Dear Northside
Thursday this week was Ascension Day. This is the 40th day after Easter, and the day we remember Jesus returning to heaven. Ascension Day is an important day. Imagine being one of the disciples watching Jesus rise into the sky and then being hidden from sight by the clouds. How would you have felt? Is that it? Is it all over? Now what?
But Jesus had been patiently preparing them for His departure. He commissioned them in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to all creation.” It’s not over. We have a job to do. Are you doing it? To help us do this, Jesus said He would send His Holy Spirit to empower us to be His witnesses in the world. He has not left us. He is with us everywhere we go, all the time.
Mark 16:19 tells us that when Jesus was taken up into heaven, He sat down at the right hand of God. As Philippians 2:9 says, “God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every other name.” Jesus sits in glory and power. But what about us?
Luke tells us that the disciples went back to Jerusalem and stayed continually at the Temple, praising God. They met together in person as God’s church. In Mark, we see the disciples going out and doing what Jesus commissioned them to do (please notice it was not a suggestion). And the Lord worked with them and confirmed His Word by the signs that accompanied it.
As we sit in the waiting room between Jesus’ Ascension and Return, what are you doing? Are you waiting expectantly for His Return? Are you preaching the Gospel everywhere?
Having remembered Ascension, we are now in the 10 days before Pentecost. The pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus. We will remember Pentecost in next Sunday’s service.
Changing the subject. We are excited to be starting our new sermon series. This will also be the subject of our mid-week devotions this term. We will be going through the book of Esther with the title of “Following Jesus when God seems absent.” As you can see we are following our annual church theme of “Being a follower of Jesus: Obeying His commands.” You will see why we are talking about ‘when God is absent’ when we start working our way through the book. And I think this is very relevant as each one of us can probably relate to asking, “Where is God in all the chaos and uncertainty in our world right now?” So join us this Sunday and commit to being part of this series for the whole term.
We are also awaiting the start of all our youth programs next week. These always bring energy to the church. And it is an important part of who we are. Welcoming, helping, and serving children, youth, and young adults is very important. If you would like to learn more about these programs or want to get involved, please see Pastor Vere.
God bless, Pastor Gary