Ascension Day

As the modern Christian world moves more and more towards a relaxed service, latte's in the foyer, and attempting to reach a world that is jaded and wary of "religion", relying more on a hope in science, rather than a trust and hope in the Creator of science, we sometimes forget (since it supposedly seems to 'smack of the old and rule-bound ways of the pre-millennial generation') to share, explain, and underline for the congregations important memorial events that remind us of the power and hope of the Christian way of life.

Trusting in our Lord, His life, His sacrifice, His covering and grace, and His soon return is based on His truth. One of the memorial moments we tend to gloss over or outright forget, is that important event from Acts 1 where Jesus gave His final encouragement and guidance to His followers to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit and to know that He will return someday to bring us all to the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Below is a picture shared by the Museum of the Bible in DC. The information is also from the Museum. Happy Ascension Day--He will be back again!

From Charles Wesley’s 1739 “Hymn for Ascension Day” to Phil Wickham’s contemporary rendition of the “The Ascension”—drawing attention to the commemoration of the New Testament account in Acts 1:9 of Jesus’s ascension into heaven—the ascension is celebrated by many Christians on the forty days after Jesus’s resurrection, described in Acts 1:3. During that time, Jesus instructed his disciples, and on the fortieth day they witnessed his ascension to heaven. Although Ascension Day is formally acknowledged ten days before Pentecost, and always on a Thursday, many churches choose to celebrate on the following Sunday—often as a time of prayer and fasting.