Lord of battles has
gained the victory, by death has crushed His foes
5. And that means our sins have been atoned for, we are
forgiven!
Hymn 174:1-2
7. The Commissioning Mountain In Galilee
Scripture and Comment - Matthew 28:16-20
Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Comment -
1. Ascension doesn’t mean He isn’t with us anymore
2. He is always with us, also to help us do what He has
commissioned us to do: make disciples by using His
means of grace to reach out to others
3. His hands are still raised in blessing while we do that
and as we by faith look forward to our own ascension,
as we sing in 174:3-4
Hymn 174:3-4
8. Mount of Olives And The Ascension
Responsive Scripture Reading and Comment - Acts 1:8-12
P: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and
you will be my witnesses
C: in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth."
P: After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes,
C: And a cloud hid Him from their sight.
P: They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going,
C: when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.
P: "Men of Galilee," they said,
C: "Why do you stand here looking into the sky?
P: This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven,
C: will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into
heaven."
P: Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called
C: the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city.
Comment - Having read this, now sing about it in 171:1-4
Hymn 171:1-4
9. Mount Nebo And Looking Ahead
Scripture and Comment - Deuteronomy 32:48-49 and 34:1-5
On that same day the LORD told Moses, "Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession.
Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land - from Gilead to Dan, all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it." And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said.
Comment -
1. Moses could not go into earthly promised land
2. While we live on this earth we cannot go into the
heavenly promised land
3. But as that earthly land was promised to fulfill God’s
purpose of a Savior to be born there
4. So heaven is promised to us as our future great reward,
as we sing of that now in 171:5-6
Hymn 171:5-6
10. Mount Zion And Fulfillment
Scripture and Comment - Revelation 14:1; Revelation 21:10;
Hebrews 12:22-24; Micah 4:1-2
Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.
And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all
men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths." The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
Comment -
1. As promises about earthly land were all fulfilled
2. So here is pictured the promises of heaven all fulfilled
3. On this sure promise we build our confident hope and
faith, as we sing now in 173
Hymn 173:1-3
Closing Prayer
C: Amen.
P: The Blessing
C: Amen, Amen, Amen.
Closing Hymn 169:3
Jesus said,
"SURELY I WILL BE WITH YOU ALWAYS
TO THE VERY END OF THE AGE."
　
Some Announcements
We thank our Ascension organist, Mrs. Leona Hauer, the choirs, the ushers, the worshipers - all who are in any way involved in praising our ascended Lord and Savior.
All Scripture quotations are from the NIV which is in our pew rack.
Our regular schedule of services is Sundays at 8:15 and 10:45 A.M. and Mondays at 7:00 P.M. Please note, however, that starting with June and continuing through August the second Sunday service will become 10:00 instead of the current 10:45.